Hi from Cambodia! It is the end of our 4th month on the race & it has been more incredible than I could have dreamed. God has brought me through & taught me so much & part of the reason that’s been possible is because He has provided me with the most amazing team imaginable. They are not just the people I live with & serve beside, they are my friends & have become my family — my sisters. I couldn’t be prouder of or crazier about these 5 incredible women.
Unfortunately, our time as a team has come to a close & team changes happen tomorrow. & that’s okay — it’s a normal, stretching part of the race that I know God will use for good. I will have 5 new teammates from my squad & they will become my family. Our squad is full of so many great people so I am very confident that God is gonna hook me up with exactly the right group. But because these girls were my first team & I love them so so much, I’d like to end my time with them by telling you our story.
Team Emunah…what an amazing group of women. We have laughed together. We have cried together. We’ve held each other’s hands, cheered for each other, sacrificed for each other. We’ve eaten bugs together & experienced all kinds of wild international travel. Been super sick & taken care of each other. We’ve stayed up late to share our hearts. We’ve hurt each other, but then forgiven each other. We’ve fought for each other. We’ve prayed for each other. We’ve eaten ice cream together. Danced together. Worshiped together.
We are a team that was initially selected by others but then chose to become a family. I am sure there are a lot of world race teams who get close, but there was just something about us that far exceeded what I had ever imagined. With them I have truly become myself, & I actually have come to the conclusion that I’m pretty all right (shout out to Shelby!) 🙂 But that thought has a lot to do with the time I’ve spent with these wonderful people & how they have helped me become better & love Jesus more.
When we found out at training camp who all was on our team, I knew that I was going to be all in with these girls. We were chosen to be together & there was no mistake — they were gonna be my people. The staff at training camp wanted to make the team reveals interesting so they gave each of us a slip of paper with an animal on it & we had to make that animal noise to find our people who were the same sort. Mine said “dog” & I soon heard several “bark, bark!”, “woof, woof!”, & “ruff, ruff!” noises.
Oh, I was gonna like these chicitas 🙂
We met together & there were smiles all around. This was a special group. We ended up with the name Emunah because it’s kinda what God was doing in our lives at the time. So much of America claims to believe in God & though that sounds nice, we wanted to live what we say we believe. The general term “faith” can be claimed by anyone, but we wanted to be women who act on that faith. It’s like saying you believe a chair can hold your weight is regular faith, but the action of then sitting in that chair based on your faith — the Hebrew word for that kind of faith is Emunah, & that’s our heart & goal. It’s been an incredible journey with that name & I love it.
But we’re also a super fun group, so we couldn’t let go of our origin & the unofficial designation of “the Puppy Pack” was born. Woof woof, bark bark 🙂
I could say so much more about our beginnings but I want the rest of this to be about them — my family. These are my people:
**Quick shout out to our unofficial puppy, Rachel, an alumni world racer who spent the first month with us as our squad leader. She was the practical side of things — like helping us figure out how to get from A to B — but she also tended to our baby racer souls when we were trying to figure out how to best live in community. She has been through some of our most serious ups & downs with us, & we love her like mad. Rachel is known for her killer dance moves, her choice of “Havana” on the night we revealed our favorite songs, her intense faces, & a shared passion with us for Dutch Blitz. Shelby (we’ll get to her later) is the funniest person she knows, but she’s laughed with all of us so often. Rachel has been brilliant at letting us figure things out on our own but not letting us drown. She always seems to ask the perfect questions that lead to us solving our own problems, & her most defining characteristic is her wisdom. Rachel is 6 years younger than me but her wisdom blows me away regularly. She isn’t just wise “for her age”, she’s straight up wise for any age. It’s knowing her that has made me seek wisdom myself. Knowing Rachel has been an honor & a pleasure & I will miss her terribly when she leaves mid-June. Not just for all the fun we’ve had with her, but because she somehow has been able to really see me & understand my heart. She has allowed me to wrestle through things & has always been gentle even when I’m wrong. Her heart is so big & I can’t wait to see what God has for her next, even though I don’t know what I’ll do without her. You really are our honorary puppy, Rach — thank you for everything. Love you.**
Okay, now on to the official puppy pack:
Amber. I have to tell you about her first because she’s the person I spent the most time with all the way back at training camp. We were both terrified so we sat together in the back row of sessions & she made it okay for me. She was the person who made me feel steady when I was afraid — she was an anchor in the midst of the storm, & that’s who she continued to be all 4 months we were together. She is our team’s voice of reason who has kept us from doing stupid things. She can see the big picture & can discern where the line is in many situations. She is also the one to bring us back to whatever we’re talking about because we are the queens of rabbit trails & we could talk all night & never get anything done without her intervention. She’s also the one to challenge us to get vulnerable with each other & say the hard things so that we can truly know each other & so that we can grow.
