It’s not as bad as it sounds. Often the people who help you grow the most are the ones you have the hardest time loving. And when you are thrown into a group with 6 other strangers, things get tricky.
Upon leaving training camp, I was not the most optimistic person about our team. Not all of us meshed, not all of us had even talked before being put on our team, but we where stuck in that group for the long haul, and I had to be ok with that.
Over the month between training camp and launch our contact was limited, formal, and was basically like pulling teeth… How in the world could I live with these people for roughly a year. Maybe I was as crazy as people said I was, after all.
I had voiced my concerns to a number of people. When ever I was asked “what would you like prayer for” my instant answer was “team unity.” My motives where pretty selfish. I found that when I asked for “team unity”, I was asking for people I would normally get along with. Who would like the same things as me. Who conversation would come naturally with. Who, at the end of the day, would make the Race comfortable. And that was wrong.
If you have been praying for “team unity” at my request, I want to thank you, and I want to ask you to please STOP. Rather pray for community. That we will have arguments, and then resolve conflicts. That we will have awkward moments, but to chose to get to know each other through that. That every action towards each other; every conversation, every water bottle filled without asking, every time you let some one borrowed something, every encouraging word; is a choice made with the other person in mind. That us 7 people will live in community serving God and making a change.
It is not easy, and it will continue to be difficult as the Race progresses, but I truly believe in my team. We have grown leaps and bounds from the time we were formed at training camp till now. We chose each other over ourselves. We invest in each others hobbies, help each other with problems, and work side by side. It’s like the quote from the hymn “And They’ll Know We Are Christians” that goes:
“We will work with each other, we will work hand in hand, we will work with each other, we will work hand in hand, and together we’ll spread the news that God is in our land. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”
We are getting there, as stressful and strenuous this process has been, we are moving forward. There are still multiple time, daily, where we get bothered by each other. Sometimes we disagree, feel unheard or unnoticed, get annoyed, or just plan angry. But, we are learning to work through that, to talk freely, to really dedicate ourselves to getting along and working as a team. And you know what? It’s working. Although it has taken a lot of effort, people are opening up, conversation is flowing, and we are forming a functioning community.
The future is bright for Relentless Hope.
