Today we got our final team changes on our World Race journey. We spent four months together with our first team, His Pride. Then we spent four months with our second team, Red Hot Heaven Preppers (Thanks Logan for the rad tongue twisting name!) …. And now we will spend our final three months with a new team that we got today. We have yet to come up with a team name, so that is still pending.
Team changes are incredibly hard, because just when you have gotten used to living with someone, just when you begin to love them so much, just when you become like brothers and sisters, just when you finally couldn’t see yourself with another team… that’s when team changes happen, and you have to start over with someone new.
It’s bittersweet really. I love that it gives us the opportunity to have deeper relationships with more people on our squad, but it’s also incredibly hard to let new people in so quickly and to keep readjusting to new teams.
Almost all teams start off a little rocky as we try to navigate new waters, because lets be honest… everyone has different personalities, preferences, needs, etc… So 5-7 people living together in sometimes rough conditions can get tricky at times.
But I can truly say that we came a long way since Vietnam. We are all incredibly different, so it took a while to find common ground, and we had to be intentional about pursuing one another.
But, after a month or so of tip toeing around one another and trying to figure each other out, we finally just got real with one another and asked hard questions and gave the real answers. We got to know one another’s hearts, and let me tell you, these people… their hearts are BEAUTIFUL!
So, I want to write a blog dedicated to the people that became family to me these last four months…
“Red Hot Heaven Preppers”
MEET CHELSEA!
Also known as Chels!
She was our Team Leader. Her role as team leader was to communicate with our hosts before and upon arrival, and to be the main point of contact when discussing things concerning our team. She also made sure everything that needs to be taking place as a team, is happening.
She is an ENFP.
Chels loves people, costume design, coffee, and her cat, Hoss.
As a team, we would describe her as cheesy, bubbly, sweet, and passionate!
She brought humility, stability, and tenderness to the team.
In her free time, she could be found watching movies and knitting.
A Fun/Quirky Fact that we learned about her: She wears dad clothes.
MEET MAGGIE!
Also known as Mags or Magatha!
She is our Logistics Leader. Her role as logistics is kind of HUGE because she gets us from point A to point B! She books our travel and lodging for everywhere we go! She works hard at it, and she is amazing at it! & We LOVE her for it too!
She is an I/ENTP.
Mags loves tennis, chai, popcorn, and books.
As a team, we would describe her as intelligent, intentional, sporadic, and a great person to have deep conversation with.
She brought perspective, knowledge, and joy to our team.
In her free time, she could be found watching movies while eating popcorn, or face thing friends from home.
A Fun/Quirky Fact that we learned about her: She chews like a rabbit.
MEET MICHAEL!
Also known as Uncle Mike or Jesus or Miguel…
He was our Treasurer. His role as treasurer was to delegate all of our food, lodging, and local transportation budget to us, and to log it all each month.
He is an ENTP
Michael loves rock climbing, dangerous activities, and soccer.
As a team, we would describe him as adventurous, unwavering, chill, and audacious.
He brought adrenaline, logic, simplicity, and uniqueness to the team.
In his free time, he could be found watching youtube videos or sleeping.
A Fun/Quirky Fact that we learned about him: He has worn the same pair of shoes everyday on the race, and he loves orchestra music.
MEET JUSTIN!
Also known as Daggum Joker, or …. Young Coyote
He is our Safety Coordinator and Story Leader. His role as safety coordinator is to be on alert for any news or important information on the countries we are in or going to, and to make sure we are aware of political things or health concerns for each country. His role as story leader is to make sure we are blogging consistently and telling the stories that are happening on the field to friends, family, and supporters back home.
He is an ESTJ.
Justin loves his family, waterfowl, fishing, and college football.
As a team, we would describe him as confident, genuine, a knucklehead, and a southern boy… Yeeeeehaww!
He brought dad jokes, dad bod, dad outfits, and dad dancing to the team… Oh! And also insight, helpfulness, and authority. 😉
In his free time, he could be found watching hunting videos, reading his bible, or texting his buddies back home.
A Fun/Quirky Fact that we learned about him: He always has a toothpick in his mouth, and he is the dad of our team.
MEET TESSIE!
Also known as Tess.
She is our Beauty For Ashes Coordinator. Her role as B4A is to be intentional with the women in the communities that we are in. She has the opportunity to host retreats for other women, or to help other teams on the squad do so.
She is an INFP (The only full introvert on the team)
Tess loves her family, coffee, taking photos, and her fur baby, Cooper.
As a team, we would describe her as supportive, artistic, sincere, and pure.
She brought creativity, compassion, and steadfastness to the team.
In her free time, she could be found face timing her family, working out, reading / writing, or editing photos and videos.
A Fun/Quirky Fact that we learned about her: She is very clumsy… she has fallen or hurt herself in every country we have been to thus far. She also talks in a baby voice a lot.
Well, this is us! I am grateful for the things they taught me, and for the love they gave me.
Preppers, I love you all! <3
Some prayer requests:
1. We got new teams today, and said “goodbye” to one another as team mates. So, pray that the transition into our new teams are smooth for all of us.
2. Pray for unity, love, and quick growth in our new team.
3. We leave for Africa in a few days! Pray for our hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits to be prepared for the culture shock.
Thank you all.
Love, Justin and Tess.
