Storytelling is an art. But it's also one of the most basic, natural things we were created to do.
Stories have been passed down throughout ancient cultures – told around campfires, written on cave walls, and recorded in books. Books like the Bible. Stories come so naturally to us because we're created in the image of God.
And our God is a god of story.
On the World Race, we encourage (ahem, require) our Racers to blog. There is something precious about remembering this journey and sharing it with others back home. But blogging every day would be a chore – especially in the middle of jungles and deserts and the African bush.
So there's this really cool trend going on. It may be a bandwagon, but we think it's one you should jump on.
Instagram.
For some of you, it's old news. For others of you (especially those of you who have been on the field for a while and don't know about the new Harlem Shake videos or Kid President), this could be a new concept.
But Racers are catching the trend. And we LOVE following their journeys through the Gram. Let's just say, we've got some hidden talent out there on the field – break out the DSLR's while you're at it! Check these out.
Most Racers on the field are just Gramming every so often. But there's one Racer, Steven Reed, who's taken it to a whole new level. Steven launched on the Race with W Squad in July 2011 and is now in Africa Squad Leading for the January 2013 P Squad. He's got this awesome journey going on that he likes to call #TravelWithMrReed.
Every day, Steven Instagrams one picture or collage of his day. Some days it's worship. Some days it's hammock time. Some days it's him re-visiting the boys he fell in love with on his first Race. But every single day, he tells a story. Plain and simple. On Instagram.
Obviously, some days or weeks the grams get posted a few days late (there's not always a great Internet connection on top of a mountain in Swaziland, if you know what we mean). But when he gets a connection, he chronicles each day's adventures.
And you know what? People are catching on to his journey and virtually traveling with Mr. Reed.
And we think you should get people to travel with you too.
Step one: Get Instagram.
Step two: Get a hashtag. Create a personal one, create a squad one, and then of course use ours. That way, anyone who clicks on any of the tags can begin to follow your journey.
Examples?
Steven's hashtag: #TravelWithMrReed / P Squad's hashtag: #PdaBest / World Race's hashtag: #11n11
So go. Create. Gram. Tag. And tell some stories.
