Writing about training camp has been one of the most dreaded experiences about the race thus far. Training camp far exceeded my expectations and I loved it more than I thought I could despite some pretty unpleasant (and smelly) aspects. I learned a lot, grew a lot and loved a lot. So why the hesitation? I quickly became frustrated with how to describe what God did in ten whole days in short and concise blog that wouldn’t bore people to tears.
To my readers: this is my heart and soul. I tend to write very direct and to the point but I didn’t want to leave anything out. I am sorry if there are a ton of run-on sentences. I am would like to take you with me to share what God has done in my life. I have learned how writing can be a tool and I hope my writing encourages you to see God in your own life and allow him to speak to you and bring healing.
To my loving and concerned parents: Everything I have learned in the ten days at camp lined with everything I have heard and believed since committing my life to Jesus. No one has forced any ideas or beliefs on me that I did not already agree with previous to coming to camp. What I found at training camp was a people who have been impacted by the Gospel in the same way I have. They have been changed by the love of God enough to sacrificially serve to advance God’s kingdom and bring Glory to His name.
I truly believe God has given me the gift of discernment. The Greek word for the gift of discernment is Diakrisis. The word describes being able to distinguish, discern, judge or appraise a person, statement, situation, or environment. In the New Testament it describes the ability to distinguish between spirits as in 1 Corinthians 12:10, and to discern good and evil as in Hebrews 5:14. Because of their own natural concerns a lot of people have, it had caused me to be a little nervous about what to expect at camp and from Adventures in Missions as a whole. I went into camp trying to be very open minded but secretly searching for red flags of things that didn’t line with scripture or the spirit God has placed inside me. But I couldn’t be happier with what I found.
I found a training team that’s sole purpose is my emotional and spiritual health. I found a staff who’s vision to reach the world matches my own. I found a team of 50 who found a way to love all of who I am, in a week and a half. I found a team of 7 women who are patient and caring. They are quick to listen and slow to speak, ready to work together. I found that despite all of us coming from so many didn’t backgrounds I can still be accepted just the way I am. I am so grateful for a ministry that I truly believe listens to the voice of God, aligns themselves with scripture and empower others to GO!
A brief overview of what camp looks like:
Training camp is ten days of camping at the giant campus owned my Adventures In Missions in Gainesville, GA (outside Atlanta). My squad consists of 50 people from all over the United States. We’ve got people from all down the east coast and all the way across to Alaska. K Squad is only one of the many squads leaving in August. We pitched our tents (or triple stacked our hammocks) in a giant parking lot and jumped right into the experience. Every day the food was themed differently. Ex. Africa day, Asia day, India day, etc. We ate typical food for the countries, family style: one plate split 8 ways. We ate with our hands a lot and we learned many different cultural norms for each place. Our days consisted of worship and sessions followed by team building activities. The evenings each night we had a different sleeping scenario (all of which are likely to happen on the race) and we had to adapt and learn to share and work with what we had. The first half of the week was a lot of emotional healing. Lot’s of sessions on understanding God’s love for us and how we can’t expect to change others if we aren’t changed first. The second half of the week was more focused on building our smaller teams of 6 or 7 as well as lots of ministry training and culture courses. Although difficult to condense below are 5 of my favorite experiences or lessons I learned.
1. I am not alone
One of the greatest things I have discovered through this whole journey that I constantly remind myself is “I’m not the only person who has walked through this.” I am not the only person who has ever been stressed about fundraising. I am not the only person whose parent’s are terrified. I am not the only person who is nervous. I am not the only person who has things in their past. I am not the only person who has ever felt alone in parts of their testimony. I am not the only person who questions the voice of God sometimes. I am not the only person who feels insecure. But most importantly, I am not the only person who is ready to change the world for Jesus!!
2. I’m okay with gross.
I am not the most outdoorsy person and I’m sure people were a little shocked when they found out the conditions I’ve signed up for in the next year. However, I surprised myself at camp with how okay I am with getting dirty. Conditions at camp were pretty stinky, literally. We had 300+ people using a handful of porta potties that they failed to clean out as much as they should’ve. I won’t go into more detail, you are welcome. We exercised much more than most of us are used to and we ate less than us americans are used to so there were times we were pretty hungry. We ate sticky rice and curry with our hands and just went for it. I even found myself some friends who are as gross as me that helped me eat off the leftovers off of strangers plates. #nojudgement #dontwastefood We crammed hundreds of us into a room where the AC barely worked and we all worshiped arms up with reckless abandon after sweating in the Georgia heat all day. We took bucket showers all week and loved it. From the outside looking in it was disgusting and unappealing conditions but we were all so happy. Why? Because we had community. We were gross TOGETHER. We bonded over our mutual disgustingness and it made for some hilarious stories. We all also learned a very valuable lesson. We don’t need nearly as much stuff as we thought to be happy.
3. Testimonies bring life
Training camp wasn’t just about meeting new friends and learning fun facts like “don’t use your left hand in India” or eating different foods. It was about coming to a place where you can be ready to be used by God. Many sessions were on some deep stuff. During the women’s retreat we learned about shame and guilt. And a lot of women on my squad have walked through some crippling things. But God is a God who redeems. I saw so many people lay down insecurities and shame and bitterness and allow God to replace it with His love and peace. But more than that I saw the power that is birthed through that freedom. God doesn’t just want to set us free from feeling bad. He uses our stories to empower others to come to know him.
