So as you all know, my team of six is now down to a team of four. Two of my teammates went home for two separate reasons. One went home because she felt the Lord calling her home & the other because of sickness. Some of you know, team fervent was a hot mess at the beginning of the race. We all saw each other as people we would never hang out with outside this trip. As weeks & months went on, we learned to live with each other and fight for one another. We loved each other, prayed with one anther and had fun. We got the chance to serve with each other which was the reason we all came here. To serve. Not only did we learn to serve God’s people, but we also learned to serve each other. As you can imagine, after lots of growth as a team, watching two of them go home was very difficult. None the less around the same time. I don’t why God had us have such a rough start only for the team to be split up halfway through. I do know that through all this & after lots of time reflecting on it, God taught me a few things.
- People are worth fighting for. Yeah, you might not get along/click with them at first (or the first 2-3 months), but stick it out. We all come with baggage, different views, roots, upbringings, families, backgrounds, and personalities, but we are all people. People, for the most part, want the same thing. To be loved and accepted. At home when we get into quarrels its people we usually drop out of the friendship. Fighting for people is too messy & complicated. My team has taught me what it looks like to work through conflict & fight for people (not just because we couldn’t get away from each other either). We cannot just love people on a surface level, we also have to love people on a level of the way Christ loves us.
- Family is more than blood. Over time, these girls have become my family. On the race, it’s talked about how the people on the squad are your friends and your team is your family. I laughed about this at first, but it’s true. After my team went through two teammates leaving, the question of our team being split was brought up. Because we went from six people to four people, we didn’t know what leadership was going to do. When we talked about, we all said we would fight for one another not to be split. We had become family. We spent months fighting for this team, for each other, working through conflict, & learning how each other works. We weren’t about to be split up. We wouldn’t even want to be on a team with our closest friends on the squad. We learned to love each other the way a family does. Yes, will have up & down days, but in the end THESE are the people I want on my team.
- Vulnerability & trust leads to growth. Without all of us being honest and open, our team would have stayed in a shallow place and we wouldn’t have grown on a deep level. I didn’t do well with being vulnerable at first. I didn’t want to open up to these people in fear of being hurt. Because I refused to open up to everyone at first, there was no growth. You cannot just live with people for nine months only to keep quite and be shallow. You will leak & then it will all come out. Because we all finally came to a place of choosing into vulnerability, we grew as a team. We were able to serve & love others together well.
So, while team fervent is now smaller, we have found joy in this season. If anything, it’s brought us all closer together.
In a week & a half we are setting sail (actually we are flying) to Guatemala. It will be a new and fresh start for my team & we are so excited to see what God is going to do there.
Thanks for reading,
Jo
