To my teammates:
Over this journey I have been on a all girls team of 6 and a coed team of 6.
Heres a thank you to them all.
THE SEEKERS
KEIA…
From day one you have been my rock through the good, the bad, the tears, and the laughter. I haven’t spent a moment without you and my race was your race aswell. You have been on all my teams and all my ministries and have a become the sister I never had before. Thank you for teaching me how to love sacrificially. Thank you for teaching me how to stay firm in myself and what I know to be right. Thank you for guiding me. Thank you for laughing with me and making me do all the crazy things no one else was willing to do. Thank you for sitting with me as I have cried or lifting me higher as I was laughing. Thank you for showing me how a leader is suppose to look and for backing me up when I felt like I was failing. Thank you for putting up with my scattered and hectic money keeping and not judging me when I never learned how to do it properly. Keia dawn thank you for always being the calm in the storm and a light I could turn to. Keia dawn thank you for calling me higher when I was drifting away. Thank you for throwing snakes in my bed or getting a spontaneous tattoo with me. Chica you are my ride or die and I can’t imagine this race without you my dear sister. In the dark and the light you were there. In 7 days we will separate and distance will creep in… but i know our friendship is true and you will always be there when I need you. I love you my dear keia.
BROOKE…
With a laughter like no other and a heart made to change this world… you are easily one of my closest friends. Thank you for making me laugh when I am running around with my head cut off and I am stressed. Thank you for being a friend that is down for absolutely any adventure. Thank you for hiding with me when we both are overwhelmed. Thank you for being the person I look for when we both are in a stressful situation. Thank you for being someone I can vent too. Thank you for being someone that never takes life too seriously and someone who taught me what it looks like to enjoy life and live it to the fullest. Thank you for showing me how even when changes happen, a friendship can still remain. Thank you for teaching me how to be confident with who I am and for being a friend I look for and seek out in every opportunity. I love you brookie and in 7 days I know you are going to go home and shed so much love onto your community back home… because thats what you have done this entire time being here on the race and its been the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
SAMI…
Samantha Ellen words can’t even express what I want to say to you. You have shown me what it looks like to be so different than someone… yet so the same… and how that can create such a special bond. We have had our fair share of frustrating moments but I always find myself running back to you. I love you. Thank you for showing me what it looks like to be carefree. Thank you for showing me what it looks like to be firm and what it looks like to stand your ground. Thank you for being a person I can come to with anything and I know you will listen and be honest with me. Thank you for being my dance buddy and my church clap dance partner. Thank you for be spontaneous with me and for always bringing energy everywhere you go. You have a spirit of joy that radiates out of you. Thank you for sitting with me as I freak out or making me laugh when I want to cry. Thank you for being a sister to me in the good bad and ugly. Thank you for teaching me how to be strong. Thank you for being a person I can always count on… even a million years from now. I love you sam. Ahhh. I love you.
KENDALL…
Kendall my dear… wow. You are different. You are loved. You are so so very kind. You have a heart of gold and a passion unlike anyone I have ever met. Thank you for teaching me what it looks like to be still before the lord. Thank you for showing me what it looks like to be bold when the world around you doesn’t approve. Thank you for teaching me what loving deeply looks like. Thank you for letting me into your world and making a special place for me. Thank you for never changing who you are and for continually never wavering. You are so beautiful. Thank you for being someone I can count on to be there for me when I need someone and for being someone I can sit in silence with for hours and hours. You are gentle and kind but also bold and brave. I Love you my sweet Kendall. Thank you for being who you are and showing me that I am beautiful just the way I am too.
EMMA…
Holy chipotle you are a crazy woman. I love your spunk and your drive. You are so determined and so willing to do just about anything. Nothing can stop you and I love that about you. Thank you for letting me know that it is okay to be a different racer than most. Thank you for being bold and in return allowing me to learn from you. Thank you for all the blunt and needed advice you would always give me. Thank you for loving on children more than anyone I have ever met and in return making me have more of a drive to do so… especially on those hot days in India. Thank you for having enough energy to fill up any room you walk into and always being a source of laughter and uplifting vibes. Thank you for never backing down, always standing up for others, never changing, always loving, and being a light… even from miles and miles away. I love you dear Emma. You are more loved than I think you will ever know. :))) miss you!
