HAVEN
Def’n: A place of safety, or refuge.
To my girls..
We did it. We completed 4 months of The World Race together. We learned how to do this crazy life in community; we celebrated every good day and pulled each other through every bad day. Now comes the time when we are separated, we each move to different teams, we learn to do The World Race with other people. You have all deeply impacted who I am and how I will walk into this next season. I love you with everything I have.
Amanda;
You are probably the fiercest woman of God I have ever met. When people say the term ‘Woman of God’ I genuinely think of you first. You have spent the past 4 months fighting for each of us in prayer. You have given hard feedback to help people grow, and you have received hard feedback and grown yourself. You have walked into freedom & forgiveness. You spend every morning deep in conversation with the Father, and studying His living word. You feel deeply and love hard. Your jokes make me laugh like no-one else can. Your ability to send a Marco Polo video (its an app if anyone is unclear) that I want to rewatch a hundred times is uncanny. You make back-peddling actions every time you say something you don’t mean (“Mum those glasses really do make you look old”). You have fought for relationships that weren’t initially easy. You have intentionally sought each one of us out. You inspire me every single day. You are a joy to be on a team with. BFFs for life. I ADORE YOU.
Rebecca;
You have fought for your growth every single day, and in the midst still find time to fight for every member of Team Haven. You are fiercely strong. You have a beautiful mind. You are the ultimate care giver. You have encouraged me to give words of affirmation, but challenged me that they aren’t always enough, that I need to be willing to act on them too. You are running after the Lord every single day, seeking to understand just a little bit more of who He is and what He says about you. You are learning your value lies only in who Christ says you are, what a beautiful thing. You love to laugh with us when we have had a day that was fun, and cry with us when we have had a day that was tough. You are loved, cherished and adored by the very one who created you, and I look forward to the day when you can understand the incredible depths of that. You are a blessing & you have taught me so much about loving people with excellence. You will leave these 11 months a new creation in Christ, I am so proud of you.
Krista;
Krista, Prisca, Prista – every version of you is my favourite. You are the deep thinker of the group, who chooses each word she says so that it has maximum impact. You are searching every corner of the Universe to get a glimpse of what the true Father looks like and how you can mirror Him better. You have helped each one of us know ourselves better (#enneagram) which has allowed you us walk into freedom and understanding. You are the ultimate bae to get pizza and watch a movie with. You grab each day with courage, even if it fills you with fear (do you know how incredibly brave you have to be to do that?). You love making time lapse videos of ant colonies eating a cookie, which makes me love you even more. You answer every single one of my ridiculous questions about the Bible and never make me feel like I should know more than I do. You teach me how to hack Kindle and get free pdf books. I can’t remember what my life was like pre-Prisca, thankfully I’ll never have to live that way again #latcher. You have taught me so much, I hope over the course of this lifetime I can repay you.
Emily;
“Hey boo”. I don’t know how I’ll wake up every morning without seeing you there drinking 4 coffees at once and reading your Bible. I also don’t know how I’ll live without your tears; whether they are angry or sad or pure joy or really anything in between. You are the most generous person I know. You chase after people to fight for them. You give away everything that you have or know freely, and without asking for anything in return. You see where you need to grow, and you work at every single day. You make me feel adored and cherished just by a kiss on the forehead. We make the ultimate mosquito killing team. We also make the ultimate grocery shopping team and high five every single time we are under budget, and you let me stop to get fried chicken pretty much every time we go to the store. You somehow carry 200lbs of luggage around to every country and even though I give you a hard time about needing to cut down, I’m secretly just really impressed you can do it. You trusted us with your deepest joys and deepest pains. Your joy is infectious. I am honoured I have had the joy of living with you ETC, you are the best.
Marge;
My number 1 from day 1. We have been best gals from the first day we were both a part of the squad and we knew Jesus loved us when he put us together on Team Haven. You are JOY in a person. You walk into a room and immediately introduce laughter and fun into any situation. But, you also can walk into a room and discern what is needed, and bring clarity and wisdom like only you can. You are spiritually GIFTED, and I cannot wait to see how that unfolds in the next 7 months, and throughout the rest of your life. When you sing, I genuinely can get a glimpse into what Heaven might sound like, you bring glory to the Father every time you say no to the enemy and stand up and worship. We one on one by eating really good Italian food and talking about our wildest dreams and desires. You love your family with everything you have, and fight for them everyday. When you pray you become extra Southern which is my favourite, “in tha name of Jay-sus, A-men”, and how I now end all of my prayers. We have plans to live in an Irish castle (you can come too Charles) and be princesses together forever and I can’t wait to spend our lives seeking the Lord together.
John 15:12-13
“This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
Love,
Chloe xo
