Here's a video done by one of my guys on Q-squad. It gives a better glimpse into their month and what they saw. Thanks Brian for making this amazing video to share with everyone!
If there was ever a place that made me want to give up on
the World Race or stop doing ministry for reasons of living conditions, it
would be working at the dumps in Tondo,
Philippines. Yet
my squad mates didn't give up or whine! With joyful and servant hearts, 12 new
world racers in their first month shoveled trash, poop, and God knows what
other sorts of waste in what I can honestly say was the worst living conditions
I have ever seen in the world. And that even includes all the places I went to
on my first world race trip.
2 teams from my squad partnered with PCF (Philippine
Christian Foundation) in Tondo, Philippines, only one-two hours away from Manila. Sure many were
excited when they heard they would be working with youth at a school and
church, but little did they know that this school/ministry center was in the
center of a city dumps. Say goodbye to home boys and girls, and welcome to the
World Race...
In my few years of traveling around and being apart of
various ministries around the globe, I have seen so many different places
called "home" by people. Sidewalks that smell of urine, shacks built of rusty aluminum
metal, mud huts with no air circulation, bamboo houses filled with rats... the
list is too long and painful to look back on to share completely. I can
honestly say I didn't know what to think when I first saw this place. It
literally was a garbage dump that people lived in. Those who could afford rain
boots wore them where they walked because of the sludge that filled the area.
Imagine going out to your drive way and going to the bathroom on your trash,
then letting it sit out there for months while it rains and shines all over
your mess and neighbors walk all over spreading it around like its no big deal.
Multiply that by a million and you have this town. Oh I forgot to mention that
another section of this community was built on a graveyard. Yep a cemetery with
tombs that people live around and kids play on. I'll let your imagination run
from there, because whatever you think of might be fairly accurate...
Yet, because the joy and love of God trumps any emotion,
people walk around as if nothing is the matter. And why should they. It's all
they've ever known. Children's laughter and singing fills the time in between
the garbage trucks driving up and down the roads. Karaoke parties (Filipinos
LOVE karaoke!!!) take place where smog clouds haven't taken over just yet.
These people make the best of it
because they have no other choice. They have
no choice...they don't even know what "choice" is! This past summer I got a
headache because I stood in the cereal aisle for too long and couldn't choose
which kind of cereal I wanted to buy. That's where I come from, a place of
endless options. These people only have one of two thoughts, choose to survive
or give up. It's no way for a person to live. I was so proud of these teams for
enduring their time in this location. Thankfully the teams were able to live in
hostels away from that area where they could have their own bed and take
showers. But to be honest, it was still hard to hug them or give high five
since they smelled like poo. Oh well, they know I love them. Great job team
Gozo and PLJ.
Something I've come to realize about me in the lifestyle I
live is that not a whole lot surprises me anymore. Sure, there's cool stuff in
every country I visit, but there's not a lot that blows me away like it did in
the beginning. For the most part, I feel like I'm just use to seeing completely
random and strange stuff all the time. I mean I was born and raised in Austin, TX.
Apart from NYC, there no other place I can think of that may be as weird. What
makes me chuckle to myself through out my second World Race is the reactions
from people on Q-squad. Even though, I have only been done with my first WR
experience for a little over a year, it feels like I've been traveling around
the world for forever and this has become normal everyday life
Yet it brings me a lot of joy to helpothers be exposed to
the parts of the world outside the U.S. The landscape, people,
cultures, lifestyles, everything! There is so much to be discovered and learned
just by seeing how people live on the other side of the world. It really can
spark a new passion for living life and seeing what's out there in parts of the
world that we've only read about. I think one of the most important thoughts I
can take from this is to ask myself every once in a while, "when was the last
time I experienced something for the first time???"
I feel like it keeps me hungry for adventure wherever I go,
even if its home. And more importantly to me, I want to plant that idea into
the minds of people back home so we don't ever settle for something we
shouldn't be. God gave us this amazing planet to be in dominion of and bring
life wherever we go. It'd be a waste to spend it indoors and afraid to see
what's out there in the world.
