I
returned from the Dominican Republic/Haiti over a couple weeks ago (will be
blogging on that for awhile), and am resuming my highlights of some of the
staff behind the scenes of the World Race.
For many
World Racers, Ashley Musick’s voice is the first one they hear as they first
apply. Ashley was the one who interviewed me and told me that I was
accepted. I got to know her during my Ignition training camp and also the
M & N squads’ Ignition training camp. She also was with us at our
launch in the Philippines, and I got to spend a week with her in the Dominican
Republic and Haiti. 
To know
her is to love her. She gives great
hugs. When you converse with Ashley,
make sure you listen and watch her, as her facial expressions communicate so
much and often get me laughing. Her
joie-de-vivre is infectious.
But don’t
get me wrong, Ashley is more than a barrel of laughs. She works just as hard as she plays. She first joined AIM as a participant in
their short term trips, like the Ambassador program, and as part of the pioneer
World Race squad. She’s since been a
crucial part of the Admissions department for the World Race, equipping new
Racers with drama ministry skills and packing and gearing up skills.
God has
used her excellence not just from behind a desk but also on the field. Ashley co-led the H-Squad as squad leader
with Jenny Brown and now serves as Alumni Coordinator for the World Race. I had the privilege of seeing her leadership
in action on the field, and I was just amazed at the depth of her servant’s
heart.
She wasgreat at giving us the big picture for the day and identifying each of our
strengths and delegating accordingly, e.g. having Sarah Diedrich lead the
organization of a storage room full of donations at Haitian Christian Mission (HCM)
in Fond Parisien, Haiti. But she was
also quick to do the small things – picking up trash in and around the church
in Jimani, DR, and around the grounds at HCM.
A growing
number of World Racers means a growing number of World Race alumni. I’d think that it’s daunting to keep track of
so many people, but Ashley is great at making each alumn feel known, and
finding ways to keep alumni activated and connected. She has an uncanny way of remembering people
she meets; I wish I had video footage of her enthusiastic greeting to a
clergyman when we were in Jimani – she recognized him from her flight from the
US to the DR.
On an
even more personal level, Ashley truly is a heroine to me. Even as she was so busy the weekend prior to
our departure, she took the time to listen as I cried. She was calm in the midst of my confusion, even
in the thick of her own.
If you
haven’t been already, read her blog – especially her recent post on why she was supposed to go to Haiti – and
partner with her ministry.
