Hellloooo Brooklyn’s supporters! Joel Larson here. This week Brooke and I decided to change things up a bit, which means I’m sabotaging her blog and letting you know all the things lil’ miss Brooke is growing in that she may not be telling you (because in case you don’t know, she’s freaking humble). But let me tell you, you made the absolute right decision in supporting Brooklyn for this trip. Team Vessel wouldn’t be at all the same without her, and she is changing lives, Y’all. Here are some of the things we love most about our Brooke.
First, Brooklyn is a natural encourager and thrives on giving words of affirmation to people. We give feedback to the team every week, and Brooke is quick to tell us the areas where the Lord is shaping us into more beautiful images of his Son Jesus. She’s also growing in the gifting of prophecy, which means the Father is actually using her in making us more like himself! Brooklyn has a sense of ceaseless wonder (as anyone who has met her knows), which means her encouragement comes from a genuine place of being amazed at the way the Spirit shows up in our lives.
My favorite time to be with Brooklyn, though, is when she’s around kids. Partly because of her childhood and partly just because of her natural gifting from the Spirit, she’s a natural at seeing the best in children and understanding where they come from. She sees herself when she looks into the eyes of a child, which means she looks so much like I image Jesus did when he told his disciples to let the little children come to him. She’s made me understand so much more than I have why God cares for children in the way he does: they’re more open to wonder and awe, in a place to become anything, and are ever so vulnerable to attack. Brooklyn gets all of this in the way she treats kids, and every time elementary school children are around, she just lights up.
Take this week, for example. Brooklyn, Connor, and I were teaching in a primary school here in Santiago, and at the end of the class a girl came up to Connor and asked for his autograph (for most of these kids, it’s the first time they’ve ever met someone from the USA, which means they’re extra excited to see us). Of course, that meant that EVERY kid in the class wanted our autograph, so 10 seconds later a mob of 30 kids is surrounding us with their notebooks and pens. A few kids came up to me, and I signed my name and maybe wrote something like, “Your class was so fun!” But a minute later, a little boy brings me a page bearing Brooklyn’s signature and a note reading, “You are full of light!” Another follows: “You are strong.”
I glanced over at Brooke out of the corner of my eye to see what’s happening, and every child that came up to her, she looked in the eye and then told them, “You are full of kindness!” “You are tender!” and so on. Every 9 or 10-year old child walked up to her, and it was like she saw something unique and beautiful inside each of them. You should have seen the way each kid’s face just lit up when Brooklyn would give them their note; it was a beautiful reminder of the way God made each of us to be his image in a slightly different way and a beautiful moment of watching the Holy Spirit pour out of Brooke.
I know you’re far away and can’t see just the impact your support of Brooklyn is really making, but from the bottom of my heart, thank you for supporting her. I can’t imagine our team or this squad without her voice and influence. Thank you for sending her to us – your investment in her is changing hearts and making more of a difference than you can imagine!
~Joel
P. S. I’m sincerely sorry if she returns to the US putting 8 scoops of sugar in her coffee. We can’t control her, please send help.
