Along with the end of the three-month mark on the race come
the dreaded team changes. Yes, they are generally dreaded, due to a lack of
trust in God, selfish desires to stay comfortable etc. etc. For the past three
months I have been blessed with an amazing team of five people who love God and
desire to know Him more. However, we are so comfortable with one another that
we’ve struggled with helping one another accomplish this. We acknowledged the
fact that if we stayed together, God was giving us another chance to dive
deeper. Also, if we were no longer a team, then God had a different plan and
knew we needed something different.
Well, during our mini-debrief in San Jose, Costa Rica we had
amazing time of fellowship with the entire S-Squad. For three days we did the
usual . . caught up on the past month, worshipped like crazy, and laughed a
lot. One of our squad leaders, Tim, made the point that all 61 of us were
called to a SQUAD, not a TEAM. Although I soon became nervous about the
changes, I thanked God for the initial team I had been blessed with, and knew
His hand would be in the formation of the next team too. God reminded me that I
did not come here this year to be comfortable, but to be stretched.
As I am writing this, I am on a new continent and have ONE
new teammate. Ginger Larson is an amazing woman of God who brings tons to the
table, which we are excited about. I am excited about serving alongside her for
the remainder of the race and getting to know her more. My team has been
blessed with the chance to continue this experience together, with a perfect
addition to our family. We have all been blessed with another new year in which
we have the amazing opportunity to serve the Lord and bring His kingdom. Praise
God!
I ask for your prayers that we would go deeper as a team and
experience unity in huge ways. Also that we would adjust quickly to the team
change, and the continent change as well. It is crazy to think I was only with my first team for not even a third of the race, and that this is the team in which we will truly experience true community with. Without further ado, with a new
addition to our team . . we have been transformed from team Rooted, to team Raised!
Unlike with our last team name, our new name isn’t centered
around one specific verse, because it is so diverse. We are excited about
diving into what it looks like for each of us individually and how God speaks
to us about His purpose for our new team.
Check out this video made by the talented Ginger Larson, documenting our travel days and our New Year celebration. In it you will see many of my awesome squadmates, as well as our new team.
