Hey friends! So my time here on the race is looking a lot different than I originally imagined when I applied. The obvious of course being that i’m in Georgia, in the US, instead of Africa or Asia. What I’m doing looks pretty different too. Adventures in Missions has done an amazing job keeping us safe and covid-free here in Gainesville, so our ministry and service options have been limited (but God is starting to open some doors!! woo-hoo!!!). I know a lot of you started following my journey back before all our plans changed, and I don’t want to keep you in the dark of what I’m doing now. So I thought it’d be a good idea to walk you through a day in the life of a world racer (COVID-style)!!!
What it looks like:
On September 2nd, 2020, all four World Race: Gap Year squads; Gap C, Gap D (me!), Gap E, and Gap F arrived here at the Adventures in Missions headquarters in Gainesville, GA with a negative covid test. Each squad has their own campsite, dining area, meeting point, porta potties, etc. to keep us from crossing paths. If we do come in contact with other racers or staff, we’re sure to mask up.
There was some social distancing within my own squad as well when we first arrived. We were split into two ‘cohorts’ and had to keep separate in order to be able to contain an outbreak even more if that were needed. It was tough not being able to be together as a squad, but after two weeks, we got to finally combine and it was amazing.
My daily routine:
7:30- This is when I usually crawl out of my sleeping bag and get ready for the day. Then I tumble out of my tent (and double check that I zipped up my door all the way… a daddy-long-leg trying to room with you is NOT fun), and start heading down to the pavilion, which is a bit of a walk away.
8:00- Breakfast!! This week my team is serving, so I actually head towards the dining patio at 7:50 to grab the food and carry it to the pavilion.
9:00- Devos!! The first few weeks our leaders led us in how they do devos, just to give us ideas. Now we do it on our own. Devos look different for everyone! I’ve been starting my devos with journaling prayer, then I usually read a Psalm and a chapter of the New Testament. I’m so thankful for this time to spend with God and give Him what’s on my heart and mind. It’s a great way to start the day.
10:00- Sessions! sessions are two hours jam packed with amazing teachings, lessons, and ‘activations’, putting what we learned into practice. The teachings are SO GOOD. I’ve filled up almost three notebooks already. And everything we learn we will use on the field, or to further our growth right now!
We spent the first couple weeks learning about living in community. We had teachings on being the church, on how to give feedback (that’s a big thing here), on boundaries, gossip, and more.
We spent the next couple weeks growing in intimacy with God. We had teachings on The Holy Spirit, on listening prayer, on healing, on dealing with grief, and more.
This week we started Missional training! We’ve been learning about different cultures and religions, on evangelism, and on how we can be respectful and ethical while on the field (basically, how not to be an “obnoxious white person” while traveling).
On Fridays we switch it up and have fundraising Fridays!! We have an hour of storytelling training, learning how to share the story of what God’s doing in the world in each of our own unique perspectives! That could be through blogs, videos, art, and more. Then we have teachings on fundraising, learning how to partner with other christ followers in order to fulfill The Great Commission!
12:10- Temp Checks! We all go get our temperature taken to make sure we’re staying healthy.
12:30- Lunch!! More delicious food!!
1:30- Rotations! Rotations look different every day for each squad. It could be showers, squad time, exercise, cleaning, or laundry (hand washing clothes… woo hoo!!). After rotations, we have free time til dinner to hang out, catch up on some alone time with the Lord, or take a nap in a hammock.
5:30- Dinner! Yay food.
6:30- Team time!! This is intentional time spent with my team, the five girls I’ll be doing life and ministry with! Team time also looks different each day. On Mondays we have Bible study (we use The Bible Project on youtube, it’s so good!), Tuesdays are fun (spike ball anyone?), Wednesdays are gratitude (this looks like a lot of thank you cards), Thursdays are feedback (I told you this was a big thing here, gotta call each other higher), and Fridays are debrief (we debrief everything here, and honestly it’s so nice to be able to slow down and process everything that’s going on and what we’re learning).
7:30- After team time, we have free time until quiet hours start. I’ll usually take this time to journal, write a blog, draw, play spicy uno, watch a movie, catch up with friends and family at home, or just relax.
10:00- Quiet hours! I’m usually exhausted from the day, so I just get in my sleeping bag, listen to music, and go to bed!
On weekends we practice the Sabbath, so they are slower and more restful. We usually get to sleep in (yay!!). On Saturdays, we have two hours of silence and solitude, where the whole campus gets quiet time. We can spend it with God, take time to process the week, or catch up on rest. It’s SO GOOD. After breakfast on Sundays we have squad church. Each team takes a turn leading the service. It really breaks down what it means to be the church. Squad church is probably my favorite time of the week!
Of course, this is just a glimpse of what goes on here each week! We also have a lot of worship, one on one’s (one on one conversations with leaders or other squadmates in order to get to know each other more intimately), movie nights, presidential debate screenings, bonfires, prayer burns (also called watchman’s prayer), and so much more.
God for sure knew what he was doing when He had as all come here to georgia. They way He is moving and working in me and others is amazing. I’m so thankful for the extra time to grow and learn. I’m going to be so much more prepared to go on the field in January!! Thanks God.
Thank you for reading!!
Love,
Kenzie
