One of the hardest parts about the World Race, as past racers explained, is the notion of living in close community with 30+ people 24/7, in addition to all the natives you work and live with (host families, translators, and all the community locals).
Pros –
Friends everywhere
Accountability
Great conversations
Entertainment
Bonding
Opportunity for growth through one another – compromise, trust, wisdom
Synergy
Cons –
Lack of privacy! (especially for the “marrieds”, I’ll touch on this subject another day)
Miscommunication = lack of trust
Conflict – decision-making, expectations, boundaries
Differing opinions – Theology, money & time management
Share everything – space, time, stuff you want for you alone…
“You go to the local store for ice cream, 30 min walk there and back, once you get back to camp…you have 5 people saying ‘Oohhh, can I have some?’ That’s when you realize nothing is yours alone anymore, nothing” – Ashley Musick, past World Racer
The good news about all the cons is that we’re already learning how to resolve these issues. This entire week is devoted to training the squad. AIM’s Director and his wife, Seth & Karen Barnes, along with two other AIM staff/past racers have devoted their week to train us in critical areas of community living and ministry. Because AIM has launched 5 World Race squads over the last couple of years, they’ve learned from their mistakes and have brought the issues to our attention to avoid all the trouble. But, after this week it’ll just be our squad for the next couple of weeks.
