A little over a month ago I was asked to step up into the position of logistics coordinator for my squad. I was a little hesitant to say yes. I was hesitant for a couple of reasons. First, I am not an experienced world traveler (I have only been outside of the US 2 times, not including Canada). Second, I wanted to check out on travel days and not deal with the stresses of planning transportation or bartering for cost. Finally, I was unsure I wanted to be responsible for the transportation and safety of 45 other people. It is a pretty intimidating task, especially when the travel will be in places where I cannot even speak the language.
I wasn’t given much time before they asked if I would accept the position or not, so I just told them a yes, because I would have felt terrible saying no. I was incredibly nervous, but I remembered that earlier in the weak I asked my squad leader to push me to do things that I am not comfortable with. I asked him to do this because when I am pushed, I am forced to learn and forced to grow. I don’t want to go through this next year doing only the things that I am comfortable with, but want to do the things that truly terrify me, because in these hard times my true character will shine through. It was at this point that I embraced that challenge that was being presented to me.
Over the past few days I received an accelerated training course on what my duties are while out in the field. I am responsible for making sure that all 45 people get to the counties safely. For this, I will be booking busses and coordinating with staff to make sure that all of our flights are booked properly. I will be responsible for getting everybody through borders, getting visas taken care of, and maintaining a travel budget. On top of these responsibilities I am also in charge of setting up debriefs every couple of months. Debriefs are going to be a 3-4 day get together for our entire squad. It will be a time to share stories, get poured into by our coaches, and get to go out and have some fun. For the debriefs, I have to book a location (must have enough lodging for everyone, have a large room for everybody to gather in, and have a few smaller conference rooms), plan meals for everybody, and make sure that coaches and leaders that are flying into the country have the proper transportation to get to the debrief locations.
Needless to say it will be a lot of work, but will be a great way to make life easier for everybody that is on my squad. I will also have an amazing partner in all of this madness. Her name is Courtney Knoff and will be helping me plan and coordinate everything through this next year.
As of part way through travel day one, everything is going smoothly, but don’t be surprised if I have some crazy stories for you in the next 11 months. I will keep you all posted!
