I was shaking with prayer as my plane landed in the chaotic Atlanta airport and I walked with a beautiful burden on my back that was my home for the next ten days. The following week and a half was heavy, beautiful, sticky, wonderful, dirty, holy, long, grace-filled, and exhausting in every sense of the word. And I am in awe of what Jesus did.
I met the other 40 members of “I Squad” upon my arrival, and I was immediately overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by the amount of people dressed in red. Overwhelmed by warm greetings and introductions. Overwhelmed by matching faces with names. Overwhelmed by repeating them over and over in my head so that I could attempt to remember them all. Overwhelmed by the presence of Jesus in their faces. And overwhelmed by the sense of belonging I had in a sea of strangers. I could sense the Spirit stirring between us all.
I Squad saying “YES” to each other!
Over the course of the next ten days I took bucket showers (the few times I actually did shower), slept outside, ran through the rain, lifted up my voice around a campfire, shared my few belongings with the half of our squad who “lost their luggage”, heard life-changing testimonies, had my water bottle stolen in an “Indian market”, and then had to buy it back, engaged in orphan, women’s ministry, and evangelism workshops, slept on an airport floor during a “12 hour layover”, ate foreign foods from a community plate with seven others and no utensils, and then raised those same filthy hands in worship to offer all that I am to the Holy One.
Toward the end of the week, a group of leaders formed smaller teams within our squad that we will be ministering alongside for the first four months in Eastern Europe. I was chosen to be one of seven women to declare the name of Jesus together around the world! When our team was initially announced and we gathered around a table together, we looked at each other with curiosity. None of us had interacted much in the previous days, so we didn’t really feel that we knew each other. However, within minutes, there was a flood of an enormous amount of peace. The six women who surrounded me suddenly felt so warm and familiar. These were the ones I had been praying for since the beginning, and now I suddenly knew their names! The Lord immediately began to speak compelling words over us, and we knew we had been ENTRUSTED. My bones are aching to see what God has in store for us.
Meet my team of captivating souls:
Diamond, (Me), Emily Holland, McCrea, Liz, Emily McIver, and Vivian.
I believe TC served many purposes over its time. It introduced, informed, and equiped us for what’s to come, and it succeeded in much. However, I have come to accept that there is nothing that can fully prepare me for what the Lord has to do in the coming 11 months. He’s just bigger than that! But with that, I must be willing. Willing to surrender. Willing to wholly submit. Willing to continue to have a “Yes!” in my spirit. I must walk through airports, restaurants, orphanages, churches and temples, villages, bus stations, homes, and streets with open hands. I must be ready. Ready to move. Ready to radically change. Ready to do the hard and holy things. So this training was only the beginning.
I feel as though warrior cries are rising up around me as the Almighty is preparing the very muscles of our hearts for battle. I am equally thrilled and terrified.
“Are you ready? Ready to surrender everything and come follow me?”
But praise the Lord that the victory has already been won! I am simply called to be a good steward of Jesus’ name; to bear it well and proclaim it boldly in order to multiply the kingdom of heaven. For this I am ready.
