As some of you know and many of you probably don’t, I’m one of the Logistics Leader for X Squad.
What is a logistics leader, you might be asking? Good question, because up until training camp I had no idea anything like that existed on the World Race!
At training camp I was asked to do it and not knowing what I was stepping into for the next 11 months, I said yes. Luckily, I haven’t regretted that decision!
Logistics Leaders are asked to serve their squad by coordinating travel from country to country, debriefs, and communicating with the WR office on a regular basis about travel plans. Mike, my partner in this, and I, have been kept busy with many duties since before we even left in July.
We were introduced to our squad at training camp as the Logistics Leaders. It was jokingly said then that nobody would ever know the extent of the work we do because when anyone saw us at work it probably meant something had gone wrong and we were trying to fix it!
This isn’t completely true but it is true that most of the work we do is behind the scenes where nobody ever sees it. We’re always thinking a couple months ahead of where the squad currently is in order to have things planned out in time.
X Squad at Launch in Romania. July 2011
Do I enjoy this work? YES! I love looking at details, planning, and thinking ahead. I’ve enjoyed learning about international travel and what it takes for 30 people to travel around the world.
Here’s a glimpse at some of the things we do…
Travel from country to country
When moving from country to country, we take care of the details for getting the squad to the required location. We coordinate travel, look at what is needed for visas, and update the office with new phone numbers and locations of teams. When we’re flying, the Logistics Staff in the office book our flights. Otherwise, Mike and I arrange it. Sometimes it’s a bus or train. To book these involves going to travel agencies, talking to contacts, and asking locals about the best options.
Bus we took from India to Nepal, our longest one yet, thirty hours
Updates to the office
At the beginning of every country, we update the office with the local phone numbers of each leader, as well as the location of each team.
Debriefs
Every few months we have a debrief where the whole squad gets together for a week to reunite, worship, rest, and debrief with our teams. A few AIM staff members fly from the States to help facilitate these debriefs and to lead teaching sessions. Logistics is responsible for arranging lodging, food, transportation, and payment for all of this. These times can be cRazY for us as there are so many details to take care of but we’re getting the hang of it the more we do it!
Communication
This has been an enormous part of the job. Communicating with the office as to where we’re going next, communicating with contacts in the countries we’re going to, communicating with Mike to make sure we’re both on the same page, communicating with the squad leaders about what they need from us, and communicating with team leaders about where we’re going next. Whew! My phone stays busy for sure. Sometimes there are so many details to remember and communicate with people but usually it all works out. My team jokes with me about the amount of phone minutes I use each month and that I always have a notebook on me to write things down in!
I’ve never done much international travel before and especially had no idea how to go about coordinating it for 30+ people! A daunting task.
A big lesson for me in month 3 in India was that I had to give it completely to the Lord and say that whatever happened would be through Him because I couldn’t do it myself. This relieved so much of the pressure from me trying to do it myself. By giving it to Him, I’ve been able to see that when things work out, bus reservations come through, and travel days go smoothly it’s not my doing, it’s all from Him.
Train from Romania to Moldova