More than a year ago on Sept 1, 2009, I finished my first
World Race trip. It was the most incredible and life changing year of my life
to that date. I had seen sights and met all sort of amazing people all over the
world. It was a time of brokenness and transformation that I never knew existed.
It was another wonderful blessing and privilege to be apart and have
experienced what I went through. Then came the "re-entry process". As a world
racer, you learn (or at least try to learn) that expectations are a waste of
time and you see more than ever how much God really is in control. You spend
the year experiencing so much out of your comfort zone and stretching in ways
you didn't think you could because of the lifestyle you live. But it still
doesn't fully prepare you for life after the race and going back home. When I
got back home last September, I was so excited to see and share stories with
family and friends. Funny thing was life had continued on without me in Texas and people had
stories of there own. I remember all the things that had happened within the first
48 hours and how I never felt this alone before. I couldn't relate with anyone
from home nor could I find comfort about what was next in my life. It didn't
take long for me to actually be crying in my mom's arms. True story. I had
become so use to my World Race community, team, and lifestyle that I actually
wanted to be more with them then my old comforts from home and the people that
were there. I was selfish and crazy enough to believe that the Lord had
forsaken me. This process went on and off over the next 3-4 months before I
moved to Spain
in January 2010.
During my 6 months at G-42 in Spain, I was able to process a lot
of what had happened on the World Race in a healthy way. Andrew Shearman spent
6 months working on me to help me get over myself and step into my duties. To
summarize, my time in Spain
brought me to realize that I desperately needed more DISCIPLINE, STRUCTURE and
more importantly PURPSOSE in my life. Christ makes life's instructions easy...
Love Him, love people, share the Gospel, and make Disciples of ALL Nations. But
leave it to us to think we know better than God and confuse these simple
commandments with details of how and when we should fulfill these instructions
in our daily life.
I had lost sight that I had significant purpose in this
world, but also that God had a plan to use me for great things. During my 6
months in Spain,
I had started to work on plans of what I felt the Lord calling me to pursue. I
had some amazing people to help guide me and see the big picture in making a
long term plan. More importantly, I had decided to make a choice and commit to something
long term that the Lord had offered to me. When I came to Texas,
I knew I had a crazy schedule taking me all over the U.S. but all that traveling wasn't
an excuse for me to be selfish and not be joyful. I finally had direction! I
had a plan! I was doing it! I knew how to carry out and live the purpose in my
life. There has been A LOT of grunt work for a couple months leading up to my
time to head out on the World Race again. But I can honestly say that during
all my time of preparation that I was very excited about the future and all the
work I was doing for the upcoming season in my life.
My hope and prayer to all that read this blog is to find
PURPOSE in your life. Fulfilling purpose should be a primary goal in our lives.
I think it looks different for everyone, but many people don't even think to
look for what that specifically is. A mentor a mine puts it this way... "Without
purpose, life is a meaningless journey". It's a bold statement, but I think
it's a fairly true and needed to be told. For all you past, current, or future
world racers, know that there is life after the World Race. We don't go on this
life changing experience only to go back home and do nothing. It takes some action
and productivity on our end for us to figure out the next step or steps. Life
will only be meaningless and suck if you think it does.
Powerful. Prophetic. Smart. Hilarious. Undignified. Beautiful. Selfless. Passionate. Humble. Honorable. Fun. Driven. Loving... Simply just Amazing! These are just are a some words to describe one of the most of incredible people I have ever met so far in my life and one of the newest additions to my world.
