Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

I’m not a fan of math, but here is a fun equation to give you some insight on my thoughts as I prepare for launch.

5 things I’ll miss + 6 things I’m looking forward to = 11 people I’ll be with on the Race

5 things I’ll miss:

  1. Household appliances – Washing machine, refrigerator, dishwashers, toilets, showers, etc.

  2. Snacks – Mostly apples, other cultures  just don’t snack like we do.

  3. Having things on hand – Eventually I will run out of something I cannot buy overseas.

  4. Sports – Volleyball leagues, Husker football games and coaching. A year without these will be tough.

  5. Royal Family Kids Camp – This one is probably the toughest.  I’m a “lifer” for Royal Family and missing a summer at camp is near killing me.

(I’ll obviously miss my friends and family, but I felt like that one was kind of a given!)

6 things I look forward to:

  1. Culture shock – Experiencing new cultures has always been a favorite of mine, it changes the way you look at things and creates a gratefulness in your heart for the things you already have.

  2. Team time – Raw community is a huge part of the World Race & I look forward to experiencing that with my team (knowing it will be tough at times too).

  3. Networking – Getting to know ministries and people all over the world! Who wouldn’t be excited for that?

  4. The fullness of Jesus – I am about to be put into situations where I have no other option than to rely on the Fullness of my Savior.

  5. Simplicity – Living out of a backpack for a  year will teach me a lot, enjoying the simple things is sure to be one of them.

  6. Discipleship – I have several people in my life over the next year who have the job of calling me out and leading me higher.  They’re going to call out my junk, challenge me to grow and walk with me as I wrestle through things with my Father.  I look forward to the “new me” after a year of that.

11 people I’ll be with the most:

First of all, before I begin this I just need to clarify that every single person I have met through the WR and/or from AIM has been incredible.  I can’t tell you how close I feel to my squadmates after all we experienced in those ten short days at training camp.  I can’t tell you how many people from the Adventures staff I have a deep, deep respect for after getting to know them at training camp.

Here is a list of 11 insanely awesome people I will be spending a majority of the next 11 months with.

1-4: My squad leaders.  There are four of them and they are all incredible.  My squad leaders have all done the race themselves and were at training camp with us in October.  They will launch with us and stay with our squad until month five.  

  • Molly Faye
    Beautiful, generous, caring, honest

  • Kate
    Loyal, kind, full of laughter

    Funny story, Kate did my interview and I was TERRIFIED of her. Literally terrified, I hung up the phone thinking, “Man, there is no way I’m going on the race. That was the worst interview ever.” But she turned out to be pretty awesome, so awesome that she even shared her sleeping bag liner with me during our “airport layover” at training camp when I thought I was going to freeze to death.

  • Kevin aka Seven
    Mind behind C4 status, influencer, down to earth, honest man of God

  • Laurissa
    Haven’t actually met her yet, but I know she will be awesome!

5: My squad mentor is the first person I really connected with outside of the interview process.  Ben is super passionate about calling people out of their comfort zones and raising them up into who the Lord has called them to be. He is also the man of hour when it comes to team assignments. Super great dude!

  • Ben Able: passionate, real, honest, great leader

6: My mobilizer! He’s the guy that answers all my questions, keeps my filled in on what’s going on and is there to just support me in whatever that may be! 

  • Austin: hilarious, outgoing, super friendly

7 & 8: Squad coaches, these two are incredible. Doug & Kris are married and have actually had one of their children go on the race. We aren’t suppose to call them our squad “parents” but they really are our squad parents.  They are some of the most tenderhearted people I have ever met.

9: Next is a list of the amazing women I will get to spend the first few months (or more) with.  We are Team Tharseo which means to be of good cheer, bold, and courageous.

  • Team Tharseo
    Jenna, Holley, Carolyn, Emily & Jessica
  • These girls are each unique and awesome in their own way.  The Lord has given each of us different gifts and skill sets to make our team a powerhouse.  We set the pace for ourselves at training camp and I’m pumped for life on the Race with them!

10 & 11: Logistics! Travel days, off days, debriefs, visas, and many other responsibilities are included in logistical duties. Ben and I have been given the responsibility of helping out with logistics for our squad and Melinda is our logistics point person who works for Adventures in Mission.

  • Ben Jones – Excellent leader and with a “get-it-done” attitude. Plus, we share a love for rap music.
  • Melinda – Volleyball lover! Which means she’s automatically awesome 🙂

 

Always have to end my blogs by expressing my gratitude and thankfulness for each and every one of you. Thanks for making this possible for me, dreams really do come true. 

Hebrews 6:19