So for Part 2 of my Training Camp recap, I’ve been dwelling on the incredible work God did in me this week relationally. Honestly…it is unnatural how close I got to people in 8 days.
First, a huge shout out to R SQUAD, the 36-person family that I will be traveling the world with, rejoicing together at debriefs between countries. At training camp, ouR (see what I did there…) squad did everything together, be it waking up at 7 to “commit to a healthy lifestyle,” setting up camp underneath the stars, or making fools of ourselves in the most intense dance competition a WR training camp has ever seen. We are a family of incredibly diverse gifts, experiences, insights, and passions, unified by the hope and passion we have in Christ and the desire to bring that to the nations.
Beyond the larger squad, through a very deliberate process they broke us into our smaller, 6-person teams. These are the people that we will spend every moment with, at our best and at our worst, striving to help each other become the absolute best we can be and not letting each other settle for less than that.
This week at training camp, I met my 5 new family members:
Tara Davis. Chelsea Hoffman. Michael Perez. Leslie Redman. Janell King
Also known as...TEAM SHABACH!
It’s crazy to realize that 9 days ago, I had never met Tara, Chelsea, Michael, Leslie, or Janell, but now they genuinely feel like my new brother and 4 sisters. I can’t wait to spend the next year alongside them, fighting this battle in the world and in ourselves, pushing each other daily to step out in faith. As with the squad, I love the diversity on our team and the incredible gifts that each one of them bring to the table.
that will not be cut off.
Isa 56:5b
Now, as you may have noticed, each team is given the responsibility to decide upon a team name. This was far from an easy decision for us, but it was an incredible example of God leading us to a decision that we can embrace and be unified by. There were literally hours spent in prayer, reading, and discussion, trying to find the word that would be the banner flying above our ragtag family. Our first night as a team, we were praying over Romania, and the image of the walls around the gypsies falling really resonated with us. The walls of oppression, of bondage, of suffering – the POWER that brings the walls down and the FREEDOM when they’re reduced to rubble. From this came the call in Joshua at the fall of Jericho:
seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the
city seven times. The
seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua
commanded the people,
“Shout! For the LORD has given you the city!“
-Joshua 6:15-16
We felt a BATTLE CRY beginning to rumble in us, beginning to find a voice in us. A call that we can go to war with, and to give rightful praise to the God that is fighting for us and with us.
I was born to worship
I will not be quiet
the voice of fear
you can not hold me back no more!
-Jonathan David Helser
“I Will Not Be Silent”
SHABACH
– (shaw-bakh) : to address in a loud tone, a
loud adoration, a shout! Proclaim with a loud voice, unashamed, the GLORY,
TRIUMPH, POWER, MERCY, LOVE OF GOD. This word implies that testimony is praise.
The phrase “shout unto the Lord” can be understood as the action of
SHABACH. It is not just being loud. You should have the attitude of putting your
whole being into it, an attitude of being totally uninhibited.
There is no place for shame in SHABACH. There is no place for pride in SHABACH. There is no place for bondage, for pain, for doubt, for oppression, for depression…
