I didn’t have my phone at training camp. I didn’t need it – I had my GoPro for pictures and video, and I had no desire to be on social media.
I didn’t bring any kind of “smart device” on my first missions trip to India. It was only two weeks, and I had my camera for pictures as well as an iPod classic for music.
I did take my Kindle Fire on my missions trip to Guatemala, but I only used it for reading on the plane (and once as a light source during a power outage where we were staying in the mountains of Baja Verapaz). Although it had Internet access, I chose not to use it even when we had wifi.
Now the second time I went to Guatemala, I had my phone and my tablet, and used them often, but there were two differences this time. One, I was on my own, and two, it wasn’t a missions trip. On my two days visiting Hogar Mama Carmen, I didn’t touch my phone or my camera. The only photos I have of that time were taken by someone else, and that was okay with me.
Now the World Race is more complicated, because it’s a long time – just one month short of a year. But at training camp we were asked to consider not bringing our smartphones as well as limiting our overall internet access.
Now I’m not here to start an inter-generational debate about how smartphones are ruining the world and whatnot (as well as their benefits) and please don’t start one in the comments. I don’t feel like getting into that.
But I write this post so people reading and following will know how they’ll be hearing from me, as I don’t want to cut off relationships back home, and of course I want to keep my supporters updates.
I am bringing five electronic devices with me:
1. Laptop
This one’s for blogging/writing, photo and video editing, and the occasional Skype call. It will be my main device I use the Internet on, and while I can’t remember if we have made a final decision, I believe my team is going to have a once a week Internet policy.
2. Kindle
I got rid of my kindle fire a few years ago, and now I have a kindle touch. It’ll be for reading only – it doesn’t do anything else.
3. iPod touch
If I still had my classic iPod or another MP3 player, I’d bring that, but my iPod touch is my only means of having music. I plan on stripping down this device as much as possible – which means no social media apps, no texting apps, and no games. I’ll leave a few key ones, like Google Translate, guitar chords, and the photography ones, but that’s pretty much it. I also don’t plan on bringing iPod anywhere I’m not taking my laptop, which will keep me from being too tempted to use it to get on the Internet.
4. GoPro
I bought this with the Race in mind. It’s small, sturdy, and it’s great for video. I plan on making videos throughout the race, and this is how I’ll do it. I also hope to really hone my skills with this camera over the course of the race. People do awesome things with the GoPro these days and I want to as well.
5. Point and shoot camera
I am not fond of my camera. It’s big, it eats through batteries like there’s no tomorrow, and it keeps resetting date to say 1979 (which I don’t get, because there were no digital cameras in 1979…). I even told my squad that I wasn’t bringing it. Famous last words… But here’s the thing, originally my phone was going to be my camera. Since I’m not bringing it, I needed another option. It’s a pain, as I’ll need to bring batteries and memory cards, but who said anything about the race was going to be easy?
Now, how can you expect to hear from me?
1. My blog
My blog will be the first priority when it comes to communication, plain and simple. I will do my best to share links to facebook, but that might not always be possible. The only way to guarantee you are notified is through subscribing to email updates. (Which you can do via the “subscribe” tab on the left).
2. Email/Facebook message
My email is [email protected] – feel free to use that to contact me. I only accept Facebook requests from people I know in person, and honestly, Facebook has made its messenger system more like texting these days). I plan on giving a brief update on Facebook at most once a week. Again, it depends on our location and ministry.
3. Instagram
This ones not as reliable, as I’ll only be posting pictures here and there. I don’t know how often I’ll post – once again, no more than once a week.
That’s pretty much it. The blog is the best way to stay in touch – I will do my best to respond to all comments on posts and there is even an option to send me a private message through the blog site.
I will not be on Twitter, Pinterest, or any other social media during this year. The only exception may be posting blog links to Twitter, as I can do that right from my page without actually going on Twitter.
So as you can see, I’m not completely disappearing off of the face of the earth. I, along with many other racers, am simply trying to set healthy boundaries so we can be as present as possible on the field.
Any questions? Ask away! And for those of you counting down with me, two weeks to launch!