D.I.V.A.S.
KEIA…
(Look up above)
TARA…
I have never met someone so capable and willing to love in my entire life. You give and give and give and when you can’t anymore you just keep on giving. Thank you for being someone I can go to without judgement. Thank you for setting aside anything and everything to just sit with me or give me what I needed in that moment. Thank you for buying me flowers when I have had a bad day. Thank you for tending to me when I have been sick. Thank you for giving me massages when I was hurting. Thank you for speaking my mind when I didn’t want too. Thank you for never judging me when I got little to weird and crazy on all of those crazy African nights. Thank you for being someone I literally can always count on and for being someone I can depend on and someone that is 100% reliable. Thank you for forgiving me when I have hurt you. Thank you for never leaving me and for always putting me first… even when it probably should have been the other way around half the time. Thank you for being tender hearted and not afraid to say how you feel. Thank you for being the friend I can walk up too and just look at and I will know you will understand everything without me having to say a word. I love you ya crazy girl and I don’t want to lose you… and I know I never will… ahhh. Love you.
ROD…
I think you are one of the coolest people. You walk with humility and with trust and boldness. You are confident and you are so kind. You are caring and you are compassionate. Thank you for opening up to me and telling me all the things you never thought you would say before. Thank you for trusting me and allowing me to trust you too. Thank you for sitting with me as I have cried, vented, laughed, or just wanted to tell you a simple story. Thank you for letting me throw all my problems at you and expecting you to fix them for me… and you usually did. Thank you for being my treasurer buddy. Thank you for taking my feelings into account and not roasting me in feedbacks. Thank you for always making sure I didn’t get hit by a car crossing the street. Thank you for always making sure I was okay, and if I wasn’t, always making sure you tried to help in some way. Thank you for opening up your heart to me and becoming a brother to me. Thank you for banging my head against a wall and throwing me off the bed and making me think I had a mild concussion (dont worry everyone… I am okay and alive and happy). Thank you for holding me as I have cried. Thank you for caring about me. Thank you for being my brother. Thank you for all the jokes I still don’t understand. Thank you for pushing me to grow. Thank you for loving me so well…I miss you… See ya later rod 🙂
LUKE…
You are a crazy dude. At first you scared me … and then you still scared me… and then I saw you as someone that genuinely loves and loves so deeply. Thank you for being kind to me when you probably didn’t want too. Thank you for being someone of character that I see so clearly. Thank you for never pushing your jokes too far with me and knowing that I am a feeler and my emotions run high. Thank you for always being a source of laughter and energy. Thank you for always sharing the wisdom that you have and never hesitating to help others with your advice and insights. Thank you for continually pouring out to me even from miles away. Thank you for being a friend to me, even in our differences. Thank you for showing me what it looks like to be courageous and what it looks like to follow the lord completely. You have a huge heart and I see that in the way you pour it out to everyone you are around. I miss you Luke, and I can’t wait to see you again soon. Keep being your crazy self.
NICK…
Wow I have so much I could say. You are a crazy person and I see so much life in you. You carry a crazy amount of compassion and true care for people and it shows in every interaction you have with the people you briefly meet and in the people you spend a lot of time with. Thank you for always extending yourself out to me if I need help or advice or love or guidance or anything at all. Thank you for being you and never changing… showing me that its okay to be who I am too. Thank you for pushing through the hard times and sticking this out because I have needed your steadiness more than you realize. Thank you for being a man of intentionality and for being someone that has a solid foundation and a solid head on his shoulders. Thank you for being someone that is willing to work and willing to do anything for anyone at any given time. I love the way to are selfless in almost any and every situation… even when you need to be poured into too. Thank you for not killing me when I had 30 espresso beans and you were trapped in an uber with me for an hour. Thank you for your heart and being willing to share it with me. You are someone I really look up to and admire. Never change… never ever change.
Thank you to my brothers and sisters. I love you all.
(i will be home in 7 days my fellow supporters! be praying. more blogs to come)
