>Rooted Remnant of Restoration<
{A.K.A RRRRRRRRR as in the rolling of the tongue}
Welcome to my new team! The idea behind the team name was that we wanted something a little quirky yet still meaningful. We spent two hours figuring out our name and within the last five minutes we brought together these three words and realized that in short we could just be the rolling of the tongue, we figured the other teams would appreciate our abreviation. Anywho, here's how the idea came about.
We had narrowed our team name down to the idea of being ROOTED, being Oaks of Righteousness from Isaiah 61:1-4:
"The Spirit of the Lord God is on Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of our God's vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, festive oil instead of mourning, and splendid clothes instead of despair. And they will be called OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, planted by the Lord, to glorify Him. They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the former devastations; they will renew the ruined cities, the devastions of many generations."
Then the verse from Jeremiah 17:8 came into play:
"He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn't fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit."
I was a little hesitant about the team name "Rooted" or "Roots" mostly because when I think of roots, I think of things that keep a tree in the same place, that doesn't allow it to move, which is good and bad. I didn't want our team name to hold us down or keep us stagnant. But as a team we decided that our roots were not to keep up still, but to grow us deeper. Roots are always having to grow, they spread out and they get deep. That's what we want as a team, we want to expand ourselves and grow deep with one another and mostly with the Lord!
Then there is the word REMNANT. Now here's my honesty coming out, I had no idea what a remnant was at first, but when I learned, I LOVED IT!! A remnant in Biblical terms are the group of believers still remaining when everyone else has turned away from God. The Old Testament is filled with places where God leaves a remnant of people still wanting to follow Him or where He gathers His remnant.
"The surviving remnant of the house of Israel will again take root downward and bear fruit upward. For a remnant will go out from Jerusalem and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeao of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this."
-2 Kings 19:30-31
Then there is the word RESTORATION. What a beautiful word, especially for a woman who has been having this spoken over her for the last three months. I want to be constantly restored by Christ. As a team, we will be restored daily with the blessings of God, but even more than that we get to restore people to life through the love of Jesus Christ. This month has already shown us the restoration that we carry with us from the Holy Spirit.
So here we are Team ROOTED REMNANT OF RESTORATION
Jack and Loren Messarra, our team leader and his beautiful wife. This adorable couple is from Texas, both went to school for Biblical Languages and Theology, so they offer a lot of knowledge that we are all excited to glean from them. Jack is a different leader than my last for sure, but I already enjoy how laid back he is and how excited he is to involve our team in much of the team decisions. Loren is just a fun, loving spirit who looks to comfort all around her.
Jake Murphy, one of my former teammates. I'm so blessed to have him still with me because we've grown a bond over the last few months and we understand each other in ways the rest of our team can not at this point. He has literally become a brother to me, we are able to lift each other up, call out greatness, point out the other's struggle and we bicker like siblings at times. So glad to have him for a little while longer.
Kelsey Amann, a hilarious Michigan woman coming over from an amazing all-girls team. I had the priveledge of spending my first month in Romania with this woman and getting to know her. We had actually formed a pretty good bond and every time we saw each other, it resulted in BIG hugs, so having her on my team is such a blessing. She is a thinker and really dives into why she believes things. I can't wait for all the initmate conversations we will have. She can make anything funny and my abs are already feeling a little tighter because of her humor.
Krystle Desales, a Filipino beauty from California. This girl came from a rough team, but we are excited to show her what safety and love looks like from the whole team and not just a few. She is deep and an encourager for sure. I'd never even thought to be on her team until the beginning of Nepal when she helped talk me through some hard stuff. She is full of God's love and just so capable of breathing in truth.
So there it is, Team ROOTED REMNANT OF RESTORATION, ready for action, ready to grow deep, to claim our place in the Kingdom, to let people know that there are still people here fighting for God and that there is renewal to be found in Christ! Thanks for your prayers and your love. We are praying for all of you!
