Training camp was one of the best weeks of my life. God broke me only to restore me. The Holy Spirit spoke to me in ways I did not know where possible. My heart broke for the things that break God’s heart and I know that I am doing exactly what I have been called to do. But I will blog more about all those things later.
What I really want to share is about the time that my team listened to the voice of the Lord and we ministered to each other and became a family. On Saturday we were asked to listen to what God was speaking to us as a team. One teammate saw a Red SUV, another saw a sign for Shoney’s and another saw a sign for Felton Rd (or some other road that started with an F, I can’t really remember). So we decided to get into the car and simply drive and see where God would lead us. The next thing we all knew we were on Felton Rd and there were Red SUV’s everywhere. As we were driving we saw a Shoney’s Restaurant as well…so we quickly deduced that we were traveling on God’s path.
Since we found out who was on our team we all decided that before we left training camp we wanted to share our testimonies with one another so that we would have everything put on the table and grow closer in community. So we decided to go to Starbucks (where there was a Red SUV in the parking lot) and I shared my testimony with 5 people that a barely even knew. The whole week God was speaking to me telling me “Dawn, share your story” so with boldness, I did. It was difficult at first but then there was an unexplainable peace that came along with that. I knew I was doing exactly what God wanted me to do and I was letting my new family into my life with no boundries. All I could think was I am going to live with these people for the next 11 months and they need to know what I have been through and exactly who I am and what Christ has done for me in my life. The freedom I felt when I was finished sharing is something I have never felt before in my life…it cannot be explained except to say God set me free from everything that was keeping me from truly seeing how much He loves me and how much He wants me to follow Him.
We all shared our tesimonies with each other…and after each person shared we began to see just how God formed this team and why we were all brought together. I didn’t think it was possible to truly love people that I have only known for a week but I can say this with truth…I love my new family so much. Towards the end of our day together we were in Target just sharing testimonies and talking about God. There was something freeing about doing this in a public place because you never know who you may influence with your story. When we were all done everyone on my team wanted to pray…in Target. At first I was like “Um, Guys…are you serious? We are literally in the middle or Target and you want to pray holding hands out loud.” To which they replied “Dawn, lets be bold.” And in that moment I really understood what the World Race is about…which is living boldly about Christ and in Christ. So as my nerves got the best of me we all stood up held hands and began praying outloud. As soon as we started everything got quiet and the peace of God came down to me and I knew He was telling me it would be okay and that we were doing exactly what needed to be done. I am ready for more moments like this. More moments of boldness, more moments of bonding, more moments of courage but most of all more moments of following the voice of God.
