I’ve been meaning to write this blog since our first month in Bolivia but it’s never felt like the right time. Now, I finally feel like I have enough material to make it both entertaining and accurate in the picture that I hope to paint. I lived with 5 incredible women for the first 4 months. We literally saw each other’s faces EVERY SINGLE DAY beginning at Launch. Now, with team changes, there is a new collection of amazing women that I am doing life with. Suffice it to say, we’ve learned a lot about each other. I thought it would be fun to give everyone a description of each of my amazing teammates. Without further ado and in no particular order, let’s begin:
FEARLESS FOREVER:
Meg: Let me give you a picture of how our relationship began. At Training Camp on the way to one of our sessions, Meg asked a group of us if we had any nicknames. Since I’ve been known to have many, I of course jumped to answer. Little did I know that she asked because she couldn’t remember my name. Ha! We’ve been bus buddies ever since which leads to deep bonding time. There is nothing like spending 24 hours next to someone on a bus to know that you can get through just about anything together. A few words to describe this woman of God: yoga instructor, vegetarian, hater of plans, beautiful, and one of the most honest people I know. She is a blonde at heart (although the Race is keeping her from that and she is sporting a lovely strawberry blonde) not because of her intelligence, which is in fact, striking, but because blondes supposedly have more fun. We have differences, especially when it comes to making plans but I wouldn’t trade her friendship for the world. She asks the best questions, really listens, and has pushed me to a be a better version of myself. We may not be on a team anymore, but this friendship isn’t going anywhere.
Rocky: As with Meg, our relationship began at Training Camp before team formations were even mentioned. We quickly discovered that we both prefer to observe in big crowds rather than be the most vocal. One aspect of Training Camp that brought us together even more was that half of the squad had their packs taken to demonstrate what it would be like to have your luggage lost in an airport. My pack was gone and I had to share with Rocky. She graciously let me into her tent and it’s been a friendship ever since. We often address each other in creepy deep voices. You know the ones, like the voice that the girl in House Bunny uses to memorize names. If you don’t, oh well, it works for us. This girl has wisdom beyond her years and has a heart for missions. It wouldn’t surprise me if she became a full-time missionary. She is always the last to leave the ministry site and meets needs as she sees them. Rocky is a quiet servant that set an incredible example for Fearless Laughter. Additionally, she loves Star Wars, even has a Storm Trooper watch to prove it. Finally, she is from Chicago so our Midwest roots run deep. Midwest is Best!
Shannon: Time for some brutal honesty. I knew I would be friends with Shannon when I first saw the picture she used for her blog. For whatever reason, it gave me a strong sense that we would be pals which turned out to be accurate. It did make things a little awkward when I was jazzed to see her arrive at Training Camp when she hadn’t gotten a similar sense of our impending friendship. Oh well. We ended up sharing a tent for a night at camp when hers leaked which brought us together as well. This woman put the laugher in Fearless Laughter. Her sense of humor is catching and she has a knack for making any situation humorous which is a brilliant skill on the Race when challenging circumstances arise. Nothing like a good chuckle to lighten the mood. She is a lover of Coca Cola and taking pictures. It’s been incredible to watch her grow on the Race so far. One gift that she has been given is to connect with others, especially children. It does not matter who you are, she can find a way to relate to you and for that I am very grateful. Fun fact, we slept next to each other, or at least within spitting distance, every single night we were on a team together apart from two where I slept in my tent on the roof of our compound in Peru.
These three have become some of my closest friends on the Race and I’m sad to say that we are no longer teammates. The friendships will be long-lasting which gets me excited! Fearless Foreva!
THE DOUBLE-DIPPERS:
Whitney: Every racer must take a version of the Myers-Briggs test to get a sense of their personality type. I am an ISTJ (introvert, sensing, thinking, judging). Whitney, on the other hand, is my complete opposite with her ENFP (extrovert, intuition, feeling, perceiving) self. To say that it has been interesting is an understatement but no one has taught me more than this fun-loving woman of God. Where she once used to think I was cold-hearted and I thought she needed to reign in her emotions, we now have each other figured out. She asks me what I’m thinking, and I ask her how something makes her feel. We come at the world from entirely different vantage points but we have the most important thing in common: Jesus. She has taught me to express how I’m feeling and to love on people with her warm, welcoming presence. I admire her ability to remember little details about people she just met and the fact that she has the gift of remembering almost everything she’s heard and read. If you listen to a sermon with her and ask her a question about it she can literally recite back to you what the individual spoke. It has blessed our team because she can reference these things to challenge us and encourage us. We knew that if team changes were going to happen that we would be together again, most likely for the long-haul. Our squad leaders even confirmed it. They like us together because we push each other in our uniqueness. At the end of the day, we both love each other like crazy and would fight on the other’s without question. Also, when Fearless Laughter did a skit about our time together, Whit and I acted as each other. Hilarious. Cheers to our second team, Whit!
Tina: This is a woman who has many names from Christina to Tina, to Teener, to Tin Tin, to Too Hawt, and so many more. She is grounded in who she is and what her needs are. That characteristic has brought a calming effect to the teams that she has been on because it encourages others to discover themselves as well. Teener is not one to get worked up about anything, other than food perhaps, which makes her easy-going. We were on Fearless Laughter together and when I was asked to step into a leadership role I was also asked to choose someone on the team to be the treasurer. Tina was the obvious choice and she has been amazing steward of the money that we are given. Not to mention, she does it without any irritation when we ask her about the budget and how much money we get for various things. This girl is a seeker of knowledge and will be the first to direct you back to scripture. Her unwavering quiet confidence has helped me to figure out who I am and be unapologetic about it. Can’t wait for more months together Teener. Love you!
