A little over a year ago I made a 5 hours journey southeast to attend World Race training camp. What followed was a week of feeling under pressure, overwhelmed, and stretched. That’s exactly what Training Camp was supposed to be though. Stretching. And I believe that the only times that we are stretched and grow as people is when we are outside our comfort zones.
However, if you would have told me then that I would be going through training camp again next year I would have probably wanted to slap you in the face… Thanks to being in CGA’s long-term missions track, that’s exactly what happened.
While many Racers drove and flew across the country to arrive in Gainesville, I simply made the 10 minute trip from my house. Immediately as I entered, I could feel the energy. Some of my fellow CGA members were dancing and greeting all the cars that entered. Racers were in circles talking to the people for the first time with whom they would spend the next year with. I walked around for the first hour observing all the new faces and their excitement, reminiscing on my experience only a year ago… and thinking about how much has changed since then.
Worship begins the first night. Racers and staff join together in a jam-packed dining hall. I’m full of energy and excitement from what all is going on around me. My eyes are closed as I’m worshiping the Father. I sing a line in a song that says, “I want to see you as you are, catch a glimpse of your heart in this place.” As I sang it I felt God say, “Look up.” I open my eyes to the sights of hundreds of Racers crying out the song, many with their hands held high and it hit me. This is it. 350 young adults willing to abandon everything they know for a year so they can seek after the living God and share His love. This is the Fathers heart.
It’s not because they are going out to be missionaries. It’s not because they are about to do good things for underprivileged people around the world. It’s because they are His children, chasing after Him and His will. That’s all he wants. He doesn’t just want our works or deeds… he wants our hearts.
Bill Brighton, a leader at Adventures in Missions, told us, “We are not called to missions, we are called to Christ, and from that we can do as much missions and ministry we want.”
There’s a generation rising up that wants to live out the gospel and see the Kingdom of Heaven come to Earth. God is on the move. I feel privileged to be a part of it.
For anyone else who has heard “the whisper”, and feels like they would be willing to give up a year of their life to seek after God’s heart I would 100% recommend the World Race. If your interested please reach out! I would love to talk to you guys about my experience and answer any questions you might have.
Love you guys. Thanks for reading!
