1. Finding out our sleeping scenario every night. Some people hated it, but I loved it. I packed up my stuff every morning looking forward to what that night would hold. I don’t want to give anything away for future Racers, but if you keep baby wipes, your toothbrush, undies, SLEEPING BAG (see #10), and a pillow in your daypack you’ll be solid.
2. Worship with 200+ Jesus-obsessed people. SO. AWESOME.
3. How happy we were the night we got to sleep inside, use real toilets, and have running water. You won’t believe this when I say it, but 40+ girls managed to get ready in one bathroom in the morning. I took full advantage of the sick, teamed up with my dear friend Katie, and we washed each other’s hair. This was the one and only time I washed my hair at training camp.
4. Praying about EVERYTHING. My squadmates prayed over me when I hadn’t pooped for 4 days. God worked wonders in 10 minutes.
5. Everything Ron Walborn said. If you haven’t heard this man preach, you’re missing out. Download his Podcasts on iTunes and you’ll get a taste of what we experienced at training camp. You’ll be happy you did.
6. How weird it felt going into civilization. This doesn’t really sound like a positive thing, but knowing that I so easily adjusted to a simple life was so awesome. Simplicity is pretty neat.
7. PURPLE BEARDS.
8. Eating rice off a Frisbee shared by 3. When there are no plates, you just gotta work with what you have.
9. The Lord speaking through my Squad Mentor to tell me how proud He is of me. “The fact that your feet are right here on this ground, means you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”
10. 40 degrees, 1 sleeping bag, and a hill. Literally nothing I say can adequately describe how hilarious this was but I’ll give you an idea. Sarah forgot her sleeping bag, managed to inch herself into mine throughout the night, and meanwhile we managed to slide a few feet down the fairly steep hill we were sleeping on. A few feet is a lot of space in World Race terms, so we had actually slid into another person’s sleeping space for the night. Let’s just say attempting to army crawl back up the hill was a FEAT.
11. Falling in love with my new family. I see a little bit of Jesus in every single person. If unconditional love is what you want, you’ll find it with these people. If you want to see faith lived out like you’ve never seen before, you’ll see it with these people. I’m so proud to call these men and women my family. Together, God will use us to change the world.
