Team Changes & Rats On Faces.

So much has happened that it’s taken me awhile to begin to blog about the events that have taken place here on the mission field. For me, this trip has been as consistent as the changing of the seasons or snowflakes in the winter winds. Change is inevitable, and that reality is apparent than ever. This past week I was hit in the face with the biggest punch of that reality so far on the Race, and it came in the form of team changes.
 
I’m not on the former Kingdom Unleashed.
 
In an effort by my squad leaders and coaches within the World Race family to continue to equip and challenge me to grow deeper into what God has for me on this trip, I was moved away from my KU family and now make my stay with Sweet Aroma! It’s got to be the hardest thing I’ve gone through on the Race. I figured it’d be an illness or an identity issue. But nothing has taken the cake for hardest season so far on the Race than this. From living and loving people so dear to you in an amazing environment for three months, to the next morning going to another team, it has been a difficult transition for me to say the least. My new teammates have been so supportive in walking alongside me as I’ve processed and gone through all of this. It’s been so hard because my best friends are on my old team. People I’ve opened up to with things I’ve never opened up to anyone before. To say goodbye… It was more painful than anything I’ve faced so far on my trip.
 
But with this chapter of my Race closed and a new one open, the possibilities are endless. Being on a new team, I have the opportunity to pour out to them as they pour out to me. It’s kinda like putting yourself out to date again, as odd as that sounds. I went through a hard break up with my former team, and now I have to learn what it is to love again; what does it look like to open up and serve alongside with team Sweet Aroma. God has chosen me, for my good and His glory, to join in the works that He is doing with Sweet Aroma and by choosing in, I continue to grow in my walk with Christ on this Race. It’s been awesome getting to know my team, their dynamics and the way they do community, and starting new adventures and making stories with them.
 
For example, our curious rat story:
 
We’ve been staying here at our contacts church. We sleep on the floor of the back of his church, sweating off into the sticky, humid night as we sleep with two small fans The second night here in the Philippines we found out that we weren’t alone. As we were all sleeping, I heard a faint sound only inches from my head. At first I thought it was jus the wind or fans crackling as they do when they turn to blow their soft breeze. But then, just as I went full circle in my mind with what that sound really was, a cat-sized rat ran across my face and through the legs of my teammate Christin, I immediately got up and yelled, which quickly evolved into Christin screaming at the top of her lungs, and the whole team getting up in a panic to either get away from the rat or figure out why was someone screaming as if they were getting murdered!!! Needless to say, we didn’t get anymore sleep that night.
 
With a brand new country in front of me, a brand new team coming alongside behind me, there are endless possibilities for me to step into the wondrous works God has for me, all the while growing closer with my new team and sharing the craziness that is the World Race. Thank you, for not only praying for me in this difficult, painful transition and season, but for continuously supporting through this whole mission trip. This trip has been the most challenging, eye-opening, life changing journey God’s ever brought me on. And I couldn’t do it without you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
 
With all of that being said, I must inform you on important matters regarding my fundraising. I’m still in need of $3,395 for my overdue deadline. It’s by the grace of my superiors that I’m still on the Race. But if I do not raise this support, I will be going home and this will be my last month. I plead with you; will you help me in my financial support? With this holiday season quickly coming, I ask to prayerfully consider giving this season and invest in what God is doing around the world. With you tax exempt donation, you can help change lives to the poorest of the poor, the hopeless, those who won’t have a Christmas holiday. I don’t want to guilt you into anything. I want you to follow the Spirit, and if that is through financial donations, I ask that you help contribute to the work that God is doing. To donate, simply click on the link below:
 
Click Here To Donate!
 
 
Thank you once again for all of your support and prayers throughout my journey on the mission field. It is will great joy and a humbled heart that I lift you up in thanks. May God continue to transform you like He is with me, with team changes and rats on faces.