Meet Kipster's Team

I'm going to be writing about her travels and it occurred to me that I can't talk about her teammates and you even know who they are.  She's been with them 127 days now.  4 months. Whoa.

I feel like they are my family too, because I stalk them daily on Facebook.  But I feel ok in this, because as I stalk them, I see all the other parents stalking them too.  Dan Rossman, Priscilla Eisaman, Heidi Bents, just to name a few.   So I feel ok in stalking.  We all are.  Sitting 10,000 miles away from our kids, desperately looking for news.  We are a community of support for our racers.  It's an amazing feeling, being bonded to people I've never met, yet love already like family.   Weird, and wonderful.

Let me introduce you.

First, Kip is traveling with about 50 racers.  (there were more, but some haven't met the fundraising requirements and have had to go home, Thankfully, Thanks to you!, Kip is on her way to quickly becoming fully funded, Praise The Lord)   The Squad is called the "Z" squad.

This looks like an ad for "Survivor".  I love this picture.  It was taken last month at the end of their month in South Africa.  They are all tan, and happy.  They had a good month there.  Now, this is the whole "Squad".

Now Z squad is made up of several teams of 6-7, and when they reach a country the teams disperse and go to different ministries in about a 3 hour radius.  Some teams get to work with another team, some teams are way out in the boonies by themselves, and some teams work independently.  It's really an amazing ministry

Kip's team ...........  Team 2 20

Meet Kevin............. Team Leader.

I like Kevin. He's growing his hair out, and I'm never sure what to expect when I see pictures of him.  Kip said he ventured off to have someone "corn row" his hair into braids, and no one in Africa really knows what he was saying.  He came back  with a bunch of twisty braids, and a multi color rainbow of rubber bands interspersed in the nonsense, and someone said, "Oh, great, our team leader is a 12 year old girl."  I wish I could have seen that one.  

Kevin took on a HUGE project in Mozambique... he was determined to get a well dug from their constant water supply (which is a bog, don't ask me to explain, I don't know), to get to the boys' gardens.  (more on this later)  Kip said he wore a shirt 3% of the month.  He worked like crazy to get it accomplished and he DID it!

Digging and digging, and hey, digging some more. 

It was a huge job and he got 'er done.  Great job, Kevin.  Now everyone pray for rain to fill that well, so that their gardens can keep growing! (more on that later)

Next, we have the married couple of the team, or "Lord & Lady Britton", if you will.....

Meet Chris..........

Methinks he needs a taller shovel.

Let me show you how to do math.

Chris constantly mentored the boys in Mozam this month.  Every picture Kip has of him, he is surrounded by young men, giving his time, attention, and wisdom.  It was an amazing thing to witness.

But, behind every great man, is an even greater woman...and here she is...  Amanda....

She and Kip are making no-bake cookies, which seems to be a trend for this team.

Dada (no, I'm not speaking baby, even though we all know I can....that is her nickname) poured into every ministry in Kadesh.  She was hands on EVERYWHERE.

Building a clay stove.

Helping the boys build Kip's picnic table 

Baking bread

Hanging with Chris playing games with the boys

Got together a team to clean the bog (still, don't ask me)

straddled the fence that the boys all love to lounge on, just to hang out and be with them.

helped distribute foods to the widows 

I am a little in love with Chris and Amanda.  They are such dedicated, sweet, God-loving, no-nonsense hardworking couple, what can't you love about them?  Apparently, they didn't get a lot of "We" time at camp, so on the last night, the team and the boys, made a romantic meal for them, and serenaded them with songs from their wedding, then had a game of "Questions" for them.... they are well loved in 2 20.

And

well loved by me, too, because they like my girl so much.  

Next we have Charlene ...

With students in China...

No bake cookies....AGAIN...

I'm so proud of her.  She has some medical issues that really became a major concern right away.  She had the team pray over her, and did some intense praying of her own, and I was so afraid she was going to have to go home.  Prayers were answered and this loving sister of Christ has powered through and is still hanging in there.  She has to take it easy, so you won't see her digging ditches or building tables, but she was amazing with this thing called Kapak (I think) its a seed pod with cotton filling inside, and you take the tiny seeds 20-30 in each pod, and separate them to make oil.  She was a machine in the Kapak production.  What a blessing.  

This month the team lost a member (Britni, a fellow Okie)  boohoo, cause I LOVE me some Britni!  

One of the last pics of Team Solid

BUT Gained Two New members....

Ashley....(who I don't know a great deal about, because I have been stalking all the others so intensely), but she looks like a dandy who fit right in..........

helping Kip with her picnic table...

lathering Charlene up with SPF1million

bought the boys all the fixins for s'mores..

and showed them how it's done...

and got to see the competitive side of my daughter.  (wowser)

I look forward to learning more about her after we become facebook friends and I get on her world race blog.  I don't play when I'm stalking.  I am mash the gas to the floor, let's find out all about you.  This may be a huge reason why I am still single.   Ok, I digress.

Now do you notice how EVERYONE in all the pictures were just working and working and working and working?   Let me introduce you to the last member of the team, and I'm just going to show a few pictures so you can get a feel for his month in Kedesh.  

 Meet Tim.......

Oh, we are supposed to put it in the ground??? not roll it??

Yeah, let's go "Help" Dada clean the bog. 

 (this really is one of my favorite pics of the month)

Guys, I'll put the filling in the "Oreo" dance sandwich...

When I get my energy back, we'll play some baseball.

Hey, it was just hanging there....calling our names

I'll help you with the bread.

This guy injected some serious humor into this team.  What I have learned about him this month is he is a bleed blue, ridiculous over the top, Chicago Cubs fan.  Fan isn't a strong enough word.  Fantasmic fantagellic, fantabuloso Fantasticilistic is more the word. (If they really WERE words).  He LOVES baseball.  So guess what he did with those boys.   Yep.... he was in Sandlot heaven.  (and so. were. the. boys.)

That was 2...boy-o.

I'm just playing about Tim.  I know he'll appreciate the fact that I poked fun at him, or at least I hope he will.  :)  He poured his heart into these boys, and I know they will be changed for the better.  And if I were to be able to talk to Tim, I'm just betting that he'll be changed, too.  What a fantastic team.

So, now you know Kip's core family for the race.  When I speak of them in blogs going forward you will know who I am talking about.  I will blog about a day in Kadesh with Team 2 20 soon, because it was an amazing, life changing adventure for these kids.  And I want it to be for you, too... because I know it certainly was for me.  

Here is the video I send to them with all the love a mama can send....... RACE ON, PRECIOUS ONES, RACE ON!