Dear Gap I,
Congratulations! You survived and even thrived during training camp. You took on the bucket showers, the porta potties, the different sleep scenarios, and loved each other through the process. Guess what, your journey is officially on. The second you set foot on campus, your Gap Year started. I’m so jazzed for you!!!
Since camp ended, I’ve had the “Who run the world? I Squad Girls!” chant stuck in my head. While I know that’s what the lyrics to the song say, it got me thinking. You call yourselves girls, but I see you as women. That’s what I’m going to call you and here’s why:
Each of you heard a whisper from the Lord to take a leap of faith and travel to the nations for 9 months and you said yes to that invitation.
Gap I is doing something that no other squad has done with Adventures in Missions: you are the pioneers of an all women’s squad.
Training camp brings up some challenging things about ourselves and each of you agreed to step into the mess of this journey because you know the Lord has incredible things for you.
All of you were part of the squad covenant and the Lord is definitely part of that commitment.
The Lord sees you as His bride. All 51 of you are going to be pursued by Him this year.
So you call yourselves girls? In my mind, only women can do the things I just listed. That’s what I’m going to call you.
Training camp is finished, the journey has begun, and Launch is just a few weeks away. I pray that you begin walking in the things that you learned at camp. I pray that the Lord pursues you in tangible ways as you enter the chaos that transition can often bring. I pray that you have peace in knowing that you were called for a specific purpose.
It’s about time to step out as a squad of all women to go to the nations. Let’s agree to push each other to greatness, to stand by each other when things get hard, and to always point each other back to the Lord. Oh, and let’s also agree to have FUN, to laugh so hard we cry, to be so free to be weird and goofy that we can’t imagine being anything but who we are.
I cannot wait and I wasn’t kidding when I said my heart grew 51 sizes during training camp. This squad would not be the same if each of you were not a part of it.
Who run the world? I Squad WOMEN!
Love, Casey
