Blog Series // Ministry Memories: South America

LOGISTICS

I have LOVED the ministry in South America, but a huge part of my personal experience on the race has to do with my job on the squad. 

My role on the squad is officially “Logistics Coordinator.” My squad mate Tyler is my co-leader, and we’re basically the tour guides of the squad. We plan and lead all the travel days for the squad – buses, trains, songtaews, vans, and planes – you name it, we’ve booked it. I have learned SO MUCH about border crossings, transportation, budgeting, and everything having to do with transportation in this role. 

It’s also been a huge challenge. We were told that Logistics is its own ministry. That was really hard for me to wrap my brain around because I was googling buses and booking tickets and researching immigration rules…that didn’t seem like ministry to me. But a few months into the Race I realized that I had to look at it like ministry, or I would drive myself crazy. It’s a lot of work to do on top of my normal responsibilities and it was a job I wanted to do well. 

I decided to change my perspective and see this role as a gift and a responsibility from God, and one that I wanted to steward well. I get to build God’s kingdom by physically getting people to the places that need kingdom! That’s so cool! 

 

PRO TIPS

I wanted to share a few tips that I have found to be insanely helpful, and month after month have helped me in leading the squad. For other Logistics peeps or just travelers!!

 

1. Ask questions. 

Want to know if a hostel will give you a lower price to fit your budget? Ask. Do you want to know what cool attractions or restaurants are in the area? Ask. Have a question about a certain bus line? Ask. These companies have a “contact” button on their website for a reason! Use it!  

 

2. Google it! 

There is sooooo much you can find online it’s crazy. Thousands of people travel and write super helpful blogs that give you insight into their personal experience. I’ve found travel blogs sooo helpful especially with what to expect at a border crossing. Requirements, problems to avoid, reviews…just google it! 

 

3. Utilize locals.  

If you’re traveling in a certain area, ask the people that live there! They know just about everything, and sometimes give you insider info or get you a deal!

 

4. Trust that God will get you where you wanna go. 

This was huge for me. I am a planner. I like to know the exact address we need to be at, the name of the bus, the exact boarding time, and the arrival time in the next city. I don’t think there has been a single travel day where I knew all of these things. And wow has God tested my faith in Him. But guess what? We have safely gotten to every country we planned on going to. A couple times I seriously doubted that we were going to make it…but we have done it every single time. Only Him, guys.

 

5. It’s okay to not know. 

I can’t count how many times I have had to say “I don’t know.” When are we getting there? Do they serve food on this bus? Where is the bathroom? What are we doing right now? Where do we need to go? I honestly don’t know. 

 

6. If the plan goes awry, don’t sweat it. 

No matter how hard you try – you cannot control everything (let’s be real you can’t control much haha). When buses are late, when you show up to a border and they ask for a new document, when someone doesn’t read the email and doesn‘t know what’s happening…it’s not on you. And if someone gives you grief, brush it off…because they are wrong.

 

Logistics has been an insane, fun, crazy experience. I’m beyond grateful that the leaders of this squad chose me to be in this position, and trusted me to do this job well. It has been nothing what I expected it would be, but so much better! 

 

 

FUN STORIES 

When our squad was crossing the border into Cambodia, half of us were getting passports stamped and walking through, and the other half waiting to receive our passports from the workers. We had one passport left to hand out – a girl named Amanda. We are looking around and Amanda is no where to be seen. So we call her name, and what do ya know – she’s on the other side of immigration walking into Cambodia with a passport in her hand. So we ask her whose passport she has, because it’s definitley not hers. And we were all expecting to hear “Emily” or “Kat” or “Nicole.” But she looks inside the passport in her hand and says, “Josh.” SHE GOT INTO ANOTHER COUNTRY WITH A GUY’S PASSPORT! Smh Cambodia. 

 

A classic is when we land in an airport in another continent, in a country Tyler and I have never been to, and within minutes we get asked – where is the bathroom? A fun game is to just guess, “Walk a couple minutes that way, turn right, and it’s on the left!” 

 

The week that we were planning to take a bus from Colombia to Ecuador, there were indigenous groups of Colombians protesting the government. They set up blockades along the Panamerican highway – the road we have to cross to get to the border. As our travel date approached, things were only escalating – acid, guns, bombs. Parents were flying in to meet us in Ecuador that week so we had to get there. We went a little over budget and ended up having to fly! 

 

On our way from Asia to South America we had an 80+ travel. We had successfully taken 5/6 of our flights, and we land in Bogota for our LAST FLIGHT to Medellin. Our layover was 1 hour and our previous flight had been delayed by 25 minutes. That gave us 35 minutes to get off the plane, get 25 people through immigration and customs, navigate a foreign airport, and find our next gate. Spoiler alert – we didn’t make it. So Tyler and I went into Logistics Mode and thankfully got us all new flights an hour later. God is so good y’all. 

 

 

 

Having this role really helped me see that ministry and serving God could look like just about anything. Is it standing outside an immigration office waving people to the bus? Yes. Is it counting and recounting the numbers of heads you see on the bus? Yes. Is it finding bomb places for the squad to stay at for debrief? Yes! 

The most important thing I have learned from this role is that with every responsibility you have, you have an option. You get to choose how you steward that responsibility, and I think stewarding the responsibilities God has entrusted to us well is beautiful way to serve the Lord! 

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Love y’all, 
Em