Well I have to admit before the race, Eastern Europe was the place I was looking forward to the least about visiting. However, it has turned out to be my favorite so far. Romania is an absolutely beautiful country. The people are beautiful, the land is beautiful, and the weather is COOL! After eight months of doing nothing but sweating, it is finally lovely weather. I even had to go and buy a new jacket because it got so cool here.

            This past month we have been working alongside Team Zebulun. We have been working with our contact Becky at her ministry Casa Shalom in Bucharest. She previously ran an orphanage and still has some children that live with her. We have been doing all kinds of different things since arriving. We have been cleaning, doing yard work, working with a rummage sale that they have once a month, gone to visit villages in the country and share the word, sing songs or play games and we have also helped run a kids camp for one week. There were approximately 50 kids. They came Sunday night and stayed here until Friday afternoon. We were up with them from about 7 am to 11pm. It was like VBS at home but times 25. It was really fun but exhausting also. But the kids were amazing and they really seemed to enjoy their week here. We have also got to visit several churches in the area. We have been able to join them in worship, lead worship, share testimonies, and share some words. It has been a very refreshing change for me here since leaving Africa. 

            We will be leaving here on the 25^th. We will have debrief in Brasov for a few days and then my team and Team Judah will be off to Berlin, Germany for about 13 days. We will be working with a ministry called Burn 24/7. It is a 24 hour prayer/worship ministry. We will then leave for Moldova for another 10 days or so. The next month will be very interesting. 

Keep us in prayer as we travel and also with there only being two months left that we will continue to have strength, energy, and encouragement for us to finish out strong with our ministry.

So, at the last debrief our squad leaders announced that we would be getting new teams before heading out to ministry in Nigeria. There are new leaders and almost no one is on a team with an old team member. It was a shock for some people and yet something a lot of people felt like was coming. The new teams were announced and within the two days later we said goodbye to our old teams and headed out. 

I loved my old team and they were definitely the people I was meant to be with the first seven months of this trip. I learned so much from them, made some unforgettable memories, and walked through some of the hardest months of my life with. But it is amazing how God always knows what you need at certain seasons in your life. As right as my first team was for that season, this new team is also just as right for the season of life that I am in now. I absolutely love my new team. There is a completely different dynamic with us. They challenge me in different ways and make me think in new and different ways. All the teams have been switched up dramatically. And it is something that I feel has brought unity to our squad as a whole. I have definitely realized that I see the squad as my huge family and not just my small little team. This has been a huge breath of fresh air and has brought new inspiration and motivation to my life.

At debrief, our coach Mike, spoke over our team that he saw a banner of truth. And I would have to say that is right on. We are all people that truly seek out truth and have a lot of wisdom and light to offer those around us. It has truly been a joy. So excited to spend the next four months alongside these amazing brothers and sisters. 

We all took several days to discuss what our new team name would be. After lots of suggestions and much thought we decided on ...Team Roaring Concords.

Thought I would introduce you all to my new team members.

Melina Orengo

She is 29 years old. She is originally from Florida. She is our fearless leader. I am so excited about being under her leadership. She is a strong beautifully fierce woman of God who is led by the Spirit! She is so nurturing and yet also firm. She is someone whom I highly respect and enjoy being around. I love sitting down and having conversations with her. She is so passionately in love with the Lord and understands that she is his Beloved. I love to hear her share what God is teaching her...she always gets so excited about it and loves to share with the team. She is an amazing sister and leader and I am looking forward to supporting her in any way that I can over the next few months! Random fact about Melina is that she is a huge animal lover. No matter where we go Melina will find a dog to sit down and have a conversation with.

Alana Serna

Alana is 24 years old. She is from Arizona. I am so thankful for Alana. She is a deep thinker. She challenges you to always go deeper. She has a very intimate relationship with the Lord and I love hearing about what he is speaking to her. She is someone who just makes you feel comfortable by being around her.   She is also one of the worship leaders on the squad and is crazy anointed in it.   She is a true sister...we have a love hate relationship which are just the best kind. She challenges me and is an absolute joy to be around. Random fact about Alana is that she has a notebook called Deep Blue. Because she is such a deep thinker and processer she was given this notebook. She processes in the notebook and then the notebook is public access for our team to read what all is really going on in that head of hers.

DJ Kelley

He is 21 years old. He is from Texas and is very proud of that. That is something that you will definitely find out about upon meeting DJ. This is a guy that has so much wisdom and truth in him. He has tons of knowledge about the word and loves to share it with others. He is a great teacher. He is someone who always has a desire to get better and to improve. He also always brings laughter to the table. You can always count on DJ to have a positive attitude and to lighten the mood by making a joke. He always surprises us and keeps us on our toes. He is an amazing brother who truly desires to be there for his sisters.   Random fact about DJ is that he can talk in a lot of different accents and do a lot of different animal noises. It always makes for fun and free entertainment.

Jessica Johnson

She is 25 years old. She is from Wisconsin. Jess is a breath of fresh air. She has a life giving personality full of joy, laughter, and so much truth. She is someone I can joke around with, someone I can have great conversations with, and someone who will challenge me to think deeper. She is not afraid to ask hard questions. She has a desire to seek out the truth and to truly be more intimate with God. She seeks after his face and longs to always hear his voice more clearly. She is so refreshing to be around and I'm looking forward to getting to know her more. Random fact about Jessica is that she has two stuffed animals on this trip. She has a cow named Hippo and a hippo named Moo. She is extremely attached to both of them and they go everywhere with our team.

Michael Parise

The first two weeks of our time in Ghana were spent in a small town called Tema. My team along with Team Jubilee worked along a wonderful Godly woman named Reverend Matta. We came alongside her and the ministry that she had going. Our schedule differed day to day. But a typical day looked like, getting up...Breakfast at 8, Personal Time, Lunch 12:45, Ministry at either an Orphanage, Hospital praying for people, Visiting school for the blind, or evangelism in the local fish market. We were involved in preaching at churches in the evening. We all took turns preaching sermons and teaching about what God is teaching us throughout this journey. We helped led worship and joined in with their worship. 

We were living in a small hotel. All four of the girls on my team were in one room. We were fortunate enough to have a small air conditioning unit for the two weeks that we were here. It was a true blessing. It is pretty hot here. We are located right on the equator right now and I am reminded of that fact every time I step outside. We were so blessed by the hospitality that they provided for us. They truly took wonderful care of us from cooking all our meals, to providing transportation, to doing our laundry. The people from the church we worked with truly understand what it means to serve. Absolutely any need we had, they were there to help us meet it. 

These two weeks were a good start to our three months in Africa.