Hey people of the interweb,
so I originally wasn’t going to write an update blog about how training camp was, but after realizing that my last blog was a little bit over four months ago I decided to give it a shot. Also, this post will be a little less formal (I guess) than the others, due to the fact that I’m writing it on my phone & also the fact it’ll just be an update of what God is doing, which I realIze is what a blog should be. So hooray for no big theological questions and statements! Warning: there may be an abundant amount of exaggerations throughout this post, but it was how I felt at the time.
First off, for those of you who know me fairly well, you know that I am the pickiest eater in the southeastern region of the States. Training camp was basically an 11day composition of food that I would most definitely decline within the comfort of my own home. Needless to say that I had to force myself to eat many things I wouldn’t normally eat.. but don’t be alarmed, I had hidden stash of granola bars (not the healthy kind) for when hunger truly struck. Coffee deprivation was also something very real that I experienced during training camp. Turns out you don’t realize how dependent you are on that morning burst of caffeine until you find yourself entering a random person’s tent, believing it to be yours. twice.
Secondly, bucket showers were a thing and oh man were they great. Taking a shower in less than 3 minutes, while making friends with all sorts of insects that wanted to join in on the fun, was quite the experience. Not to mention the two days the water faucet wasn’t functioning and a quarter mile hike (but forreal, why were there so many hills) for water was necessary. The most exciting part though was after you had just finished “showering” you had no idea if you were drying off sweat or water. It was definitely a mind over matter scenario trying to convince yourself that it was indeed water.
Probably the most exciting part of camp was seeing that these random people I was friends with over social media were actually real. At times it felt like I was about to enter an episode of cat-fish, but boy was I wrong. These were the raddest most on fire people (for God, not literally) I have ever met in such a short span of time. We quickly disregarded awkward sweaty handshakes, and moved into not so awkward but still very sweaty hugs (& bro hugs). God began to break down our walls immediately as we began to share our hearts to one another. I was able to form some crazy awesome relationships with people I had only known for a few days & God worked tremendously through that. All 48 of us, I hope that number is right, became tight incredibly fast.. & by that I mean physically too. Being crammed 12dudes, with backpacks the size of 10yr old children, into a tent suited for 8 was quite the bonding experience.
At the end of the week we were all placed into our “teams.” The teams are the people we will actually do life with the whole 9months. I was placed on a team with the gnarliest dudes & dudettes and I am super stoked to see what God is gonna do. The two fellas I get to live with are stellar men of God that I can’t wait to grow in brotherhood with. I can truly see God’s hand in the placement of these teams and how he humbles and prepares our hearts for the months to come. Here’s a pic of my rad team:
(if the picture isn’t showing up I’ll take full blame for my lack of technological abilities)
Lastly, I would like to thank the awesome leaders, mentors, & logistics peeps that tirelessly poured into us and made training camp so rad. You all rock.
Well, there ya go. An unorganized blog about some of the cool things God did at training camp! I would apologize for the excessive use of parenthesis but I won’t. ‘Til next time my friends.
Oh, also… I am so stoked to say that I am now fully funded!! It was only by the generosity of many hearts & God’s grace that this was able to happen. I can’t express my gratitude enough for all the donations, prayers, and words of encouragement! Thank you all so much!
In Christ,
Diegz
“Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”
Psalm 145:3
