Dress – To arrange (troops) in ranks; align
(Sorry – this one is a bit long but I couldn't find a good place to split it!)
In the last post I mentioned that Karen was a coach for the 2012 E Squad. If you've followed her travels – or for that matter just kept in touch with her in the past 18 months – you can't help but notice the positive change this has brought about in her. While I admit to being more that a bit jealous of her experience, I didn't think I could come close to contributing the way she does.
Karen is a real “prayer warrior”, and got drawn into the World Race by some of our friends who are also her prayer partners. She brings a solid biblical foundation to discipling the racers. And I've talked with a couple of the other male coaches and have to confess to harboring feelings of spiritual inadequacy.
Part of my problem is my religious upbringing. I grew up in structured and conservative churches, converting to the Episcopal faith in my 30s. I'll admit to being captured by the liturgy, creeds, classical music (hymns!), and the dignity and solemnity of worship. (More on my “opportunity for growth” in this area in a follow-up blog!).
For nearly 50 years of my upbringing only official people (i.e. the pastor) prayed out loud whether in church or in public; I didn't have to pray out loud unless I was reading a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer. We never had DRUMS up at the alter as part of the worship (they certainly didn't fit in the choir loft!). And none of the Episcopalians I knew EVER raised their hands worshiping the Lord. When we first visited our current church, 12Stone, 14 years ago Karen was immediately smitten while I confess to still feeling out of place (and more on THAT in another blog – Stay tuned – lots of confession and healing to report/pray for!)
Anyway – some time after the first of this year I asked Karen when she would be joining up with a new squad and she said that it looked like she wouldn't be traveling much anymore. It seems that the World Race is attracting an increasing number of young men and the Adventures team decided they really needed to send a male/female team out as coaches. Thankfully Karen had already decided not give me up in favor of going on the race with some other guy, but she nonetheless hadn't asked me if it was something I might be interested in.
After she told me she wouldn't be coaching anymore I took a few days to process this and finally suggested that perhaps, maybe, if it wasn't too much of a bother, then I guess maybe I could apply to travel with her – you know carry her bags and such. She made it clear that we'd have to go as partners – meaning I'd have to carry my weight as a coach. If I was really interested I'd have to formally submit my resume and go through some sort of application process.
Ultimately I was assigned several books to read – several of which I highly recommend by the way. In particular:
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The Art of Listening Prayer; Finding God's voice amidst life's noise, by Seth Barnes
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Boundaries; When to say Yes, When to say No to take control of your life, by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
While starting my reading regimen I began a fast (if I had to carry my own weight I wanted less of it!) and a period of prayer – asking God if this was really something He wanted me to do – and if so to make sure He shows up to ensure I can add value to the racers.
I also talked with my friend Dave and told him (er, reminded him – we've had this conversation before!) about my insecurity with extemporaneous prayer. Dave pointed out that most of my work experience – along with bringing up three or so kids (never sure how to count Kat! – see my About section) pretty well qualified me for the job regardless of my prayer insecurities.
So I completed the reading material and filled out a lengthy application, but dreaded an interview where my prayer weakness might be exposed. I passed the application along to Karen to review it, expecting her to help me tweak it and make me sound less “secular”, but she promptly submitted it for me. I was prepared to scold her for passing it along without me “being ready” only to get an email from AIM about an hour or so after she submitted it saying I was IN! I guess it helps to know many of the AIM staff, and I imagine getting endorsed by Karen didn't hurt. My friend Dave on the other hand said (jokingly!), “But you can't coach – You can't pray!”.
So I'm now all in. Some time soon I'll write about the Race Training Camp and likely expand on one of the teachings, but one prayer that caught me was this:
“Lord, do whatever you want IN me so that you can do what ever you want THROUGH me.” So now I see that most of the past few months of my insecurity about being a coach have all been part of His plan to “dress me for success” in alignment with his plan.
My first “job” as a coach was reading all the Squad blogs and some of these racers can BLOG! Next, Karen and I attended the first few days of the World Race Training Camp at Toccoa Falls College where we had a chance to meet not only our Squad, but the coaches for the other Squads and all the volunteer staff and trainers (mostly former racers!). The Squad is AWESOME with an amazing leadership and support team – what an amazing bunch all around. I feel as if we just adopted 50 or so new family members – Thanksgiving will be crowded!
We're gonna need a bigger turkey!
Training Camp was a fantastic experience – and worthy of a separate blog (or two!). So if you haven't already done so, subscribe to this blog so you can get the full story about the Squad, Training Camp (where I'll give you an new recruit's perspective on “that night” as the racers are now calling it), and where I can give you updates about our travels.
Training Camp July 2013
Whether you subscribe or not, thanks for journeying with me. We need your support – particularly prayer: for the Squad leaders and racers, for the people in the countries that the Squad will visit in the next year, and for Karen and me. We could also use any financial support (fully tax deductible!) you can offer. If you would like to help support me and the coaching team, you can either click on the link to left that says "Support Me!" or you can contact me to find out how you can send a check to Adventures in Missions.
I look forward to sharing our journey with you.
