Heyoh Family!!
We are in the middle of month five of our race. Thailand is amazing. I love it. The food is the best. We were put on different teams for this month, possibly being our last team for the rest of the race. I wanted to introduce you to this team and give you a little update as to what our month has been filled with.
Our team has been on a campaign called Unsung Heroes. Our job is to find new contacts to send world race teams to in the future. Most of our time has been spent with God praying or emailing, calling and meeting with hopeful contacts. It is an amazing experience to sit down with a brand new contact, learn about what they do, what Gods calling is for them and to learn what teams can help with in the future. It is flat out inspiring to see the experiences and faith of these contacts who have said yes to God, to live and love abroad. I LOVE it.
As a reminder, our world race S Squad is made up of about 55 people. This is split into 8 teams that do ministry all over the country. Each team has one leader along with other positions such as finance, logistics and unsung hero coordinators scattered throughout the squad. This month new squad leaders have been raised up as well to replace our original squad leaders that are now headed back to the states.
Going into Thailand, I was asked if I would consider becoming a team leader. I accepted with great joy, exuberant at the possibility to be able to pour into and lead a group of fellow racers. It has been a wonderful, fun, growing experience this far. I have been on my knees praying for humility and wisdom daily as I get to work alongside these superstar teammates in the faith. I’d appreciate if you would echo those prayers for my team and me too.
A few days after verbally accepting, I patiently awaited the list of my new teammates. I thought about how God was doing an amazing work in most everyone in our squad, I couldn’t really ever get a “bad” team. Any team would be such a blessing. I received the list of team members I had waited for. I was blown away 🙂 All rockstars for Jesus. I almost felt guilty. Then I thought about how God had hand-crafted this team as well as others to be together at this point. It was not a mistake, not an all-star team, just simply a blessing and an opportunity to do some amazing amazing stuff with him. So lets jump in, meet them, and then maybe you’ll be as excited as God and I are :D!
(Pictures and links to each of my teammates should be on the left side column of my FULL blog.)
James:
Entering our fifth month together as teammates, I was overjoyed to yet again have James Muller on my team. I have a special spot in my heart for him, I have grown to love and care about him so much. Through the months we were together James had been considering returning home early to possibly go back to Honduras or the Philippines for a longer term stay. Before we left for ministry, James decided this would be his direction. My squad mates and I miss and love him tons, and 100% support his decision. As far as I’m concerned, he will ALWAYS be my teammate :). Please pray for guidance and direction as James is making tough decisions back in the US.
Ross:
I was blessed to spend “man-month” together on the same team with Ross in the Philippines. He is an amazing guy, easy going, brilliant, super giving and fun. He also doubles as our squads logistic coordinator so please keep that in your prayers for him. I am looking forward to diving deep into new, uncharted areas of brotherhood with Ross. What began last month will no doubt build in the coming months. If you were to ask if Ross and I push our beds together, and take simultaneous bathroom breaks, the answer might be yes.
Sara:
Sara has become an awesome older sister to me that I never had. She grew up with five younger brothers, so Ross and I fit right into the mold. In Honduras I grew tons with Sara, she quickly became one of my favorite people on our squad. I predicted (hoped) that some month we’d eventually be teammates. Open for anything, she is such a bonus to any team, especially ours. I smile every time I see her, which is all day everyday. Winning :).
Kate:
Kate is one of those one-in-a-million, over-filled-with-life type of people. She is a riot, even Jesus thinks so, she has a beautiful relationship with him after all. She stepped up to the plate as our finance person, pray for her to continue to do a fantastic job! I remember thinking at training camp that everybody knew Kate because she was so outgoing, fun and awesome to be around. In the midst of training camp nerves about what our first teams were going to be, I thought if I could only get Kate on my team, all other problems would seem obsolete. Welp, it happened, our problems have disappeared ;).
Jordan:
I was fortunate to work along side Jordo (and Kate) all of Nicaragua as our team was paired with theirs. Jordan was their team leader and I was often enamored and encouraged by how smooth, close and loving their team was. Jesus was all over them in a special way. I know I wanted that for my team and wanted Jordan as a teammate. Respectfully, at training camp before we were assigned teams I was asked if I could ever be led by a girl, I said absolutely, especially if my team leader was Jordan. So to say that I feel honored to have Jordo on my team, is an understatement.
Shanda:
Ahh Shanders, what a gal. I found out how awesome and action packed Shanda’s 4’10” frame was in Honduras, when our tents were in the same, loud, hilarious “neighborhood”. It was at that point that I predicted (hoped) that we’d be on the same team at some point. (Honest to God I don’t make these predictions often, so far I’m 2/4, not too shabby) Shanda is the perfect combination of sweet like honey and funny. When I say funny I mean FUN-NEY, just put her around elephants, you’ll figure it out.
My teammates are awesome!! Exactly what I was praying for and expecting from an awesome God.
Our one team goal is to ENJOII God. To rest in him, to allow ourselves to not judge our relationship based on what and how much we do, but in what he already has done in dying on the cross and rising from the grave. We live in freedom, all smiles, all joy, ready to receive Gods blessing on us as sons and daughters of the King. Knowing and feeling Gods great love upon our lives is so absent in our world. This team is already full of leaders, my vision is just to help lead by example in Gods love, so we can really function as apart of his kingdom, rocking this world as a light in the darkness. Hosea 12:6 is our team verse “So you (Jacob), by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”
***Side-note***
Yes, our real team name is “Team Jacob”, it wasn’t me being narcissistic, it was my teammate Kate’s idea from the twilight series. I wasn’t even aware that there was a Team Jacob/Team Edward, but I’m also not going to sit back and say I don’t love the name ;).
God is alive, and Team Jacob is living like it.
Have a ballin’ day 🙂 Eat some pizza for me because I miss it. Cheer for my MSU Spartans because their doing awesome and I miss them too! 😀
Love,
Jake
