It’s been almost two weeks since we have been placed on new teams. For this round of team changes, I have been chosen as a team leader. This new role is going to challenge me to grow in the emotional and spiritual side of leadership. I’m honored to have this opportunity and excited to see what the next few months have in store for us!
Meet my new team: Kainoseros
Front row left to right: Amanda, Sharon, Lauren, Eva
Back row left to right: Shiloh, Shawn, me
We chose the name Kainoseros. “Kainos” is the Greek word for new/fresh. We really wanted to emphasize the newness of the team. New people, new opportunities, new lessons, etc. Then, when trying to pronounce the word, we discovered that it kind of sounds like “rhinoceros” so we kind of just ran with it.
On our first day a a new team, we went on a safari in Kruger National Park in South Africa. We saw the “Big Five” animals (elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard) as well as giraffes, zebras, hippos and a cheetah!
We have since traveled to Manzini, Swaziland to a homestead where all 39 of us will stay together this month. We are working with Adventures in Missions and an organization called Children’s Hope Chest. There is a variety of ministry opportunities including preschool, home visits, agriculture and maintenance just to name a few.
Our first full day in Swaziland was Super Bowl Sunday and we tried our best to throw a proper Super Bowl party. We walked to a nearby store for snacks and came back with ingredients to make cookies and popcorn. It wasn’t quite as good as the buffalo chicken dip that I made last year, but it worked. As we were getting ready for the game, we ran out of electricity and had to buy more. The game finally started at 1:30 AM Monday morning. Our WiFi cut off before the 4th quarter but we all needed to get some sleep anyway. At least the Rams didn’t win!
Praise Report: I’M FULLY FUNDED!
Thank you so much to everyone that donated! God provided through my supporters! His faithfulness was so evident!
On that note: here’s links to my teammates who are still fundraising if you’d like to help my team achieve our collective goals:
Amanda:
https://amandagillespie.theworldrace.org
Eva:
https://evadidonato.theworldrace.org
