Today I have been trying to catch up on some of my logistics duties. These duties can vary depending on what happened the previous month, where we are currently, where we will be going and so on. Pretty much every month includes basic admin things such as updating where each team will be heading for the current month, contact info for team/squad leaders and tracking any squad mates that have needed to travel elsewhere for medial or personal reasons. There’s also the finance side of things which includes tracking expenses for the entire squad over each month. During a month each team has a finance person who tracks their individual team’s expenses and makes sure spending in anyone area doesn’t get out of hand. At the beginning of each new month logistics is required to compile each team’s numbers and report those results to the home office. So we have to be able to keep an eye on the overall squad budget to make sure each month our expenses are reasonable and within budget. What gets tricky is that our budget for each month is an average budget of the entire 11 months. Even though Europe will be much more expensive than say Africa, we have the same budget for each month. So we are expected to go over the budget we have set while in Europe, but when we are in places such as Africa and Central America we are expected to be way under. Simple enough until you start to see that even within the same country or even same city, expenses per team can vary greatly. So Justin and I with our home office need to keep a constant eye on how each team is doing, as well as maintain communication as much as possible with teams so they are aware of what is or isn’t available financially. Also each month we need to send every team’s receipts for the past ministry back to AIM. Our home office has to keep very detailed records of all expenses accrued in the field for tax and accountability purposes. So in turn our team finance people need to know where every penny is spent, write a receipt for it then pass on all of those receipts for Justin and I to compile and pass on to AIM. I’ve come to know DHL offices and pickup policies very well in many countries. Again, nothing too complicated until you think about the fact that DHL isn’t always a simple phone call away, but hours away in a different part of the country. Or have you tried communicating with a DHL office where you don’t speak the native language and your contact doesn’t have the best understanding of English? Consider also that many countries don’t have internet access or, if they do it requires an hour drive to the closest café and communication between teams and back to the home office can get a bit sketchy.
But once you get all the admin stuff done you get to the real meat and potatoes of the job. Each time the squad comes together (pretty much at the end of every month), logistics gets to find affordable lodging ($5 per person per day) for anywhere from 50-80 people, which trust me, can require a good bit of wheeling and dealing with most hostels, guest houses and hotels. It’s not just a roof over everyone’s heads (or an area for tents) but it needs to be someplace where affordable food ($3 dollars a day per person) is nearby as well as transportation to and from the location is reasonable. We need to arrange for room assignments once everyone arrives so that everyone has a place to stay, make sure all food tabs are paid, arrange for meeting locations that can hold the entire squad, make sure everyone understands the safety situation of the area we are in, make sure all teams are up to date on any finance changes that need to be made. Make sure that all teams are prepared as best as they can be for the next month, to include required visas and traveling fees, weights limits on each airline and differences between regions and so on. Once the end of our lovely squad/family time comes, transportation for the entire squad needs to have been arranged. Sometimes this is a short 1 hour bus ride/fleet of taxis/fleet of tuk tuks, or to the airport, or it can be a wonderful bonding bus ride/train ride for 12-60 hours across wonderful clean pristine (bumpy and dusty) roads. All the while keeping a smile and everyone’s face in appreciation of the joys of travel days.
Can’t forget debriefs, do all the same fun lodging, food, transport, meeting stuff then add is coaches and staff from AIM plus usually some sort of fun group activity (rafting the Nile, Angkor Wat, etc.)
Now Justin and I have been blessed with an amazing group of people that make up our squad. So many times have individuals stepped out and done everything they can to lighten the load some and make things more manageable. For that we are both so very thankful. What I think I am most thankful for is the ministry in action I’ve seen because of logistics. I was told before the race that logistics in and of itself was a ministry and I didn’t really understand; now I think I do. Plans always fall through, no matter where you are. It seems to be amplified when you’re traveling internationally and with a large group. Guest houses decide they don’t want to house 50 foreigners the day before you are set to arrive. Buses get lost and now are so late that you might miss you should miss your flight. Buses are so late that you are told you won’t be able to make it through a border crossing and will have to stay the night in a seedy dark dangerous looking area on the bus. Buses are so lost that you have to go find them by hopping on some random motor bikes and riding through Kampala to who knows where and getting dropped off in the middle of crazy town and left with no clue of what’s going on. Customs guards will tell you that you have to pay extra for this visa or that bag because it’s too heavy or big. Customs guards will also tell you that you have to pay a fee for each person to travel in the country even though you know they are trying to lie to you and rip you off. People will lose passports, people will get sick and have to fly home or stay behind. Flooding will be so bad that trains will need to be diverted. But what I’ve seen with my own two eyes is that God is there with you every step of the way. Patting you on the shoulder saying, don’t stress, don’t get angry, just relax, I got this. Then suddenly your contact will randomly appear and help you find the long lost bus and take you to where you need to meet it. You will be contacted by a different hostel that would love to take all 50 of you and it’s nicer and cheaper than the place you made reservations. Some how the flight you should have missed was delayed as well or the bus taking you to the airport came with warp speed and you made the flight. Randomly the customs guards will for no reason tell you that you can go on and enter the country without another word about fake fees and visas costs. And sometimes you will have to spend an extra fee for a large or heavy bag, you sometimes will get ripped off cause you didn’t know any better, sometimes you will have to spend the night in a bus in a seedy motel that looks like something out of Stephen King, but either way God’s say there helping you along the way, making sure there’s no way you can doubt his hand in everything.
So thank you for the opportunity to serve as logistics, thank you for the chance to see God work wonders and see his face in places I could never have imagined.
