Race/Team Leading Q&A

What has been the 3 biggest things you have learned while team leading? 

     1 – I am not big enough or important enough to mess up God’s plan. The Lord so sweetly allows me to partner with Him and be a vessel for Him and if I fail, thats okay because He is God and I am not. I cannot mess up His plans. 

     2 – I can and know how to balance between being a friend and being a leader and it is so sweet to lead a friend and have that relationship with them.

     3 – I truly value sabbath with the Father and will fight for it. 

What have you learned from leading this team?

     This team showed me what it means to fight for unity and relationships. On my race, the Lord so graciously blessed me and my team with unity and friendships from day one. I learned what it looks like to have a desire to want to love someone so intentionally and fight for that if it doesn’t come naturally. 

How was team leading and your race different? 

     On my race I was focused a lot more on myself and my ministry. Yes, there was a lot more than that and many other things but this time around I was much more focused on being filled up so I could solely overflow into everyone around, especially my seven women. I got a lot more of a birds-eye-view perspective of the squad, team and people instead of being in the midst of everything. 

What was the hardest challenge you faced?

     I think one of the hardest challenges I faced was surrendering to the Lord my women. Knowing that there are somethings that are just out of my control and that is okay, because the Lord will do what needs to be done for His glory. 

Best and hardest thing about team leading?

     There have been so many incredible things about team leading but just to name some of my favorite, all of the sweet relationships I got to form with the women on my team, the group of POWERHOUSE women that I led and lived life with for three months and how much the Lord really redeemed my race. Once again, I think one of the hardest challenges I faced was surrendering to the Lord my women. Knowing that there are somethings that are just out of my control and that is okay, because the Lord will do what needs to be done for His glory.

What is something the Lord taught you through each of your girls?

     Taylor – Celebrate the glory of the Lord. To pray big, dangerous prayers. To step out in faith no matter how crazy it may seem. Rooting myself in Him.

     Hannah – Asking the Lord to do big things and then being expectant of Him to do them. Patience and grace. Knowing the goodness of God and seeking after it.

     Molly – To speak truth and seek it from the Father. To discern everything with the Word. Taking everything back to the only Truth. 

     Madison – Compassion. To give my time selflessly. TO be willing and open to everyone and opening my heart to love everyone around me.

     Adriana – What true servant leadership looks like. How to selflessly give and love others. How to choose joy and know that it is not just an emotion but a choice that we can make and be filled up with by Papa. 

     Alyson – How to ask for accountability. To humble yourself and open up to others about what you really need help in. How to encourage those that you love. 

     Alaina – Allowing the Lord to give you insight to situations. Speaking truth and creating clarity. Knowing how to lead yourself and be rested in the Father. 

Favorite ministry from ALL of your time at AIM?

     I really think that team leading will have to be one of if not my favorite ministries. I love to lead from experience and I love to disciple people and this was an amazing time for that. Outside of team leading, I really loved the care point in Swaziland. That place will always have my heart. Or cooking in India with one of my best friends Dara.

Was it hard to do team leading without your team/doing something similar with different people?

     Jesus is so good. So, coming into team leading, most of the other ATLs were back with their friends and squamates and me and my team of ATLs were basically all strangers to each other (even Clarissa and I who were on the same squad). The Lord was so faithful to start us all at the same place with no expectations held against each other. The teammates that I got this time around became my place of rest and comfort. They pushed me to do the hard things that needed to be done and allowed me to be myself and open up like never before. As Clarissa would say “These women make me want to bow down and worship the Lord by their faith”, and I couldn’t agree more with that. 

Your favorite team time?

     My favorite team time was the very last one that I led. I decide to wash my girls feet and then we broke bread together and spoke life over one another. I was able to tangibly see the growth in all of them in that moment and feel the love they had for one another. 

How were the past three months for you?

     The past three months were extremely exhaustingly incredible. I was stretched and grown in so many ways. However, I was able to solidify so much that I learned on my race and the Lord really redeemed A LOT of my race through team leading, my leadership and the squad.

What was it like going from being a racer to a team leader? 

     It was really good. The Lord blessed me with the gift of leadership and so sweetly allowed me to be led while being a racer so that I could lead myself well and then others. The transition was very natural and felt right. 

How did you decide to go on the race/How did you come up with the money?

     I knew in high school that college was not the next stebfor me and I really wanted to do some kind of gap year program. I started looking into all different organizations and one of my friends who also did the race asked me if I had heard of it before and said that I should apply. I really was unsure about it but the Lord was so faithful and within days of me applying I was accepted. I told the Lord that if this was really what He had in store for me then He would need to provide for me, and being the provider that He is, I was fully funded within a month just from sending out support letters and praying! 

Where did you get your overalls? 

     I own a lot of overalls haha but my most recent pair is from a Thailand thrift store. 

Do you think since you went back on the field that it will make transitioning back home even harder this time? 

     Transition back to the states this time feels so much better. The best way that I can describe it is that I feel so much more steady now. the first time I was coming home I was running back and forth from state to state and trying to catch up with everyone and unsure how to live life with all the things that I had just grown in. However, during team leading I got to live out the things I learned and lead them and I feel so much more confident coming home this time around.