So, here it is, the much awaited recap of World Race Training Camp.
The purpose of training camp is to prepare us for life on the field as missionaries. This was also the first time that we all met each other face-to-face. After 2 route deferments and 16 months of waiting, it is safe to say that we were a bit anxious… this vision was finally becoming a reality!
Training camp began with check-ins and registration. We all set up our tents and made our way to the lodge for some music and evening worship. (The worship was AWESOME all week long!) The next day, we were told to be packed and ready to move by 7AM. Each day consisted of morning fitness of some type, designed to represent challenges on the race.
For example: Wake up, pack tents, hike to another location in time to catch the “bus.” 
Or sometimes it was practicing new exercises in a confined area like the compounds where we may live in some countries. Next, we would eat breakfast and prepare for a day of worship and travel and ministry lessons. Some of the topics included the role of the Holy Spirit, grieving, forgiveness, personality differences, etc. For example, we covered some of the different ways in which people connect with God. Cody and I are both naturalistic and student profiles… we easily find God in His Creation and fight for His truth. Classes would continue throughout the day with various tips on packing, ministry, travel, etc. At night, we would close with some prayer time and worship.
Each day was a different geographical region. Along with that region came certain rules about how to act, how to eat, and other customs. Each region also came with very ethnic meals designed to represent what we will eat on the field. For instance, in Africa, we had oranges, hard boiled eggs, and french fries for breakfast. In India, LOTS of curry. Most people enjoyed Central/South America day. J Each of these plates below had to feed 8 people, every single day!!! Oh, and did I mention that we didn’t get to use ANY silverware or individual plates? Yeah, you got comfortable with people real fast!
Since there was a lot that happened in a week, I will just use some key words to explain more of what took place: Sleeping in tents, team building exercises, squad wars, dancing, singing, bonfires, new foods, faith, NO published schedules, learning how to buy things in markets, and a whole lot of people who are really, really passionate about God… it was awesome!!
Sometimes we would run into “Travel problems”. For instance, we split into 1’s an 2’s and placed all of our bags on either side. Then, they randomly chose one of our groups and said “Group 2, the airlines lost your luggage” and we had to sort out how to sleep with extra people in our 2-men tents when it was about 35 degrees F outside. Cody and I lost our tent and half our supplies to this exercise. We were so blessed to see the rest of our squad work together, share supplies, and make the best out of a poor situation to provide us with our own tent for the night.
After all of our team building exercises and the emotional stress they brought with them… our squad of 49 people was broken down into teams of 7.We would like to introduce you to our team:
“TEAM ENTRUSTED”
Why “Entrusted?”
After a teammate rededicated his life to the Lord (another blog to come)we were discussing how awesome it is the God has entrusted us with Dave’s new walk with Him… as well as the responsibility to help our whole team to grow in our relationships with God, support each other, and hold everyone accountable. We are really stoked for this team and couldn’t have hand-picked a better one!!
We would like to thank everyone whose prayers and support made this vision a reality… Thank you so much for this opportunity to step out into the impossible and trust God to make it possible. We are so blessed!!!