Your traditional laid back California girl and everyone's best friend except for one major difference and fact. She's crazy on fire for the Lord, Jesus Christ! I get to co-lead with her on my upcoming World Race for the Q - Squad in September. Tiffany was apart of the I - Squad (June 2009 World Race Squad) and after finishing her experience, she felt called to spend some time with AIM's Haiti relief team and work in Haiti. While I was in Spain attending G42 Leadership Academy, I received my acceptance letter for squad leading and in the email, it said I would be leading with Tiffany. I was really excited to finally know who I'd be leading with except for one little thing. Who's Tiffany Berkowitz??? I had no idea who she was and even funnier, it seemed like EVERYONE I knew, knew of her and how awesome she was. My first thoughts to myself were "Great. I'm with someone I know nothing about and now have to spend time getting to know, along with tons of other people from the squad I'll be leading". After getting back to America from living in Europe for 6 months, I was able to call Tiffany and start talking to her. Timely enough, Tiff had just got back into the States a few days after I did and we were able to have our first conversations. Instantly, we were brother and sister and having fun with each other. I could tell that she was someone who I could be open with to have a serious conversation or goof off with to have a good time. After a few weeks of phone convos, texts messaging, and emails, it was time to meet Tiffany in Georgia for our squads training camp. Its always funny to meet someone for the first time after talking to them a lot on the phone and establishing a friendship before actually knowing what they look like in person. But that's the World Race for ya. Over the past several weeks now, I have been able to spend some quality time with Tiffany in Georgia and Colorado so we can work on our dynamics and get to know each other better before going out and leading a squad together.
I have zero doubt in this Woman of God of doing her job over the next season of our lives. Tiffany is someone who will bring deliverance and release those in bondage everywhere she goes, as well as empower men and women to live up to their potential and answer their calling in life. She is fully broken and dependent on the Lord and a wonderful asset to my life. Please subscribe to her blogs and follow her stories as she goes back into the world. I also ask that you would consider prayerfully and financially supporting Tiffany on her World Race.
The other day I was looking back at notes from my time at G42 in Spain. As I was flipping through the notebook, I found a page that had sentence after sentence of me talking to myself. Often in class, we would spend much of our time prophesying over ourselves and one another. A couple times, I spent some time writing down words for myself that I felt were from the Lord so that I could look back at them and find encouragement, purpose, or motivation. These words carried more than just commandments or inspiration. For me, these words held guidelines for my life.
"You don't have time to be passive...
You don't have time to be silent...
You don't have time to be tired...
You don't have time to be lazy....You don't have time to be angry...You don't have time to be wasteful...You don't have time to be afraid...You don't have time to be weak...You don't have time to be hesitant...You don't have time to be disobedient... You don't have time to be selfish..."
To you this might not seem all that impressive or maybe it could be viewed as extreme or harsh. But to me, I see this as a great reminder to not give into the enemy's schemes and never let myself stop moving unless God tells me to. I have to be in tune with the Lord's voice at all times and in all circumstances. I continue to learn more and more everyday that this life of mine that I live is not about me. Maybe at the time of writing this I was previously slapped by Andrew Shearman or realized something more about my purpose in life. Either way, I know these few sentences can be read by anyone and people can identify with, regardless of where and what you have done in the past and where you are now in life.
Yea I know we have only recently started the second half of 2010, but I gotta say that I'm pretty pumped about the year 2011. Over the years I've learned not to live too much in the future because nothing about it is guaranteed and today is the best time to live life. But it's still exciting to know or guess some of what God has planned for me in my future. As I shared in a previous blog, I will be going back out on the World Race as a squad leader starting in September for the rest of the year. Most likely I will return to the states sometime in January 2011. So why the anticipation for that time to be here when I have a whole new adventures to live out in all the time I have left this year??? Because, as soon as I am done traveling with the September World Race squad, I will be moving to New York City right away to start an internship with a amazing church in Manhattan, NYC called Graffiti Church. I will be there at least one year living and working in the community, while I also attempt to balance my role as a squad leader from the other side of the world. Which I'm sure will be a great challenge itself. Full time internship in the craziest city in the world at the same time as making myself available and still pouring into several people on a full time basis as they bounce all over the globe till August of 2011. Now if I could only find a way to multiply myself...
