An Open Letter to a Future Racer

Dear Future Racer,

I remember being in your shoes. I remember scrolling through past racers instagrams and blogs and YouTube channels to try to get a glimpse into what it would be like. I remember searching for all of the best gear out there and panicking thinking about trying to get it all into one bag. I remember the awkward conversations you’d have when you first started fundraising. I remember going to training camp and being afraid that my squad mates wouldn’t like me. And then how quickly time flew between training camp and launch. Launch. It came way quicker than you expected and you probably have this weird feeling inside of you; part so excited you can’t contain it, part fear of the unknown laying ahead of you and if we’re being honest, a whole lot of mixed emotions about leaving home and you don’t really know how to handle any of them. 

I get it. I was just in your shoes. But now, I’m on the other side of it. I’ve already had my last day of ministry and in just a few days I will be back on U.S. soil. 

Now that I’m on this side of, let me impart a little bit of wisdom that I have gathered this past year: 

The world race is going to be one of the most incredible while simultaneously hardest experiences of your life. Don’t let the hard days or weeks or months keep you from seeing what God is doing in a situation instead of only what He isn’t. 

And, I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, but there will be hard days (the days where you really would rather not do kids ministry again and would rather roll back over and sleep a couple extra hours). There will be hard weeks where you don’t feel seen or heard or understood. And there will be hard months. The months that drag on. The months where you despise the ministry and would rather be doing a million other things.  There will be moments where you feel as though the Lord is a million miles away and couldn’t possibly care about you. But friend, that is a lie. When those moments come, let your team in. Talk to you TL and SQL. Call your mentor and your coach. Let people speak life into a situation you are struggling with. You don’t have to struggle alone. 

But this next year, you will also have some of the best days in your entire life. You will create random memories with friends that’s become family and you will have countless inside jokes. You will start using weird catch phrases that truly only make sense to your squad and you will experience so much with the people around you.

Something that I learned while I was team leading was that the world race and AIM as an organization is kind of like a coach preparing for practice. The coach can put together a practice plan and make sure the cones are set up correctly. But ultimately it is the players choice to choose to practice. 

There will be times where you don’t want to go to team time. Go any way. There will be times where you don’t want to do check ins because what you’re feeling is too messy to talk about out loud. Speak anyway. You will only regret the times that you didn’t choose to participate. 

Likewise, take care of yourself. On the race there will be times that you have to fight for alone time. Living in community it hard and often times we are living on top of one another. But find time to be alone. Whether that is staying in when everyone else goes to the grocery store or whether that is waking up 30 minutes earlier than everyone else. Do what you have to do for that time. Take your Bible, journal and headphones and simply go hangout with yourself. You need that time and space and it’s okay that everyone needs different amounts of it. 

I also want to be the one to tell you that you can buy toothpaste overseas. In fact, you can buy pretty much every single thing that you think you need to pack extras of, overseas. Sure in some countries they may not have the brands that you are used to, but in every country I had the opportunity to buy things like: lotion, deodorant, floss, razors, shampoo, conditioner, and body soap (most of the time in bar form). So, you don’t need to bring enough for the whole year. You will get tired of lugging it around and looking at the extras all of the time. 

Pack the clothes that you want to wear and will wear. Right now you probably think you have to “look like a world racer” but stop worrying about that. You soon enough will look like one as your traipsing through the airport with a giant pack, it truly doesn’t matter what you wear. Don’t bring clothing items that you are super attached to – you will share clothes and you will drop clothes when you pick up new ones along the way. I found it helpful to pick solid colors that work with just about anything. Oh! But bring lots of underwear, all of the underwear actually. Sure you think a weeks worth is enough, but it’s not enough. Pack more. 

Other than that, for your gear, pick what you like. Sure, look at suggestions and reviews, but ultimately my biggest suggestion is buy from REI (they have the best exchange policy), try it out (sleep on the sleeping pad, see how small the sleeping bag packs down, see how light the tent is), and if you like it GREAT and if not, exchange it and try something else. You went gear that you like and that is comfortable to you, not just some blogger. 

Download apps like Uber and InDriver, Venmo, while being stateside AND make sure you are logged into said apps BEFORE you leave the country. 

And ultimately my biggest piece of advice to you is the take the pressure off of yourself. God has called you to this race for this next season of your life for a reason. Even if none of your friends or family understand why you chose to do this, it’s okay. God has called you, and since He called you, He will equip you. He wants to move in and through you in mighty and powerful ways. And it’s okay if not everyone understands. The power of your ‘yes’ will lead you into deeper freedom, richer fellowship, and more surrender than you even knew was possible. Then, one day down the road, maybe you can be the one writing this to another future racer. 

P.s. Everyone has questions that they want answered before going – reach out! Even if it’s not me, reach out to anyone that you’ve seen on instagram or YouTube. We have all been in your shoes and understand what you’re going through. The only silly question is one not asked.