So I’ve realized there are words that seem common to every world racer, but not to friends/families/supporters. I like to refer to it as “World Race Lingo.” For my fellow swimmers out there, you probably understand this. Because you will say “Oh I can’t wait for my shave and taper meet so that I can cut time in the 200 IM, and maybe get that AAA time” and you know exactly what this means. Non-swimmers though? They don’t have a clue. It’s the same thing for racers. I can say “I can’t wait till launch so I can see my squad mates again, get to know my teammates better, and meet my new squad leader. I’m also excited for our first debrief so that we are reunited with our coaches!” You might have some idea what this means, but since y’all are my supporters in this, I want you to fully understand! (If you understand all these words, do yourself a favor and skip this blog. I promise, there is no “deep spirtual connections” being made here. You won’t miss anything.)
So here we go:
AIM: Adventures in Missions. This is the organization that operates the world race.
WORLD RACE: Or more commonly referred to as “The Race.” It is a mission trip program ran by AIM. 11 countries, 11 months… etc. I feel like you know what this is by now. No, it’s not actually a race, or competition. I don’t why they use the word “race,” but they do.
ROUTE: This is the list of countries I will be doing ministry in each month. I always list them in order, although there’s a good chance that this list and order might change. AIM has the right to change our route at any time due to natural disasters, political situations, host ministries, or any other circumstances that might arise. To seee my route, click here!
THE FIELD: The mission field / my home for the next 11 months. Anywhere my feet are from Sept 2014 – July 2015 can be referred to as “the field.”
SQUAD: This term refers to the group of individuals that are on the same route as me. My squad is I Squad (squads are labelled by letters) but we like to refer to ourselves as iSquad. So anytime you want to see what my squad is up to on the field, search the hashtag #iSquad on social media sites. My squad consists of 37 squad mates (29 girls, 8 men) and three squad leaders. To see who my squad mates are, click here!
SQUAD LEADERS: Squad leaders are alumni racers (people who have completed their own 11 month world race) and have felt the calling to come back and show current racers the rope. iSquad has 3 + 1 squad leaders. Travelling with us for 5 months and then returning home will be Laine and Brian. Travelling with us for all 11 months will be Tyler. The “+1” squad leader is our dear Erica, who we met during training camp, was told would be a squad leader for us, and then we had to say goodbye to her the last day of camp because AIM decided she needed to be stateside during this time in her life. But, iSquad still loves her, and will always think of her as one of our leaders!
Around month 4, new squad leaders will be chosen from my current squad mates to replace Laine and Brian for the last 6 months of the race.
TEAM: Teams make up squads. So my squad has 37 people, my team has 6. Teams are typically 6-8 people, and this is who I will spend ALL my time (as in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) with while on the field. We will go/live/worship/minister/explore everywhere together. Although some months we will be doing ministry together as an entire SQUAD, this is not common. Most of the time we will travel together as a squad, and then once we hit our new country, teams will go in separate directions and do different types of ministry for the month.
TEAM LEADER: Pretty self explanatory – team leaders lead a team. They are a fellow teammate who has been chosen by their peers and AIM staff because they stand out as great leaders. They are the point contacts that our squad leaders will use to get in touch with our team throughout the year.
COACHES: aka “Squad Parents”. This couple serves as Mom and Dad while the Racers are away from home. Mine are Amy and David Black, and they’re just wonderful. This couple periodically travels to the field to check on the racers, and be spiritual guides for the next year of our lives.
LAUNCH: a 3ish day event that will take place in the US city we fly out of. (my launch dates and location are TBD). All squads (there are 7 of them) that leave in September 2014 will attend the same launch. Parents and siblings are invited to attend for the first 24 hours, then we say our goodbyes. The rest of the time will be spent worshipping, getting prayed over, listening to talks from AIM staff or alumni racers, etc. Essentially, launch is a conference to prepare us to leave. On the last day of launch, we get on a plane and head to our first country.
DEBRIEF: I’m not gonna lie, I’m still figuring this one out. From what I understand, debrief will take place at the end of some months of the race. I believe we have 5 debriefs in 11 months. The whole squad + squad leaders + coaches + some AIM staff will meet us on the field for a few days. Which means we get a few days off from ministry. This allows our leaders, coaches, and AIM staff to check in on us, make sure we’re handling everything okay and in a healthy manner. Basically it seems like a time where we get a break from pouring into others, and get to be poured into. It’s a refresh period.
Whew.
Did I miss anything? Any other word you’ve heard me use and aren’t sure what it means, let me know!
