God was working on the formation of Team Monarch from day one, starting at training camp.
It’s October 23rd, 2015. We are reaching the end of training camp. Our team goes to dinner to get to know each other and talk about name options for the team. “What about Mariposa?” Jordyn suggested, knowing Mariposa is butterfly in Spanish. “What if we go with Stained Glass because of what the Lord showed Brittany?” someone else asked. We decided on Stained Glass that day, but even from the beginning of our name formation, butterflies were in our hearts.
The Lord used butterflies to speak to us individually as our team molded from Team Stained Glass to Team Monarch.
Tiffany – The first question my dad asks me each time I talk to him is, “Have you seen any butterflies yet?” In Peru, I was Face-timing my parents in a café next to a butterfly garden so I was able to show them out the window. In Banos, Ecuador, I saw a big beautiful butterfly on the outside wall of a beautiful cathedral. I had to take a picture for my dad. I also painted a butterfly bush in Peru on the outside mural before knowing about any of this.
Mary – She wanted to name her first team Monarch, but the team agreed on Starling instead. She loved the name Monarch because the butterflies migrate together in a unified motion, just like world racers migrate from country to country united in following Christ.
Danielle – “The interesting thing about Monarch’s is that it takes several generations to get to their destination,” Danielle shared during the discussion about a new team name. “It is programmed into them that they have to take this journey, but they will only see one part of it. Each generation moves closer and closer to the promised destination, just like we may not see the fruit of our labor in this journey.”
Melissa – While in Banos for debrief, Melissa was walking along the side walk as a butterfly flew literally right next to her for an entire block. She thought it was strange, but then understood why that happened when we found out we were going to have a team change and a name change.
Megan – “The only difference between human royalty and the rest of us is that they are born into it. When we choose to be born into Christ, we are choosing to be born into royalty. We are monarchs by birth right.”
“You are beautiful ladies that belong to the King! You are each queens in His eyes!” Selena, one of our squad coaches, encourages all of the B Squad ladies. During debrief, we had an afternoon of just girls on the roof of the leaders’ hotel by a breathtaking waterfall. We are beautiful. We are monarchs. We each have a unique crown fashioned by the Father.
In month one, we were broken pieces that the Lord pieced together to make a beautiful stained glass picture. He has taken that stained glass, softened it through His healing process, and turned us into a crown of seven beautiful butterflies. We are Monarchs.
The Lord taught me about our team and our team name as I just sat at His feet. He gave me this poem that was partly inspired by the song “Wonder” by Bethel.
The Crown of Creation
Darkness on the verge of greatness,
We will fight to follow.
Tension building, Chrysalis breaking,
We will fight to love.
Bursting forth into the light,
To the triumph of the Son.
Bold and beautiful, flying high above,
The Son shines through, He has won,
A myriad of colors transforming love.
Together we fly. Together we sing.
A circle of seven, united in Him.
His words inscribed on each wing.
Stained glass colors shine, reflecting Him.
Molded by the Father, we are unique,
A brand new beauty to behold.
The beauty of the cross frees each one.
One at a time, our chrysalises shatter.
United in flight. United in love.
Burdens turn to wonder.
Behold, the beauty of the Risen King,
Each wing reflects promises to come,
Rainbows of color wrap us in love,
Flying this way and that, we are a vision,
A royal diadem in the hand of our God,
We are the Crown of Creation.
