If you’ve clicked to read this blog cause you’re curious to why I have a blog title “Squad Leading”, well let me get straight to the point. Yes, I, Patrick Baez, will be squad leading in September 2010. Yea, I can’t believe AIM would be taken a chance with me either. Ha! But really, I have recently applied to be a squad leader for the World Race and AIM leadership has decided to allow me to lead a group of individuals around the world for 4 months and help them have the most wide awakening experience with Jesus that they have ever had in their lives yet. What is funnier to me than actually been selected to be a squad leader, is that I am still involved with Adventures in Missions. Not that they are a horrible organization to be working with, but I guess I just figured after my World Race experience that I wouldn’t really be working with AIM. There have been so many incredible people that I have met and been loved by in the past 2 years because of my connection with AIM. They are an awesome body to be apart of or be associated with. I’ve always respected those who have been squad leaders for the World Race in the past. It’s a great way to pour into young adults and help them in their walk with the Lord. And that’s exactly why I desire to go back out again into one of the most uncomfortable experiences for an American. Shoot, that’s actually a personal goal of my; to have uncomfortable situations become comfortable to be in. But that’s just a side note.
This whole event started back in Spain earlier this year when a friend asked me to squad lead with her. The preferred way for AIM when sending out a squad is that they have a male and female squad leader, for obvious reasons of course. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case for squads that are sent out. In the past, women have been more present and obedient to hearing God’s calling of going out into the mission field as far the World Race goes. It’s a crappy fact for a guy to hear, but it’s true. I always thought in the back of my mind that it would be neat to go out and actually lead a WR squad, but honestly never thought it would happen. After several weeks of lightly thinking back and forth about the idea, God laid it thick on my heart during a conversation with my guy friends at G42. All the guys I was talking to were previous World Racers, and even more significantly, we all were led by female squad leaders during our experience. It was that night that I decided I was going to take this decision into serious prayer for the rest of the week and make a decision to either apply to squad lead and leave it up to God or find a peace about it and not pursue this course. Fortunately for me, I was around some very wise men and woman to talk to about the opportunity and after a lot of thought and prayer, came to the conclusion that I would apply for leading. All I had left to do was check with some very important prior commitments and see if it was ok if I knocked on this door. Obviously now I can say that God led me to where I am now, getting ready and preparing to launch once more in September for the World Race. Today, I look back at that night of talking with the guys and can remember a fire being lit inside of me. I felt the weight of responsibility and duty to go back out and make sure that whatever guys I would get on my squad would have the best possible World Race experience. But not just that, I wanted to make sure that the men I had to disciple would be challenged in every way I was on my trip as well as be pushed by me in the ways I knew would benefit them. I’m not saying I’m the most qualified person to be a squad leader or that those before me were not great squad leaders. I just believe that I have something to offer as a leader to whoever I have in my squad. I have gone through certain experiences so that I could help others as they go through similar times.
