A few days have passed since I returned home from Training Camp for the World Race.
I am still processing everything that happened during those 10 days in Georgia, but I know many of you are patiently waiting to hear all about it, so here we go…
Before training camp I was what the WR calls a “blog-stalker.” I searched the internet for blogs about camp and learned all that I could to try and prepare myself for what I was about to encounter. However, no amount of blogs could have ever prepared me for what I experienced in the backwoods of Georgia.
With that being said, I could never fully explain the magnitude of everything Jesus did at Training Camp, so bear with me as I attempt to describe the past two weeks.
(The wonderful, awesome, loving C-Squad!)
Training camp was a lot of things. It was hard, exhausting, and frustrating. It was fun, exciting, and incredible. It was challenging and uncomfortable. It was eye-opening, heart-breaking, and life-changing.
It was Jesus, working in the most magnificent of ways.
The purpose of training camp is to prepare you for life on the Race in every way possible – physically, mentally, and spiritually. And let me tell you, if anything could prepare me for the Race, it was the past two weeks in Georgia.
Physically we were pushed to our limits.
- Sleeping included a tent, sleeping bag and pad, and layers upon layers of clothes. (If you’ve never been to Georgia in the middle of October just know that at night it can get really really cold, no matter how warm it is during the day.)
- Showers consisted of a bucket of cold water and a measuring cup.
- Meals meant sharing a plate with 7 other people and usually eating with your hands.
- Workouts began before the sun even came up.
(This was our campsite…aka where we lived for the week.)
Mentally we were torn apart and examined.
- We encountered scenarios that may happen in the field, such as losing our luggage or having to sleep in a busy “airport.”
- We participated in team building exercises in which we had to work together to solve problems and complete activities.
- We were encouraged to “unplug” from the “real world” and focus on ourselves, our squad, and our Savior.
(The night we went camping.)
Spiritually we were broken.
- We searched our minds and hearts for anything holding us back from living fully for the purpose of the Kingdom.
- We were honest about our past – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
- Our messy lives were exposed and our hearts were vulnerable.
(Team Radiant – the girls I get to do life with starting in January.)
Despite the obstacles that we faced, as I sit here reflecting on camp, one word is on the forefront of my mind – sanctification.
Sanctification means “walking in wholeness and freedom.”
Sanctification is what happened to me at training camp – I became whole and free.
Wholeness in:
- learning who I truly am in Christ
- learning how to love unconditionally
- leaving behind the things that I fill my life with and letting God fill it instead
- my new family of 30+ people crazy enough to drop everything and follow God to the nations
- learning my strengths and my purpose in the Kingdom
Freedom from:
- areas in my life that I was hiding – from both myself and from God
- unforgiveness and anxiety
- fear and doubt
- shame and past mistakes
- the lies of the enemy
“Not only the world, but we also have been waiting with pain inside us. We have the Spirit as the first part of God’s promise. So we are waiting for God to finish making us [WHOLENESS] his own children, which means our bodies will be made free [FREEDOM].” – Romans 8:23
At training camp I became broken, but though sanctification, God put me back together and filled in all the little cracks with His grace and love.
(C-Squad before Squad Wars)
If you have any questions or just want to know more about training camp I would be more than happy to share my experience with you. Feel free to comment below, email me ([email protected]) or call/text me at 615-417-1052. As always, thanks so much for your love and support!
-Kelsey
