One of the parts of the World Race I am most excited about is feedback time. When we are all living with one purpose and mission, we need to be able to say the hard stuff for the benefit of our team members. I know that sounds weird that I am excited about it I don’t think we give enough feedback today and we definitely don’t do it well. Giving feedback is something I want to grow in and use after the World Race as well. Feedback is speaking into the person’s character. It is not behavior-based such as, “You did an awesome job cleaning up the camp.” It’s character-based such as, “You are an amazing servant of the Lord. You humbly serve everyone you feel led to serve and it shows them how much you love them.” It’s an observation you have made about the person, sharing the example you have, and then making a suggestion if there is something that could have been done differently.
For example, the speaker teaching on feedback shared with us a time when he was on the race when he drove a little recklessly with his whole team as passengers in the van. It scared one of his teammates to where she shared with him her concerns and irritations, in a dramatic way. His response was to say okay and to not really let her words sink in. However, his wife wanted to give the feedback in a more uplifting way. She said, “I know how awesome of a leader you are and that you want to protect all of us. You’re a protector. You’re wise in your decisions to keep us safe. I feel like you did not uphold who you are in your decision to drive recklessly today.” She called out WHO He is and called him to a higher calling than who he showed himself to be in that specific situation. She didn’t spend time talking about who he wasn’t. She spent time talking about who he was. It made him want to be better.
When we were given the feedback talk at training camp, Ephesians 4 was the main scripture used. “Let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil… Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear…Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God is Christ forgave you.” This is the love that Jesus says will show the world that we are His disciples.
I think that the community I am surrounded with right now loves me extremely well but I think I have gotten comfortable in the things God wants to refine me in. God has taken me through a lot of refining the past few years and I’m sad to say that I have responded with a lot of resistance. I could have been refined so much more if I would have just let Him.
One day, I asked my best friend if she thinks I have gotten comfortable and she said yes without any hesitation. She reminded me that I felt God calling me to foreign missions several years ago and I have ignored that calling. That I am not walking into the destiny God has for me. I tried to rationalize that for a little while. But once I started to seriously pray about the World Race again, God made it as clear as anything before in my life that He was leading me to the World Race. That started with someone who cared enough about me to not let me be comfortable, and I am excited to spend the next year with people who are not afraid to do the same thing.
These are the people on my specific team in month one in India, who will be seeing all my sin and calling me to someone better by speaking into who I am:
Bekah is that girl who everyone strives to be more like honestly. I never heard her complain a single time so I think our whole team can learn a lot from her. She sees everything in a positive light and is always focused on others. She truly walks with the peace of the Holy Spirit.
Emmy is someone who I spent a lot of time with at training camp because I was just naturally drawn to her. She’s an amazing listener and is extremely empathetic. She loves others well.
Katie provides the enthusiasm and excitement our team needs. She is super inviting and welcoming. I always feel included when I am around her. She is always making me laugh and is an awesome encourager.
Kim’s mind is always working. She is very wise, a natural born leader, and very bold. I truly loved being around her at training camp. She puts off the light of Jesus everywhere she goes and I just like feeding off the joy of the Lord she emits. I can physically see the Joy of the Lord she has in every word she speaks and every action she makes.
Kyle is one of the most friendly people I know. He made such an effort to get everyone on our squad. He makes everyone around him feel so comfortable. He has a heart for medical missions and is not afraid of any hard work that it will take to get him to where He sees God calling Him. He is a visionary. He hears from God so well. He is also constantly learning which I love.
Luke just passed his nursing exam!! Yeah Luke! I had the chance to lead an event with Luke at training camp and I felt like I learned so much from him in just those few hours. He has such a gentle and kind spirit. He wants everyone to have a role and knows that everyone has a role in the Body of Christ. He never sees himself as better than anyone else. He is very humble and patient. He also loves to have fun and loves people.
