I know it’s been a minute since I have updated you on how the Lord has been working in and through my squad. I wanted to update you on where we are and what we have been doing, but first I wanted to share a bit of World Race lingo and what my role is as a leader in hopes it will help you better understand and feel connected to what I am doing:
First off, when I use the word “squad” I am referring to the whole group of Racers which I am traveling with to each country. On my squad there are two squad leaders, Marissa and I, who collectively lead our whole squad of 40 people. On our squad there are 5 teams, each having between 7 and 9 people. At times, all of the teams will be in one place serving together, and other times we will be split up within the country we are serving. I am specifically leading two teams, Team Abide, an all guys team, and Team Refinement, an all girls team. I will be focusing on walking alongside these two teams, and Marissa will focus on the three other all girls teams on my squad. As leaders, we do ministry alongside our teams but our primary focus is to serve our squad through discipleship as they walk with the Lord and serve Him.
After a couple long travel days we made it from Atlanta to our first stop in Jeffrey’s Bay, South Africa where we have been living for the past two and a half weeks. My entire squad will be living in J-Bay together for another week and then we will be heading to Pretoria where we will have a debrief, a five day period where we rest and fellowship together as a squad. After debrief some of our squad will return to J-Bay, but I will be heading to Johannesburg with Team Abide and Team Refinement where we will be working with a ministry called Impact Africa.
Since being in Jeffrey’s Bay we have been working with an organization called Global Leadership Academy (GLA) which is a high school and primary school. In addition, GLA also sends out mission teams similar to the World Race called Global Challenge. During our time with GLA, my squad has primarily been doing manual labor. We dug and laid a foundation for a new school building, sanded and varnished wood floors for the school’s drama class, and worked in the school’s vegetable garden to name a few things. In addition, the majority of our second week in Jeffrey’s Bay was spent at UCSA, a church camp for middle and high school students. My squad got to lead students from all over South Africa at the camp. It was encouraging to see their love for the Lord and hunger for Him grow as the camp progressed.
A few things you can be praying for as we finish up our first month in Jeffrey’s Bay:
- Pray for our squad as some of us leave J-Bay for good and have to say goodbye to locals we have built relationships with.
- Pray that my squad will continue to seek the Lord first always. Pray for breakthrough and a greater revealing of the Father’s heart in their lives.
- Pray that the Lord would continue to bless my relationship with my squad as I walk with them.
- Pray that I would walk with the Lord daily and rely on His strength and wisdom and not my own.
This past week I reached my fundraising goal, and I am overwhelmed by the generosity that has been shown to me. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!
