When my family travels together, my dad wants to see the sights, and my brother wants to relax. My mom wants us to be together, and I just want us to agree.
We are all on vacation together, but our ideas of what a vacation should look like are very different. My dad wants to make the most of where we are, and my brother wants a break from his work life. My mom wants to spend time with us, and I just want harmony.
There is nothing inherently wrong with our ideals, but they simply can’t be compatible all the time.
I’m coming to you from our first debrief on a beautiful lake beach in Rwanda. As our squad reflects on the past month of ministry, I’m starting to see that our ideas of what being a team looks like are very different.
I love my team. Every single day, God reveals a little bit more to me of why He put us together and allows me a glimpse of how He has fearfully and wonderfully made each one of my sisters in Christ.
The reality is that we are different people with different personalities and different preferences. We love the diversity on our team. But it means that we don’t automatically know or agree on what it means to be family to one another.
We have to talk about our goals, and how we are going to reach them. We have to state our needs, and how our teammates can serve us. We have to commit to being a team, for better or for worse.
And those conversations are hard. For me, it means admitting that everything is not sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. It means putting aside the celebration of what has gone well, and dwell a little longer than usual on what hasn’t.
It’s not just me. It’s our entire squad. All of our teams have some stuff to work on, because community takes time, and the World Race is new to us all.
Please pray for us. As we start our second month of ministry, we need your prayers.
Pray that our teams would be 100 percent committed to making our families what we need them to be. Pray grace and understanding over us. Pray love and intentionality. Pray for corporate spiritual growth in our teams.
Pray that whatever tension or discomfort left over from these hard conversations would be taken to the Lord. Pray for walls to be broken down, and for Godly trust to replace them. Pray for true joy and laughter to fill our homes. Pray for real team bonding and many spoonfuls of fun. Pray for healthy feedback and higher callings.
You make your support so known to us, and for that, we are so thankful. This month, we ask that you express your love by dreaming big for us. Hope God’s best for us, and pour them out to Abba. We know He will answer the biggest and smallest of prayers.