But she isn’t just as serious as all that. Amber is also the person whose laugh everybody loves — it’s adorable & she is way funny if you actually listen to her under the breath comments. & that smile! The girl looks good in EVERY picture because she has this winning smile that can’t be suppressed. My favorite memory of her smile was when we were handing out Bibles on the pier in Thailand…sometimes we had already put in a long day or nobody would be taking any Bibles, but Amber was always lit up with the excitement for what we were doing, & it always helped energize my own drive to give out God’s Word. She’s also super thoughtful of our whole team & is a huge cheerleader for each of us no matter what she’s doing. She’ll make a great mom some day because she always sees our progress & acknowledges it with pride. She makes us feel seen in that way, & she gets that baby steps are still steps. It’s so encouraging.
The last thing I have to say about Amber — or as I have come to call her, Ambrose — is that she is not the same girl who I left the US with 4 months ago. She has grown so much both as a relational person & in her walk with Jesus. She used to be timid & would often withdraw when things became difficult, but no longer. Yes — as an introvert, she’ll aways need that time to herself. But she doesn’t run away anymore. She has the hard conversations. She shares the things on her heart. She has wise things to say & isn’t afraid to communicate them. She makes time to know God better & then is excited to tell us what He is doing in her life. Amber is from Texas so she already has automatic cool points, but she has gone so much deeper & has learned to love so much better. Gonna miss watching our Amber thrive up close the way I have had the privilege of doing the past 4 months. Love you, Ambrose! Keep going strong!
Candace. Or Ace, as I generally call her. This girl. I’m not sure if I have ever met anybody who I have less in common with, & yet strangely — we have some pretty great mutual understandings. She doesn’t have a favorite color because she doesn’t want any other colors to feel left out & she’s afraid of stickers. She likes cats & will pick up any stray one she sees, even if they are deemed unsafe — she can’t help herself. She doesn’t care about sports & calls basically all of them “sports ball”. Her taste in guys includes very hairy types. She wore red floral pants with a mustard striped shirt which I STILL don’t understand how she could pull off, but she did, not to mention that she wears old man glasses & loves them. & she is probably the most genuinely outgoing person I know, interested in every person she meets. I have NONE of these qualities nor do I understand most of them.
But. Rachel observed in month 1 that Ace & I process things similarly, which sometimes has been such an enormous gift. Especially during that first month — we really were outliers at times — but we eventually made it to where we were going & we weren’t alone, & that was so nice. We were also the only people on our team who initially admitted to physical touch being a primary love language, which made things super easy because we always had each other for hugs or a shoulder to put our heads on. & Ace & I totally have the same sense of humor! Everybody knows she’s funny, but I feel like sometimes we laughed together at a lot at things other people were eye-rolling about. We don’t care — we know we’re funny 🙂
We shared a room & a bed month 1 & it was the perfect fit for us. We were like an old married couple — neither of us said anything if we didn’t have anything to say & it was wonderful. She’d journal before bed & I’d play solitaire. Then in the mornings I’d get up early to have my quiet time on the balcony before coming to wake her up. & as much as I hate cats, this chick wakes up exactly like a sleepy kitten every day. Gently, sweetly, & I swear sometimes it was with a purr. Since I’m generally unpleasant in the morning, she was the perfect roommate.
