Rosie and Stacey, winners of the Race to Austin, flew from Las Vegas, Nevada to Austin, TX, earlier this month to meet and spend time with Latasha Morrison and Jenn Hatmaker.
They took a boat ride around Lake Austin, ate Tex-Mex, laughed and became fast friends.
When reflecting on the experience, Latasha said “I was so grateful to hear the stories about the bridge building Stacey and Rosie are doing in Las Vegas personally and through their church. I’m always amazed and in awe of the impact of Be the Bridge. I left them with a heart full of hope”.
We wanted to share a bit of Stacey and Rosie’s experience with our Be the Bridge community.
Was this your first trip to Austin?
(Stacey) Yes, it was my first trip to Austin and I absolutely loved the city. Completely as weird as I expected. Completely as weird as I expected. And being from the South originally, it felt good to be in the land of “y’all” again!
(Rosie) Yes! This was my first time to Austin. I had been to Houston, but no other places in Texas, until now!
How would you describe the trip?
(Rosie) It was what I prayed for and more: refreshing, encouraging, uplifting, enlightening, full of laughter, and GREAT FOOD! It also brought my co-leader, Stacey, and I even closer. For that I’m grateful!
(Stacey) The trip was absolutely so much fun! My friendship with Rosie was already great, but spending this time together, having new experiences, laughing and eating and praying together- has all deepened it to a family level. I am so grateful for her.
What was your favorite part?
(Rosie) It has to be between the boat ride and the lunch with Tasha and Jen! I think the boat ride is in the lead! That was so much fun, relaxing, and insightful! I enjoyed getting to hear the story about how BTB came to be from Latasha herself!
(Stacey) My favorite part was, of course, talking with Tasha and Jen. It was such an easy, flowing conversation. We all shared our stories and got to really talk about what God was up to. We talked about good things happening in our own lives and in our churches and hard things that are happening in the world. We talked about the future and the vision for Be the Bridge and I am so incredibly excited to be a part of it.
Did anything surprise you about Jen or Tasha?
(Rosie) They were so laid back and FUNNY! I didn’t expect to laugh so much!
(Stacey) The only surprise was how much we laughed. I think we were all a little nervous that it would be awkward, but it was just like talking with a friend. I love how real and authentic they were. And even a little spicy (Jen!).
Any other thoughts you want to add?
(Stacey) Just that I am so grateful for the opportunity!
(Rosie) I will be forever grateful to the Lord for this opportunity. We had so many questions for Tasha and Jen (and only got a few answered, because we were having so much fun!) but they were exactly what we needed. Thank you to Jen W. and Gina, our hosts, for their kindness. They made us feel so welcome! We didn’t just get to meet Tasha and Jen, we made good friends too.
