An introduction to my new team: the Maze Runners!!
Jo, Kirsten, me, Lindsey, Corban and Hannah
The Maze Runners = a group of mighty women of God searching for more than just this earthly life, spreading the Gospel to the unknown parts of the world, and trusting in the Lord to provide and lead the way (our definition).
As a team, we are always up for adventure. Within a few hours of being a team, we had picked our name as the Maze Runners, saved a small bird trapped in a tractor, and went polar plunging in the river running with glacier water. Then we went to the mountains, (with a bag of peanuts and a bag of rice with no way to cook it haha) asking the Lord to provide as we went, and He did in amazing ways!! (refer to my last blog, Ask, Seek, Knock: and it will be given to you click here to read!)
So after leaving Boge, we walked down the mountain to Kiqushte, not really knowing where God was leading us next. As we arrived at the village, it was raining so two of us stayed with the bags under the bus station roof, two of us walked one direction and two of us walked in another direction. We were looking for either a place to stay for the night, and if not, we would head back down to the city of Peja. Within a few minutes, Hannah and Jo had found a restaurant that we brought our bags to and they offered us hot tea. The other two called in saying that they had met someone that knew of a place to stay, that was within our budget, and were driving to see it. About 15 minutes later, they came back and we prayed about whether or not we would stay. All feeling like we should stay and enjoy the mountains for sabbath coming up the next day, we contacted the place and they came to pick us up! Piling all our packs and the six of us in the Jeep with the sweetest man and up, up, up the mountain we drove.
A beautiful cabin up on the mountain was our new home for the next few days. I spent a sweet Sabbath day with a quiet time with God over coffee and breakfast with Hannah, a hike up the mountain with Lindsey and Kirsten through some DEEP snow, dinner with Corban, Jo, and Kirsten and ending the night playing and singing worship songs on the ukulele. A restful day in nature adoring God’s beautiful creations!!
The next day, the team spent the morning doing a Bible study on Romans 12:1-8. We picked apart the chapter, verses and words, digging into the meanings and then application to our own lives. A few questions we tried to answer were, What gifts do you see on this team? How can you each step into your personal giftings? What will be important to this team? What is the Lord teaching you right now? Etc.
The Lord has blessed me with some really sweet women, who continually pour into and encourage me. Even though I’ve been involved in sports my whole life, I am still learning what it means to live and work together on a team, all with different talents, gifts, and strengths. We are each all very different but that’s what the church needs, right? As the body has many members all with different purposes, so does the church. And we need each member to use their gifts to uplift and encourage and spread the Gospel. We all have several of the gifts, but some gifts are stronger in people than other gifts. We are all working on growing in all of the gifts the Lord has given us. We are all so different and yet all have sweet similarities.
“For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same functions, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
Romans 12:4-7
…and this is where I will finally start the introductions to my team!!
Hannah: our evangelizing team lead
Now, this is a mighty woman of God. Hannah is our team lead, and has been growing into the role with so much grace, humility and zeal. She is so so intentional with each one of us on the team, checking in, asking questions, and encouraging us. AND she is always the first one to say hi to a random person and tell them about Jesus. We like to climb trees, drink coffee, and stretch/exercise together.
Kirsten: our terrific treasurer
Kirsten is our caretaker. She does the dirty jobs, like washing the floor while some of us napped. She does the hard, behind the scenes work, like that of the treasury, keeping numbers, accounts, receipts, and so much more that I don’t even understand. She also has the most motherly, caring heart, like when she woke up multiple times in night to pick lice out of one of our teammates’ hair and proceeded to do that to all of our heads many days in a row. Kirsten is also a prayer WARRIOR. She reminds us to slow down and remember to talk & listen to God and what He wants for us. We like to walk, cook/bake, and talk about farming and plants together.
Corban: the squad’s logistical gal
Corban is the biggest exhorter; she gives the best encouragement and challenges us to grow and learn. I know I can always go to her if I need a hug or to talk something out. She also handles half of all the logistical needs for the WHOLE squad; she plans traveling (both domestically and internationally), places to stay, debriefs, you name it! She is so emotionally intelligent, and has been teaching the whole team to recognize our emotions and feelings. This helps our team unity SO much! We like to play the ukulele, sing (specifically worship and Disney songs), write poetry, and together.
Jo: a beautiful beauty for ashes facilitator
Jo is a JOY! She’s got the sweetest smile and an infectious laugh. She asks the deep questions, always wanting to figure out the root of everything. She is the kindest human being, always asking how she can love people better and how she can serve you. Sadly, Jo is not with our team anymore, but has returned back to the United States for a NEW JOB!! We are so so excited for her and the light and joy she will bring to the people back home that we got to experience here on the field.
Clara (me): a budding beauty for ashes facilitator and silly story-teller intern
I’m still your girl Clara. I’m learning a lot, but also I’ve been able to share and teach with the wisdom and knowledge that the Lord has given me (and things my mom and dad taught me.) One of my big jobs is taking care of the directions, no time for getting lost haha. I’m learning more and more everyday how to be vulnerable and transparent. I’m learning to use what God has given me and allowed me to go through in order to bring glory to His name and serve others around me. I love being with this team; they help me show my sweet and caring side as well as my adventurous/spontaneous side.
The end, (said Kirsten).
There are so many more stories from Kosovo (I will hopefully write another blog about that soon) but we have arrived in Georgia!! And we have one month of ATL here!!
Catch up with you all again later!!
Love, Clara Grace