Month one we also struggled with major technology failures that hit us hard, which ended up taking us into the “big city” to get our devices fixed. It’s the first time we REALLY talked just us & it was so easy. We almost bought a fish AND a turtle on that trip, but aside from how sad we were for missing out on that opportunity — it turned out to be one of my favorite days in Indonesia. Seeing her heart & goofing off together was just what we needed in that stressful situation, & we definitely got it done.
I think what I’ll miss most about Ace is watching her grow. She has grown SO much since the beginning of the race. The way she prays. The way she’s open to things she used to be annoyed by. & even though she’s always loved people well, I feel like the scope of her love has somehow greatly increased in depth. Ace has had some huge hurdles come her way since on the race, & I am positive that a lot of other people would crack. But not our Ace. She has fought with a fierceness & a perseverance that would make anyone proud. It has been so amazing to have a front row seat to her life as she has been searching for & slowly really finding out who God is. & even if she’s had mis-steps, she’s not gonna let that stop her from reaching her goal, & I admire that ardently. She’s our fighter, & I am so proud of her.
Ace isn’t just adventure with a side of green tea, although she is that 🙂 This is a girl who’s going places, so look out, world! & if she’s on Jimmy Fallon someday, I just hope she remembers that I was an AWESOME bed-buddy that 1st month 🙂 Though we literally could not be more different, it hasn’t stopped me from loving this chicita fiercely. She is adventurous, bold, outrageously friendly, & so funny, & I am so grateful for her genuine Ace-ness. So I hope you know that I love you, Ace — & that I am cheering for you. Keep pushing — Jesus is crazy about you & is gonna go with you wherever you go, so just keep inviting Him along & following His lead. So proud of you, Baby Girl 😉
Oh…& Candace is a model 😉
Shelby. Oh, our wonderful Shelberta. Or Shelvanna, as I’ve called her at times. It doesn’t really matter what we call her, though…there is NO ONE like our Shelby. She is as funny as the day is long but it is sneak attack humor, which is even better because you don’t know when to expect it. Some of it is because she’s a straight up North Carolina born & raised southern girl, which I suppose just came prepackaged with a whole lotta sweetness & just the perfect measure of sass 🙂
I love this peace-filled woman from the top of her head (don’t EVER touch her head, by the way) to the bottom of her Chacos. Shelby is such a steadfast member of our team & because she is so gentle, you might not initially guess the huge impact she’s had on our daily lives. But the fact is that Shelby makes a difference in our lives every day. She’s our girl. Not only us, though. Every month we’ve been together, someone points out Shelby to me & asks who she is. I always proudly tell them about her, & they always mention her as someone who stands out to them…someone they’d like to get to know. Good judgment, world — it’s true. She’s amazing 🙂
Something I’ve loved most about Shelby is that she is the real deal. A true servant, willing to do whatever is asked & she just doesn’t complain, even when it’s wicked hot or the mosquitos have trashed her lower extremities. Shelby is our squad’s worship leader & a lot of people think that means she’s just in charge of playing guitar & singing. But thankfully, Shelby gets that there’s so much more. Can worship include singing? Totally! & it often does! But Shelby brings us so much deeper. She helps us connect to God corporately by gently leading us to see God for who He is & how that knowledge should change us. She humbly uses her knowledge of God’s Word to steadily pull our eyes from ourselves & adjust our focus to Him. This girl knows that God wants her to lead us & she steps up & does it so well. I will miss having her on our team because she is always ready to break out the guitar & sing with us, even if it’s a sunrise service after we were up late. 🙂
But just because Shelbs is this humble, gentle person — don’t think for a moment that any of that is transferable to when she’s playing a competitive game. Dutch Blitz transforms her into her alter ego, which is pretty maniacal. She & our other North Carolinian — Caley — are almost always on the same page, but when it comes to cards — there will be blood!
