This weekend we have 200 Racers from UVWX Squads heading down to Georgia for their Training Camp. They'll be living simulated Race scenarios, eating ethnic food, worshipping the Lord, and bonding as squads and teams. We ask them to come without expectations, but we tell them to expect that God will show up. Below are eleven quotes pulled from participants blogs from our last Training Camp, about how we've seen Jesus work – and how we're expecting him to work this week. UVWX Squads, we're ready for you. All photos by Marina Razumovsky
1. You can live on less.
"Big meals, personal space, technology and daily hot showers are overrated. This week I asked God to take away all my distractions and to allow me to feed off of Him alone. He came through in abundance. When you remove what you think is important, you realize what’s truly important and what you can live without. It is a wonderful thing to experience living with less and sharing what you do have. "
– Julie Lane, T Squad
2. You'll get wrecked.
"I've heard stories of this God in the bible, but I've never experienced it. Still, I honored and trusted that He was there, and capable. But, here, I see Him. I can hear Him and feel Him. I've seen the powers of Heaven unleashed, and the grace of the Almighty as He showers His creation. Us. I've been wrecked. Forever. I'll never be the same ever again."
-Logan Needy, T Squad
3. God speaks when you take time to listen.
"Growing up, I didn't feel like I ever could hear the voice of God. We had one night where we were split up in two groups. One line had to have their eyes closed, while the other line had to ask God what He had for the other person. I was kind of hesitant as to how this was going to work. I spoke what was coming to my mind and to my surprise the person in front of me needed to hear those exact words. I learned that night, that God does speak to us and that we just need to take time and listen."
-Hailey Burger, T Squad
4. It's okay to admit you're not perfect.
"God meets us most visibly in our places of deepest vulnerability. That's where transformation starts."
-Erin Wright, S Squad
5. Satan lies, God speaks truth.
"Before the Enemy was telling me lies: 'You aren’t strong enough for this,' 'You’re totally in over your head,' 'This isn’t for you.' Now my Savior is telling me Truth: 'You aren’t strong enough for this, but I AM,' 'You are totally in over your head, but I will provide,' 'This isn’t for you; it’s for me.'"
– Mary Lyn Albritton, Q Squad
6. God is real.
"I have never in my life felt God like I have this past week of training camp. His love for us is so real, so tangible, so deep, that we can barely scratch the surface. He wants to show us His love; He wants to speak to us, to use us, to heal us, if only we would let him.
– Josh Mackey, Q Squad
7. It's actually fun.
"I wish someone had told me this. I am by no means a “roughing it” kind of girl, and it was fun. You are going to meet great people with whom to do this. You will overcome challenges together and do goofy things. It will be fun even if you're like me and not really a gregarious, crowd-loving person. Relax and enjoy."
– Kari Mitchell, Q Squad
8. God chose you.
"God chose all 200 young adults for a reason to love on the world this July. You don’t have to be somebody or have some amazing skills. God wants to use each person in an incredible way you thought would be impossible. We all were pushed out of our comfort zone and it helped. Being pushed to radically depend on God is what we needed."
– Jakobus Michele, Q Squad
9. We care about your heart over your skillset.
"The heart of Adventures in Missions is, well, the heart. Instead of hearing details and advice about what we would be doing, we heard what the Lord says about our hearts. Training camp was a time to get our hearts filled and united by the Spirit. Because lets get REAL, if you’re not following the Spirit of the Lord in ministry, what’s the point?"
– Casey Jordan, R Squad
10. You'll let the good times roll.
"The training camp was fun. We got to worship the Lord and commune with Him. We had a dance-off and a dance party which was AMAZING because I LOVE to dance. We had something called “Squad Wars” which was some contests and competitions between the squads to connect us. We had a campfire with s’mores one night. We had lots of laughs throughout the week."
– Jacelyn Bendel, S Squad
11. We believe in you and God believes in you.
"Not only believe in me as a person, but believe in me as a leader. This was so humbling for me. The trust these people put into me I had never felt. The support I obtained from these strangers was something I had never experienced before. Someone believed in me. Not someone that I had to spend 10 plus years trying to gain their approval. Not someone who made me go through all these hoops to prove to them that I have what it takes. Not someone who was tapping there foot waiting for me to fail, but someone. A stranger – who believed in the God inside me. Later on in the week, I walked in a room of smiling faces, the first thing they spoke to us was, “You’re in here because we believe in you. We believe in you to be team leaders." Two statements in and I lost it. These people believe in me, and it’s now time to believe in myself."
-Natalie Hallford, S Squad
