The last 10 days we spent in Georgia sweating, exhausted, and full of joy as we met our squad and began this incredible journey God has blessed us with.
Training camp consisted of meeting our squad of 49 people, sleeping in tents or hammocks or in the “airport”, learning about identity in Christ and freedom through His great love, building our team, bucket showers, physical training, spiritual development, ministry opportunities, and the beginning of so many beautiful friendships. Adventures in Missions (AIM) did an incredible job putting us through scenarios and pushing us out of our comfort zones in an effort to prepare us for what is to come in the next year. Andy and I are both incredibly grateful for AIM and their ability to teach and love us and our squad.
At the end of training camp we were placed into teams of 7 and we couldn’t be more excited about the people we will be starting this journey with! Here is an introduction to them all:
Andre: Andre is from Costa Rica and has a beautiful heart for hurting people and a desire to serve them wholeheartedly. Her heart for worship was shown through her words “worship is the passport to God’s heart”, and I believe she will lead the way towards helping our team worship with people all over the world.
Jo: Jo is from North Dakota and has the voice of an angel. She loves deeply and genuinely cares for people. Her compassion for others is contagious and will shine as we begin ministry of all kinds.
Ben: Ben is from Tennessee and is the wild spirit of the group. His ability to bring wisdom and gentleness to our team will prove to be invaluable. He is all about adventure and experiencing life to the fullest, there will never be a dull moment!
Jackie: Jackie is from California and is full of joy. She is fiercely loyal to those who she cares about and her family is the most important thing. We are honored to be apart of her “new family” as we all start this journey together as a team.
Matt: Matt is from New Jersey and is an incredible listener. He desires to know and share the stories from people around the world, giving those stories life. He is an incredible film-maker and is excited to use this skill around the world.
These 5 people alongside Andy and I make up M5:5 (Matthew 5:5, our team name). God has called each one of us out of our everyday life into a life of adventure and following His command to “go”. We will become a family as we do life together and work alongside each other to bring God’s Kingdom to earth as we head to India in just 6 short weeks.
Our team name (M5:5) comes from the verse Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek:
for they shall inherit the earth.” This represents our desire to always have a spirit of humility to put our desires second to the needs of people who are desperate for Christ’s love.
And so the adventure begins!
