Letters to my teammates, my sisters, i love you all so much. Thank you for being apart of this journey with me. the black and white pictures are them currently in month 9 of the race, and the ones in color are month one!!
Eliza- A 6 the loyalist on the enneagram test, your highest love language is physical touch (thank goodness you get me.) One of your favorite things is receiving notes, haven’t you kept every note since probably the 3rd grade? I might be biased because your my teammate, but your the funniest person on the whole squad and one of the funniest people I have ever met. you bring out the childlike playful side in anyone, and people instantly feel comfortable around you. This is a huge way you serves our team; you unifies the team in laughter and friendship. One of my favorite memories on the race with you Liza, was working at water distribution in Ethiopia. You had been many more times before me, and when we arrived EVERYONE knew your name. None of them speak english, but they were calling out “Liza! Liza!” You made carrying jugs and putting them on donkeys (which is very difficult) into the most fun activity ever. We would start banging a beat on an empty water jugs and would sing “shabooya” ( a song she made up) or anything. Remember when we both rode donkeys, and i almost got kidnapped? The people absolutely loved you! They looked at you like a family member. I learned a lot from you on how to make relationships overseas. It’s not something scary, you were just being yourself, and people admire that authenticity so much.
Stephanie-A 7 the adventurer very close to 2 the helper on the enneagram test, you love fun times and looking out for the team. You also don’t mind sushi and being boujee every one in a while either. you love quality time and acts of service. I cant thank you enough for the amount of quality time you have spent with me, helping me through hard things and talking. You have grown so much over these months. You are so quick to lay down what you want, for what the team wants. You serve the team so well by listening to Holy Spirit, and using your time to receive insight from Him. you are my counterpart and my confidant. You like what i like! I will miss listening to a million crime podcasts together, or eating probably sketchy sushi. You are reliable! I remember when your heart was acting up in Cambodia, and me and Luke took you to the hospital. The doctor barely spoke english and put the blood pressure cuff on you, but never took your blood pressure. He ended up giving you pain meds, and didn’t take your heart rate accurately. The whole time we were laughing so hard because the same doctor had sports trophies on his wall. I love laughing with you. I have no doubt in my mind, that we will always be friends.
Josie-A 3 the performer on the enneagram test, you are so good at having fun and creating it for the team. You whip out your ukulele ad the whole room is captivated. I will never forget in cambodia month when we had lunch with squad and the monks, and you played “i dont know my name” by grace vanderwall, and the whole room, including the monks, sang along. You create so much joy! I loved the time me you and eliza slept under the stars in my tent in ethiopia, and we woke up laughing so hard about nothing and singing about everything. You always see me, there have been so many times where i feel alone, but you make it a point to make me feel seen and heard. That is a way you serve me so well. In ethiopia, i was working in the dental clinic, and you came one day to help out. Right when you came in, a woman gave you her baby to hold. I remember looking over at you like five minutes later, and the baby peed all over your lap because she had no diaper. You were such a good sport about it, and you always have a good attitude when crazy things happen. You have been through some hard things in your life, but you never give up. The Lord has given you perseverance like i’ve never seen, and it inspires me. I am honored to know you.
Grace-A 7 the adventurer borderline 2 the helper on the enneagram test, you love spontaneous fun!! You loooove when the Lord brings us into crazy fun situations that we didn’t plan on doing: like the time we met German teenagers and we ended talking to them for like 4 hours and ate lunch together. You are one the hardest workers i’ve ever met. When you set your mind to something, you will accomplish it with excellence. You serve the team in being an example of hard work, but by also being a place of solace. Being with you is so fun and so restful at the same time. I feel safe around you. When i think of our time together i think of how well you know the team. You know all of our siblings and their ages, on top of our favorite coffee drinks, and where what sports we played growing up. You are so intentional with little things like remembering those things that are important to us. One of my favorite memories was when we were eating in noodle man in cambodia,and i had to go to the bathroom super bad. It was borderline about to be an accident. The noodle man spoke mandarin chinese and you studied that in high school! Thank goodness you were there to ask for a bathroom, otherwise it would have been bad. I will always cherish every sunset dinner conversation and our walks to local snack shops for the rest of my life.
Alyssa- I remember in Nicaragua, i found out some really hard news from a friend at home, and i was distraught but didn’t want to cry. You knew instantly that something was wrong and asked me what you could do. After explaining, you hugged me and let me cry on your shoulder until i could pull it together again. You are truly a 9 or peacemaker. You bring people’s heart to peace just by being yourself: by carrying the Holy Spirit inside of you. You care for everyone on our squad; your genuine kindness explodes from your being. Remember your birthday! That day was so fun. We had a picnic in the park in Battambang, and the man kept coming up to us to talk. We were so weirded out, but eventually we shared the gospel with him! Then we got to watch Harry Potter in the Iowa guy’s movie theater, good times. People are drawn to you. You have taught me so much about serving others by being gentle and kind. You are so strong. Your walk and friendship with Jesus inspires me!
You 5 have loved me like Jesus would these past 9 months, and I would do anything for you. obviously you can see their outward beauty, but i cannot describe their inward beauty with words. i love you all so much.
love, shmo
