Team Wildly Free!!!

“They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.” -Psalm 154:7

Two of the Lords qualities that just radiate from my second world race team are His abundance and goodness. My second team is named team; Wildly Free, and dang is it a team of women that just embody that name! Wild, and free in the Lord! As my short time with my second time team comes to a close, I wanted to write a blog to brag on them!

Within our squad, we spent 4 months with our first team and as you all know, I loved my first team a lot. Many friends on my squad loved their first team and so naturally, many of us, including myself were hesitant towards and possibly even fearful about how dynamics of a second team would play out.

Oh what we miss when we are to afraid to follow the Lord into a new season!

At our last debrief in Guatemala, we all came into the debrief with the knowledge and anticipation that team switches were happening. After I had a last powwow with my first team, one of the squad leaders pulled me aside and asked me if I would be willing to be a team leader for my next team.

The Lord is sweet and had already given me the insight that this ask was coming, so of course I promply said yes! I was excited and honored to be a team leader and get to love a new team well and at the same time I was nervous for who would be on this new team.

The night before new teams were announced to the squad, I was given a list of my new teammates. I was so so excited for this team and immediately prayed over each of their names.

I was excited but I was also nervous. The list of my teammates names, which now would look to me like a list of family, at the time looked like the most random, odd ball, and unlikely group of women.

I remember looking at the list of my teammates that night, excited and yet nervous to announce them the next morning and I prayed. I prayed this prayer: “Lord, surprise me. Lord, show me in these women what I cannot yet see. Lord, give me Your eyes.”

Prayer answered. Prayer answered in abundance. Wildly Free is a group of people that I love a lot and that have very little in common except the most important things. These essential strangers have turned into good friends have showed me what is looks like to love well and call higher. They have showed me that differences are strengths and that when someone is living into their true identity in Christ, then the very essence of who that person is will be a reflection of the Father.

The sad part about my time on this team is that we got less than two months together. You bet we used the time we had though! Wildly Free, thank you for making that two months a time of both joy and depth. Thank you for loving me well, for choosing in when it was easier not to, and for doing life with me. Ugh, I love each of you so much.

I wanted to introduce everyone to my Wildly Free teammates! Without further ado, here’s a brief glimpse of who my sweet sweet teammates are:

Rebekah: Rebekah is a faithful friend and someone that abides in the Lord so well. She has been a model to me of what it looks like to honor our hosts well. She makes Sabbath a priority and the time she spends at the feet of Jesus when no one is looking pours out in the sweet and grace filled way that she loves the people in her space. Rebekah is also bold! This month I have watched Rebekah follow the Lord into places that were scary and do it with confidence and expectancy. Rebekah, I love you a lot my friend!!

Chels: I am convinced that there is not another human in existence that will hype you up more or get more excited to welcome you into their space. When I think of Chels I think of freedom and grace! Chels loves from a place of overflowing and abundance. She loves people without division and without judgement. Chels has been a model of the fact that in every moment we get to choose to follow Christ or not. Thanks for choosing Him in the little moments, Chels! You bring joy and energy to our team and to the people around you always!

Hails: Hailey walks in a lot of joy and peace! Hailey is just a dang fun person to be around and makes the people around her feel comfortable and at ease. Hailey loves people deeply and has a heart for making everyone feel chosen. She walks in vulnerability and is quick to take ownership of things; a quality that I love about her! Hailey is also a fricken servant! At home, Hails is a nurse and on the mountain you could often find her “checking on her patients” in the morning, aka anybody on our squad that happened to be sick that day lol. The kindest person I know!! Hailey I love you and the friendship and laughter that you’ve brought to my life!

Cait: Cait and I have joked about how before we were on the same team, we were just never on each others radars. Dang was I missing out! Cait is such an intentional friend and powerful tool for the Gospel. Something that I admire about Cait is that she can seemlessly flow between deep conversation and hilarious stories at just the needed time. Cait is someone who meets people where they are. She is also our squads logistics coordinator. This means she has the potentially stressful job of figuring out lodging, transportation, and covid requirements between countries as well as setting up all our debrief locations. Cait does this job with unparalled grace, patience, and she does it so so well. Dang Cait have I been grateful to be in your space these last two months, I’m hoping for more!

Kel: Oh the Lord has blessed me with this one! l I have gotten the absoute privilege and gift to be on Kel’s team not once, but twice! Kel and I have spent 6 months together and you’d think I’d be sick of her by now, but heck, I’m praying for six more months of being blessed by her presence! Kel, the Lord has used you in my life in so so many ways that I could write a novel. In this most recent season, you have been a picture of the the Lords faithfulness in my life just by your consistency. Kel brings joy, depth, and wisdom to the people in her spaces. She is slow to speak and is careful that her words are a reflection of the Father. Kel, I’m grateful every day that you’re in my corner! Your next team doesn’t know how lucky they are!

Kelsie: Kelsie Miller, dude! Kelsie is a firecracker for the Lord! Kelsie brings a lot of joy (and hugs) to my life. She is someone that hears the Lords voice and obeys even when it is at a personal cost. She is bold and she has an absolutely beautiful servants heart! She serves our team and the people in her spaces so so well. This month living on the mountain, it would not be uncommon for me to look around and find Kelsie loving on the Honduran women who worked in the kitchen or allowing the cute little kiddos who hang around our camp to climb all over her. She’s sees with the Fathers eyes and she doesn’t miss people. Kelsie, I was so grateful to be in your space these last two months!

Well that’s my team, people! What gifts! Wildly Free, I’m grateful for the time we had in each others space! Love you guys!