Doo do do dooooo! (That is my interpretation of a trumpet sounding).
I am Squad Leading for the World Race in January 2012!
My Heart
“Go in all nations, preaching the gospel in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.� This is last command Jesus gives to His disciples; in the church, we often refer to it as the Great Commission. I feel like my calling in life is live out this command. Go. Into ALL nations. So, here I am again, going without knowing exactly what is going to happen.
In June 2009 I left for an 11 month missions trip called the World Race. There God completely transformed my heart. There is a song with lyrics that state, “O praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.� It was on the World Race that these words become truth for me. I felt fully alive for the first time. I began to see myself as beloved of God, as His daughter for the first time. I believed that He could use me and do great things through me. After the race ended I knew I needed to share the power of Christ’s love and identity. That’s how I ended up leading a group of college students to Kenya last fall and to Uganda this summer.
At the end of my World Race, God put squad leading on my heart. He gave me the desire to participate in a new way in the experience He used so profoundly in my life. And after the past year and a half of growing, I am ready….. to take on the new challenges of leading a group of 50 or more people, for 4 months, in countries I may have never been before. I am ready to finally break free of the lies that say “I’m not good enough, or spiritual enough, strong enough, etc.â€� God is calling me to go to the nations. To share His good news. To disciple and be discipled. I know this is where He wants me.
Squad Leader?
But what exactly is a “Squad Leader?” Defining squad leader is a challenging task. There is a lot of World Race specific lingo. So, I will start with squad. Each group that heads out on the World Race is called a squad. There are normally 40-70 participants on a squad, ranging in age from 21 to 35. Within the squad will be teams of 6-8 people, each with an appointed team leader. As a “Squad Leaderâ€� I will be heading out this coming January. Myself and 2 other alumni (shout out to Lindsay Dodner and Allan Boehm) will be leading the group as a team. We help facilitate community, pour into the team leaders and the participants, push, challenge and encourage the group, call out the greatness God has placed inside them, follow a Spirit led lifestyle. We model feedback, culture of honor, prophecy, and whatever else God calls us to. After the 3rd month, we will raise up new squad leaders from the participants and spend month 4 leading alongside of them, discipling them and “showing them the ropes.” At the end of the 4th month myself and my co-leaders fly home. We then visit them twice on the field during the rest of their 11 months for debriefs.
Round 2
This time around God is sending me to El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Thailand! I am incredibly excited to be part of second generation E Squad and to be used by Him in these places. I need to raise $5,900 and I am hoping to find 100 people to commit to $59. This could be a one-time donation, 2 donations of $29.50, 5 monthly donations of $10, whatever works best for you! Please pray about supporting me financially on this second World Race journey.
****How to donate: Click on the Support Me link on the left. Also, if you would like to mail a check please make it out to Adventures in Missions and send it to: Adventures in Missions, PO Box 534470, Atlanta, 30353-4470. Please Appealed by: OlsenHannah in the memo line. Adventures In Missions is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donors will receive receipts for their gifts with the understanding that the disbursement of those gifts lies completely at the discretion of Adventures In Missions and that the gifts are non-refundable and non-transferable, per IRS regulations. Gifts may be tax deductible; please consult a tax advisor.******
Prayer Points:
– E squad as they prepare for their World Race, that they be open to whatever God has for them.
– Wisdom and vision for myself and my co-leaders for our squad, that we be seeking Him for everything and relying on His strength, not our own
– Training Camp! Oct. 15-23 is training camp for the January squads. Pray for a move of God there and in all our hearts!
– Finances- that I have faith that God will provide, like He always has!
Thank you for your prayers, support, and interest in my journey! More updates to come! Much love.
