This is going to be a fun one! My team’s name is CHARIS! In Greek charis means grace: that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, and loveliness. IT is the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to exercise of the Christian virtues. We chose the name charis because this year we wanted to emphasis the importance of God’s grace in our lives. Especially like in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” It is by his grace alone! Thank you Jesus

My team has taught me a lot in the short amount of time we have been together. I have grown to love each of them dearly and I will share more about our fun memories in this blog. Our squad had 44 people but I did ministry with my team of 8 everyday.

At the beginning of this race there were 8 people on my team, including myself. Presently at the end of the race there are only 2 people. It has been a wild ride but let me introduce you to who I have been living with for the past 8 months!

Kaylee! Kaylee has taught me how it’s important to be authentic and straight forward. It can be easy sometimes to just tiptoe around certain topics, but she showed me how it’s important to talk about them anyways. One of my favorite memories with Kaylee was when we just got to hang out in her room in Vietnam and she told me so many stories about her life back home and we laughed for what felt like hours!

Kenzie! Kenzie was one of my first ever friends on the race. She was so on fire for the Word of God! She knew her Bible so well, could quote it, could reference it. It is really awesome! One of my favorite memories with Kenzie is from domestic ministry in North Carolina and we stayed up way too late every night and had way too much fun!

Heidi! Heidi is such a determined and focused person. She always did very well to focus on her relationship with the Lord. Whether that be waking up at 5 am or spending all her free time to read her Bible. It was always encouraging to see her reach for her Bible instead of her phone when she had free time. One of my favorite memories with Heidi was leading English clubs with her in Vietnam because we always had a good time!

Kyah! Kyah stands so firm in what she believes. Her foundation in the Lord is so strong and admirable. She will not stand when anyone speaks something unbiblical. It is very encouraging to see her move with independence and freedom in the Lord. I had the pleasure of sharing a room with Kyah in Vietnam and we had some good times. One of my favorite memories with Kyah was staying up late and making edits. Or watching Croods and making so many references to random things.

Kezia! Believe it or not Kezia was the last person on the squad that I got to talk to. But ever since then I loved spending time with her. She always has so much energy and she feels so deeply. One of my favorite memories with Kezia was going swimming everyday in the lake in Guatape and then staying up late watching Pirates of the Caribbean or Moana.

Carley! Carley was my team leader. She always had such a huge heart for our team and unity within the body. One of my favorite memories with Carley was our fun on one and we make silly edits of photos!

Mo! Mo is awesome. She is so cool and so good at everything she does. She is always determined and keeps me in check! Some of my favorite memories with Mo include working out in Vietnam, playing Dutch blitz (even though she wins every time), and seeing how much joy she has in the little things.

This is my team! I love them all dearly!