For months I’ve been praying for an anonymous group of people, asking that the Lord would provide very specific things within my World Race team. And now I can look into the faces of five specific people with confidence in the Lord’s willingness to answer my prayers and meet the needs of my heart. Without further ado, allow me to introduce you to the people that will soon become my family: Team R.O.A.R (Rivers of Abundant Reconciliation)! Click their names to visit their blogs.
(L to R: Josh, me, Chaney, Emily, Jordynn, Jonathan)
This is our fearless team leader! Jonathan is twenty-five and is a fellow Texan from Dallas. He spent four months in Africa a few years ago, and that experience clearly transformed the trajectory of his life today. He’s passionate about photography/videography and doing ministry through soccer. He and I are excited about jamming out together on the guitar throughout the year. Be sure to visit his blog because he'll come up with some great videos.
Jordynn is hysterical and I’m constantly laughing and giggling when I’m with her. She spoke a powerful prophecy over me at Training Camp, and since then we’ve bonded on a deeper level. She’s twenty-four, from Florida, and has worked in the fashion industry for several years. I’m so excited to see her unique skills be used for the Kingdom throughout next year.
Emily is twenty years old and hails from North Carolina. She’s currently in cosmetology school, and this girl has the heart and mind of an artist. She’s calm and reserved a lot of the time, but I can tell she’s got a whit that will keep us on our toes. I’m also excited to see how the Lord will use her specific artistic talents and skills this year.
Josh is twenty-four and recently worked as an assistant manager at Chase Bank. Naturally, he will be in charge of our team’s finances. Josh has the most incredible affection for the Lord’s people, especially those afflicted by poverty and oppression. His passion for the nation of Haiti comes directly from the Lord. I’m psyched about watching Josh experience more brokenness for the world throughout the year and I’m hoping to learn a lot from him.
Chaney is twenty-one (soon to be twenty-two) and is finishing up school at Appalachian State University. She’s a tri-athlete and I’m excited about trying to keep up with her work-outs next year. Chaney also has a remarkable willingness to be vulnerable. She doesn’t restrict areas of her heart for only a few to see, but instead she embraces a spirit of honesty and is willing to share her real, raw emotions. We seem to have a lot in common, so I’m excited about sharing life and learning from her next year!
Team R.O.A.R. at squad wars
It’s extraordinary, really, how quickly I have come to love these five people. There’s no explanation for it other than the Lord took his love and compassion for them and injected it right into my heart. I genuinely feel safe – emotionally, spiritually, and physically – with each of these people. Their vulnerability, honesty, and enthusiasm is inspiring and exciting. I’m not naïve enough to believe that my time with them will always be happy and easy, but I’m confident enough to say that this team will bring me great joy and growth as we live in community together for a year. We will see and experience things that will cause great sorrow, hardship, and struggle in our minds and souls. But we will also experience triumph and victory, freedom, and joy.
The meaning of our team name derives from 2 Corinthians 5:18-19, which says:
“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.” (NLT)
Our team vision is that we would claim this identity and calling as ambassadors of Christ who will participate in a ministry of reconciliation. Like rivers, we will flood into the nations and bring back life into dry, desolate places. We will overflow with Christ’s love and grace, and Christ will flow into us to restore the dehydrated and thirsty places of our own souls.
Please join me in prayer for Team R.O.A.R. as we spend the next two months getting ready for a year abroad.
Check out this video for some clips from Training Camp and an introduction to Team R.O.A.R.!
