Where do I begin?….
On July 14th I left for Toccoa Falls Georgia to get prepped for the World Race. I flew into Atlanta and met with 63 people that I will be traveling the world, living life, and doing ministry with. After everyone arrived, the 63 of us on our squad as well as 200 others hopped on school buses and made our way to Toccoa Falls University.
When we got there we set up our tents and started making small talk with the people on our squad. Then we made our way to Grace Chapel and had our 1st meeting and our 1st worship time, and it was amazing. We got to hear from Ron Walborn, a godly man who knows how to communicate the gospel and the love of Christ beautifully.
When we weren’t in sessions hearing from Ron, we were either building community through team exercises or eating.
Everyday the food was themed differently, so we never knew what to expect. One day it was Asian and we had to use chopsticks, or Indian food and we had to use our hands. It was exciting going into the dining hall every day and not knowing what was going to be on your plate. For some meals salt became your best friend, and for others it was so delicious that you know you wanted 2nds after your 1st bite.
Sleeping was a challenge almost every night, and when I say a challenge I literally mean challenge. As a team we were given different scenarios that we had to work through, and figure out the best way to accommodate everyone team member. We were given scenarios like half of our bags were lost by the airline, many of us sleeping in a space that seems too small, or being stuck on a bus for the night. All of these situations are real possibilities that are very likely to happen at some point throughout the year. Though it may have been a little difficult, I am glad that it was. We will appreciate the realistic training when we are in a similar scenario and we know how to manage it.
The objective of training and practice is to be ready for the real thing when the real thing takes place, and I feel like training camp has prepared me well for what to expect while out in the nations.
Along with training, we were also placed and assigned into out teams of 7-8 people. I will be living 24/7 with these 6 others for the next year of my life and I am so excited about it. My team consists of our team leader Nathan who loves to sing and plays basketball, a married couple Josh and Jen Mendenhall, Tiffany, a tatted up woman who loves to serve, Brittany, and extraverted spunky girl who knows how to take charge, and Angela, quite at 1st but extremely intentional and is so far the most spontaneous and daring on our team.
Training camp was a great experience and it just makes me more and more excited to launch in a little over a month. So please continue to pray for me as I get closer to traveling around the world to serve the people I come in contact with.
