S squad is a little over 1/3 of the way through our race-crazy! These past 4 months have been full of so much adventure, laughs, freedom, redemption, and love. We left the states for India in January as a group of people who really didn’t know each other, and now I can confidently call every single person on this squad family. I am so grateful for what the Lord has done these past four months and am excited to see what he does in the next seven.
This past week, our squad participated in a conference called “Awakening.” This was a time that we were able to get together with two other squads, leadership, and ministry hosts in Cambodia. We worshipped and attended sessions together. It was such a great opportunity to learn from and encourage other racers. A blog about that is coming soon.
Right after Awakening, we went into our Month 4 debrief. Debriefs are times that we get to all come together to rest and reflect. Our mentor and coaches come from the states to pour into us from the field for a few days. This debrief included a lot of changes. First, our squad content manager, dani, has completed her 3 months with us and headed back to the states at the end of debrief. dani was here to help us with our storytelling- and not only did she change our perspective and culture around blogging, she poured into this squad in so many ways. She’ll be missed on S squad! Second, we have had 3 alumni squad leaders with us in this first part of the race. These are women who have done the race before and chose to come back out on the field to lead us through this experience. They have been outstanding- they love us so well and demonstrate what it looks like to walk with the Lord in every aspect. But, they go home at the end of month 5…so this debrief was where they raised up people from within the squad to step into that role. This month will involve them training the 4 incredible people that have been chosen.
So, with all of that, teams are changing. I have walked through life the last 4 months with team Unsoundable. These 5 people have truly become my brothers and sisters. The intentionality that they offer and the ways that they continually chose me have marked the way that I’ve grown and my faith.
So, Matthew, Jonathan, Bryce, Kimmy, and Allie- thanks for all the laughs, the listening ears, the gentle pushes to step out in gifts, the encouragement to let others serve and love me as I do them, and continually exploring with me. While it’s bittersweet to not be doing daily life with you all, I cannot wait to see the ways in which you influence those around you in this new season and the ways in which Papa continues to grow you and draw you in. See you at the end of Thailand for that Chocolate Bomb date! ;P
That brings me to my new team- Pearls of Faithfulness! These six women are who I will be living and serving with for these next few months. Our name comes from what we want out of our team and what we heard when praying over our team. Pearls symbolize wisdom gained through experience. We love the story of Ruth and her faithfulness, and we want that to embody what we are here to do.
L to R: Hannah, Jenna, Becca, Paige, Janet, Me, Allison
This is a team of some of the sweetest and most servant-hearted people I know. I cannot wait to dive into life and to learn and grow alongside them.
We are now in Thailand and my team will be working with university students in the northeast part of the country. Please join us in praying for quick relationships within or team and for the people that we will meet. We are expecting the Lord to do some BIG things.
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Thanks to you all, I am FULLY FUNDED! Your support has been phenomenal and I would not be having these experiences without YOU! Any donations made through my blog will now go to a general fund-not to me. However, there are still plenty of opportunities and need to help support me with misc. personal living expenses and funds for me to use to bless the ministries and people I’m working with. If you are interested in helping me with this, send me a message or you can donate through https://www.paypal.me/SylviaBarrett.
