Hey friends, family, and strangers, welcome back! I wanted to post another quick blog to tell you all about the beautiful people I am doing life with for the next nine months, because they are SO worth knowing! As some of you already know, my world race squad is a group of about 35 people between the ages of 18 and 21. All of us travel together from country to country, and we have all been living together here in Jeffrey’s Bay. Within the squad, we have been split into 5 teams. These teams are groups of 6 to 8 people that we work with more closely over the course of these 9 months. We spend a lot of time together, learning, growing, praying, and doing ministry together. (If you haven’t read my last blog, feel free to go check out what ministry has looked like for my team!)
Also living with us are a few members of our leadership team, AKA the greatest humans I know! Before I introduce my team, I’ll tell you a little bit about each of them!
First there’s Jodi, our squad mentor! This woman does it all, and we love her with all our hearts. She has the most contagious laugh, lets me rant to her whenever I need (such a blessing), and is absolutely beautiful inside and out. I couldn’t be more thankful that she’s been here to walk with our squad through this first month of ministry, and to encourage and uplift us along the way! Fun fact, Jodi fell down the stairs (HARD) on our second day here… Sadly she will be heading back to the States soon, but she’ll be back to visit us again a few times on the field! (Remember before you act, ask yourself WWJD: What would Jodi do? haha!)
Next there’s Marissa, one of our AMAZING squad leaders. She will be with our squad for the whole 9 months… YAY!! Marissa is so bold and passionate, and is always looking out for her gappies (as she loves to call us)! She has great taste in music (her speaker is always playing something new), and is our go-to for a good laugh. Marissa is the type of person I could just sit and talk with for hours and hours… Every single conversation with her teaches me more about the Lord, and I can’t believe we get to learn from her for 9 whole months! What a BLESSING!
This is Zach, our other squad leader, which means he will also be around all 9 months! This is him after bungy jumping, and I think this picture captures his joyful spirit so well… it also gave our squad a good laugh! Zach and is so outgoing and intentional with everyone on the squad. The most important thing you need to know about Zach is that no matter where you are or what you’re doing, if you start singing a song, he WILL appear out of nowhere to sing the next line. Looking forward to 8 more months of jam sessions!
And NOW, time to introduce my team: TEAM REFINEMENT! We chose this team name at training camp after praying about it together. Our team leader, Acacia, spoke over us that this year would REFINE us. She explained to us how precious metals are heated up to high temperatures in order to be molded, and in the same way, the Father will shape our character under pressure and refine our faith.
HERE THEY ARE!! MY PEOPLE!!!
First we have Acacia, our fearless team leader! She LOVES the sun, and claims that her love language is sauce… Acacia did the world race last year, so for the first three months of our race (and sadly only those three months), she is here to lead my team! She gives the best advice, answers all of our annoying questions, and is such a spiritual role model for us all! Random fact, Acacia pronounces strawberry like “strewberry” which my team thinks is just the funniest thing ever. We like to pronounce her name wrong on purpose as many ways as we can. There are no words to describe how lucky we are to have her on our team!!!
Anna Scott, the sweetest little bean! The Lord speaks so clearly through this girl!!! Anna bought a skateboard in town one day, and ever since has been *slowly* learning to “shred the gnar.” She is a huge adventure seeker… last week she jumped off the world’s highest bungy bridge with me, and wasn’t scared at all. Anna loves to come sit at the foot of my bed and tell me what the Lord is teaching her, and those conversations are always the highlight of my day. Just look at her picture and try and tell me she doesn’t RADIATE joy.
Skylar!!! This girl has the biggest servant’s heart. Skylar is always ready to jump into new opportunities, and inspires me to walk boldly in my faith. Skylar and I are SO similar and she truly brings out the best in me! Being around Skylar can make anything hilarious and fun, even scrubbing the dirtiest dishes, sanding floors, and everything in between. But she also is super intentional with each of us, brings a ton of maturity to the team, and is always making sure everyone is okay. She is always willing to go above and beyond to make us feel seen and loved. Everyone deserves a Skylar Edmonds in their lives 🙂
This is Harleigh!! Harleigh is a little ball of joy and makes our team laughing at all times. She’s also so creative and talented, and loves using her gifts and artistic ability to glorify the Lord! The world needs more people like Harleigh, people who step out and do the things that might make them uncomfortable. I am so thankful to have Harleigh by my side for these 9 months because her positivity rubs off on all of us!
Colby! This girl has the biggest heart and knows the Lord so well. I am so excited to keep learning from her for the next 8 months and beyond. Colby calls herself a grandma because she LOVES to go to bed as early as possible, and calls me crazy for waking up to see the sunrise every morning. Sorry Colby, opposites attract though, right? Colby is someone I grew to trust so quickly, and I feel like I could rant to her about absolutely anything. Doing life with her has been SO SWEET!
And last but definitely not least, we have Anna Wilkerson! Anna and I used to FaceTime even before training camp, so we were super tight from the start. We laugh SO hard when we are together. You can find Anna and I with at least one guitar at all times, worshipping out in the back field, jamming on the porch, or entertaining each other while we clean or eat. Her friendship is such a blessing from the Lord, and every minute spent with her reminds me how lucky I am to have her in my life.
And there you have it, my BEAUTIFUL team. Being with these girls 24/7 has taught me so much, and I’m honestly in disbelief of how lucky I am to know each and every one of them. These girls love me so well, and I’ve never known friendships like these… we are constantly affirming one another and calling each other higher. These are my people, my team, my FAMILY.
And now I have some SUPER EXCITING NEWS!!! Along with the men on our squad, my team and I are moving to Johannesburg for our last two months in South Africa! Living in Jeffrey’s Bay for this first month of the Race has been incredible, and this sweet little town holds such a special place in my heart. I can’t thank Wendy (aka our mom), Mulder, Anita, Lehanie, and everyone at GLA enough for making the it our home.
In Joburg my team and I are going to be doing a lot of outreach ministry, aka evangelizing! Many of us have never done anything like that before, and as scary as it seems, I am so excited for how much I am going to grow through this opportunity.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this blog, I REALLY appreciate you keeping up with my journey. This week my squad and I are in Pretoria, South Africa for debrief, where we’re given time to rest and process everything the Lord has taught us in this past month. And THEN I’m headed to Joburg. Keep us in your prayers for safe travels, and I’ll be back soon with more 🙂
-Reagan
