I’m sure all of you were beginning to wonder when my next blog would be, considering my last on was about 7 months ago… whoops…
Well I thought now would be as good of time as any because I just got back from Training Camp! Now, you should note that writing this may be a very challenging task for me, because I could easily write an entire book on everything I learned and experienced at Training Camp. But I also want to keep a lot of it a mystery for those of you reading this who may be future racers. So this blog is basically going to be the “packing cube” of blogs, meaning there’s a ton of good stuff in it, just a small amount of space.
Let me just start off by putting it out there that there was not even one second I doubted God wasn’t present. Like for real, we were tent buddies alllll week long… talk about a “righteous slumber party”, am I right?!
Anyways, right off the bat, I met such wonderful people, and felt a deep connection to them and couldn’t help but to smile at how cleverly God had woven us all together in his grand tapestry. Within minutes, I connected with everyone I talked to, and the conversations were never awkward… and if you know me at all, you know that that’s kind of a big deal. In the wise words of Anna from Frozen, “Sorry I’m awkward….. Sorry.”
But as wonderful as everyone was, I’m going to leave it at that, and just give you a taste of what the rest of the week looked like… So buckle up and please keep your hands and feet inside the roller coaster at all times. Thank you.
The food was from a different country’s cuisine every day. Sometimes we ate it all, sometimes we tried our best to swallow the first bite.
Our sleeping arrangements were different every night, mocking what sleeping might look like on the race. Whether it was sharing one person’s belongings between two people, “sleeping” on a crowded school bus, or sharing a large tent with your entire squad, not one night’s sleep looked the same as the night before.
Every morning there was some sort of exercise. That’s all I’ll say on that topic. You can let your mind wander on that one.
Team bonding activities were a huge part of the week. I was SO grateful for this because through these small (and sometimes extremely challenging) team activities, the leaders hand selected and prayerfully considered the best possible teams for us to have during the next nine months of our lives. **Spoiler Alert: I LOVE MY TEAM. #teamgeronimo
Seeing (or even thinking about) spiders don’t send me into a full blown panic attack anymore. This week was worth it just for that.
Overall, God taught me so many things this week, but there is one main one I feel the need to share with you all:
He showed me that the things I think I’m afraid of, actually stem from deep insecurities inside of me that the enemy keeps a foothold in, in order to use them in pretty much every area of my life. So even though this week was only a small taste of what the next nine months will look like, God showed me these insecurities early on, so I’m not blind-sided by them later- possibly taking away from my ministry. Thanks Jesus, you’re a cool dude.
I know this was a kind of lengthy blog, but thanks for sticking with it! As a reward, here’s some exciting news:
I leave Colorado on September 4th, and will be traveling to Guatemala, Thailand and Botswana (in that order)!! WOOO!!!
Here’s a picture of my rad team. If you could pray for us before we launch, as well as during the Race, you’d be cool.
Top row: Anna, Josh, Sam, Mackenzie, Grace
Bottom row: Me, Henry
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