Hello Lovely Friends and Supporters,
I have some exciting news to share with you if you didn’t catch my live video this morning! I’d like to start by saying thank you so very much for all that you all have done. I mean WOW, around this time last year I remember sitting at my dad’s desk, overwhelmed with doubt and frustration about fundraising. I was questioning The Lord about whether I should be going or not and I had almost convinced myself that I wasn’t because I was like $4,000 away from my deadline that was quickly approaching and it just didn’t seem like it was going to happen BUT then you all allowed the Lord to use you in such a mighty way of confirmation and on the day of launch I hit the amount necessary. So, thank you all for being so constant and such a huge support throughout my entire journey. Thank you for allowing me to be your hands and feet in 11-ish countries!
Some of you have already been reaching out and asking “Cristen, what do you want to do now that the race is over?” “What’s next?” “Where do you want to work?”
Well, my good friend, here is the exciting answer that I have for you:
I am Squad Leading in January!
What does that mean?
That means I will be going back on the mission field, but this time as a leader. Instead of having ministry hosts and placements like I do currently, the squad will be my ministry and I get to pour into them, love and serve them, help them grow in intimacy with the Lord, help them thrive in close community (even when circumstances suck), cast-vision, lead sessions, challenge them, and so many other things deemed necessary in different situations. So I will be bouncing around teams during the month and encouraging them in whatever way that looks like and just being there for the team leaders when they need support. It will look different from team to team.
Why?
Well you know, I have loved the World Race and my experience in it has been filled with breakthroughs, redemption, pain, forgiveness, heartache, realizations and refinement. The Lord has brought about a transformation in me that I know probably wouldn’t have happened If I stayed home. Also, this journey was impacted so positively by my leadership! I mean wow, they poured into me, challenged me and loved me in a way that encouraged me to press in when I didn’t want to. So yeah, I’m excited to be my own version of that for this squad (F squad whaddddupp)! I’m so honored to be able to do this alongside some awesome people and glean all that I can from them and from the squad. I’m excited to continue growing in leadership as I feel this is what the Lord is asking of me in this season and to just continue growing in my own personal relationship with Him!
When and How long?
I will be heading out in January again! I will be gone only for 5 months this time and will going back out 2-3 times after that to be there for what we call “debriefs” which is when the squad comes together at certain periods of the race and leadership offers sessions, relaxing and recharging time, one-on-ones, possible team changes, encouragement, vision casting, and a vast array of other things!
Is this free?
Great question! The answer is no. As Adventures in Missions is a Not-for-Profit organization, many of the positions require their staff to raise the majority of the expenses that will be incurred for traveling with squads, and squad leading falls under that. So I do have to raise funds for travel, lodging, food, and local transportation just like I did for the current race I’m in. Except for this I only have to raise $3500 for the first five months then $1500 for each debrief so a total of $6500. Which is significantly less than this one and I know that if the Lord is calling me to this, then the funds will come. Honestly, I’ve really struggled with this the past few days because I am at home for such a short time and I want to be able to spend my time wisely by focusing on my family and having conversations with supporters (that being said I would love to chat with any of you that are interested when I get home, I love face to face conversation! So please reach out to me if you wanna set up a coffee date or a lunchy time! I’d love to hear about your past year just as much as I want to share about mine) as much as I possibly can. Last, year Fundraising took up so much of my time and I don’t feel like that’s something I have BUT I know that the Lord knows exactly what I need and I know He knows exactly how and who He’s going to use to make it happen.
If you feel so Lead please go click that pretty donate button and add some green color to my bar. I’m currently sitting on $0 raised towards going back out on the field and would love for that to change. I’m also praying for some monthly donors this go around so if you can pledge to $10, $25, $50 or even $100 a month please click that option when you’re putting in your information.
I love you all and I’m so excited for this next chapter and very sad but in awe of this one that’s coming to a close. I don’t know how to thank you for all that you have done. I never can or will be able to say it enough so I hope you know how grateful I am for all of you. Every single one of ya!
