Alrighty friends and fam, meet some of my new friends and fam!
This is N squad.
These are the 55 beyond incredible people that God has called to travel country to country together at this exact time for a purpose far greater than we can even comprehend.
“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:26-27
Together we will learn to live out the Greatest Commandment and the Great Commission, not just for this year, but for the rest of our lives.
“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” Matthew 22:37-40
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” Matthew 28:18-20
These are my iron rods – my brothers and sisters, who are making me more like Christ. We will not ignore conflict or allow each other to sweep our issues under a rug; rather, we are committing to lives of authentic community as modeled by Jesus and his disciples.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:15-16
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This is team WILDroots.
These are the precious and beautiful women God has chosen for me to live with, work with, love with, celebrate with, cry with, and ultimately pursue the cross with.
We chose the team name “WILDroots” for a few reasons. WILD stands for four attributes we aim to embody:
W- worship. God deserves and desires all our praise, attention, and affection; we don’t want to withhold any of that from him. We want to be a team whose every heartbeat praises our Savior and King.
“Praise the Lord. Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.” Psalm 113:1-3
I- intentionality. The Race is going to be incredibly challenging, tiring, and draining. It is going to be so easy and tempting to mentally clock out of ministry simply because we walk out of the building, area, or place we are assigned to “do ministry” in. However, we desire to be mission-minded, always intentional, not missing a single opportunity, conversation, or person that God has for us, recognizing that God’s hand and work is never confined to a labeled space.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives…” Isaiah 61:1
L- love. I’m just gonna hand this one over to Paul.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I have to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
D- dependence. We cannot live or love by our own strength, resources, patience, or power. It has got to be God who we are depending on to provide our EVERYTHING.
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothes?… But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:25,33
In addition to desiring to be WILD, we recognize that our roots must be planted in the right soil in order than we may bear good, eternal, life-changing fruit. The minute we step outside of the Spirit, we miss what God is doing and our attention drifts back to ourselves.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control… Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” Galatians 5:22-26
We want to be women whose foundations are 100% fully rooted in the love, grace, strength, power, and forgiveness of the Father. We were inspired by Jeremiah 17:7-8.
“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8
Meet these rockstars!
To my right is Omayra Caban!
Omayra is 23 (almost 24!), and she is from Palm Bay, FL. She graduated from UCF with a Bachelor’s in Human Communication. Upon graduation, she was looking for long term mission trips, found the World Race, and is now on my team!!!!
I asked her what she is most looking forward to about this year, and she replied, “I’m looking forward to learning about different ways people serve the Lord and helping be a part of bringing God’s love and mercy and passion and purpose to people I meet and to those I already know!”
Check out her sweet self: omayracaban.theworldrace.org
Just below me is Bekah Jackson, our fearless leader!
Beks is 22 years old, and from Sanford, NC! She just graduated from Clemson University with a degree in language and international trade, and has spent this summer coaching gymnastics (she is gonna teach me some skills on the race; so look out) and serving as the youth intern at her church!
When asked what she is most excited about on the race, her response was, “I am really excited to see how people worship in each of these countries, because we so often put God in a box, but it is the same God we worship here, and I think it is such a powerful and beautiful thing to experience Him in a much bigger way. I am also really excited to just be a part of the communities we will be in and to get to know the people and culture. I am pumped to learn how to live in community, to be filled with more of Jesus, and for all the Lord is doing and has in store for us on this journey.”
Check her out too: bekahjackson.theworldrace.org
Below me to Bekah’s left is Samantha Cook, one of our squad storytellers (she’s a super gifted writer)!
Sam is 24 years old and originally from Roseville, Minnesota, but has spent the past couple of years living near Jackson, Wyoming, working on a dude ranch as a wrangler (basically she rides horses through the mountains and gets paid. Best job ever.)
Here is Sam’s response to what she’s most looking forward to: “The thing I’m most looking forward to on the race is the opportunity to see and experience so many different people groups and cultures. Each new place and ministry will be so unique and special and I can’t wait to see how the Lord surprises us with each one!”
Please read her “Things that matter, things that don’t” post! Its bomb: samanthacook.theworldrace.org
To the left of Sam is Brooke Morton, our team treasurer (and anointed chef)!
Brooke is 22, and she’s from Lewisburg, TN. Brooke graduated this year with a bachelor’s in psychology, and has been teaching Bible in partnership with Emerald Youth Foundation.
When Brooke was asked what she was most looking forward to, this is what she said: “I’m most excited about experiencing God’s unique creations through the diverse cultures that we’ll experience. I love how differently he created all of His people! I’m also excited to dip my toes into several different types of ministry since I don’t have concrete post-WR plans.” Also, Brooke killed a pig with a machete on a mission internship to Tanzania in 2014, so there’s that.
Visit her beautiful blog: brookemorton.theworldrace.org
And finally on the far right is Meredith Shaddix, our squad worship coordinator!
Mere is 25 years old and is from Marietta, GA. She has wanted to go on the Race for five years now, and she’s spent the past year in Pennsylvania with a mentor, seeing another half of the country, really getting filled up before she goes and pours out.
When asked what she is most looking forward to on the Race, I got this beautiful answer: “What I am most looking forward to is intimacy with The Father and encountering Him in new ways while I step into His heart for the world. Like the dad building a fence, you know? He could do it a lot faster by itself, probably a lot better by Himself too. But He lets us climb into His lap and helps us hold the screwdriver so we get to be a part of what He’s doing. Ugh it’s so beautiful. I love him so much.” That’s such a beautiful picture of what we are going to do in his kingdom with him!
Learn more from her: meredithshaddix.theworldrace.org
It is my hearts desire that y’all come to know, love and learn from these women just as I already am and will certainly continue to! I would love for y’all to follow their blogs as well and pray for them as you do me. We are one team, one body, and one family in Christ. Thank you for them, Father!
