I am currently about to board the plane to leave from training camp and i keep getting asked all sorts of questions about what it was like, what I did there, and what advice I have for anyone going into it. So, here is my list of what’s up at training camp!
1. Don’t worry about not bonding with your team. By the time you arrive in Gainesville all of you will have bonded over how hot everywhere is and how sweaty you are. P.S. you WILL be really sweaty!
2. Almost everyone cries on the first night. You aren’t alone! Starting a new adventure like this can stress you out. You may be homesick, tired, nervous, and sweaty. If you’re not, the stress of just meeting 50 other people all at once and not really knowing anyone is enough to make anyone cry! I cried the first night and thought i was totally alone and being a baby for crying, but throughout the week I told people about it, they all responded with the same statement, “ME TOO!”
3. Just get used to the face that you won’t smell good. Ever. But no one else will either, so you get to all smell stinky together! Yay! You get to learn how to shave, shampoo, condition, wash your body, and wash your face with a bucket of water. And you get to learn that a bucket of water IS enough. By the time you get back to your camp site you will most likely be dirty again. Just embrace it. Stinky is the new norm.
4. Bugs will become your new best friend! They’re everywhere, and there’s no avoiding them! Bug spray will help a little, but not enough to count. Just realize that God made bugs too and learn to live in peace with them!
5. God it GOING to move. He is. The sessions and worship brought me to a whole new level of understanding who our Daddy is. I came into the week expecting just another camp, but it was so much more. I didn’t just go and listen to some speaker or some songs. I saw God break chains and move in ways I have never seen before. I felt His love in a whole new way that i never knew was possible! God is a good good father, and He will show that to you if you are willing to listen.
6. Tents and community living aren’t as bad as you think. I had more fun sleeping in a tent than I have had in years. Some of my best memories this week were sharing a two person tent with a sweet friend and both of our packs! You learn how to get close and how to love it. I honestly don’t know how I’m going to function without all of my squad fam not around me!
7. Hammocks are a MUST! any free time our squad had we were in hammocks. We at one point had so many people in hammocks that we broke a tree! They also double as a nice bed if you don’t feel like putting up your tent that night! I got to see so many relationships built by people being hammocks and I would HIGHLY recommend bringing one if you have it!
8. DON’T worry about your teams. It doesn’t do you any good. WR Leaders do a FANTASTIC job at putting your team together and there is a LOT of prayer and listening that goes into it. Just trust that God will let them know where to put you and has a reason for you being there. I will be writing a new blog on my amazing team in a few days to let you know all about them!
9. You don’t have to get to know everyone super super well to feel like part of the family. I am extremely introverted and shy and I’m not very good at going out and making friends, but God gave everyone such an accepting spirit and I got to know everyone throughout the 10 days in a way that wasn’t super overwhelming or made me uncomfortable. God has you on your squad for a reason and everyone else on that same squad for a reason so don’t stress about getting to know people. It will all happen in good time.
10. Have fun with exercises! They really can be fun, even for little ol’ unathletic and uncoordinated me! Y’all, i fell on my first day just a little bit and my knee literally looked like i had been mauled by a bear then pushed off a cliff, hit my leg on the side of the cliff the whole way down then landed in a bunch of glass at the bottom. It was rough. And I was honestly dreading each workout after that, but thanks to my teammates having a good attitude about workouts, I did them and even had FUN doing them!
11. Food around the world id GOOD! the WR kitchen staff does an amazing job of engulfing you in different cultures daily. I encourage you to have fun with it and try something new! In my personal opinion, everything was great! Don’t complain, because if you don’t want to eat it you don’t have to and if you get hungry later its your fault because you didn’t eat. No one like complainers!
12. Each day gets better. Im not going to lie. The first days were a little rough… I had to have some hard conversations with God about if this was really what He wanted me to do and why he wanted me to do it, because I honestly just wanted to go home. I wanted to be anywhere but there. God made it clear to me that yes, He really did want me there. And yes, there really is a purpose for me being there. So, I started asking God to make “tomorrow better than yesterday”, and you know what He did? Just that. God made each day better than the last and at the same time stretched me out of my comfort zone. He took care of me, and he will do that for you to.
All in all training camp was mind blowing. I really can’t put it all into words what happened at that campsite in Georgia. I experienced all sorts of new things that I had never imagined possible, I learned of a love-based community unlike any other, and overall… I had the time of my life! If anyone had any more questions about training camp, PLEASE comment below or email me @ [email protected]! I love you all!
