For years the thought of change FREAKED me out! I could hardly stand the idea of changing the scenery or the people around me; well this race has truly taught me to embrace it. I no longer fear change but get excited when it happens. At the end of every month, I am ready to know what my next ministry will look like-not that I am not sad to see the month end, I am, but the Lord REALLY prepares my heart for those moments.
So when it was time for N Squad’s Kenya debrief, I was emotionally, mentally, and spiritually prepared for what was about to happen…
Okay, allow me to get you all caught up on all the changes that have happened on my team so far on the race. At the beginning of the race, Ignitus consisted of our team leader Krissy Whaley and then Annie Rose Taylor, Kate Williams, Scott and Denise Allen, and me as the team members. At the end of the Philippines, however, we found out that was about to change…of course! This is the World race after all.
Krissy was asked to be N Squad’s new squad leader along with Austin Robertson (Ginosko); in which they both agreed to take on.
The WR then asked Scott to be the new team leader for Ignitus (which he greatly accepted) and then added Auston Copeland and Caley Sue Peterson to our group. This team lasted all the way up to Thailand until an accident left my dear sister-in-Christ (Denise Allen) in the hospital with a leg injury. To make a long story short, Denise would not recover in time to finish the race so Scott and Denise decided it would be best to go back to the United States.
I am not going to lie, I was heart-broken. The Allen’s are a HUGE part of my life and it hurt to know that they would not be around anymore. However, God is merciful and prepared me for the next page of my adventure-only Jesus could do something like that.
So, come Kenya debrief, I knew change was going to happen…
Kate, Annie Rose, Auston, Caley, and I found out that we would NOT be split up (I swear I sang the chorus to Hallelujah) but that one team member would be added. Sarah Schrack became our new team leader which was a blessing to say the least. Sarah and I go WAY back…we are talking training camp here!
Our new team decided it would be best to change our team name due to the fact we were a completely different group now. So after much thought, we decided to name our team Umoja which means united in Swahili.
God is good.
This trip has really made me see that trusting our Savior is the best thing to do. Jesus REALLY does KNOW what is best for us; way more than we could EVER imagine.
Jesus gets it…HE knows what HE is doing!
So the whole point of this blog is to show you that change, even though scary at times, can bring great joy. A little more than a year ago, I would have NEVER imagined myself on this race, but because I decided to hand over my life to Jesus (TRUSTING HIM) he turned it right-side-up. It was the BEST decision of my Life!
Thank you Jesus for change.
