Hello again Fam! It has been 10 whole days since training camp started and I am going to do my best to recap everything that was covered and learned! To think 10 days ago me and Faith left to embark on our training and to look at how it all transpired is nothing short than amazing! We arrived in the afternoon on October 19th along with around 175 others from all over the country. We were split into squads of around 50- 50 complete and total strangers were then told to set up camp, get to know one another and get along…crazy right?? One would think- but as I have learned in the past, when you bring fellow believers who are following Jesus and have the Spirit inside them you are instantly brothers and sisters! Praise God!! I can look back and see how the Lord worked and now 54 strangers at the time are now some of the closest friends I know AND WE ARE ABOUT TO GO AFTER THE KINGDOM TOGETHER!
To start with a recap of training camp alittle overview is in place. We would wake up around 7 or earlier and some mornings would start with exercise because we are promoting health mentally, emotionally, spiritually AND PHYSICALLY. After that we would then have breakfast around 8 or 830 and each day consisted of a new region that would usher in new types of food. Asia, South America, Africa, India, Europe and others all brought different backgrounds of food. I ATE CRICKETS….just saying. We would then move on to training sessions lead by various men and women of the Lord who brought some incredible teachings! Some days we would have specified breakout sessions, but mostly after one session we would have lunch then another session AND THEN later in the evening a field scenario would “come up”. These scenarios were set in place by real situations that arise while in the field. These ranged from a simulated layover and sleeping in the airport to someone lost their bag and you are forced to share all your belongings. All good stuff 🙂
Our commodities were primitive to say the least. We slept in tents and ENO hammocks. Our showers were called “bucket showers” and they consisted of filling up a bucket (of cold water), getting a measuring cup and pouring it over yourself…out of 10 days I showered 4 times. You kinda just came to the realization that your purpose here isn’t to impress anyone haha.
On to the good stuff! Over the past 10 days we were taught about ourselves and Jesus, how we were going to get through this all together through community, and how to effectively minister. We learned about discipleship and how it was modeled through Jesus and his disciples. He did everything with them and he also challenged them! We learned how MISSION, COMMUNITY, AND INTIMACY all overlapped. Mission in making disciples in Matthew 10. How intimacy with Jesus, identity in Jesus, inner healing through Jesus and studying the word are all imperative. We focused on how important community is in BEING the church, building the body, and speaking truth in love. I learned personally how I try to somehow earn affirmation from people and God. I have a servants heart, but at some point I am a servant who hearing “good job” means a ton to, but I am not promised that will happen and that can lead to bitterness and I am learning how to find my “good job’ in God. We were encouraged to “peel back layers” so that we can effectively serve wholeheartedly.
All of this is just skimming the surface of what we have learned so I am going to briefly mention the rest 🙂 We learned about our self worth and how Colossians 3 addresses it. We learned about forgiveness and how to resolve it as Matthew 18 states. We learned how pain can be used as a strategy of the enemy BUT THEY ARE LIES from the enemy who we addressed as LIKE a lion, NOT a true lion as we see in our savior Jesus! We learned about the Spirit and how “all who are thirsty” may receive as John 7:37 states (I AM THIRSTY and there we A LOT of others who were thirsty as well!) We prioritized COMMUNITY as addressed in Ephesians 4 and how community and kingdom go hand in hand! We discussed how to effectively HEAR God- because He is speaking we just have to create the space to listen! This comes through asking and fixing our eyes on Jesus. We learned to pray BOLDLY and trust what God is leading us to and for Him to show up!
I have been given the opportunity to lead as a team leader which is something I am extremely excited about for many reasons. One being for some that know me I don’t usually see myself as a leader and I love more of the support roles. But I am at a point where I can see the Lord giving me opportunities to lead and I want to accept them and embrace the position with the confidence the Lord instills! The second is my struggle with confidence at times and again my confidence needs to come from the Lord- end of story. Being a team leader means I am in charge of my team of 7 including myself. Pray for me in this! We are called…. **DRUM ROLL** thhhhheeeee D.O.G.Gs of ZION! We spent time coming up with it but it means “Donkeys of Gods grace” based on Matthew 21:5- our team was described as “gentle but fierce” and we embraced the roll of a gentle donkey, but we are bringing our KING with us where we go!!! GET READY!
We are so excited to embark on this journey in the next few months and to have had the opportunity to attend such an impactful training camp. The people, worship and teaching were so spirit lead! We are ready to go to the nations! ALL GLORY TO GOD! Continue to pray for our hearts to be open to all the Lord is wanting to teach us and tell us. Pray for supporters to continue to rise us as we do have deadlines to meet and ultimately pray for God to have is way in us for the glory is His!!!
Thank you so much for taking the time to follow us. We will continue to respect your time!
Austin Fowler
^^^ Here are a of couple group photos, where we lived the past 10 days, and our team photo.
