“Now remember, in accepting this position, you need to keep in mind that the squad is now your main ministry. We are relying on you and Laura to plan our travel and our debriefs so that we don’t have to worry about any of it.”
At training camp I was asked to be my teams treasurer, I was in charge of my teams budget for each month that was given to us by AIM. All of the funds that we racers had to raise in order to go on the World Race needed to be accounted for whenever it was spent. I was in charge of making sure we stayed within our allotted budget for the month, write receipts for any expense made, entering the expenses into an Excel spreadsheet and submitting it to the office at the end of each month. The team looked to me for how much we could spend on groceries each week and if we could fit in team shampoo into our supplies budget. In most of our countries we have had to deal with conversion rates and just when you get into your head that 42.53 Dominican pesos is the equivalent to $1 US Dollar, you then find yourself in Costa Rica where 544.61 Colones is equal to $1 USD. It wasn’t easy, especially when you sit down to settle up after not doing it for a few days and you realize you’re off and it takes you 20 minutes to realize what expense you forgot. However, I enjoyed it. I liked the responsibility it gave me and that it was an extra way I could serve my teams. I acted as treasurer on both of my teams from January to June.
When I was at debrief at the end of June, in Panama, two of my Squad Leaders approached me with a new proposition for me. One of our present Logistics coordinators at the time was deciding to step down from their position and they felt I was well suited for the job and wanted to know if I was willing to step up into this new roll for my squad. After considering it for a little while, I readily accepted the new position with excitement.
Once I accepted, I remember them telling me, “Now remember, in accepting this position, you need to keep in mind that the squad is now your main ministry. We are relying on you and Laura to plan our travel and our debriefs so that we don’t have to worry about any of it.”
(Laura and I, the Logistical Ladies of Y-squad)
My job description as one of the two squad Logistics coordinators is being in charge of planning anything related to the entire squad moving together. We are expected to make all plans regarding travel to another country, bus tickets, scheduling, communication with bus lines, working out all information regarding visas & exit fees, and during travel days we are in charge of making sure no one is left behind and if a sudden hiccup or new information comes up we need to solve it as soon as possible.
At the end of every month we always meet together at a hostel the day before we leave for our new country to make sure all 45 of us are accounted for and ready to go. Because of that, at the end of every month we need to make sure we have a hostel booked for the whole squad which means we need to make sure we find a hostel that can accommodate all 45 of us, we need to communicate with the hostel in order to book it, we need to pay on behalf of the squad, make sure everyone arrives and finds their bed, ect.
Every two months we always have a 5 day debrief at the end of the month. This is a time where the whole squad gets together and doesn’t have to worry about serving. It’s our time to relax and have fun or sleep in if we want. So logistics is also in charge of making all arrangements for debrief, hostel reservations, travel, payments, making sure it is in an area with fun stuff around, communicating with the hostel staff ahead of time, coordination airport pick up for our squad coaches and mentor who fly in for every debrief, as well as booking hotel rooms for them, we also are in charge of dispersing our food budget to the squad for debriefs, and making sure we account for all of our logistics expenses on our own logistics spreadsheet/budget.
All of these things are done with the best of the whole squad of 45 in mind, within our given budget from AIM, and of course all communication with the hostels and travel companies is done in Spanish or broken English.
With all of this being said… I love it. When I get to internet and find out I have not one email waiting for me from a loved one, but literally 15 regarding Logistics, I’m not bothered. Frankly, I’m thankful for the added distraction from missing home! Problems to solve, things to get done! I am so grateful my leaders saw the ability in me to step up into this and help Laura take care of all of this for the squad. Their confidence in us to make sure everything happens and nothing goes unnoticed so that we can have smooth debriefs and travel days is humbling. I am grateful for this way to serve my squad and I am thankful God has given me this added responsibility to focus on as we head into the last, yet most tiring part of the race.
I am honored to serve you Y-Squad.
Three and a half months to go, let’s finish out strong!
