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11 Things Learned at Training Camp: Part 1 of 2
The whole list of 11 things learned is something being repeated throughout most of my squad but that’s because it’s a great idea not because we’re a bunch of copycats. So to whoever first started this I give you mad props. I also must preface this by saying that training camp was the craziest, hardest, most rewarding, most challenging, most fun, best week of my life. If it’s any indication of the year to come then I can safely say that my life is about to be turned upside down.
11. Sleeping on a bus is hell but it sure does bring people together
Part of our training was to get used to sleeping anywhere and everywhere. For example, we might be in Africa o
n a crowded bus of wall to wall smelly, sweaty people and wailing babies when suddenly the bus breaks down in the middle of the bush and we’re forced to spend the night right where we are. Thus, we crammed 50+ of our squad into a school bus that can barely hold 50 middle schoolers let alone 50 full size adults. With the air stagnant, people spread out two to a seat, up and down the aisles and under the chairs, a lone fox roaming around the parking lot, and hairy spiders making homes in our windows we tried to get some sleep. Unfortunately sleep didn’t come that night to almost everyone, but it was an experience that we’ll never forget and something that knit us together very quickly and taught us to rely on each other.
10. You can get good rest almost anywhere
To say it was wet during the first few nights of training camp would be an understatement. It would torrential downpour for hours soaking your tent and making the ground a muddy mess. This made for some pretty rough nights, but by the end of the week my tent was my favorite place. We slept in some funky places which I won’t divulge of just in case you ever decide to do the World Race. The unknown is key here. But I found that even in the most uncomfortable of places I could sleep just from sheer exhaustion. I will say the best night of sleep I got was in a hammock strung between two telephone poles under a hazy star filled sky with a chorus of insects singing their song.
9. You don’t need showers every day
Yes, showers are nice, but you don’t need them. Don’t be grossed out but I only showered once during camp and I didn’t even use shampoo. I did swim in a waterfall twice though so I count that as getting cleaned. In this community of people we were all smelly, we were all damp (there is nothing worse than wet socks), but we weren’t complaining. We still loved each other nonetheless (thankfully).
8. It is important to let yourself get broken
You can’t become whole until you accept your brokenness. All week long God was breaking me, of my past, of my worries, of everything I’d been holding onto. There was one day though that I’ll never forget and forever bound me to the men of my squad. We were taken to an old army training camp; the same one used for the T.V. show Band of Brothers, and told to start running. We ran about a mile in the relentless Georgia sun on roads paved in red clay. None of us said much and there was no encouragement between brothers.
We stopped at the bottom of a steep incline and were told it was straight up the rest of the way. No big deal right? Wrong. The caveat was that two of us were blindfolded, and three of us had t
o be carried at all times by the others. It was then that we finally started working together and encouraging each other, because every single one of us got broken that day. It’s hard not to while every muscle in your body is screaming as you carry your 180 pound brother up a mile long hill as he struggles to cling to you because both of you are slick with sweat. I won’t go too much more into it other than tell you that it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but the reward at the top of the mountain as we all stood on a precipice overlooking the town of Toccoa Falls and let loose a battle cry made every horrible moment completely worth it. That was the moment we went from being acquaintances to brothers.
7. How to be a man
One of the best things I brought away with me this week was the importance of being a man of God. We learned so much about how to be true brothers to the ladies of our squad (who outnumber us exponentially), how to be leaders, how to serve, and how to be accountable to each other. Society has it all backwards about what it means to be manly, but I learned that being a man means looking out for others and being a servant leader.
This week wrecked me in the best possible way. Part 2 will continue in a few days but until then I encourage you to think about the times that God wrecked you. When was that time that God took your world and turned it completely upside down so that you would see Him more clearly?
To be continued…