The most impactful moments of training camp was during the women’s retreat when we were asked to fill out an anonymous survey of everything we had ever happened to us or that we struggled with. There was stuff about eating disorders, history of abuse, abortions, you name it. Stuff that the world says we should keep to ourselves. The exercise instructed we stood in a circle and then we received a different paper. When they read the item on the sheet we were asked to step forward if the paper read yes. The activity was to allow us to stand up for other people in the room and speak up for them. It also was able to show us that we are not alone. The most astounding revelation was that the women who stood forward weren’t just representing a statistic…they were a representation of the women in the room, my squadmates. It was an incredible visual that I am not the only one who has walked through insecurities and struggles and fears. But I looked around that circle,weeping, as I saw a testimony that each of these girls had. Each one of my squad mates has an ability to reach so many different people and connect with them by sharing their story and how God has redeemed them. I heard someone say this week “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. Those who need Jesus won’t want to open up to people that they think have it all together. Vulnerability can break down so many walls and provide an opportunity for healing and even more important, bring people to Christ.
4. Feedback is important
One of the most important (and often annoying) lessons I learned from training camp was the value of feedback. After every single team exercise we had to finish with feedback with the group we were working with. “How did you think it went?” “What went good?” “What could you improve on?” “How did you feel you worked together?” “Did you feel heard?” Our squad as a whole adopted this mentality well throughout the entire camp. Feedback isn’t always easy but I found that throughout the week I secretly grew to love it. Healthy communication is so important in community. It’s impossible to get along with 50 people all the time but I found that if we could all come together and have the right attitude, it was really powerful. It’s really cool to see how smoothly things can go when everybody truly values other peoples opinions and ideas. Even more when we humble ourselves and listen when people give criticism out of love we have an opportunity to grow and be better.
5. The power of the word “YES”
My absolute favorite moment at training camp was the “yes” circle. All week we were all so nervous to be split in our teams. It’s nerve wrecking to find out who you will be spending ALL your time & living in close quarters for the next few months of the race. Emotions were high when new BFF’s were split up or different people were split into teams with people they didn’t really know or maybe thought they wouldn’t necessarily get along with. In that we all got a commitment that we were asked to pray over. One of my new favorite people our squad mentor Ashley Mueller my favorite message (one of her many compelling speeches) about the word YES. To sum it up she was saying that they believe in us. Adventures in missions is saying YES to us. Our training team and staff is saying YES. They believe in the call of God on our lives and they are here to serve us and help us reach our potentials. But in turn we had to say YES to what God wanted to do in us and YES to our teammates.
Say YES to vulnerability and open honest communication.
Say YES to abandonment of comfort.
Say YES to serving God with all that we have.
The list was much more extensive and a little daunting. We were asked to pray over it and we were given the opportunity to say no. It was an “all-in” ask. There was never any pressure but we were asked to seriously ask the Lord if this was the season for us and if we were ready to commit to each other. I already knew early in the week. God confirmed these were my people and this was exactly where I was supposed to be. The most moving part of the whole exercise was saying YES to each of my squad mates. We quietly stood in line with the paper and looked at each one of our leaders in the eye and said YES and filed back in line. It took a long time but all 50 of us walked down the line and looked each other in the eyes and said YES. With one word we spoke life into each other. In saying yes we said:
-I agree to doing a year of life with you
-I agree to love you.
-I agree to be patient and loving. I agree partner with you in ministry.
-I agree to come along side you in your brokenness and help you.
-I agree to giving more of myself to you
Each person on my squad is unique. Each person has gifting and a purpose that God wants to use for his glory. I’m sure that we will all drive each other nuts. I’m sure that not everybody will be my BFF but I am so honored to be able to step into this huge adventure with a group of believers who love me the way I am and challenge me to be greater. Training camp was an opportunity for me to be even more enveloped in the love of the Father. I left sleep deprived and stinky but full of hope and love for the future.
Throughout the whole week God was reminding me of the scripture he gave me at the end of last summer. I had prayed for a specific scripture so I would know without question this was God’s will. The reading plan for the day was in Judges 18. Somewhere in the year I had been praying about the world race I had circled verse 5 Then they said to him, “Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will be successful.” and I wrote “WORLD RACE” Simply a statement of me asking God if this was the right path. What I was surprised by was I had no memory of was the verse directly after it.
6The priest answered them, “Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.”
That scripture has set my heart ablaze. I had a friend early on in the process of applying ask me if I had a Word from the Lord. And He brought that to my mind. And she encouraged me to hold onto that. When the money doesn’t come in as quick as it should or when satan, the enemy, the father of lies, tries to step in and tell me I don’t hear from God, I can whip out that verse. I know that I know that I know, God has big plans for me. I know He is for me and not against me. And His word tells me that I have his approval and I will be successful. So in the last month in the states I cling to his faithfulness and his goodness. A lot has to happen in the next month but I’ll I can say is “HERE I AM LORD! SEND ME!”
Pictured below is KSquad and under that is my incredibly amazing training team who I eternally grateful for. 
and lastly my FABULOUS team “Worthy Warriors” the 6 girls I will be spending most of the first part of my race with every day. Left to right Desiree, (me) Jenna, Bethany, Cat (aka CATNISS) the other kelsey 🙂 aka kRob and Erica! Each of these girls are so special and we work so well together and I can’t wait to do ministry with them. 
