Sitting here, I’m realizing how hard it is to put into words what happened over the past 10 days at training camp. It was the most challenging, sweatiest, best days of my life. Without giving too much away for future racers, here are the 10 biggest things I learned at camp:
- We cannot set people free unless we ourselves are free—forgive others, forgive yourself, and believe that you are completely set free by the Gospel.
- Living in community is hard—Living with the same 7 people 24/7 is hard. There will be times where we will challenge each other, but those are the times where we will grow the most.
- Expect the unexpected— things won’t always go as we planned and that’s OK. Things will always go according to God’s plan and we need to be content knowing that things are exactly as they are supposed to be.
- We don’t need as much as we think we do—our culture has conditioned us to believe that we need a bigger house, a newer car, a 42 oz. soda, and the list goes on and on. At training camp, we were served smaller than normal portions, used bucket showers, were constantly given different sleeping arrangements, and yet I felt more fulfilled than ever. The things of this world promise to offer us happiness and fulfillment, but they don’t last. Fill yourself with the only thing that truly satisfies, Jesus Christ. (John 4:14)
- God is not disappointed in us—when we accept a relationship with Him, He sees us as His Son, perfect and blameless. He is pleased with us and nothing we do will disappoint Him.
- Grace does not keep record of wrongs— God calls us to love. It isn’t our job to judge people for what they’ve done or where they’ve been.
- Physical, emotional, and spiritual health are all related. We need to strive to be healthy in every area of our lives—exercise, read, spend time with each other and the Lord, eat healthy foods.
- When we don’t forgive people, we are saying that what Jesus did on the cross is not enough. To be truly free, we need to forgive the people that have hurt us—if God can forgive us of our mistakes, who are we to not forgive others. (Ephesians 4:32)
- We are always on mission. Talk to the people around you: in airports, restaurants, train stations, and markets. Show people that they are loved and cared for, use actions to share the Gospel.
- The World Race isn’t about exploring new places; it’s about bringing Kingdom. The most valuable thing we have to offer people is the Gospel. We aren’t there to save people; we are there to tell them the Good News that saved us.
