For these next three blogs in the next week, I wanted to celebrate the guys. The questions are centered around where they have grown, things they have gone through, adventure, and what they are looking at pursuing next. It has been a complete blessing to have gone on the race with these brothers and I am excited where the Lord will lead and carry them.
Part 1 of 3
BEN
I have grown in my communications skills and healthy conflict, rather than avoid it, I’ve learned to turn to a conversation.
God brought me through several very hard seasons of depression which allowed me to (for the most part) see the glory in what was around me. The greatest thing God did was allowing me to be in community with some amazing godly people.
The best adventure I had on the race was definitely cliff jumping in Guatemala, it was pretty low key and getting to go be free out on the lake was amazing.
I am looking to go to culinary school/business school and get my degree, I would love to work in food, because food makes people happy and I like making people happy.
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I enjoyed the times that I had with Ben. He has been a big encouragement to me. From giving me encouragement to hanging out, he felt like my older brother. Seeing the ways he stepped into serving others, whether that be cooking, to leading worship starting at midpoint debrief, to seeing the different ways in ministry to be something new to those we came in contact with. I have been so thankful for the friendship of Ben. He has meant a lot to me and our time together has been awesome!
CALEB:
I have become self aware of my feelings and I am much more confident in my identity. I can hear God’s voice much better now and I obey it much easier now.
What has been the hardest and greatest thing God brought you through: The hardest thing God gave me was opportunity and the greatest thing was also opportunity. Opportunity to choose in and choose out of Him and my team. It was the best when I did choose in and it was the worst when I didn’t. But He gave me a choice. Maybe my worst and greatest gift was choice actually. Being able to choose into good things that will build character and having the choice to choose things that will bring me down.
The most fun thing I did on the race was probably going to Macchu Pichu in Peru! My team and I really bonded in Peru and that trip definitely helped. It was such a crazy and cool adventure!
I’m looking to pursue community after the race. I want find, build, and grow community around me. Community is something that is not very common in the states. People tend to be very independent which is good in some cases but overall having a healthy community is important. People need to be able to share the struggles and victories with other people going through or having been through what you are experiencing. People need to be challenged but also praised by their community. People shouldn’t have to go at it all alone.
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I have laughed at some of the dumbest things with Caleb. The things we laugh at are not worth being mentioned for they are well, just dumb. Whenever I see Caleb worship God, I love it so much. He is so into worshipping his Father that he isn’t worried what others will think of him. Over Guatemala, I saw Caleb dive into the truth that God shows himself in healing and Caleb wasn’t afraid to pray over someone for healing. Caleb has been a part of my journey and I very thankful for him in my life. He has been a big part of accountability for me, which he has been with me through the easy and hard. I’m excited for where the Lord will lead him and I hope that those who interact with him will be impacted by him!
Philip
I’ve seen so much growth in myself in the last nine months, but I think that just listening to and hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit has been the most visible growth in me. God has brought me through some hard places of letting go of myself to receive more of Himself. It amazes me how often we forget of His victories in our lives and have to be constantly reminded of His faithfulness. God has done such great works through me and I pray that I never truly forget. The World Race as a whole has just been the most gratifying adventure I may ever be a part of. From following God up mountains into villages, to just exploring the wonder that is Machu Picchu, I saw His beauty in deeper ways. So through all of this, I hope to continue living in a lifestyle that will continue to glorify God and only draw me nearer.
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I have had so many fun, memorable moments with Philip. All of the things done, to the several weird things, it has been a great 9 months. I love Philip’s desire to hear the Lord’s voice and declare it over others. He has stepped into sharing what the Lord is telling him and encouraging others in those truths. Philip was one of the Logistics Coordinators for the squad for these past 9 months, with Kori being the other. From booking hostels to figuring out the plans of travel days, a lot of time, thought, and work went into all of it. Thank you for planning all of those things. It does mean a lot even though many of us don’t really see all of the work you do on your logistics days. Planning for 40 some people is very hard, and you both did amazing. Thank you! With these last 9 months coming to a close, I am so excited for you in team leading this fall. Keep leading others!
