Last month for our There Here Path (a path for us to follow to get closer to our end goal of living what we believe) we are writing appreciation blogs for our teammates. It was our last month as Team Torch and I left them a little early for Training Camp so I got a little behind. I hope you all take the time to read about each one of these amazing people I have doing living life with!
In each blog I will share 11 things about my teammates:
- Fun fact about us
- The ministry she thrives in
- The hairstyle she rocks the most
- The spiritual gift I see her walking in the most
- Her Disney Princess
- A ministry memory
- The personality “quirk” that I love the most
- Where I have seen her grow the most
- How she has helped me grow
- Her signature dance move
- The word God gave me when I asked Him who she is
For this blog I will share with you about my Teammate Shelby Kaplan!!
1. Fun fact about us
Shelby and I are not really big planners but sometimes we just decide to do things together and hope it works out. We did this in Colombia with going to the gondolas and then more than half the squad ended up joining us and we even had the plan again for Portugal that we would walk together and do the whole thing even if no one else wanted to, but it turns out a lot of people want to walk the whole way again! Plus, I won’t be with them when they begin walking since I will be at Training Camp!
2. The ministry she thrives in
CHILDREN! Shelby is a superhero when it comes to kids! Unlike the rest of the world, being crazy and spending a whole day with kids makes Shelby feel more energized! She knows how to get goofy and talk to them at their level, meeting them where they are.
3. The hairstyle she rocks the most
This one took me a second to realize it was simply the half up, half down look and that’s it. Shelby loves her hair at least partly down but has pulled it all back once and rocks that look just as much as her “with a little hair down” looks too!
4. The spiritual gift I see her walking in the most
Discernment of spirits! I still remember when we first began the discovery of this in Colombia but Shelby has really stepped into this gifting. It is not always what she wants for herself but her ability to physically feel Spiritual warfare is a beautiful gift from the Father that she will continue to use in changing nations!!
5. Her Disney Princess
Is Snow White, and she wants it to change but I see this as her so it’s the one I am using. Snow White is friendly with everyone! Shelby sings pretty frequently, especially while working and Snow White whistles. The way Snow White takes care of the dwarves is how Shelby takes care of everyone, Snow White loves how Shelby loves. In all honesty Shelby shows her love MORE than Snow White. And that is why Shelby IS Snow White!
6. A ministry memory
Shelby tends to get stir crazy after about five seconds alone inside. So on our off times she likes to still go out and find people. In Rwanda the family that we lived with helped her a lot by being around. One day they were gone so Shelby, Sarah, and I went on a walk to get out of the compound but also maybe to pray for people. We ended up playing with local kids and doing tons of cartwheels. It was one of those moments when ministry wasn’t “planned” but it happened anyway!
7. The personality “quirk” that I love the most
Shelby is an accidental thief. She tends to just pick things up that are similar to hers and just kind of go with it. One day she put on Kylie’s black pants and didn’t notice, even though hers have a hole and pockets and kylie’s did not! It’s one of those things we all now know and it’s quite funny to watch these situations play out!
8. Where I have seen her grow the most
Shelby has grown so much in her confidence in the authentic person she is! She has become so vulnerable with our team and shared deep parts of herself and is confident in doing so!
9. How she has helped me grow
Shelby has helped me find myself and find specific parts of myself that I didn’t know were hidden. She drew parts of me out of myself in ways I didn’t see in the moment but now in reflection I see how being on a team with her has definitely made me so much more confident!
10. Her signature dance move
Shelby loves to dance in so many ways that this one is hard to answer so I will just say sleeping. This girl has the gift of being able to sleep pretty much anywhere!
11. The word God gave me when I asked Him who she is
Tender
Love you Shelby!!
