My Legos, My Sisters

Today for the first time I realized that I only have a week left with my Lego´s before we leave the race and head our separate ways.

A year ago when AIM announced our teams, I was horribly  disappointed. In fact, I looked at my new team, and fell on the floor and started crying. I didn´t know how I would ever learn to love these people that were so different than me.

Now it is hard to imagine what my life was like before I new these crazy people.

Here are a few thoughts on each of my Lego´s…

 

Heather and I jumped off part of Victoria Falls together, and then we swam to a rock at the lip of the falls, and watched the water falling six inches next to us. Heather swears that this really wasn´t that dangerous, but some of out teammates saw this from the other side of the falls, and were so worried that the stupid people on the other side of the falls were going to die that when they found out it was us, they became livid. in fact, to this day we can´t really talk about this event without arguing. The point is that sitting on the edge of the falls with the power of the water rushing next to me was the most amazing experience of my life. I have never thought that the Lord was so big and so powerful as I did in that moment, and I would have never experienced that with out Heather yelling for me to jump. Here is the thing, I don´t think anyone else in the world could have talked me into jumping. Heather is analytical like I am, and together she and I can probably talk each other into anything. I love talking to her because she can see through my fear and excuses, and push me to keep on going.

 

Christy and I spent sun up to sun down together at Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia. That was the day that a spider bit my foot. This is the same spider that two days latter had my foot so swollen that I limped my feverish body across the Thai border and straight to a doctor in Bangkok. But the day we were at Angkor Wat, Christy had me laughing all day. Sometimes I would tell her that my foot really hurt, and that I was going to blame her if it fell off. She would just laugh so hard that both of us would have to stop and catch our breath. Here is the thing about Christy, no matter how bad things are she makes you want to keep going, and she´ll keep you going laughing. Christy is the person that I wake up in the middle of the night when I have had a nightmare and I need someone to pray for me. She is the person who I crawl into bed with when the rats get to loud, and she is the person I like to pick play fights with when I just need to feel loved.

 

I can´t pick one story about Tamara because most of the race, I have attached myself to her hip. Tamara is the gooiest person in the world. You can be sitting at dinner, and look across the table, and with one look she can make you laugh until you cry. Dur ring Thank giving in China, we had an improve Thanksgiving Pageant, Tamara played the ¨”green bean of thanksgiving past” (or something like that, I am sure my fellow racers will correct me here.) Either way, she waddled around in a giant green sleeping bag, and had me convinced that she belonged in the new food pyramid diagram. The other thing about Tamara is that she has the sweetest heart in the world. I talk through everything with her. She always provides understanding, and a lot of times just talking to her brings about healing. I never feel crazy when I talk to her, even when I am an emotional mess. Tamara doesn´t always see in herself how much the Lord uses her. People all around the world love her, and I m pretty sure that she isn´t done with the mission field yet.

 

One my favorite moment with Courtney was when were on a bus going back to South Africa from Botswana. At this point we had been traveling for two days, we had been riding through the Kalahari dessert for about 10 hours, there were large women with things on their heads on the aisles pushing into our seats, and we both started crying. I don´t really know what we were crying about- we were hot and tired, felt like freaks, were wondering what in the world we had signed up for. That is when my heart connected with Courtney. Court and I both like to take care of people.  We call Courtney “Mama Courtney” because sometimes she acts like our mommy when we need one. Courtney is always the first one to sacrifice what she wants and needs to serve the rest of us. Courtney and I have done food together all year, between the two of us we can feed anyone anytime any place. But  I think there would have been times our team wouldn´t have eaten if the responsibility was just up to me. Many times I was just too tired and I felt like nothing I did was good enough. During these times, Court would just put her hand on my back, and say,  “I know it is hard, but we can do it.” I have learned a lot about being a servant from Courtney, and I hope I can learn to be as selfless as she is.

 

Brady reminds me that this world isn´t about flesh and blood and what we see with our eyes, but instead it is about the Lord and spiritual realities that you can´t always see. A couple of weeks ago, Brady and I talked about how a lot of times this year we have seen our friendship attacked my Satan. We wondered together why this was true for us, and I think the bottom line is because Brady makes me believe that the Lord can use me to do anything, even raise dead people. Back in Thailand, I felt like I had hit a wall, and I couldn´t break it down on my own, but when Brady prayed for me, I felt like we were running through the wall together. I just see her as a great offensive player in the Kingdom, she isn´t afraid to push forward. Just watching her life has taught me a lot about living without fear. One of my favorite ministry experiences with Brady was visiting our friends that lived in the underground tunnel in Shanghai. She and I sold squishy balls, taught English, and she played worship songs with her guitar down there. I don´t think that there are many experiences that are cooler than that.

 

What I love most about my team is that they will encourage you to anything the Lord lays on your heart. You can say,¨”I know we are in the middle of race day, and this is going to delay us, but I would like to buy food for that beggar and pray for him.” My team would say, “Do you have money? Do you want us to go with you.”

 

Sometimes I feel like this has been a rough race. I feel like I walked through the fire, and sometimes what came out of me was ugly. Through it all my Lego´s loved me, listened to me, wiped my tears, and told me to keep on going. I wouldn´t have been able to finish this race without them.

I have had the privilege to spend this last year with some of the most adventures, funniest, giving, godly people in the world. And I would be lying if I said that the thought of leaving them doesn´t break my heart. I am so grateful for teammates that I can  not only call friends, but sisters.