I have finally found internet, praise the Lord! I am in a small village town called Okpo. My team is living in a village this month in the middle of the country. For the next 3 days we will be tenting it up about an hour away from where we are staying for a crusade our contact (Pastor Sunday) is speaking at. Crusades have been a theme since the first day we arrived. It is possible that it’s going to be the chunk of our time here, but there is no telling what ministry is really going to look like (we aren’t informed of what’s going on until about 5 minutes prior to leaving). What I do know, is that we will be leaving Okpo the morning of the 31st to meet back up with the squad in order to hop on another international flight to ROMANIA on the night of the 1st… I am very excited for a change of pace, and continents!
So, I have been in Nigeria almost 2 weeks and ALOT has happened in this short amount of time. The first week the squad had our 3rd big debrief in Lagos with our coaches, Ms. Patti and Mr. Mike. During that time, we were confined to our compound because the pastors of the compound felt it was too dangerous for us to leave. Even though we didn’t have many luxuries, I feel it was one of my favorite debriefs. We didn’t have internet or any distractions, and because of that our squad really came together in unity much like we did during training camp. We ate all of our meals together, watched movies, played cards, and pretty much did life as a family.
Coming together like we did was definitely God’s perfect timing.
The reason I say this is because on the last day of debrief a BIG shift occurred!
Although I love team Rhema, and Rhema will always be my family, I know this change needed to happen. I have known in my spirit for 2 months that this was going to take place at some point, and it is somewhat surreal that it has actually happened. The teams didn’t change because of gossip or dissension, but because most of us felt like we were coasting. Nobody asked leadership for teams to change, but almost every person prophesied over this shift. Alot of us felt like we couldn’t go any further on our original team, and that we couldn’t really walk into the things God has been calling out of us. Team dynamics were becoming too complacent for us to stay in that place, and instead of just going through the motions, our squad really was ready for a bigger challenge. Go big or go home, right?!
It’s a little overwhelming at times because I don’t really know the people on my new team very well, although I am confident there is a reason why I am with them. I think the fact that we don’t have very comfortable living quarters, a lack of water supply (Okpo has no natural water resources so the only way they have water is when it rains), and being forced to eat alot of very filling African food (google fufu) makes the situation alot more stretching. It is very fitting that God has been teaching me alot about sacrifice, emptying myself, and looking past my own selfish desires! I truly believe if we press in to each other, to this place, and to ministry, God will do an extraordinary amount in and through us, and we will begin to walk out in the things God is calling us to.
We are still praying into a team name, but this is my new family for the next 4 months: Matthew Rock (team leader), Mike Sanders, Nicole Ricketts, Maryanne Yeary, and Kelsi Sage.
We are all very different and most of us have very big personalities, but I know we are going to learn so much from each other. I also know alot of laughs and good memories will be had. I am very excited for things to come and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us as we end this race together!
*Internet is too slow to upload pictures, but you can check out their blog sites to see pics and learn more about them!
Peace and Love
