MY TEAM!!
Probably the greatest group of people to ever be combined by the powers-that-be at the World Race. We are TEAM RAPHA! Jehovah-Rapha is one of the names of God, God the Healer. We are going to be healing people all over the world in Jesus’ name, bringing hope to the nations. Let me introduce them…..
The Team on our first “memory making” night, right after our big reveal. We went into town & ate at this amazing Italian place for approximately 2 hours while got to know each other better. After an enormous dinner, we stopped by this cute little cupcake shop and filled our stomachs to the brim before returning to our rigid camp diet. It was so fun! Lots of laughing, transparency, and trust being built.
This was taken at the ORIGINAL Chik-fil-a- The Dwarf House in Atlanta! Before eating here, we ran around the ATL doing our ATL- Ask the Lord. Basically a day to minister to whoever we were called to. We spent lots of time in the park and ultimately had our coolest experience at ChikfilA with a guy visiting from Florida. 
Now for the individuals:
Our Team Leader, Kristin Kendall! (also known as KK) She is from Tennessee, will graduate from MTSU this December with a degree in Education and is pretty much the ultimate multitasker. She is a member of Alpha Delta Pi but isn’t too sorority for me 🙂 KK has the cutest little Tennessee accent EVER and I love to hear her talk. Also a plus- our good friends on the U squad are on the same team too!! So basically, Team Rapha & Team Wrecking Ball will go hand in hand.
Roberto Calderon. A die hard fan of the Green Lantern (though I am not sure why…. you will have to tell me the story soon!) and a native of the BRONX, Roberto will be our menacing bodyguard on the Race. Just kidding, he is one of the nicest guys I have ever met! But I’m sure his stature will help put our moms at ease:) The thing I like him about him most so far is the fact that he is passionate about justice in the political and governmental sense. I think that his perspective about how to bring justice to the oppressed will be really refreshing & help us to look at the big picture. I hope he teaches me some street smarts.
Elaina Rogers! Our resident funny girl. She is a children’s pastor at her church in BOSTON and is the best songwriter you have ever met. She has such a zest for life but also is so in love with the Lord and confident in the path He has for her. She will turn 30 in our first month (she doesn’t look older than 24!) so she has a little more wisdom and experience than the rest of us(this is a compliment). Elaina was also our T-Train spirit leader & brought the krunk to Squad Wars! Can’t wait to spend some more time getting to know this girl and hear more of her stories. 
Thomas Garza– a photographer based in Houston who doesn’t smile for pictures unless something is funny. I wish he would though because he has a great smile! He is our youngest on the team, at 21 years old, but acts much older than that. He owns his photography business and owns his house, much more accomplished than the majority of 21 year olds I know! He is the most servant hearted person I think I have ever met and I am always so thankful that he will offer his help no matter what the circumstances. 
The marrieds!! Kristan & Justin Gibson. They have been married for 3 years and are currently living on a farm with Kristan’s parents. Kristan has such a sweet spirit and has 2 sisters at home in DALHART (aka middle of nowhere by Amarrillo). She graduated from Lubbock Christian University with a degree in Education and that’s where she & Justin rekindled their romance (they were prom dates in high school). Justin also graduated from the same University with a degree in Biblical Studies/Social Work and is probably the manliest man’s man I have ever met. I love these two! They take the Gospel so literally and fearlessly (Justin was on staff at Carpenter’s Church, a church for the homeless in Lubbock, before they moved in with her parents. They also took in a friends’ daughter for a few months while she had to do jail time. real Jesus people) and they are my “token married couple” for the Race! Many of my good friends are either engaged or married so this third wheel thing is nothing to me. I am excited to see how they make their marriage work and get to know them more! Oh, and Kristan is our Finance Leader on the Race. She is an organizing QUEEN and I hope to learn a lot from her. 
There you have it… Team Rapha. My family for the next year– or as long as the WR staff decide! They warn you that there’s the potential for a team shift after the first 3-4 months. Hopefully I won’t get TOO attached.
