Throughout our race there were people in the B squad family that couldn’t wait to get home, that were tired of wearing the same clothes over and over, that were tired of sleeping in strange beds or on their sleeping pad, couldn’t wait to quit sharing small spaces with their teams. While I certainly had my moments of being frustrated with all of these challenging aspects of the World Race, more often than not my mind would wander to next time.
Next time I will bring a Kindle, a GoPro, leggings, a sheet for my sleeping pad, a MacBook, an external hard drive, a pillowcase, more hair product (oddly enough not everyone in Southeast Asia has curly hair). The list goes on and on and on. Not only with things to pack but also with how I would behave if in a similar situation.
Next time I will be more vulnerable earlier, thus fostering a safer environment for teammates. I will not be as hesitant to share my ideas as to not step on toes of teammates. I will be more patient, do a better job of communicating with people at home, post more photos, and write more blogs.
Next time I’ll have enough spending money to buy my friend a coke when he/she is having a bad day, pay for someone else’s adventure day if they aren’t able to, and take the team out to eat on me. These are all blessings that were afforded to me throughout the race and something I would like to pass on.
Next time I will have back up plans in place for if something goes awry at home. I will ask more people to be praying for our squad and myself. I will send more Postagrams.
It entered my mind more than once that this was absurd, why was I thinking of “next time”? Clearly, this trip is a once in a life time opportunity and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in it. I thoroughly enjoy it. Next time was a myth, something unattainable, unreachable. Why would I think of next time instead of “I should have”?
Well, here I am. I’ve been home for a little over a month. I’ve gotten to see several friends and family members. I have really enjoyed eating chips and salsa and/or queso. I love sleeping in my own room, on a queen bed, snuggled with my pup. I enjoy getting to make my own schedule, or being consulted about it rather than just told what it will be.
And I was accepted to lead a Passport trip. Adventures in Missions does a 1-3 month trip with people ages 18-21. I got the idea to apply for this opportunity while we were in Thailand. Our team was in Mae Sot and a Passport team was routed back to the same ministry site we were working with. It was So. Much. Fun. Some of our team became really close with some of the Passporters and it was such a joy to see how their eyes opened up during our time with them. My team leader was able to baptize one of their men. During our final debrief both our squad and their team was in Siem Reap, Cambodia so they were able to join us for a night of worship. It was great!
Around the same time I had seen on Facebook that Adventures would be taking a Passport trip to Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Haiti had recently had hurricane Matthew and was experiencing the devastating effects of flooding due to that. Haiti has been on my heart since I’ve been able to visit three times before with teams from my church.
I thought that applying would be a long shot. I knew that if I was accepted and I decided to do it, it would be an incredibly difficult/quick adjustment to go out again. Upon returning home I put it on the back burner. I had discussed it with leadership on our squad and hadn’t received quite the response I was looking for. But, guess what? We received an email from our squad mentor that said they were in dire need of leaders for Passport trips. I bit the bullet and applied. My reasoning was if I miss an opportunity it won’t be because I didn’t even try.
After one application, two references from squad leaders, two phone interviews and several emails, as of Tuesday afternoon, I have been approved to be a leader for a Passport trip leaving the end of January. The interviewer believes that Costa Rica may be a better fit for me as I would be co-leading and I wasn’t a team leader on the race. The Haiti/DR trip is small enough it only requires one leader.
I have been graciously been given until Monday to make my final decision. I have given myself a deadline of 8pm this evening to make the call.
The thing is our squad has Project Searchlight in Gainesville, GA January 11-16th. Leadership training for Passport leaders begins the 14th, Passport participants have a training camp right after and we would fly out on the 23rd. I need to know and have funds at the very least pledged by January 11th if I decide to go.
Here is the breakdown:
The trip itself, funds going directly to Adventures in Missions, is $2000. This includes, travel from Georgia to country, local transportation for ministry, food, lodging, visa costs, and travel insurance.
The funds I would need to personally raise to catch up from being gone for a year and be able to pay forward another four months falls between $7000 and $8000.
This includes things like car payments, student loan payments, insurance, propane, taxes, etc. This is also for any fun things or cups of coffee I’d like to enjoy while on off days or being able to bless the team with a treat.
I am still in the process of making this decision. I know all the reasons not to do it. I’m excited about all the reasons to do it. If you have any questions, know you would be willing to donate, or would like to discuss this with me please email me. In the meantime I’d really appreciate your prayer over this situation. It seems “next time” may be upon me.