But as a side note, Shelby is also the one who helps us with math when we need it, & we all appreciate that 🙂
Our Shelby is unapologetically her wonderful self & I love that — even if it means she passes out at the end of a yoga class or falls asleep & misses Rafiki holding up Simba before the Lion King even really starts. I look up to her in so many ways, but the thing that I am most impressed with is how she can be herself, work so hard, & never complain. She is such a wise woman for her age, & it often has to do with the fact that she waits before she speaks, which I hope I will learn from her some day. Shelbs — I will miss your tender care for our team, the way you bring worship all the time — the way it should be, & your love for Cambodian cows. I will also really miss our nerf gun wars, the way you love your family, & the way you’re learning that physical touch may in fact be a love language of yours 😉 love you, ya wonderful human being!
Caley Bass. (Pronounced “Kay-lee” if you don’t know her). This is my girl. It’s actually pretty hard to know how to capture this friendship, but I’ll try. She’s the only person I have a picture with from back in training camp & I couldn’t tell you how, but I definitely knew back then that our friendship would be super important to me. Perhaps it’s because she loves ice cream as much as I do, or honestly — maybe even a tad bit more. Maybe it’s because she can dance like a fiend & I wish I could break it down like her. Or maybe it’s because she is one of my favorite brands of humor — awkward/not awkward 🙂 But whatever it was that let me first know, Caley was definitely someone I knew I would fight to know better & stay friends with. I can’t even explain awesomeness adequately, but let me make an attempt.
Month 1 as a racer is when there is a lot of figuring out who you are on the team, how you best relate to people, & what you have to bring to the table. Caley was designated the word “joy” over & over, which at the time, she thought was kind of a bummer gift to offer our team. She felt like she wasn’t adding anything to us as a whole. I was crushed that she felt this way because I knew that just wasn’t the case. But I had to search my heart — what if I had been given the word “joy”? Wouldn’t I feel the same way? Yeah, probably. But then I started looking at who Caley was to our team & realized that joy is a way more important gift than I had realized.
You see, when you meet Caley — it’s just easy. She puts no pressure on you & you feel like you can talk to her because she creates a safe space. For one, because she usually will make you laugh pretty early in & you’ll find yourself relaxing. But then it is so quickly apparent that Caley genuinely cares about people, & that makes you feel like it’s okay to share your heart even if you never thought you would. She listens with an open heart & love is written on her face. & no matter how you’ve been feeling, it’s hard to stay down when you’re with Caley Bass because she carries joy & it is contagious. Not happiness — that can fade. But joy is found in contentment & Caley brings that to us every day. I have often been calmed by the joy & peace that radiate from her & I am also often humbled at the love that she has. First for her family, but also for us, & definitely her increasing love for our God.
Although she may be a content person, Caley isn’t content to remain as she is — she wants more. I’ve watched her acknowledge where she needs to grow & then this girl runs hard after whatever that is. She dedicates time to the things that matter — to working out, to eating carrots 😉 , to connecting with her family, & to reading God’s Word & taking things to Him in prayer. Caley isn’t the sort who gives up when she’s frustrated — nah — she goes harder. I have watched her push through the kind of feelings that can be consuming on the race & instead become focused & just make the next step happen. She inspires me regularly to be more than I am, because though she is content with her lot in life, she’s always headed for more, & I love that.
I have had the honor of walking with Caley through some of her journey with Jesus, & every moment we spend together talking about Him, praying for her family, reading the Word, & encouraging each other toward the next thing God is calling us to on the race — all of those moments make me want more of Jesus. Caley has driven me closer to Him & still managed to be someone I love laughing with & dreaming with about how we’re gonna sneak off on a road trip after she has foot surgery (just pretend you didn’t read that, Mrs Bass!). I could say heaps of things about this amazing girl, but I’ll just end with how lucky I feel to have her friendship, & how excited I am for what God has for her. I think it’s something big. I think it’s something atypical. But whatever it is, I hope I will always be close enough to cheer for her. I love you so much, Cales — I cherish all the moments. & maybe I’m a little biased about your awesomeness but hey — everybody knows Your Mom rocks 😉 & friend…whatever God asks of you, you got this! LEAP. Love you, Caley Bass.
