My World Race has officially begun.
I left home on Saturday and spent some time in Seattle and Naperville, IL before meeting up with the rest of my squad leaders in Chicago. Now we have a few days of training activities, and we’ll soon be heading out to God knows where (and hopefully the AIM staff do too) in Africa.
Ready or not, here I come. God, bring it on.
I do feel ready for the most part, but like training camp, I know God will show up to show me where I’m not ready at all. My sense of readiness comes from both interest and experience, but also from living at home with my family this summer. They live on an island and another summer of island life did a lot to prepare me for the World Race. Here are a few ways:
I worked with tourism at a bike and kayak rental shop, so my work schedule revolved around the flow of tourists. When it wasn’t busy, I wouldn’t work, and sometimes I wouldn’t know what was going on until a phone call the morning of. In the early summer I wouldn’t make plans or have expectations and everything would fall into place. This sounds kind of like planning on the Race.
Usually this type of schedule meant working the nicest days and taking the cloudy and rainy ones off. There is sacrifice involved in working with tourism and you have to give up the nice weekends so others can enjoy them. Even though I worked for a business, I still felt like I was able to serve customers whenever I helped them out or fixed their bikes. I even brought a set of bike tools with me on the Race. Who knows where that could go as a ministry.
Transportation can be pretty intense for us islanders as well. With a ferry system keeping us from civilization, outings have to be well planned out and family shopping trips take a whole day. These monthly trips to get food and essentials can take 12-16 hours away from home, which has taught me a lot of patience and prepared me for travel days on the Race. These shopping trips can be crazy, but the island offers a simpler lifestyle whenever we return to it.
My summer was pretty busy as well, especially through July and August. Along with training camp, I spent three weeks in the Deep South, road tripping and meeting up with other squadmates. I also had a couple other weekend trips, including one with three weddings in three days. Overall, it was a great summer, but I know a great year is beginning as well.
Like I mentioned earlier, I don’t know what country I’ll be in next week. I don’t even know if we’ll be near internet or allowed to blog. So don’t worry if you don’t hear anything from me, and I’ll write an update whenever I can. I’d love it if you can keep me in your prayers though.
Ready or not, here I come. God, bring it on.
