It's Fun to Fly!

Hello families, friends, church siblings, comedy fans, soccer lovers, and other people (probably Russian) who mysteriously and suspiciously found themselves on this blog,

It's a privilege and a joy to try to keep you all updated on the exciting close to the summer that we 13 players, 2 coaches, 2 leaders, and 3 additional Dreves are about to embark on.  Radically speaking, I'd like to think I could make your reading experience just as eye-opening as our living experience will be, but by brief comparison, God's creation and people are way cooler than my words.  So, I apologize for where I fall short, but please believe that I have set a high standard for myself in keeping you all up to date.  Before I fail to address it, I know that not quite everyone reading feels personally connected to God.  I don't mean to leave you behind or catch you off guard with my focus on what's going on in the Background.  I'm not gonna pull any punches though, Christ has paid far too much for me to give Him less attention than He deserves, and His message to people isn't always XOXO!  I know it's a tad public, but if you're feeling confused or insulted (or anything else, I guess) I can dig some interaction in the ol' comments section at the bottom.  In the same way that I hope the cool things are well illustrated on this blog, I hope I can also communicate our greatest learning moments.

The team is in some senses prepared, and in others, still works in progress.  Some of us haven't been home in weeks or months due to camp counseling, missions tripping, or distance working.  We haven't exactly slowed down and mentally and physically been contemplating what it means to go to Ecuador and interact with people through the God-given tool of sports, in this case, soccer.  Some of us have never been on a trip like this, and thus contemplating wouldn't seem to do us much good!  Regardless, we are all unanimously 1) excited to be given this opportunity for a number of reasons, 2) excited to be around each other, and 3) very good at showing it through a team-love that can very quickly be noticed and attractive to Ecuadorians if we use it right.

Some of us on the team feel a certain attraction to travel.  Others do not.  Some have some Spanish, some have none (I don't think anyone is in the "lots" category...haha, oh boy!).  Some are here for the soccer, some are here for the cultural experience, some are here by spiritual calling; most probably by a combination.  We are imperfect vessels for any goal we have for ourselves really, but I've noticed a trend in God doing very moving things with trips such as these in the past with stubborn people, oblivious people, intentional people, and accidentally-involved people.  Though I have no doubt He could do the coolest of things without our input, I'd like to offer a chance to engage in the gift of interaction with God on our behalf.  Please pray for:

• A willingness to get out of our comfort zones so as to display Christ-likeness right off the bat
• Just enough safety and health to be effective (and no more, I ain't about lazy prayers!)
• To be tested, one and all
• To be on the same page with each other so as to display an even more Unified God
• Open-mindedness/Non-judgmental spirits
• Whatever else the wise among you know to be good to pray for

Sorry about this first post being...well, completely lacking any visual stimulation.  Expect a lot more pictures in the next posts once we're all together

A little comedy, and the inspiration for my title

Thank you all most sincerely for your support,

Tim Shack