I've always wanted to spend a season of my life in New York. It's such a cool city to visit and there is something there for all types of people. Just like Austin, there's always something fun going on to check out and a crowd to be apart of. I've been to NYC several times already to visit family and on short term mission trips with my home church, so I'm sure all those visits will help with the whole transition when the time comes for me to make the move there. I've spent the majority of my life growing up in Texas in a small town where I knew tons of people and they knew me. A small town where nothing too crazy ever happens and people felt safe. The loudest time of the day was probably when all the schools got let out and kids were being picked up their parents. Quiet, calm, secure, traditional, peaceful... Now I have to get ready for the city that never sleeps. Loud, chaotic, diverse, hectic, quick pace. It's an adjustment that I'm sure I'll be able to handle, partially because of the lifestyle on the World Race. As of now, I don't plan on staying there for the rest of my life, so I can breathe easy and prepare for what I think will only be a year or so. But only time will tell what God will do to my heart in the time that I spend there...
Compared to all the various places I've been to in the past years, I know New York may not jump out as radical as some of the others locations. Yes, I will be serving and working in different ministries while I'm there, but there is so much more that I hope to get out of being there. As I've told many people already, my whole purpose for agreeing to this opportunity is obtain knowledge in planting churches and learning about the starting process of a ministry. While I am joining with Graffiti Church on different projects and ministries, I will be taking notice to as many details as possible for my future desires after my time in New York. This will be to actually ask the Lord to place a location on my heart so that I can go and plant His Kingdom. And the coolest part for me is that I feel that I am prepared to spend my life at that location and be in for the really long term time frame. I know I have a calling to go out and make this radical lifestyle (which is really suppose to be referred to as normal more than radical) known to people, start new ministries and churches for all generations, disciple those around me to make them better than myself. So I want to be as intentional as possible during my internship in NYC, so I can build as strong a ministry as possible wherever He takes me in this world.
I know its going to be a challenging time as far as being organized, having strong structure in my days, and balancing my jobs of squad leading and interning at a church. But this is something I feel strongly called to and know will equip me in needed ways. Also, keep in mind that I would love to have people come visit and participate along side me in my ministry, so know that it would be possible for one or two people at a time to stay with me and experience all the hype of NYC. Thanks and see ya soon New York
If you've clicked to read this blog cause you're curious to why I have a blog title "Squad Leading", well let me get straight to the point. Yes, I, Patrick Baez, will be squad leading in September 2010. Yea, I can't believe AIM would be taken a chance with me either. Ha! But really, I have recently applied to be a squad leader for the World Race and AIM leadership has decided to allow me to lead a group of individuals around the world for 4 months and help them have the most wide awakening experience with Jesus that they have ever had in their lives yet. What is funnier to me than actually been selected to be a squad leader, is that I am still involved with Adventures in Missions. Not that they are a horrible organization to be working with, but I guess I just figured after my World Race experience that I wouldn't really be working with AIM. There have been so many incredible people that I have met and been loved by in the past 2 years because of my connection with AIM. They are an awesome body to be apart of or be associated with. I've always respected those who have been squad leaders for the World Race in the past. It's a great way to pour into young adults and help them in their walk with the Lord. And that's exactly why I desire to go back out again into one of the most uncomfortable experiences for an American. Shoot, that's actually a personal goal of my; to have uncomfortable situations become comfortable to be in. But that's just a side note.
This whole event started back in Spain earlier this year when a friend asked me to squad lead with her. The preferred way for AIM when sending out a squad is that they have a male and female squad leader, for obvious reasons of course. Unfortunately, this isn't always the case for squads that are sent out. In the past, women have been more present and obedient to hearing God's calling of going out into the mission field as far the World Race goes. It's a crappy fact for a guy to hear, but it's true. I always thought in the back of my mind that it would be neat to go out and actually lead a WR squad, but honestly never thought it would happen. After several weeks of lightly thinking back and forth about the idea, God laid it thick on my heart during a conversation with my guy friends at G42. All the guys I was talking to were previous World Racers, and even more significantly, we all were led by female squad leaders during our experience. It was that night that I decided I was going to take this decision into serious prayer for the rest of the week and make a decision to either apply to squad lead and leave it up to God or find a peace about it and not pursue this course. Fortunately for me, I was around some very wise men and woman to talk to about the opportunity and after a lot of thought and prayer, came to the conclusion that I would apply for leading. All I had left to do was check with some very important prior commitments and see if it was ok if I knocked on this door. Obviously now I can say that God led me to where I am now, getting ready and preparing to launch once more in September for the World Race. Today, I look back at that night of talking with the guys and can remember a fire being lit inside of me. I felt the weight of responsibility and duty to go back out and make sure that whatever guys I would get on my squad would have the best possible World Race experience. But not just that, I wanted to make sure that the men I had to disciple would be challenged in every way I was on my trip as well as be pushed by me in the ways I knew would benefit them. I'm not saying I'm the most qualified person to be a squad leader or that those before me were not great squad leaders. I just believe that I have something to offer as a leader to whoever I have in my squad. I have gone through certain experiences so that I could help others as they go through similar times.
