Hey Everyone!
In less than one month I will be done with training and on
my way to Israel. Wow. I am so amazed by how quickly time is
moving. I want to thank you all for your
prayers and support. In case you missed
the Facebook posts, I raised 100% of my funds!
God is amazing. If it’s okay with
you all, I would love to go ahead and introduce you to my team.
My team is full of world changers. With six guys and six girls, we all work as a
cohesive blend to balance each other out.
I have been amazed by the fluidity that we experience because each of
them have pure intentions and desires when it comes to missions. They are all on a journey in which they
strive to run the race that the Lord has placed in front of them at full
speed. Our meetings contain both
laughter and tears, silly moments woven together by the sharing of what brings
us joy and pain. We are a group of
random ORU students that are doing life together and the results have been
breathtaking. We haven’t even truly
started training yet I would go anywhere with these outstanding
individuals. Here is a little bit about
each of them:
Adam Giedd: Adam is
my co-leader on this trip and he leads with an amazing blend of humility,
structure, and grace. He is one of the
smartest guys I know and I am so blessed to be able to serve with him. Adam and I love to joke that in the “good cop
bad cop” scenario we are both bad cops, but let’s be real, he is as soft as a
puppy when it comes down to it.
Macy Cochran: Macy is
my dear friend who also lives on my floor this year. She has a beautiful singing voice and loves
coffee. Her presence calms me down and I
learn something from her in every interaction.
She and I relate on what we enjoy, hate, and the life struggles that we
face which leads to incredible conversations full of growth.
Connor McGraw: Connor
is an engineering student, so I often get to see the nerdy side of him. He is hilarious, but not in a loud way, and
loves a good competition. He loves Lord
of the Rings more than most things. When
he focuses, he is not easily deterred.
Anyone who meets Connor cannot help but smile when they think of him.
Brenale Johnson: Brenale connects with my heart because of her pure passion for dancing. She is very honest and when she experiences joy it is a beautiful sight. I love how real she is and that she avoids pretenses and masks. I have never seen her be anything but kind to any person.
Seth Huber: Seth is
that amazing gem that you have to dig to find.
He is quieter, but once you get to know him you get to see his
integrity, wisdom, and best of all his goofy personality. He has a quirky smile that never fails to
make me smile back. Seth has a heart to
serve that is rare in its selflessness.
Amy Escobar: Amy is a
leader. She takes initiative and goes
the extra mile because that is what she enjoys.
She is stylish and loves playing around with makeup, so she always looks
amazing. Her exterior only scratches the
surface of her inner gorgeous self. Amy
is that person who comes up with ways to support my team without me even
thinking to ask.
Hunter Zier: Hunter is a fun yet serious individual with a professional persona. He holds honest values and shows extreme dedication to his friends. He is literally so great to hang out with because he is respectful and genuinely cares about those in his life. Oh, and he is an RA so we are totally buds from that too.
Bella Ortega: Bella
is charming and expressive. When she
tells a story she captures her audience without trying. She is game for anything that is good and
fun, and she loves a good laugh. Bella
looks for ways to grow and develop in every opportunity. She is a bubbly spirit that is full of
delight.
Jonas Tucker-Alleyne:
Jonas has one of the hugest personalities that I have ever seen. He has the passion of a preacher, the
persuasion of a salesman, and the power of a cannon. I feel like he could sell water to someone
who already has plenty but instead goes and finds those who don’t. I hope that makes sense haha.
Paola Robayo: Paola works harder than almost anyone I know. She shows devotion to her job and studies yet still makes time to learn about various subjects that she simply finds interesting. She is the image of peace. She was the most recent addition to our team, and she definitely was our finishing touch.
Samuel Oudraogo:
Samuel doesn’t laugh often, but when he does it is thunderous. He makes hilarious sly comments that brighten
up my day. He thinks on his feet and is
ready for anything life can throw his way.
He also has an amazing accent that makes it super fun to talk to him.
This Wednesday my team has been tasked to reach 100% of their funds. Many of them still need support, and if anyone would like to support them visit
http://www.oruoutreach.com/donate/
and enter our team name (NAPHTALI) and then enter one of the members names listed above or my name and it will be distributed to those who need it.
God bless you all and thank you so much for your support and prayers. I promise to update again once training starts in May.
Christi
