How Did You Get Here?

So I was trying to think of good ideas of blogs to write and someone suggested to write a “How the corporate world prepared me for the World Race” blog. I have never been in the corporate world but I thought I could still write what in life prepared me for the world race.

The main thing that prepared me for the world race was probably my unique degree. (And when I say unique I mean literally no one in the world has heard of it except for those eight other people who I took all my classes with.) I got a degree in Adventure Education which in only in the US and only offered in a few universities. There is a lot of ways it prepared me for the adventure that is the World Race. It prepared me for:

1. Interesting sleeping arrangements. My degree required a lot of backpacking/camping which of course includes sleeping on the ground. Since we usually packed light I never had a sleeping pad thicker than a yoga mat or a tent. Even if I did have a tent why sleep under a tent when you can sleep under the stars!! Since the start of the WR there has been no way of telling where or when you will sleep. It can be on the hard wood floor or it can be on a soft warm bed with clean comforters and literally anything in between.
2. Interesting showering facilities. Once you have showered in an alpine lake/stream or a desert river that looks more like chocolate milk than water then no hostel or bucket shower can intimidate you.
3. Packing! In outdoor education you definitely learn to pack light for the backcountry which comes in handy on those long travel days on the WR.
4. Climbing a volcano. This one is oddly specific but I never thought I would be climbing volcanos on my race. But it was right up my ally and I was one of the very few people who did not get altitude sickness so thank you AE.

Now although I did learn so much from university that prepared me for the WR I also learned so much from other places too. For example I have taken so much from working at a summer camp and used what I know in my ministry abroad. Here are some things I have taken with me from camp:

1. Leave your dignity at the door. Now that might sound odd but we did say that almost everyday at camp. Although I haven’t said that everyday on the race sometimes I just got to tell myself to get into that mindset. I left my dignity at the door when I danced with kids, worshipped undignified in front of a Muslim Mosque, read out loud in a crowded area, or taught nuns the church clap. I’ve learned that sometimes you just got to look a little odd or ridiculous when pointing people to God.
2. Acronyms! So in Adventure Education and camp there is a language you have to learn. Luckily it is a pretty easy language, all you have to do is say the acronym of EVERY SINGLE THING YOU EVER WILL TALK ABOUT. “Ok AE people the LOD will lead us down this section of the PCT, and don’t for forget your NOLS and WFR handbooks.” Camp is the exact same! “Don’t forget to grad a PFD if you’re doing your DISCO on the lake and afterwards I’ll see you at the lower I”. And now I’m in the WR where we live to ATL with our TLs, ATMs, ASQLs and RSQLs at PVT. Like I said! A whole new language!
3. THIS IS NOT SCHOOL! Something you learn working at camp is that part of the job description is to never let your camper feel like they are at school. Which is just another way of saying make every moment you can FUN. It can also be applied out here in the field. Sometimes ministry might feel like a job and we might put to menial tasks like curling tiny pieces of paper (quilling) for others to use later. It seems to easy and maybe even meaningless but it is a perfect opportunity to have fun with your team.

Yes I learned a lot from university and jobs but there is something that I couldn’t have learned from those places. Something I have used the most out here in the field. That is how to care for people well. Shout out to my family for teaching me this all my life. At the end of my time in Albania some sickness had broken out on my team. In that time I was reminded all the times I was sick or had to be taken to the doctor. Now it was I who was caring for and taking people to a doctor, oh how the turn tables turn. But Since I had such good care growing up it equipped me well to care of others. I am thankful for that!

P.S. the picture is from my first day in Turkey last week!