I also believe that there is a huge advantage in myself being a male squad leader. Sadly, I think most would agree that much of the world looks down on women in roles of leadership or just women in general. It's a calling that I strongly feel I need to follow through with and set an example for other men. I need to not be passive in my role as a man and show initiative in a leadership role. Men will always need to be fathered so that they can grow up to be great men themselves. What is so cool in my experience of the past few years, as I mentioned about women not always being respected when they lead or have authority, is that I have been "fathered" by some amazing women of God myself. I had an amazing first squad leader in Allison Johnston, and also an incredible team leader and beautiful sister in Kyla Cornelius. Both who have poured into my life abundantly and challenged me in many ways. I was able to live with Kyla the first 4 months of our first World Race, and through those months she was able to push me in bold and needed ways to become who I am now. She stepped in and did what no other male was doing. As great and thankful as I am for that, it shouldn't always happen that way. Men should always be able to come together and sharpen each other when needed.
Kyla and I in Ukraine
So with all that said, please be in prayer for me and specifically my boys that not only will become more Godly, but will simply become men in its intended context. I'm so grateful for what's to come in the near future for my squad and ask that you would also continue to follow as many if not all the stories written from Q- Squad (Sept 1 - 2010).
God is great! So great that I'm not ever sure I will ever be able to comprehend why He loves me the way He does. But then again, does that even matter??? I know that I am one blessed son and luck has nothing to do with it. I'd even say that "luck" is just another word for God's grace that He has for us. It's now July 2010, and as I look back on the past 2 years of my life, all I can do is exhale deeply and say "Thank you Jesus...". I've lived an incredible life in my crazy 24 years of existence. Highs and lows like everyone, but the past 2 years have been extra special for me. I have had some amazing opportunities to serve, minister, travel the world, meet all sorts of amazing people and much more. In early 2008, I had my first real encounter with the Holy Spirit at World Race training camp. It truly was like nothing I had ever experienced before in my life in so many ways. I never really felt His presence like this or even knew what it really meant to be baptized in the Spirit. So its fair for me to say that the past 2 years have been the most exciting and fulfilling years of my life. I was blessed to go 11 months around the world with incredible friends on mission and learning more about how the church body functions and of course a lot about myself...through a lot of brokenness. Well worth it! After that surreal experience, it was time to go back home to Texas and figure God's next step for me. It was great getting to come back to friends and family with open arms, but in all honesty it got old real quick. I had just had my world rocked and now before I realized it, I was back in my home town as if the World Race was just a dream that I had woken up from. I felt like I was dazed and lost in the woods looking for the right direction to get out of there saying, "Uhhh... Jesus? Lil help please..." Over the next first couple weeks of being home, I quickly prayed for direction in my future and was able to come to the resolution of attending G42 Leadership Academy led by Andrew Shearman in Spain. http://www.g42leadershipacademy.org/ Talk about a crazy and amazing Man of God!
