As I hope most of you know, I spent the last 10 days in Gainesville, Georgia at training camp for the World Race. The whole experience reminds me of a roller coaster, not a puny one either, rather a huge terrifying one where you spend most of the ride wondering what possessed you to ride it in the first place. Camp drained me emotionally, physically, and spiritually… but I wouldn’t change a single thing. It was worth the sweat, tears, rain, and porta potties.
Just take a moment to imagine camp with me… You’re sweating all the time, even in your sleep. You probably stink, but you can’t smell anything so you don’t worry about it… or actually care because everyone stinks along with you. Porta potties or the woods are your choices for a bathroom. Bucket showers are surprisingly refreshing and kind of fun…the line is horrific though. Food is sometimes full of questionable ingredients, but you eat it anyways because you’re hungry… even though you don’t know exactly what it is. You sometimes have to eat with your hands from a platter shared between 8 people. you never know what’s going on…ever. The exact schedule is a bit of a mystery/surprise only fully known to a select few. Sometimes there are random field scenarios that you just have to roll with.
This was literally me. I’m not going to lie and say every day was fantastic or that I loved every second, sometimes I hated it and I wondered what in the world I was doing there. I wondered if I was actually called to go on this trip. Building friendships with the girls on my squad was probably the hardest task I’ve ever wanted to accomplish. I’m on a squad with 51 girls, that’s 51 stories to hear, 51 people to make friends with in just 10 days. Walking into camp with the mindset of connecting to 51 girls was overwhelming. In the beginning I had a fear of remaining unconnected and alone. However the days passed (extremely slow) and stories were told and heard and shared; connections were made. Besides that, I realized I’m going to be with these girls for 9 months… we are going to get to know each other extremely well.
Building relationships with the people around me wasn’t the only focus though. Training camp spent the first couple of days focusing solely on my personal relationship with God. Through worship and sessions, God revealed some of His truths to me and reminded me of His promises. I am worthy. I am welcome. I am free. I am beloved. The list goes on and on. I imagine there will be many more lessons on this adventure. It’s official: God has called me on a journey of letting go and getting lost in Him.
