To sum up Training Camp as simply as possible, all I would have to really say is: It was hard. In fact, for some of us it was the most difficult ten days of our entire lives. It made us cry, it broke our hearts, it made us raw, and in the end, it showed us that there is so much more to this whole Christian thing than any of us have ever thought it would have been. For some of us however, it was a moment of genuine faith.
At this moment, I would like to introduce you all to my fellow squad mate Brent. He’s the cool one on the left. Everyone say, “Hi Brent!”
Brent, is to the core of his being a true servant of God and is probably one of the most noble individuals I’ve ever met. He’s a leader, he’s genuine, and while sure he’s got stuff to work on, he’s an amazing friend. But the greatest thing about Brent, I feel, is that he is a testimony and example for others to follow when life tries to rip you down.
From the outside looking in, it seemed like since the moment Training Camp started, anything that could have gone wrong for Brent, it went wrong for Brent. Hours before we were set to arrive to the men’s only retreat before Training Camp, called “The Man Hike”, Brent woke up bright and early in Florida at 4am to drive the next several hundred miles to Georgia to pick up me from the airport. By 1pm, he was already in the Atlanta area and was only a mile or so outside of the airport where I was. However, this is where things started getting interesting for him. His car would end up breaking down on him in the middle of the highway! After waiting for a tow truck in the Georgia heat (anyone who says that it’s not hot in Georgia in October is an idiot), he would end up being transported to an auto shop and told to check back towards the end of the week to see what the damage was to both his car and wallet would be to fix the problem. Most would look at their car getting broke down and automatically surrender the entire 10 days of Training Camp a loss. However, there was more to come for Brent sadly.
- On the Man Hike, which consisted of hiking 22 miles on the Appalachian Trail and seemed to be a never ending hell, he would suffer a hernia.
- From the physical toll on us all throughout the week, the hernia only became worse. He would end up getting surgery today (11/11), which went well praise God.
- Later in the week, he found out that the car would not even be close to being finished and ready to be picked up until several weeks later. He would therefore have to get a rental car to drive back to Florida, and then drive that rental car to work and other places in Florida until he could get his car back. BUT. . .
- On the day we were released from Training Camp, the rental car dealership at the Atlanta Airport would NOT let him rent a car. THEREFORE, he would have to buy a last minute flight to Florida that left that night.
- And once everything was tallied up, Brent was somewhere between $3000 and $4000 in the hole over a span of ten days.
To say the ten days that held Training Camp in its entirety were hard for Brent would be an understatement. A REALLY BIG understatement.
So about a week later, a former squad mate of Brent’s and mine, texted me an idea.
“I think we should get donations from the other racers to donate to Brent.”
At first I wasn’t sure exactly how much we would be able to raise honestly. Sure, maybe we could scrap together a couple hundred bucks but I wasn’t sure honestly just how much of a dent we could truly make into helping Brent with this time of genuine hardship. But like the many times I wasn’t sure. God was.
So for two weeks we raised money for Brent. Racers from so many different squads and some who I have never met, were donating like it was no ones business. Within a week and a half we had raised over $2,100. Missionaries were donating to a missionary in need. This. Blew. Me. Away. Not that I didn’t think it would happen, but I was just so dumbfounded by how generously willing other World Racers were! I mean, these people, who are trying to make their own deadlines to go on The World Race themselves, are giving FREELY and they were UNRESTRICTED by what they gave. They gave boldly. It was truly amazing watching all the donations made in secret poor in to the PayPal account that we had made for him, that I was overseeing. What had started as a heartfelt idea from our friend Heather, had turned into something so dramatically powerful that was blessed by God.
The moment we gave Brent the money.
For several weeks, Brent had no idea what we were doing for him and while obviously it would have been nice to give Brent ALL the money he needed, the Lord provided with Brent needed to get by.
In 2 Corinthians 9:8 it says,
“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”
There seems to be two morals of this story involving Brent:
- The Lord provides always.
- And you never know what you can accomplish through God if you just yield yourself to Him.
The Racers who donated, were just simply asked, “This is not an obligation, but we are simply asking that if you are willing to donate, give what you can. Whether it be $5 or $500 dollars, any amount helps.” By trusting God what they were called to give with their finances, Racers were able to drastically help Brent in an amazing way, and to show Brent that his faith will be rewarded. Let the record show that Brent never doubted God and that says a lot about who he is and what his character is as well. Was he nervous? Well ya, but who wouldn’t? What Brent did was no small task. In a span of ten days, he was hit with a lot of stuff that would have driven me to the point of overwhelming craziness. What struck the biggest chord with me its that even though things got crazy, he always trusted that God was going to show up, and Lord knows that not only do we all need to learn how to trust God in our day to day lives and finances, but also I need to learn this lesson.
So I challenge you all reading this in a few ways.
- How can you help someone out? Is it financially? Is it physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual support? Or is it in a totally different way? Even if it’s only a small thing, it’s something that God can work through.
- What’s holding you back from making a difference in someone’s life? Is it you putting God in a box? Is it perhaps any insecurities that you may have about yourself that says God can’t use you?
- And most importantly, how can you trust God more and what is keeping you from doing that as well?
God is not a life ruiner. Sometimes things just happen. But you can be the person and change that God uses to bring hope and life into a really bad situation. So let go and trust God. You might just be amazed and surprised as to what God can truly do.
Thank you for your time and I pray you have a blessed day and that you may act like Christ to another sometime soon,
Brandon M. Williams