I didn't know a whole lot of what G42 in Spain had to offer or what the curriculum was like, but I knew enough about Andrew to want to take a leap of faith and pursue this opportunity and it made all the difference. Before moving out to Spain, I was able to talk to a few friends who had completed or were going through G42 and God use them to bring peace of mind about the whole idea and trust to follow him with the decision. 6 months later, I am here a changed man for the better to who I am supposed to be right now. In summary, my whole reason for wanting to go to Spain, other than the beautiful scenery, was to get my butt in gear for the rest of my life and figure out what I need to be doing with my life. Sure, it was very appealing to have an amazing mentor and the right environment for me to process my World Race experience, but I knew there was something more than that. I knew with smaller group settings that I'd have a better chance of getting that personal attention I was looking for and needing.
And I did. Once it was all said and done, I knew that I utilized my time there in Spain to get ready for the rest of my life. In many ways, I was able to break chains that I didn't realize where still holding me back from living my life. Purpose, planning, direction, apathy, using my voice, avoiding responsibility... It can be hard to understand or accept for many at first, and I'm not saying I have this mastered...probably never will completely. But in this world, I know that what ever I do for His kingdom on Earth, I will do it for others and not myself. Because in the end, I know that I have orders and responsibility to love others and live to be selfless in everything I do. I'm not in anyway saying to have a man pleasing spirit, but rather I want to wake up everyday and lay my life on the line the way many mentors, teachers, and friends in my life have done. God knows I love him, and more important than that, I know He loves me! So now all I have to do is say YES to Him and hear His voice tell me how to love my neighbor, and the the one next, and the one next, and so on... That's it. As harsh as it sounds, MYLIFE is NOT about ME! It's about glorifying His Kingdom and I feel that I do that by loving those who are around me at all times with a joyful heart. That's another thing I'm not sure I'll ever completely grasp, but that's another story. My life now has PURPOSE that I understand and love. I have PLANS that I know are God given. "I" now turns into "You". Because in the end, I believe it has nothing to do with me, but what I can do for Him. Christ HAS ALREADY DONE for me so much MORE than I could ever do for Him. But I still like to think that I can have a friendly competition with Him to see who can do more for the other. And just in case you're wondering how that game between Jesus and I is going... well He is winning by a quite a bit more... All jokes aside, the world is calling and in need of being loved by its creator, savior, and best friend. And I don't plan on being on the side lines. I am self sufficient in Christ. I AM and WILL show the people of this world that there is something bigger and greater than ourselves and I will show up to accept the calling that is put on my life to bring Heaven to Earth. I WILL bring FULLNESS into emptiness! I WILL be the LIGHT in darkness! I WILL restore ORDER in chaos!
So are you willing to do the same and show up for your own life???...
They have
no choice...they don't even know what "choice" is! This past summer I got a
headache because I stood in the cereal aisle for too long and couldn't choose
which kind of cereal I wanted to buy. That's where I come from, a place of
endless options. These people only have one of two thoughts, choose to survive
or give up. It's no way for a person to live. I was so proud of these teams for
enduring their time in this location. Thankfully the teams were able to live in
hostels away from that area where they could have their own bed and take
showers. But to be honest, it was still hard to hug them or give high five
since they smelled like poo. Oh well, they know I love them. Great job team
Gozo and PLJ.
lifestyle that I actually
wanted to be more with them then my old comforts from home and the people that
were there. I was selfish and crazy enough to believe that the Lord had
forsaken me. This process went on and off over the next 3-4 months before I
moved to Spain
in January 2010. 
I had lost sight that I had significant purpose in this
world, but also that God had a plan to use me for great things. During my 6
months in Spain,
I had started to work on plans of what I felt the Lord calling me to pursue. I
had some amazing people to help guide me and see the big picture in making a
long term plan. More importantly, I had decided to make a choice and commit to something
long term that the Lord had offered to me. When I came to Texas,
I knew I had a crazy schedule taking me all over the U.S. but all that traveling wasn't
an excuse for me to be selfish and not be joyful. I finally had direction! I
had a plan! I was doing it! I knew how to carry out and live the purpose in my
life. There has been A LOT of grunt work for a couple months leading up to my
time to head out on the World Race again. But I can honestly say that during
all my time of preparation that I was very excited about the future and all the
work I was doing for the upcoming season in my life. 
