A week ago, my team and I were driving to Florida.
Today, we are traveling back to Georgia for a full debrief.

Right now, I’m in a big white van, listening to worship music from the sets we sang this week, surrounded by my teammates, and using my Appa Pillow Pet to hold my computer in place - the realization has finally set in that I am on the World Race. After a month of training, and one week of ministry, it’s finally hit me… this is my life!
Squads X&W split our guys and gals, sending the boys to Kentucky for the week. All of us girls came down to Fort Myers in Florida to serve the community. We partnered with the Adventures In Missions base and worked under their leadership to repair houses damaged in Hurricane Ian. While our eight teams split off to do work for homeowners, my team was assigned to work at the home base and serve with the staff. We spent our week making meals for the squads, cleaning up the campus, and interceding for those in the mission field. I had the privilege of making sandwiches every day, sanitizing all the tables, and organizing the pantry. From tidying up the bathrooms and bedrooms, to ruthlessly scrubbing the showers, team Naya did it all.
On our first day, my teammate Elise and I sat in the upstairs pantry and prayed over our groups. She received the word “protection” while I got the word “multiply.” My prayer for the week was for the safety of each group, and for each conversation to have an impact. Through it all, I had many opportunities to pray over the base, staff members, and my lovely friends. Even though we all had our moments of exhaustion, God has been showing up for each of us in our struggles. He’s so gentle, patient, and consistent.
My favorite part of the week was leading nightly worship with my Team Leader Kara. After a day of hard work, as the exhaustion felt never ending, it was a beautiful way to put the focus back on the Father. It is all for His glory and by His grace. The Lord consistently reminded me that my focus needed to be fully on Him, and it was beautiful to see Him move through my newfound family. As I think about this last week of ministry, I’ve noticed how grateful I am for those who work there full-time. The way the Lord has used their testimonies, their hearts of service, and the work they do in the community is inspiring. It’s been an honor to love them all and to be loved in return.

Elise wrote a fun little introduction blog on each girl in our team and I would encourage you all to go read it. These people are my new family, and I'm blessed to be with them each day :

https://elisefriderich.theworldrace.org/2023/10/03/team-naya/