Alyssa. *Insert gigantic grin* I’m not exactly sure where to even begin. Alyssa. Aly O. Shalyssa. She’s our team leader, my precious, precious friend & someone I have been so happy to follow since the very beginning. Alyssa was actually my first friend at training camp. We didn’t spend a lot of time together, but it was all quality time. Time that was effective enough that even though I came into training camp feeling pretty terrified, I was confident of one thing & that was that Alyssa was somebody I wanted to walk beside on this phenomenal journey we were about to start. When she was announced team leader I couldn’t have been more delighted. She was the perfect fit & still is because Alyssa has the most beautiful servant’s heart of anybody her age that I know — both for the ministry we do & to serve our team. I couldn’t be prouder to work along side this amazing woman of God who is constantly serving & loving us so well. It has been so amazing to watch her grow in leadership & figure out how to balance looking out for us & taking care of herself. But she has, especially during this last month.
I’ve enjoyed every month with Alyssa — especially month one because we regularly met at night before bed & just prayed about whatever was on our hearts & I loved that. & honestly, Alyssa has so much to do with my prayer life getting more serious…I learned to pray big prayers alongside this girl. But this past month stands out as I have LOVED watching her get so much deeper in her relationship with Jesus. If you’ve ever seen Alyssa on the worship team you already know that she loves Him — watching & listening to her sing always makes us want to join in the awe she has for our great God. But this month, Alyssa grew in intimacy with God. The way she listens to Him & even the way she addresses Him has changed. I can see a marked difference in her that comes from those changes & it is so so beautiful. Just thinking about it makes me want to cheer! Alyssa was already that person you know who is bursting with love & joy, but this added depth also brought a level of sobriety, respect, & steadfastness that is so sweet to see. She is a woman who is truly chasing after God & saying yes to who He’s asking her to be & I feel honored to get to watch it all happen. & I’m going to miss watching first hand the continued progress as we part ways, but I am confident that this is only the beginning.
Some of my other favorite Alyssa things start with all the goofy noises she makes. Actually — just all the goofiness. This girl makes me laugh every. day. & I will miss that terribly. Sometimes it’s just the look on her face, the hilarious things she does, or words like “yeet!” that escape her mouth, & other times it’s because she makes these crazy Shalyssa noises that just make me smile writing about them. 🙂 Alyssa is very much her own person. She also loves tacos unlike anyone I have ever known, which is saying something considering all the Texans I know. I mean, I just don’t think I’ve ever met anybody who has a biological need for them the way our Alyssa does. But tacos seem to revive her from almost any slump, & the only thing that gets her as excited as tacos is the ocean. I feel like I watch a new depth of life creep into her eyes when when she can see the ocean. But Alyssa isn’t usually in a slump or feeling down — this is a girl who just carries a lot of joy & love everywhere. She’s the kind of girl who will break it down the moment music begins playing or who will laugh with you until she pees her pants (full disclosure — I can’t disclose whether or not she’s actually ever peed her pants, but let’s just say we laugh pretty hysterically at times 😉 ). But along with all her fun comes that immensely tender heart that doesn’t want to miss out on anything she’s called to or be held back by any barriers in her way. She’s pretty fantastic 🙂
There are so many things I’ll miss about my dear friend, but I think the biggest is prayer. When we pray together I know God is doing things. When she prays for whatever is heavy on my heart, I feel healing begin. When we pray for our team I am so much more confident. When we pray for her family I know God is watching after them. When we pray for her future husband I get excited to meet him. & when we just praise God together — this is probably the hardest thing for me to leave behind. It makes my heart soar. But. You are on such an amazing trajectory, Lyssa, & you’re only gonna keep getting closer to Jesus with time, so keep going, love! Give away the amazing gifts you bring to the table & keep getting filled up with God’s Word & the promises He has for you. Don’t let the enemy tell you anything different — your Dad loves you & will go with you wherever He calls. Keep going. Love you, Lyss. Proud of you.
& that’s them. I’m not sure that I’ve ever been more of myself in my life than who I’ve become with these girls. These women have brought out the best in me & it has been such an honor to be called their sister & friend. Thank you for loving me, fam, & for helping me be more like Jesus. I will always hold you in my heart. Now keep being awesome & love those new teams as well as you’ve loved me! Woof, woof — bark, bark…xoxo, your sister, Aj
