Dearest R Squad,

I wanted to write you this note because you have been on my heart and in my prayers.  Your month in Romania was filled with the unexpected and the difficult.  I know the void of having your squadmates hospitalized in another city must have felt as if you had lost a limb.  You got a crash course in trusting God to care for those you love.  Learning that he holds all things in his hand is a lesson that will take a lifetime of instruction to grasp.  Trauma and hardship set the foundation of your faith in stone.  Having to rely on God alone is a position of humility that leads to growth and wisdom.

In the midst of trials, you have learned to seek his presence.  You have gained a new appreciation for life.  Loving those you have been called to serve has taken on new meaning.  Taking care of and cherishing one another as family has become a priority.  You are bonded in a new way because of the hardship.  As you go on from here, you will begin to heal, just as Jessica and Jordan are healing.  You will go forward in the steps and plans of the Lord.  You will do so with grateful hearts, and with prayer for your friends.  They will be watching you from a distance…longing to be with you.  Remember that.  Remember to post your daily activities whenever you can.  Blog.  Take tons of pictures.  Let them see what you are doing, so they can be a part of it.

They are on the other side of the computer now…similar to us parents.  Waiting for word.  Looking for faces.  Praying whatever God is putting on their hearts for you…only they will do all of this while they are doing physical therapy, seeing doctors, and trying their hardest to get back to you.

The amazing thing is that God can be in so many places at one time.  He is the glue, and the unity.  He can be in a hospital in Romania, in a house in Colorado, and in a ministry in India.  He can speak to each of you…he can even say the same thing no matter what continent you are on.  I realize you know this, but the truth is that he did not divide your squad up…he multiplied it.  He has you on three different continents…in so many different spaces, yet in each place he has people who are in your path who need to see his love expressed.   The poor and needy, the doctors and medical staff, the therapists and family members…the list is endless if you are listening to his voice.  He will guide you.  He will give you words to share.  He may tell one of you in India something to share with Jordan in Colorado.  He might tell Jessica something you need to know in India.  It is like a spiritual internet!

I continue to pray that God would heal the whole squad, both physically and emotionally after this difficult time.  I pray that he would use this for his glory…that others would feel the love he has for you and see it overflow from your lives to those around you…wherever you are.  I pray that the wisdom you have gained will guide your steps.  That you would bond with those he places in your individual paths and that you would hear his heartbeat for the world even more clearly now that the preciousness of life is evident.  I pray his grace would cover you, and go with you and flow out of you.  Hold tight to his hand, and watch what he will do.  For you and through you.  Grace to you.  Bless you all.  Amen.

Grace and Peace,

Michelle Gunnin (Hannah’s mom- T Squad/ Team Impression)