As I alluded to in my previous blog post, our ministry time was cut short this month. That’s because we had our first debrief during the final week! What is debrief, you ask? Read on to find out!
VUNG TAU
As Squad Logistics, an important part of my role is to plan and organize debriefs. My Logistics teammate and I are responsible for finding a debrief location, figuring out transportation to and from the location and arranging lodging and meeting space there for the entire squad (including coaches and staff). It’s also our job to provide information about the debrief location, such as things to do, where to find food and the nearest supermarket/ATM/post office, etc. It’s basically the busy season for Logistics!
So for our debrief location in Vietnam, we chose Vung Tau — another beach city! To be fair, Vietnam is surrounded by water so it really shouldn’t come as a surprise. Plus, Vung Tau is only 2 hours from the capital city of Ho Chi Minh City, which is where our coaches and staff were flying in from. Take a look at what Vung Tau has to offer!
[Back Beach] Our squad and coaches stayed by Bai Sau, or “Back Beach.” It sits on the eastern shoreline of Vung Tau and is the primary beach area for locals and tourists, with a short boardwalk and many resorts and hotels along the main drag. And because Vung Tau is only 2 hours from Ho Chi Minh City, many people from the capital city come here for a weekend getaway and to enjoy the beach. There are also multiple local food vendors nearby and is a short walk to the city center. Our squad hotel was only a block from the beach (while the coaches were right on it!) so many of our squadmates were thrilled to find out just how close we were. In fact, the first thing we did after checking in was head straight to the beach!
[Front Beach] On the western shoreline of Vung Tau is where you find Bai Truoc, or “Front Beach.” It’s actually not much of a beach (has lots of rocks), but has a marina that is home to many local fish boats. Front Beach also has multiple luxury resorts and is where you can find a lot of Western restaurants. It’s only about a 5 minute cab ride from Back Beach so many of us took advantage of the proximity and indulged in some good food there…on more than one occasion!
[Statue of Jesus Christ] So one of the attractions in Vung Tau is the Statue of Jesus Christ, which was only a 15 minute walk from our hotel. It was built by the Vietnam Catholic Association and took almost 20 years to complete. You have to navigate several flights of cement steps to get to the actual statue, but the hike up is fairly easy and picturesque. You start with a view of the ocean and as you climb up you see see various sculptures of Jesus and other Christian figures, like the Twelve Disciples and Mother Mary. When you get to the base of the statue, you can then go inside of it and walk up to the top, where a stunning view of Vung Tau awaits — on top of Jesus’ shoulders no less! The hike isn’t bad at all and was definitely a fun way to hang out and see the city. Make sure you do it too!
DEBRIEF
So back to the question — what is debrief, you ask? It is an opportunity for the squad to come together after a few months apart to relax, recharge and reconnect. We will have a handful of debriefs throughout the Race, and our coaches, mentor and staff are flown in to check-in on how we’re doing and also for some teaching and counseling. But debrief is also a time for some fun and fellowship, as the entire squad is brought together for a few days before going our separate ways again. Here’s what our debrief looked like!
[Worship] One of the things we would do every night is worship as a squad. And it was so refreshing to do so again because the last time we worshiped as an entire squad was back in January! We worshiped by singing praise, lifting prayers for each other and for the squad and simply joining together as one body in fellowship. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to end each day!
[Teachings] During our evening sessions, we would also have various teachings and sharing from our squad leadership. We received Biblical teachings from both of our coaches and also some “what to expect next on the Race” teachings from our mentor and squad leaders. Also during this debrief, we had the great fortune of having an Exposure Participant from last year’s Fusion squad join us. An Exposure Participant is an international person who joins the Race for a month or so to be exposed to what The World Race is about, and it’s unique to only the Fusion squads. Our Exposure Participant was from Vietnam and she was able to share with us about her unique World Race experience and what she learned from it. Our squad was truly blessed by her and everyone else who flew in just for us!
[Meetings] And what would a debrief be without any meetings? Each team had a meeting together with the coaches and staff. Each person had an one-on-one check-in meeting with a leader. And those with squad positions (like Team Leaders, Finance and Logistics) also had their own meeting with leadership. Yes, it wasn’t “all business” but hey — it’s called debrief for a reason, and we’re thankful for all of the love and support we received from our leadership!
[Easter Service] So our debrief happened to fall on Easter Sunday so we were able to celebrate it by having a sunrise service on the beach! We sang praise, read Scripture and received a teaching from our coaches. And to watch the sun rise from the beach…what an awesome reminder of how the Son rose from the grave almost two centuries ago for our sake. Thank you, Jesus!
[Lip Sync Battles] So of course, our squad leadership made sure we had some fun during debrief…so we had team lip sync battles. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much because of the short time frame we had to prepare, but surprisingly each team got really into it and even dressed up, including us! We had some Spice Girls, Justin Bieber, Gilligan’s Island and a Disney medley. Can you guess which one was which? And who won?
[All Squad Fun] And for some more debrief fun, our leadership gave us time (and money!) for an all squad fun day activity on the last day. And Vung Tau happens to have…a water park! The park had multiple waterslides, a wave pool and a lazy river but we spent most of our time on the slides and just relaxing in the pool. It was such a nice way to end our debrief and time together as a squad, and look forward to all the fun we’ll have at our next debrief — whenever that will be!
