Alrighty! Update Update Update! Hello everyone! I am indeed, alive! For all of you followers that have noticed my absence from my blogging, I am so sorry to have kept you in the dark for so long! Due to a whole slew of unfortunate events regarding technology I have not had a laptop or camera or functioning smart phone to be able to keep you all in the loop since the Philippines- month one. But on the plus side my laptop, by the grace of God, has miraculously started working, so the long awaited blogs are coming. Fortunately for you my first draft of this blog got deleted, so you don’t have to read through my rant of how technologically cursed I am. But for all you future racers heed this advice: DO NOT bring a Chromebook on the race with you. It doesn’t matter that it is lighter, smaller, and cheaper. It is a TERRIBLE idea for missionaries on the go that do not have constant internet access. It got to the point that I could not even log in to my computer to do anything- everything is internet based. And you will find yourself quite frequently without internet. So no matter how much the salespeople try to convince you that you will be fine , just- don’t’. Don’t buy it. And you’re welcome.
As for family and friends who care where I am, I am in THAILAND!!! This is month five for me, and I am already halfway through my 11 months on the Race. Crazy, right?! Time really does goes by so fast! Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!! It’s a new year!! It’s 2014! EEK! I am so excited for all that God has in store! The new year for me brought not only new goals and ambitions, but a new country and environment along with A NEW TEAM!!! Yes, the dreaded team changes finally came for our squad. If you were wondering why all the faces have changed on the left side of my page, it is because they are the new members of my team that I will be living with daily. My former teammates and #FAMBAM, that we fought so hard for, was finally separated after a wonderful family Christmas together. Team Illuminate is no longer together in ministry, but it was a good run and I am truly thankful for all the laughs and struggles along the way. We truly invested in one another and came to a place to be able to love one another, and I am so thankful for how lucky am to have experienced all those blessings and trials alongside Brad, Tanner, Ashley and Liz. It was not always easy, but it was always worth it. Since family is important to me, how fortunate and blessed am I that now I get a second World Race family!!!
For you future Racers, let me tell you, despite all the horror stories you may hear or read about, team changes is not that bad. Yes you have to start over again after being vulnerable, yes you have to learn new dynamics after having just figured the old ones out, yes you have to go through some of the awkwardness of getting to know people again, but it is worth it. You also have an incredible opportunity to love more people on your squad. You have a fresh start where you can take everything you have learned about group living and yourself and apply it in a positive way with a new group of people. You can look back and appreciate all the ways you have grown because of all the ways your last team has stretched and impacted you. You get to look forward to all the ways you will grow and be challenged by this different group of people too! Everyone has something unique to offer you and it is a blessing that you get to experience that with even more people. As much as you may (or may not) love your old team, team changes bring about a fresh perspective that can be invigorating if you buy in. It isn’t quite as scary as the first time. You aren’t getting to know strangers the second, or third or fourth time around of switching teams- you are getting to know friends that you have already had debriefs with, traveled with, and have even facebook stalked a little. You find your family expanding. And along with all the ways these wonderful people will be teaching you, you are also offering them something unique they would not be fortunate enough to experience if you had stayed on the same team. You have so much to share, give, and receive, so don’t be afraid to do it!
With that being said, introducing my new team! Drumroll please foooooorrr…. TEAM LUMOS DEI!!
From left to right is Jacob (my new team leader,) Brad (my old team leader now on my current team with me), Ben, Angi, Karen, Jen (our Unsung Heroes Captain) and ME! They are all wonderful people and I am more than excited to share many upcoming adventures with them. Please visit all of their blogs by clicking on their pictures to learn more about them and pray for each one as they will be my support system these next few months. Our team name, Lumos Dei, means “light of God”, and since my old team was Team Illuminate, I am coming from the Light into the Light! Pretty awesome huh! So I can continue to bring Light to the Darkness (which means that all of you supporters who bought my Race shirt with my design on it, can continue to represent me well, haha).This month we will be participating in an Ask the Lord month, or Unsung heroes month, which I will explain more of in my future blog. This will be my second month doing ATL, as last month Brad and I did ATL with Team Illuminate in Cambodia. But already this second time around is proving to be much different, and it is exciting to anticipate the new and beautiful ways that the Lord will show up and provide for us. So yes, a new year, a new country, a new team! New life, new opportunities, and new love to share. For in Christ, all things are made new! Isn’t it beautiful?!
