Well, it happened. Training Camp is over. After over a year of obsessively watching every video and reading ever blog possible, those ten days in Georgia came and left all too fast. Let me be the first to say that all the blogs and videos do nothing in comparison of actually being at camp. Adventures in Missions loves to bring the unexpected, and that is exactly what happened. Here’s just a taste of my time in Gainesville, Georgia.
I want to start by breaking it down a bit. First, the uncomfortable. There has been too many people to count ask me “Wait, why would you ever want to do this?” These people aren’t being rude, these people are right. In the world and society’s eye, the World Race doesn’t make any sense. Dropping everything you have to carry all your belongings that you can squeeze into a 65L backpack around the world just doesn’t make sense. At training camp, we sleep in tents. We eat with our hands that are often covered in red dirt. We only use porta potties. We take cold bucket showers (and after a hot day in the Georgia sun, we LOVE them). We work out at 7:00am. We share one plate with a table of eight for every meal. We have no choice in what we eat, and sometimes you sit down for breakfast and they hand you scrambled eggs, a loaf of white bread, and a bowl of crickets. You heard me, crickets. None of this is something that I would choose for myself, and it was all so uncomfortable. So why did I do it? Why did 300 other people also choose to do it with me? Heres why. The uncomfortable stretched us so far. Sure, it prepared us to live in 3rd world countries. However, it changed us in ways that effected our American lives too. I appreciate hot showers more, but way more than that I appreciate community and relationships that love on you even if you smell. Porta pottys may seem like the worst part of the day when they are forming a mile high mountain, but now is there anything better than waking up to a cleaned out fresh port-a-potty?! Nope. Even something so small like that can bring so much joy. The uncomfortable was well worth the outcome.
Now lets talk about the people. I now have 51 new beautiful sisters that I get to do life with. How cool is that?? Our squad was not only blessed with amazing racers, but the BEST trainers and mentors that get to walk this journey with us. These women that have given up so much for us are some of the greatest women of God that I have ever met, and I am so excited to constantly learn from them. Also, my squad got the opportunity to meet some of the greatest people on other squads that we’re at camp with us. We are so excited to watch your journey while on our own!
FREEDOM. The amount of times I heard God say this word in that ten days of training camp is insane. In the first few days I didn’t know what this meant, and now it all makes sense. At the end of the day, what comes from Training Camp is freedom. God is here and moving through Adventures in Missions, and I’ve never seen anything like it. We focused on breaking down walls, and about four days into camp chains were broken that I didn’t even know existed. Every night, I would get to look around the room during worship and just in awe of the freedom that every single person was living in. Everyone was free to dance. Free to yell. Free to sit. Free to use their gifts. FREE. There’s nothing like what God is doing at Training camp, and through all the things that AIM gave us and taught us, I have found the freedom that God has called me to walk in. Each day gets better and better, and I know with every ounce of me that The World Race is exactly where God wants me.
Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me in these past few weeks, and thank you for taking the time to read about my experiences. It really does mean so much to me. Stay tuned for an update that includes my team, a route change (ahhh!) and so much more!
– Lindsey
