Today I learned the hard lesson that the first day back after prolonged God encounters are the worst. It's like spending a few days in heaven and then being plucked from that and dropped in the dirt. I learned this past week at training camp that I have been settling in my walk with God. Being back home today I could tell that the enemy's attacks are around the corner. I can tell that I am fighting anger and discontentment with adapting to my day to day life here. Everything now cannot even compare to the experiences that I had last week. How are you supposed to make that transition? How do you explain to people what you went through in a week?
FAQ
How was Training Camp?
do you want the long version or the short version?
Short version- it was great! The Lord was present and I am so excited to leave in July.
Long version- words cannot even begin to express what we went through. I slept in a tent in the pouring rain, on a tarp in the middle of the woods, crammed in someone else's tent with a borrowed pair of sweats, and in a bus with 50 other people and our bags. I ate small portions of weird foods, and drank more water than I have ever done. I was wrecked by the Lord and filled with the Holy Spirit, I saw people speak in tongues, The Lord speak through prophecy, and people being healed. I cried until throwing up, laughed until I cried, and screamed until we won squad wars.
Did you have fun?
Fun is a relative term… haha! emotional roller coaster is more like it. Looking back, yes I had fun. In the moment I was more like, "LORD WHY?! Am I really ready for this??" Back to the fun part… yes. I had fun. My squad is the greatest thing since string cheese. I had my tent zip-tied closed, ate contraband peanut butter, told testimonies around a campfire, won a dance off, had my backpack zip-tied to someone else's, sang 'natural woman' in a bus, ordered a pizza and ate it on a tarp, more dancing, and then fell in love with peanut butter trail mix.
How was your birthday?
well. I turned 21. My stuff had gotten "lost by TSA, so it was taken." Despite that, my squad really cared for my. Chandler gave me his sweats which I wore as a jump suit, Owen told the worship leaders it was my birthday and 250 people sang to me. Then I cried. The Lord did a lot of work in my heart on that day. I learned in a very real and fast way what it would be like to be completely out of my comfort zone and to be on my own.
How is your heart doing with the Lord?
The Lord made himself very known to me at training camp. For the first time ever I was around some of the spiritual gifts that I had never seen before. It gave me an opportunity to discover what my theology was about them. Ultimately I learned the power of trusting in the Holy Spirit to guide me and relying on the knowledge that my squad would treat each other with grace and respect when it came to worship. I know for a fact that the Lord is present in Adventures in Missions and that his blessing is on the staff and they are doing some amazing work. I am so excited to be a part of that. I feel empowered by the Lord as not only his daughter but as his warrior. There is a beautiful war to be fought and I am called to rise up and speak truth for His Kingdom.
