A fellow racer wrote an informational blog regarding the lingo often used by world racer's. In an effort to keep you all informed and up-to-date with some of the terms you may see in my future blogs, I wanted to be sure to share this with you!
World Race Lingo
Adventures in Missions (AIM): The "parent organization" of The World Race. They are an interdenominational missions organization based out of Gainesville, GA. They focus on discipleship and offer a wide variety of mission trips for families, high school students, college students and adults. Trips range from a few days to 11 months (or more).
World Race (WR) or Race: "A journey to 11 countries in 11 months to serve 'the least of these' amongst real and raw community. It facilitates discipleship through the process of discovering into the abundant life He promised. It births partnerships with ministries around the world. It requires Luke 10-like faith." *Taken directly from theworldrace.org.
Squad: A group of 50+ young adults, ages 21-35, who travel together to the same 11 countries in 11 months. Once a Squad reaches its country for the month, it divides into teams. I am on the "I" Squad and will be traveling with 59 other squad mates.
Team: A group of 6-8 people from the Squad who live together 24/7. They do EVERYTHING together…. eat, minister, pray, study, laugh, cry, etc. They build each other up, but also hold each other accountable. They get real and raw with each other in an effort to stretch, change, and grow.
Racer: An individual on the race. So, me!
Route: The 11 countries in which a racer is projected to serve in 11 months. This can change at a moment's notice and for many reasons. Rest assured the leadership of AIM stays abreast of current events in each country. Safety is paramount. If needed, AIM will remove racers from a country or withhold them from entering a country to ensure their safety.
I Squad's Route:
September: Zimbabwe/Botswana/Zambia/South Africa
October: South Africa
November: Swaziland
December: China
January: Philippines
February: India
March: Romania
April: Ukraine
May: Honduras
June: Nicaragua
July: Costa Rica/Panama
Ministry: A racer's assignment for the month. This will vary from country to country and can even vary day to day. For example, we may be working in orphanages, mentoring street kids, befriending those trapped in human trafficking, door-to-door outreach, manual labor, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick, etc.
Launch: The few days preceding a Racer's departure from the States. The Squad reunites in a select city (my Squad is currently in Chicago until Saturday). They spend time catching up, worshipping, studying, and preparing for the Race. Each Squad departs the States at the end of this 3-4 day period.
Feedback: A sometimes joyful, sometimes grueling process in which each team gathers at the end of a day. During this time the team recaps the day's events. What worked? What didn't work? What caused our disagreement? Could we have avoided a situation? What can I work on personally? What can we work on as a team? Etc. This can be painful at times, but leads to Racers being raw and real with each other. This forces each individual to stretch beyond preconceived notions and can lead to tremendous growth in the end.
Debrief: A time in which the squad will recap events over a certain period of time. This usually occurs at the end of a ministry or month. This can be as quick as a few minutes to as long as a few days. This is also a time in which the squad can relax, recharge, and encourage each other. *This is a rough estimate on my behalf as i have yet to experience a WR debrief.
Squad Coaches, aka "Squad Parents": This couple serves as mom and dad while the racers are away from home to give warm hugs and pep talks. My squad's parents are Tom and Joanne Rowell and they have been such a blessing to us! They had spent months preparing to accept this responsibility and countless hours praying for I Squad before they met us at training camp. This couple periodically travels to the field to check on the squad.
Squad Leaders: Alumni racers who travel with the squad for the first 4 months of the 11 month journey. They assist the squad in transitioning from life in America to life on the field. At the end of 4 months, and after much prayer, they raise up current racers to lead the squad to lead squad for the remaining 7 months. I Squad is so blessed to have Alexandra Squyres and Ben Gagne as their squad leaders.
Squad Coordinator: This is a behind-the-scenes person, based at AIM headquarters, who works to ensure all squad needs are met (housing, transportation, etc.). Ryan Hughes is I Squad's coordinator and he is absolutely amazing! He has worked so hard to take care of us.
Team Leader: A fellow squad mate who has been chosen to lead 6-7 peers. He/she assumes great responsibilities when agreeing to lead a team. Although each racer maintains an equal voice, the team leader is ultimately responsible. Squad leadership uses training camp and tons of prayer to determine team leaders and their teams. P.31's team leader is Emily Kutz. We just adore her.
