In previous posts I’ve mentioned words like “squad,” “team,” “route,” etc. and to those unfamiliar with how the World Race works, I thought a post explaining some of the lingo would be helpful to my friends, family and supporters before I launch! So, let’s get started…
ROUTE:The list of countries I’ll be traveling to this year! For August 2018 launch, there were 5 routes I could have picked from to go on and I chose route 2! This route includes:
- Haiti
- Dominican Republic
- South Africa
- Botswana
- Zambia
- India
- Nepal
- Albania
- Romania
- Bulgaria
- Serbia
…in the order! This route is subject to change pending any civil unrest, natural disasters, or any unforeseen circumstances that would make visiting this country unsafe.
How you can pray for my route: Pray that the Lord would go ahead of us in each of these countries to prepare the way for our arrival and time spent there. Pray for the people we’ll encounter in each country, that their hearts would be softened to hearing the gospel and experiencing the love of Jesus. Pray that these countries would safely welcome us onto their soil and that we would see God move in miraculous ways in each and every one of them.
SQUAD: The group of 31 of us who will be traveling together to each of the countries I’ve listed above, aka J Squad, aka Seasoned Grandmas, aka Blue Jays (can you tell we like nicknames?!). We have four guys and the remaining 27 are #globalqueens. My squad mates call many different places home, some as far away as Canada and Hawaii! We’re a unique bunch that is sold out for the mission of Christ. We have dancers and singers, quiet encouragers and boisterous motivators, artists and health professionals, students and teachers. We’re diverse in so many ways but bound by the blood of Jesus and the desire to share His love with the world. Our squad has been divided into 5 different teams, each with 6-7 of us squad mates. Our teams will all be in the same country at the same time because as I mentioned before, we’re all on the same route, but in country, we may be at a variety of different ministry locations working on different ministry projects to impact the most communities as possible. Read about where my team and one other team will be serving in Haiti here.
How you can pray for my squad: Pray that there would be undeniable unity amongst our squad, pray for protection from any attacks the enemy is conceiving to deter us from what we’ve set out to do and pray that funds would come in just when they need to so that all 31 of us can board the plane to Haiti in a few weeks. Meet 9 of my squadmates that are still fundraising here!
TEAM:The small group of people I’ll be living with day in and day out in each country I visit. I’ll be posting another blog soon introducing you all to the team I’ll be serving/living with for the at least the first month (sneak peek in the picture below!) Our teams were prayerfully handpicked by our leaders at training camp and are subject to change pending any issues that arise or specific needs required by ministry sites in various countries, or they could stay the same the entire 11 months!
How you can pray for my team: Pray that we too would have incredible unity, that we would serve well alongside one another, continue to pull out the best in one another and that we would point each other towards the cross in all situations
LEADERSHIP: We also have two squad leaders, LeAnne and James (first picture below) who have been on the World Race before and have volunteered their time to help us for the first five months of our race. It will be so comforting having two experienced racers show us the ropes for the first few months and I’m certain that James’ humorous and intentional spirit and LeAnne’s compassionate and patient heart will be needed as we begin this journey.
In addition to our squad leaders, we also have a squad mentor and squad coaches. Our squad’s mentor, Grace (second picture below), will be our primary contact back home in the states. She lives in Gainesville, GA, works for Adventures in Missions and will be following us all along the way, individually checking in with us to see how we’re doing, and has many more behind the scenes roles that I’m sure are too numerous to list! Our squad coaches, Ellen and Andy (third picture below), are parents of an alumni World Racer who are completely volunteering their time to be resources for us for anything we need throughout the race. They’ll be joining us at a few debriefs between countries, they’ll read of all our blogs to keep updated and are our squad’s mighty prayer warriors.
How you can pray for our leadership: Pray that they would be able to lead themselves well in order to lead us well, in whatever aspect that is. Pray for their protection, discernment, strength and energy as they take care of us from near and far.
