Last night my young adult's group (what UP, embArk!) did an exercise in thankfulness, listing out what we were individually thankful for and later telling each person in our small group why we were thankful for them. In continuing that same heart, I want to re-do my introduction of my serving team. These 6 other men and women of God have already been such a blessing to me. I know the Lord has put us together to sharpen each other, speak life into each other's broken places, and to really learn what it means to love someone the way God intended (which I'm sure will be even more apparent when we've gone weeks without showering).
This woman brings joy! She is a lighthouse for the lost, and her heart is seriously huge. Megan has vulnerability coupled with strength and I am excited to go deep with her!
Megan's laughter is contagious. One late evening at training camp, i was washing up in the restroom and Megan was on the phone discussing chiggers. What the heck are chiggers?!?! Apparently little bugs that crawl under your skin and nest there (get me back to San Francisco, already!). And even though I was completely horrified as I inspected all my bug bites for signs of life, Megan's gorgeous laughter rang around me and made everything seem less terrible. On an entirely unrelated note, Megan's tattoos are badass.
Emmaly burns with desire for the Lord and it is so apparent to those around her. Her freedom in Jesus is contagious–she is going to seriously shake this world with it! Her sweetness is easily apparent, but take a closer look and you will see how bold she is for Christ. This woman is easy to love.
After one of the team formation exercises, I was really beating myself up for my performance. I totally had the accuser's voice in my head reminding me of all the times I had ever dismissed other people's voices and how I've led using aggression rather than love in the past. As I voiced some of these concerns aloud, Emmaly spoke so much peace and encouragement over me. I loved that her words weren't just fluff to build me up, but that her insight contained boldness and truth. She really knows how to call destiny out of people and has such a heart for honoring others. There's no faking it around her!
Jacob Mc'Laugh'erty is aptly named, because the man has JOKES! He is a delight to be around, and is such a steady man of God. Even now I can see him being shaped into a pillar of strength believers can rally around to get pointed towards Jesus. All Jake does is glorify God!
Jacob is God's miracle and a testament that He is alive and working in power today. He has been wearing hearing aids since the 1st grade, and was about 50% deaf in both ears. One night our entire squad bum-rushed him after the speaker told us to worship Jesus however we felt led, and we all pressed in so hard for Jacob's hearing to be healed. During this time of prayer, God was really challenging my faith. Every time I doubted that anything could really happen, I could hear God saying, "Do you believe that I am who I say I am or don't you? Yes, or no? Yes, or no?" And every time He asked me, my spirit lept up within me and said, "YES!!!" It was a beautiful way for my faith to be stretched. Now, God's worthiness is not changed by the outcome of miracles, but if you're curious in how the evening ended, watch this video:
This is a man I gladly follow. I respect how eagerly he pursues the things of God. He is always thinking of how to best spur our team onward; and it is such an encouragement to have a leader that selflessly loves and selflessly leads.
One evening as a squad, we opened up the room for the Holy Spirit to move in whatever way He wished. I had released a word about womanhood earlier that morning to our squad women, and ever since then had felt so attacked in the validity of my ministry. I kept being reminded of all the times I had cursed ministry and leadership after I had left the church, and I felt like my ministry was one of death and hypocrisy. While I was struggling through these accusations, Michael came over and began to pray for me. Partway through his prayers, he got down on his knees and covered my feet with his hands and laid his head between them. Note that I had not showered for about 3 days and had been walking through Georgia dirt, mud, lake water, Deet, etc. in sandals. My feet were disgusting! But this man stayed down there, not caring that he was touching filth. When he finally got up, not only was I strengthened by his prayers but I also knew that I could follow a leader that served like that.
Stephanie is beautiful! And she is real! Jesus gave this one a special heart for people, especially awkward people (she's a middle school teacher!). In all seriousness, she is a majestic woman of God and moves in beauty and power.
Stephanie is another testimony of God's healing power and abundant grace. She woke up on the 2nd day of training camp with a painfully red eye which was later inspected by one of our squadmates with medical training and determined as a scratched cornea. The woman had an eyepatch on, for goodness sake! This was really our first rally as a squad as we prayed for her healing. There were still 6 days of training camp to go and we were in the middle of nowhere (Just kidding, it was White, Georgia. Find that on a map, I dare you.)! Well, we asked God to show up and He did. The next morning, Stephanie's eye was completely healed! I would also like to take this time to point out on Team Hebron we are 2 down, 4 to go for Matthew 11:5, "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor."
Amy is a powerhouse. She will rock your world! The Lord has given her so much wisdom, and also a humble heart to receive it. She is definitely one that reminds me of Proberbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Amy has the ability to refine and I am so excited to work so intimately with her.
After teams were announced, we were tasked to come up with a team name. Names are prophetic, so we were encouraged to pick a team name that we could grow into and fulfill. During our discussion, Amy was bold in voicing her thoughts and wasn't afraid to go against the grain. Sometimes it's easy to go along with what the majority wants, and it is a hard thing to be the voice of dissent. I appreciated Amy's voice because it caused me to further examine my own thoughts and opinions, it caused me to really seek what the Lord was saying harder. Although this was a small incident that really didn't hold that much tension, it challenged me to be knowledgable about what the Word says and to practice boldness. Amy called out refinement in me that evening, and it was good!
So there you have it, my official (re-)introduction for Team Hebron with some Training Camp snippets. These people have my heart and I am proud to call them family. You can click on any of their names or photos to get to their websites, and you can adopt our team in prayer (we need it!) by signing up at this link: http://www.theworldrace.org/?tab=teams&subtab=adopt-a-team&whichteam=Hebron
