At the World Race summer time is not exactly the time to relax and go on vacation. Its actually time to get excited to work hard and launch a couple hundred young adults who are going to change the world! Here is a little tiny recap of what I’ve been up to since mid-June:
O Squad Launch: June 12- 16
Andrea Wendel and I had the pleasure of traveling together to New Jersey (by way of a quick layover in NYC) to launch the June 2010 O Squad as their team leaders and logistics leaders came into town to hav
e a little logistics and field support preparation before meeting up with the rest of their squad in Ukraine. We had a great time getting to know this group more intimately and watching God draw them into His presence daily. These leaders have a special gifting and anointing on their lives to lead in vulnerability. I believe this squad is going to experience trust and understanding as a body that is going to set the standard for squads to come. To read some of their stories please visit their blog page.
MOVING DAY: June 20-21
Right after arriving home to Port Huron, Michigan from launching the O Squad in June, my housemates and I departed for the humid south with all of our earthly belongings in tow. Moving is hard work! We moved out of our quaint community house on Military Street overlooking the Canadian border. It was so much harder to leave Port Huron than I anticipated. Five months in the same place is plenty long to make friends that will be lifelong. Our Cross Current Church family had embraced me warmly and they’ll continue to be deep in my heart and hopefully very close to my World Race Family moving forward!
Back in the South: June 22nd
As of June 22nd I am an official Georgia resident. Its nice to be back in the land of sweet tea and Chick-fil-A but moving can be quite stressful! I now work in the Adventures and Missions office in Gainesville, Georgia. The World Race has an upstairs portion of the office where our whole logistics team works in one area! It is unprecedented for us all to be together like this and already it has proved to be productive. I have the pleasure to work with the most amazing people so any time you’re in or around Gainesville give me a call and you can stop by give me a hug and meet my amazing co-workers.
Dominican Republic: July 2-9
I had just taken a deep breath and gotten a few nights of sleep in the same bed when it was time to turn around and go to the Dominican Republic to launch the P Squad. Wow! P Squad is full of people who are hungry for the things of the Spirit. I was so honored to watch all 74 of them get acclimated to l the Race for the first week and step up and into life in the third world and lives lived with a new focus on the Spiritual realm. This Squad is full of Kingdom bringers who are going to see some amazing signs and wonders this year as they hunger and thirst for righteousness. Follow their stories here. Pictured to the left is me with the staff that launched P Squad and three squad leaders Janina, Kim and Kyla that will lead them for the first four months of their journey.
UP NEXT: Training camp: July 24-August 1
And now the process begins again! The World Race has the pleasure of hosting about 150 new Racers for the Q, R and S Squads that will be departing in September and October of this year. Training camp is a week of intense worship, teaching, team building, spiritual formation and just interacting with the Father where our future Racers get just a taste of what the next year holds for them. Training camp is physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausting for the new Racers. Please pray for them and for the staff as we deliberately and carefully prepare them for life on the field and a life lived fully abandoned to the Kingdom.
The summer is flying by. Sometimes I wish it would all slow down so I could soak in some of the moments. But God is doing amazing things and I feel like I’m standing in the eye of a storm watching God move in all of His mystery and wonder…but of course my hair is windblown, too! I continue to be amazed that I get to do what I do and be a part of mobilizing a generation of people who are not content with the status quo. It is an exciting place to be!
