1.
Drop your expectations, seriously.
Thoughts of what your months will look like, what ministry you will be a part
of, or where your route will go, just drop them.
2.
Be ready to be wrecked.
3.
Expect more to change in you than
anything else.
4.
Expect God to show up and show out.
5.
Process by way of blogging that is if
you are a writer.
6.
If you are not a writer, then process by
video, poem, or something you can post on your blog.
7.
Ask alumni and current racers for their
opinions, but take them lightly because every single race is different.
8.
Get ready for God to not only do work in
the lives around you, but also for your family members back home. Intercede and
pray for God to speak to them.
9.
Love your squad.
10. Love
your team.
11. Be
okay with changes in teams, ministry, or whatever the Lord throws your way.
12. Flexibility
is key.
13. Be
okay with sitting on the ground.
14. Be
okay with eating things after they have been dropped on the ground.
15. Pack
lightly. Believe me when I say that anything you could ever want is overseas.
He will provide for you.
16. Trust
in Him for funds for the race, and for personal funds for your bank account.
17. Be
raw and real from the beginning, you don’t want to get halfway through your
race and realize you have not been yourself for half of it.
18. Get
crazy and be wild.
19. Share
about what God has done in your life. You have a story worth sharing.
20. Read
packing blogs and then pray about what you yourself should take.
21. Watch
videos of world racers on YouTube, you will get a taste of what life is like on
the field.
22. Be
willing, open, and ready for change in who you are.
23. Seek
His heart first.
24. Be
intentional with your teammates every single day.
25. Also,
get close with your whole squad; they will be your home away from home.
26. Give
feedback, positive and constructive.
27. Receive
feedback, positive and constructive.
28. Hold
as many babies as you can.
29. Live
every day with no regrets.
30. Know
that even going out in the power and love of Christ is ministry, even if you
are just going on a prayer walk.
31. Get
close to your church communities and ministry contacts; they have a lot of
wisdom to share with you.
32. Only
bring clothes that you are okay with giving up.
33. Be
ready to give up everything you have to follow Him.
34. Realize
that He is chasing after you like there is no tomorrow.
35. Get
a twitter account and tweet about your life pre-race, during the race, and
post-race.
36. Follow
me on twitter: @wrbrandi
37. Know
that your team is fighting for you, even in the moments you can’t see it.
38. Be
open to the spiritual gifts that you will walk into.
39. Know
that you carry the spirit of the sovereign Lord and you bring light into some
very dark places.
40. Be
aware that your team names are in fact very prophetic, walk in that prophesy.
41. If
you are unsure of spiritual gifts like prophesy and tongues, research them in
His Word.
42. Know
that the Lord speaks to you loud and clear, you must first get away all the
distractions to be able to hear His still small voice.
43. Go
on adventures on your days off, climb a volcano, ride an elephant, visit a
castle, etc.
44. If
you need rest on said days off, then stay home and rest in His presence.
45. Don’t
think ministry is a must if you have a mess. If you need intentional, alone
time with the Father, then stay back from ministry for a day, but don’t make a
habit of it.
46. Respect
the authority that is placed above you from team leaders, team finance, to
squad leaders.
47. Be
ready to be stretched outside of your comfort zone and share with your squad
your struggles, preach in front of hundreds of people, and share what the Lord
has done in your life.
48. Acknowledge
that when you speak, you speak with the authority that the Father has given
you.
49. Be
thankful if you tent for a month. It might be one of the only months where you
have a space to call your own.
50. Share
your clothes, food, and other items. Once you are in community you no longer
have anything that is your own.
51. Be
thankful that you have community around you even if you just want some time to
be completely alone.
52. If
you are in need of alone time, face a wall and put headphones in, that might be
the best “alone time” you will get in a while.
53. Embrace
every culture you walk into.
54. Learn
bits and pieces of every language and invest in His people that He has placed
before you.
55. Show
your love and appreciation for those in charge of logistics on your squad, they
don’t get the recognition they deserve most of the time!
56. Realize
it is not the end of the world if something gets lost or stolen.
57. If
you haven’t used something in two months, get rid of it (I’m still trying to
figure this out..haha).
58. Build
relationships with the people that live on the properties you are placed at.
59. Get
rid of your bubble and be ready for physical touch people like myself.
60. Get
ready for the Lord to wreck your life on the field and with what He will do
back home.
61. Get
comfortable with rats, ants, and cockroaches.
62. Be
thankful when you have internet to communicate with home, but don’t get too
crazy investing online and forgetting what is in front of you.
63. Worship
the Father with all that you have.
64. Pray
every single day for the Father to lead you by His Spirit.
65. Have
grace for each other.
66. Be
okay with where people are at in their Spiritual walks and love them right
where they are.
67. Be
yourself with everyone you meet.
68. Be
okay with crying in front of people.
69. Be
vulnerable and share with others what you are going through.
70. Love
like you have never loved before.
71. Smile
to everyone you see, you never know when your smile can change someone’s entire
day.
72. Stay
in contact with family and friends back home and let them know that you love
them.
73. Be
okay with whatever the Lord puts before you.
74. Do
things you have never done before.
75. Play
cards if you like to play cards, watch movies if you like to watch movies,
etc., but find a teammate/squadmate to bond with during it.
76. Realize
that you have a beautiful voice and the Father just wants to hear you sing
praises to Him.
77. Embrace
every holiday you get to spend with your squad.
78. Make
the best of 24+ hour bus rides. Play games, sing, jump around, whatever you
need to do to entertain yourself.
79. Take
time to reflect after each month and especially during your months of ministry.
80. BLOG.
Seriously, blogging has been the best thing for me on the race to be able to
process everything that the Lord is doing in and through me.
81. You
never know who will read your blog and how it can impact their lives.
82. Be
open and vulnerable in your blogs because the most real blogs lead people to
acknowledging that we are real people to that have real crap that we go
through. It might even bring the reader freedom.
83. JOURNAL.
Write down what you do every day. Pray for the people you encounter. Pray for
God to continue showing up in your life. Pray for you to walk into more of who
He is calling you to be. Just pray.
84. Get
in touch with other racers and just love them well.
85. Your
network of friends will increase into the 100s by the end of the race, but don’t
let an opportunity for a friendship pass you by.
86. Take
photos. In fact, bring a camera that is picture taking worthy because I have a
horrible camera and don’t waste time taking pictures 90% of the time.
87. Get
close to your squad parents. They are there for you to pray for you and love
you so well, give back to them what they are giving to you by loving them.
88. Know
that whoever is on your team, during whatever month, is there for a purpose and
dig deep to know and understand what that purpose is.
89. Clean
up after yourself.
90. Be
okay with manual labor and make the most of it.
91. Don’t
hide underneath a shell when the entire squad gathers, but invest in those
around you.
92. Joke
around with those around you.
93. Be
okay with picking out lice from your teammates head.
94. Know
that the Lord is protecting your every step.
95. If
you don’t wear it at home, you won’t wear it on the race.
96. Take
time to rest in the Lord.
97. If
you know a lot of information, be careful in how much you share and who you share
it to (I’ve been feedbacked many a times for this).
98. Embrace
World Race culture.
99. Drop
your expectations, seriously.
100. Love
others well and with all that you’ve got.
2 BONUS TIPS…
101. Write down your feedback so you can go back and reflect on it later (even the constructive feedback).
102. It’s okay to not be okay, it really is. I can guarantee you that you will not be the only one going through whatever it is that you are going through.