BOXCAR BEAUTS:
Jess: This girl. Ha. She walks, in her words, on the line between confident and cocky. Our squad has three different groups: worship, health, and party. Jess is in charge of the party planning committee and I believe that party planning is among her spiritual gifts. She organized the squad Christmas party for our debrief in Kuala Lumpur and it was a blast. Even though we haven’t been on a team together for very long, I’ve seen her heart for the Lord. She desires to hear from the Holy Spirit and wants to push all of us to better places. Her sense of humor cracks me up and she is an avid sports fan. Don’t let that trick you into thinking she’s a complete tomboy. If anyone on the squad has even the slightest inkling to wear lipstick they know Jess is the one to go to because she rocks it regularly. Not only that, but her hair has gone from a strawberry blonde, to have a hair wrap, to pink/blue/purple tips, to a cut that resembles Taylor Swift’s new look. I am so excited to learn from her and see the Jesus in her that only she has to offer. Let’s do this Jess!
Court: We have two women with the name of Courtney on our squad. For the first set of teams, they were both on the same team which made things get confusing. The two are also great friends which meant they were together much of the time so their teammates came up with distinguishing names. Courtney Tuttle, became Tuttle (among other things) and Courtney Knoff became CK. Boxcar has been graced with the presence of CK and we are better for it. She has one of the most hospitable spirits I’ve ever encountered in that she shares as if it is as easy as breathing. This girl is also one of the logistic coordinators on the squad and she handles it so well with her easy-going nature and warm personality. It is impossible to be around Court and not like her. She has that kind of personality, even if she does not always know it. There is a wisdom that she possesses that will push this team to be better. I’m excited to grow alongside her as a teammate and to build our friendship!
Linda: Linda is a little ball of energy. When she opens her mouth I have to prepare myself to make sure everything is firing because she speaks very quickly. When she does speak, she has good things to say and while she claims to be an extrovert, the jury is still out on that one…just kidding Linda. This girl shares my desire to sleep in which is wonderful because most of the women on Boxcar are early birds. She sees and hears everything and I am pumped to be getting feedback from her because I know she will help me become more like Christ. She has an incredible story, one that I am excited for her to share. Another thing about Linda is that her enthusiasm about Boxcar is evident. She, like the rest of us, is very excited to see what this new team brings. Linda, I cannot wait to hear all that you have to say because I know there is a lot of good stuff. Fire up!
Lizzie: At Training Camp, throughout the team formation process, we were asked during our one-on-ones with the trainers if there was anyone we would prefer not to be on a team with based on the most recent grouping. Lizzie and I were together for our second team formation. As I’ve told her, she was one of the people that I was unsure of whether I wanted to be on a team with originally. It’s so funny how God works because I would now consider her to be one of my best friends on the squad. She is as efficient as they come and gets things done when she sees a need. I’ve been so encouraged and impressed with her walk as she has an amazing story to tell. Read her blog if you want to learn more! This girl hears from the Lord and fights for her quiet time…even if it means getting up at 5:00 AM on a regular basis. No, I’m not kidding. She, along with one of our raised up squad leaders, Esther, introduced the squad to essential oils. What we’ve learned is that peppermint helps get rid of headaches as well as motion sickness. When I was really sick in Peru with a raging fever, they rubbed peppermint on my neck and I felt almost instantaneous relief from the fever. I’m sold. I know that she gets a warm fuzzy feeling when she hears a squadmate talk about needing some peppermint for a headache or thieves for a sore throat. Essential oils are catching on! I’m so excited to be on a team with Lizzie. She is a strong woman of God who is not afraid to say the hard things. Game on!
A TRIBUTE TO MC
As some of you may know, a member of our squad, Mary Chandler, had to leave the field mid-way through Japan to go get ankle surgery back in the States. This is devastating under any circumstances but particularly so because she has been an incredible friend for the entire time that she was with us. We were team leaders together and even got to have our teams be in the same ministry for month 1. MC is the woman that both sought me out and I sought out to have several meal dates during debriefs. She is a rock and someone who leads with an incredible confidence. This girl is and will continue to be the type of friend I hoped to find on the Race. She is not afraid to call me out of my junk and has done so on several occasions. I am a much stronger woman of God because of her influence in my life. While it is beyond sad that she had to leave the field, I know that God has a plan for her. She has too much of an influence when she walks in a room to not be used for amazing things. Regardless of where she is, I know that she will be a leader and push people to be more like Jesus. This is the first debrief we have had as a squad where she hasn’t been there and we all felt her absence, myself in particular. MC, you have been missed. I love you like crazy and cannot wait to be reunited in 6 months. Road trip? Great!
F Squad Women
Finally, I’d like to stop and recognize the other amazing women of F Squad that I’ve gotten to know. You continue to amaze me in your strength as women of God. I am a better person for knowing you. One of my favorite phrases from the Race that I’ve learned is “You do you” which is often used when one of your teammates is doing something ridiculous. Rather than judging what they are doing, we just say you do you. In other words, be you and be free to do that, no judgment here. All of the women on the squad are very different which I love. You do you F Squad women because when you are yourselves, you make me a better person.
