Abigails blog post
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
11:57 AM
I always thought about what training camp was going to be like and how it would prepare me for the race but I never thought that I would feel God in every single way like I did at camp. God has spoken into so many areas of my life in the span of 10 days which felt like months. Lets start at the moment I stepped out of the car onto the grassy parking lot.
We went and checked into the camp first and I got to meet some of the people on F-16 purple squad (our squad name). It was a whirlwind of emotions taking my packs down to our campsite, pitching my tent, and giving yet another hug to one of my squad mates. I couldn’t believe I was actually here, that God made this really happen. The first night was filled with music, teachings, and of course all the information about what was going to happen at camp. After our very first session one of the guys pulled out his guitar and I joined him in singing different worship songs transitioning from one song to another going deeper and deeper into Gods presence. We ended the night yelling “LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH!” My mind was already blown away by the love that we shared in the few hours of meeting.
Day 2 was insane, I have never had such a small amount of food and such a large amount of God. We went from session to session focusing on our hearts and what needed to be done in them before we could move onto serving others. One of my favorite sections from the day was when our speaker gave us a Venn diagram with three circles which said “Mission” in the first, “Intimacy” in the second, “Community” in the third, and in the middle of all it said “Kingdom”. Bill (our speaker) said that to be able to spread the kingdom we need to have all of the circles with God first. Our hearts need to be in a place of intimacy, surrounded by community, and in the mind of missions/ preforming it to bring the kingdom. Each day after that God opened my eyes to things I thought I had no issues with but those things were actually pulling me away from God. We worked on my identity and how I see myself through Gods eyes not my own, which is beautifully and fearfully made in him. We have value because God says we have value, and when we value something we take great care so that we don’t hurt it.
On day 3 we went on our 3 mile hike in under 50 minutes with both of our packs. I prayed and asked God for the strength to do it in 45 minutes. I walked alongside my friend Michalea and each step we took we encouraged each other and made it in 44 minutes. God has a funny sense of humor, letting me make it one minute before my goal and just letting myself laugh at the amazing thing I just did. One of the things I noticed was that their goal at camp was to push you to absolute limit physically and emotionally. Trust me when I say this, they truly accomplished their goal. Each day I went to my tent or if we had a simulation (they gave us these such as airport night to show us what it would be like to sleep in an airport etc.) completely exhausted but spiritually awake and full.
My note book began filling up so quickly because of all the incredible things each of our speakers had to say. One of the nights our speaker, Deon, asked for us to be filled with the Holy Spirit and as I just sat smiling in his presence a women came up to me and said that I would change the atmosphere to be filled with the Holy Spirit through my voice, and that I would pull people deeper into his presence. I couldn’t help but just cry tears of joy knowing that one of my passions would be able to help build the kingdom. God kept surprising me, and helping me grow throughout the rest of camp just as he did through the women he gave me hope and made me feel awake. Jesus says that if you are thirsty for him then ask for the Holy Spirit and I kept asking for more and more. I had never felt so filled and loved by the people around me but more importantly God.
The last couple of days they gave us our teams and I could not be happier to be on the team that I am on. We got the chance to have dinner and just walk around with each other, getting to know the people we will live with. These people give me strength knowing that the next 9 months will be the hardest that we have ever been through but making it clear that there is one reason why we are here, and that’s for God. Training camp tested me in every way possible but I wouldn’t have wanted it to be any different (although it would have been nice to get a little more food) because the growth I got within those short 10 days gave me a glance into what 9 months with these people and our God will be like.
Yes, I miss camp. Yes, I miss my squad family and my team. However I will take in these next 6 weeks with joy and savoring each moment with my incredible family and friends. I will wake up with the true intension of living everyday like its my last, praising God with everything in my heart. I will be grateful to have a real shower and toilet, also not having to wash my clothes in a creek near our small campsite and yet missing every minute of it. God is faithful, he waits to give you an adventurous heart and spirit. Let him fill you.
