I know this World Race journey is different for everyone. But I do know that for everyone it is like a roller coaster. First you hear about it and you get very excited or very nervous, but you decide that it’s worth it. So, you pay the application fee and enter the park.
You wait in line with everyone else as you apply and you interview. Then finally, you get to the front of the line; Adventures In Missions calls you to tell you you’re accepted. Just like that you step on the ride. Probably more excited and nervous than you were before.
And just like any other roller coaster, you don’t just sit at the gate for 9 months, or 6 months, or 3 months. The launch tracks start propelling you forward. Sometimes they start out slowly like the Batman (TNT) ride at six flags for other people (like me) you go from Zero to Sixty in four seconds like Rockin’ Roller Coaster at Disney World. Either way you’re moving.
This crazy journey doesn’t start at Training Camp or Launch; it starts the second you send in your deposit.
You start heading up the roller coaster. You’re on a high of nervous anticipation. Maybe you’re donations start rolling in, or maybe you are reading about all the places you’re going, or maybe your family couldn’t be more excited for you. Either way, you’re heading up the hill. Until suddenly, unannounced to you, you’re going down and you’re screaming. You are riding Space Mountain (Disney World) and you don’t know you’ve reached the top until you start going down and no matter how much kicking and screaming you do, you’re stuck in the train and you can’t pull or self up.
For some people, this happens when they are struggling to fundraise, for others it’s unsupportive friends or family. For me, it was school that brought on discouragement.
You might head up another small hill or a big one. You might find yourself barroling as fast as you can through a cork screw (for me this was more school). You may even find yourself hanging upside down for a little while as you sort out where on earth all this gear is going to come from and what on earth did that guy at REI just ask me? Vestibukle, WHAT?
And sometimes, you can make it all the way through the first twists and turns and hills of the ride and find yourself suddenly being propelled backwards (and this is my least favorite part of a roller coaster). For me, this happened when I realized I had to defer. I made it all the way back to the station and suddenly found myself being propelled forward (this time slowly at first) with a completely new group of strangers. Even worse, is some of the screws must have been loose because I was not only “starting over” but I had to sit there suspended in limbo halfway up the hill waiting to find out where I was going. This was probably the worst part of my journey.
Some people get propelled backwards for one reason or another. Like me, some people launch at a later date. Others find them struggling with things they thought they had worked through.
But, you’re still on the ride and their are more hills and turns. You hit a few heart line rolls when things should be working one way, but they aren’t working that way. Somehow, at this section of the ride you’re still working out; you just don’t understand how.
I even hit a few high speed sections of the ride. I got funded $5,000 in less than two months. I was flying forward in faith and preparation and couldn’t comprehend the support.
I slowed down a little bit and suddenly hit a drop off (this element of a roller coaster is not legal in the United States). You were moving straight and forward when suddenly, you’re suspended over nothing praying desperately that when your train gets released the tracks you can’t see will catch you. This happened to me last fall. I got so discouraged and overwhelmed that I would say I wasn’t even functioning at a normal human level. I was in such a panic at this stage, my family didn’t even recognize my behavior. But, God promised to catch me and put the wheels back on the track and He did.
Sometimes you hit inverted loops, and pretzel loops, sea serpant rolls, top hats, and horse shoes. But you’re already on the ride and it’s too late to get off (Yes, AIM will let you decide not to leave or to come home early, but you’re still on the ride for a while because it changed you and you have to repave a path for the next year of your life).
You ride long enough that you get to know the people you’re riding with. The stranger behind you who was screaming really loud just to scare you and the person sitting next to you holding your hands in the air telling you to enjoy every moment are no longer strangers, they’re your friends. This happens at Training Camp (and for most people, it seems to be another high speed section).
Eventually, you Launch and the coaster keeps on going. You come home and ride some more ups and downs before you finally step off this ride.
People don’t usually tell you that there are drastic highs and lows before you leave. They don’t tell you that it isn’t going to be easy. They don’t tell you that it takes a village to get ready (all the people on your train, all the people snapping the pictures, the ride workers, and all the people pushing you to get on and not get off). They tell you that it is an adventure, but what makes adventures so great is the lows. Without the lows, the amazing parts would be normal.
If you’re anything like me, you don’t “like” roller coaster.They may make you nausea or give you head aches. For me, they just scare me. But, if you’re anything like me, once you’re on, you have the time of your life. And when you get off the ride, you’re so glad you road it; you could almost do it again – almost.
This whole journey is well worth it. I haven’t even finished and I already know that. It will change you. It will grow you. It will develop you into a better version of yourself. So, get on the ride. Throw your hands in the air and scream through the whole thing (because we all know that makes roller coasters more fun). Get off and laugh at the crazy pictures the on board camera caught. Because you just had the time of your life; you just road the best roller coaster ever.
Get on!!
