If I were to describe my squad for next year in a word, it would be family.
The term ‘family’ can mean various things for a variety of people. & my perception of family & Kingdom family means something completely different to most of my friends.
I personally define kingdom family as people who come together, who support, encourage, & journey alongside in life together with Abba at the centre. People who are family relentlessly love one another just as Jesus loves them. Family values the strengths in others & celebrates diversity, knowing it ultimately makes the community stronger. Family values truth. Family sees the worth in pursuing ‘upgrade’ moments in one another, calling one another up into the fullness of their identity & potential of their Kingdom calling. & family intentionally communicates constructive feedback & values the importance of open communication.
My teammates define family as empowered & celebrated individuals who come together as one body living for & with God; no part of the body more important or more valued than another. It means unconditionally loving each other through Christ who first loved us. It’s about being a ‘shield brother’ or ‘shield sister’ in the Kingdom (s/o to you, Bro Caro), who back one another in trenches of battle, as well as in joyful moments. It’s about stepping into a place of vulnerability & trusting others, knowing they are there to journey alongside you, & push you further & deeper into intimacy with our father, Abba.
The underlying definition of ‘family’ in hebrew means to join. It’s to join where each person serves through undertaking a specific function, keeping the family joined together. & that’s exactly why my squad & my leadership team are family.
C squad, we’re family. We’re a machine working in unity (s/o to Ashes’ vision for us). A force to be reckoned with, with everyone playing their part. Without one of us, we can’t operate properly (even y’all pursuing Kingdom in the USA). We fight for one another. We deeply love one another. We celebrate one another through the highest of highs, & support each other in the lowest of lows (legit all the feels from our family meetings at training camp). We pray relentlessly for one another, & we push each other back to the arms of our loving Father.
So, here’s to meeting the family!
Meet C squad. We’re a family of 29 individuals, whose hearts are on fire to chase the heartbeat of Abba & see His Kingdom grown throughout the nations. We will travel to 11 different countries together, debrief all the feels together, support one another, & we all deeply love one another. They are some of the BEST people I know, & are a huge answer to prayer.
Meet part of our leadership team! There are multiple levels in our leadership team, & all of them (aside from our coaches) have done the Race before. *Note: there’s more leadership back in Gainesville, GA, but below are some of our key go-to’s/who will be actively journeying alongside us (:
Squad mentor: Amy (second on the right), will be joining us on the field at our debriefs throughout the year, & will be one of our go-to people back in Gainesville, GA. Amy supports & encourages, brings wisdom, helps set the culture for our squad, & intercedes for us throughout our spiritual journey.
Squad leaders: Ashes (far right) & Morgan will be journeying alongside us on the field for our first 5 months on the field. They overlook the culture of our whole squad (both physical & spiritual) & will support, intercede, encourage, & raise up new squad leaders in our squad by the end of month five.
Team leaders: Courtney (left), Malysa (second on the left), Amanda, Paige, & Shiloh will be on the field with us for the first 2 months of our race. They will journey & support alongside each team, & will equip & raise up team leaders within our squad.
Coaches: Keith & Karen are parents of an alumni Racer, whose hearts are to journey alongside Racers on the mission field. They attend most of our debriefs throughout the year, bring wisdom, support & intercede in prayer for us, & basically are our ‘world race parents’ for the year.
Each person on the leadership team is again such an answer to prayer. Their hearts are genuine & authentic, they shine Abba’s light, wisdom, love, & kindness, & carry the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit. Each person on the leadership team has already deeply impacted my heart, & I’m blessed & honoured to journey with them & learn from them this coming year – you guys are the BEST!
Meet Team Culturevate. From our squad, we are broken down into groups of 5-6 people. This is my team for approx the first three months of 2020. We will be living together, doing ministry together, & journeying alongside each other every day as family.
Here’s the 5 people that make up Team Culturevate w/ me:
Hannah. Hannah’s heart radiates Abba’s beauty & creativity. She has a gift for painting & writing, is a woman of prayer, & has hands that will heal others. Her eyes are filled with the Life of Living Water, captivating others through her actions & the way she lives like Jesus.
Role on team: storyteller coordinator.
Austin. Austin’s heart bursts with energy & enthusiasm. He holds a gift of mercy & encouragement for others, & is gifted in music. Austin’s heart carries the kindness of Jesus, & has the ability to touch people’s hearts in caring & tender ways.
Role on team: treasurer.
McKenzie (aka, Kenz). Kenz expresses joy in every situation, captivating people with her smile & laugh. Her heart oozes warmth, comfort, & encouragement to all who need it, & quickly opens up her genuine heart to all who need kindness & joy.
Role on team: logistics coordinator.
John (aka, Bro Caro. aka, shield brother). Bro Caro has an authentic heart of love for people. He carries a heart full of mercy for others, & holds a strong prophetic gifting on his life. John is a nature lover, has a gift in music & worship, & communicates wisdom & power from the Holy Spirit.
Role on team: worship coordinator.
Kenia. Kenia’s heart flourishes with beauty, encouragement, & evangelism. She brings joy & peace to situations, & is gifted in more than one language. Kenia intentionally loves others & carries a heart of compassion like Jesus everywhere she sets her feet.
Role on team: beauty for ashes coordinator (women’s ministry).
So…these are the people I will be doing life with & journeying alongside next year, & will start living together in a short two months! Each & every one of the people above is an answered prayer from Abba. & it’s ironic that I only physically met them two weeks ago, yet we feel like we’ve known each other sooo much longer.
This is family. & my heart is full.
I’m still processing the past two weeks of training camp, & the CRAZY COOL REDEMPTIVE work that Abba did in my heart, so keep ya eyes peeled for a new blog post in the next few days (:
– em
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UPDATE!
I am just over 50% funded (approx. US$10,100) for next year! I only have US$9100 left to fundraise!! So THANKFUL!
