At the beginning of the month, a lot of changes happened. On my squad of forty people, there are six teams of six or seven people. Those teams were together for the first four months, but not for the whole Race. We had team changes before we launched into our ministry for Nepal, our fifth country, and I wanted to take the time to introduce you to the incredible people I get to serve alongside for the next four months. I’m looking forward to learning and growing from each of them as we do life together.
John Sanchez – Our fearless team leader
John is one of two people that carried over from my old team, so I get to spend the entire Race with him. His sense of humor is on point, and was even voted our Squad Class Clown during superlatives earlier this month. He’s also one of the most spiritually convicting people I have ever met, and has an uncanny ability to shut my nonsense down better than anyone else. He calls things like he sees them, and isn’t afraid to sugarcoat anything that he feels needs to be said, whether that be to the team as a whole or to individuals. Everything he says, he says with love, and our team is so much better for it. We are incredibly blessed to have a leader like him.
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Jake Ormonde– Our treasurer
Jake is the other person that I get to hang out with for the full year. He is a humble servant, and will always be the first to volunteer for anything that needs to get done. Even in situations that I know he absolutely hates, he is always patient and keeps a good attitude. He’s been sick almost every month, but you won’t ever hear him complain. Our host this month described him as both David and Goliath – the height of Goliath with the heart of David, and it’s so true. His heart for each ministry we have partnered with has been huge, and he loves everyone so well. I’m so excited to keep getting to know better him over the rest of the year.
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Caleb Dawson– Our worship coordinator
I connected with Caleb at training camp almost immediately, and I’m so glad I finally have a chance to be on a team with him. His heart for worship is incredible, and he serves our team, and our whole squad, in his role so well. He makes sure that’s how we start out each day, and that our team stays focused on what is important. I’m also thankful to have him around as someone that gets my humor better than most people. Just like I’m always trying to learn how to do, he knows when to be serious and when to laugh, which is something that every team needs a good balance of.
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Joseph Cronin
I don’t think our leadership could have found two more different people to stick together on a team than me and Joseph. We disagree a lot, but we also learn from each other through it. At the end of the day, the disagreements don’t matter, and his heart for discipleship in our ministry is a gift from God to our team. He is bold in sharing the Gospel, unashamed in sharing his testimony, and always the first to volunteer to preach when it is needed. I know I have a lot to learn from him in all of these areas, and I’m looking forward to serving with him over the next few months.
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Will Schneider
Will is another one that provides a lot of much needed humor to our team, and always knows how to make us all laugh right when we need it. He’s also incredibly passionate about discipleship and building relationships with ministry hosts, and he and Joseph make it a point to record testimonies from them each month. That kind of intentionality is what I’m looking forward to learning more of from both of them. When it comes to feedback, he’s also a straight shooter, and doesn’t hide when something is on his mind that needs to be said.
