A Day in the Life: All Squad Month

Life on the World Race can look drastically different from “normal everyday” life. Many of us left jobs or careers to follow God’s call to this crazy 11 month journey, and we traded in our 9-5 for a sometimes spontaneous schedule. Each day is unique, filled with whatever the Lord brings our way.

Since it is ever changing, I know that many people are probably wondering what life on the Race looks like. So here is a little look into a day in the life of a Racer. 

Most months we will spend in our teams. Since our squad is so big, it can be difficult to do ministry all together, so they split us up into teams of 5 or 6 people each. Then the teams are sent to different ministry locations around a country. This month we are all together as a squad serving the same ministry. It has been an adjustment learning how to do life with 31 people when I’m used to six.

For the months of March and April we have been serving Ocean’s Edge Ministries in Jaco, Costa Rica. Every morning we start off with breakfast and making sack lunches. (Brings me back to my school days.) Then, during the week, we have an hour long devotional time each morning with Richard, a man from the local church we are partnering with. Our time is spent learning about spiritual warfare and experiencing God intimately.

After devotions we go over our schedule for the day with our lovely hosts, then off to ministry we go!

Ministry looks different each day. Here are some things we have been doing lately:

• Planning and putting on a Vacation Bible School

• Hosting an event in the park for families in the community

  

• Leading worship for church services and youth group

• Painting light posts or murals to brighten up the city

  

• Keeping an eye on kids during Surf Club, where our host and a few other people teach them how to surf
  

• Helping with building or painting projects around the base where we are staying

When we finish our ministry for the day, we have a little bit of free time to find a place with AC and WiFi, work on blogs, read, socialize, or hide for a few precious moments of introversion. (Shoutout to all my fellow introverts living in constant community. We got this.)

Then comes dinner. Since there are 31 of us living in the same house with a main kitchen, our teams take turns cooking for the squad. My team loves to cook, and we typically enjoy loud music and dancing while we try to find ways to spice up beans, rice, and chicken.

While we eat we enjoy some much needed team time. It is great to come home from ministry and talk over my day with my team. We can laugh together, or cry together, depending on the day, and help point each other back to Christ. 

Our evenings are usually filled with worship, movies, singing songs from musicals loudly in the kitchen, enjoying the rain, hand washing laundry, or a number of other things we do to wind down. 

Weekends are more low key for us. Saturdays are open for either catching up on work for our squad jobs (blog coming soon), or doing something adventurous. On Sundays we go to church and take turns helping in Sunday School with the kids. Then Mondays are our Sabbath, or rest, days. I usually sleep in, read, and enjoy sweet time with the Lord to recharge for the coming week of ministry.

I have settled back into the rhythms of the Race, even into life with the whole squad. It has been fun getting to know people better during this time. Next month we are heading to the Dominican Republic. It will be interesting to see if we will be doing ministry in our teams or as a whole squad. Plus, we haven’t found out about our ministry there yet. Stay tuned to see what God has for me and my squad next!