if you’re unfamiliar with the World Race, you probably don’t know what i mean when i talk about my squad, my team, the SQLs, or TLS. basically, these are all part of a structure AIM puts together to make sure our community and fellowship works well.
i’m on Gap Year Squad D, which is a group of 28 Racers (all 18-21 yeas old) and three squad leaders who have each done the World Race before. this year, there were four Gap Year squads who each go on a different route of countries. then on each squad, the racers are split up into teams of about 4-8 people, usually all girls or all guys. your team is who you do ministry with each day, who you have team time with every weeknight, and who you share a room with. so basically, you’re going to get a LOT of time together, and our leadership spent a long time praying over each one of these teams.
so coming onto the race, i knew that these girls were who God wanted me to be with, yet i could not see why. the first couple months were filled with a lot of growing for us as a team and learning how to choose into each other even when it was difficult (my teammate emma wrote a great blog on this here!)
but now that we’re 5 months in, all we can say is that we are so blessed to have each other and i honestly can’t imagine my team without any one of these girls. so here’s my team!
emma austin :: a woman of gentle strength, bold, a worshipper in every sense of the word
emma’s words carry weight. she might not be the one always talking in a group, but when she does speak up, oh man does the Lord speak though her! she is so very sensitive to the Holy Spirit and her words give a fresh perspective on any situation. she’s not afraid to say the hard thing, and she’s the first one on the team to walk up and knock on the door. she strives to worship the Father not only with her voice as one of the squad’s worship leaders, but also in her actions, her thoughts, and her interaction with His creation.
but the quality i admire most about her is her quiet strength. when you first meet emma, she seems quiet and timid, but there’s something about her that won’t let you put her in that box. she doesn’t have to be loud or show off, but her confidence in her identity in Christ shines through and you just know, deep down, that she has strength beyond anything you could imagine.
emma girl, you already know how much i love you 🙂
morgan applegate :: joy in human form, vibrant, a woman after God’s own heart
morgan is the one who keeps our team laughing. she says the first thing that comes to her head and she doesn’t care what other people think of her. her presence is always refreshing and she’s just someone you want to be around. there was a week that she was in isolation with a cold, and you could just feel that she wasn’t there; morgan’s joy is just that good !
the thing about morgan i admire most though, is the way she seeks after the Lord. she knows herself well, and anytime she’s not feeling 100%, she goes straight to Him. if you can’t find morgan anywhere around the house, she’s probably sitting on the back porch in the sun, reading her Bible and journaling. she doesn’t mind missing out on time with friends, going out, or even meals as long as she has her time with God each day.
love you longtime moose !
andrea gallina :: passionate, driven, a giver
andi is one of the fiercest women i know. she throws her whole self into everything she does, and she does it well. whether it’s tearing down moldy walls with hurricane relief or processing what the Lord is revealing to her, andi won’t back away from a challenge. she’s just as passionate in her relationships, encouraging others to speak life over themselves and to seek the Father’s face above all else.
what i admire most about andi is that she’s also one of the most generous people i know, always giving of her time and energy (and bracelet string) to anyone who asks without ever asking for anything in return. she encourages and builds up others, even though she might be struggling with the same things herself, and is very intentional with her friendships.
love you andi girl :))
mackenzie tkach :: understanding, our rock, and our team leader !
kenzie is definitely the quietest of team stride, but don’t be fooled — behind that quiet exterior is our strong, bold team leader. she leads us with grace, always building us up and speaking the truth in love. when you’re going through something, she’s always ready to sit down with you and listen, or she’ll tell you to go spend time with God (whichever one you need right then).
i admire her discernment more than anything. as a team leader, you have to know when loving someone well means comforting them or telling them the hard truth, and kenzie does it so well. she never makes us feel less than, and it’s always clear that she loves us from a place of being loved by the Father.
i love you kenzers !!
so that’s my team! we’ve grown a lot over the last five months, doing disaster relief together in Louisiana, discipleship training in Georgia, and now we’re starting ministry in Costa Rica!!
