So Africa has come and gone.
At the beginning of Africa we changed teams, and that was devastating.
The time I spent with Team Pulse was good, but difficult. I went through an
amazing amount of growth with this team, and I know God used all of them to help me grow in a way I
didn’t think was possible. I don’t think that I expected to understand how much
I needed to be dependent on God until I was with this team. Now that Africa is
over, we have switched teams again. Overall, I am excited. I have learned how
to not only accept Love from God, but from others. I’m super excited to jump
into ministry with this new team which included some surprises. . . in the form
of my new team members!
So who knew? Alex is my team leader again! I’m super, super
SUPER excited to be working with him again, as I know that the amount of growth
he has gone through and it made me realize how absence really DOES make the
heart grow fonder. That and he owes me a ministry date. (WR Apropriate!)
Ashley is hilarious. Hands. Down. She is going to be our
interim team leader for the month in Thailand, as we are doing all girl
ministry as the boys go and grunt in the woods during “MANistry.” Ashley has
always been quick to encourage me even when she wasn’t on my team, so I’m
excited to get to know her better. And she’s from Wisconsin, so I really try to
get her to say “Bag” often, (which sounds like “Beg” with her accent.) Oh, and her laugh is on my top ten of the best laughs on O Squad.
Who knew Lili would be on my team again? I sure didn’t. It’s
good to be able to share more of this journey with her, and I hope to be able
to grow and watch her grow in God. Plus, I’m sure that God wants me to continue
writing my fiction, because He made certain to have someone on my last team
readily available to hound me. “Um. Chapter 12 done yet??”
Probably the guy on the squad that I knew the least, but am
most excited to get to know. He is SUPER intelligent, and seriously can witness
to anyone. I think he’d be able to sell a space heater to Satan. Oh. And
Auburn. That’s all you REALLY need to know.
I think I’ve wanted Emily on my team from the moment I
walked onto the subway in New York and our eyes met and she shouted: “Praise
the Lord, I’m on the RIGHT TRAIN! It’s a sign!!” She is hands down the BOLDEST
person I know. Period. I am super eager to learn how to be even more straight
forward and not beat around the proverbial
bush. She knows who her God is and I’m excited to learn more about Him
from her. Oh and she likes Mustard. Instant cool points.
So I guess that’s it. I don’t think I have a team picture to
show you, because we were immediately split up, but I’m sure you can use your
imagination. Honestly, at this point, I think they could have put ANYONE on O
Squad on my team and I’d be elated. These people have become family, and not
just that family that you see once every five years at a family reunion. No,
these people have become family that you would pee in front of. In fact, I
think most of them have.
We have called ourselves Love UpStream, because the goal of
our new team names is Unity, and because we want to be unified through love.
Just as a stream unifies highlands and lowlands, lakes and oceans, so too are
we going to be unified, and we are not afraid to go up stream, against the flow
to achieve this.
Please keep us in your prayers, as I know that this team is
also handpicked by God for growth and maximum potential. I’m excited and
nervous for what God is going to do, but I’m also ready to see what He has in
store for this next season of our lives.
