“IT IS ALWAYS OUR OWN SELF THAT WE FIND AT THE END OF THE JOURNEY. THE SOONER WE FACE THAT SELF, THE BETTER.” – Ella Maillart
“Aubrey, what was training camp like?” It’s like a 10 day spiritual, emotional and physical journey. You get to meet your squad- mine is awesome and there’s 31 of us, and you get intentionally placed into smaller “teams” of 6 and these are the people you work along side at the mission sites within each new country.
Training camp is also kind of like going to church, you worship to energetic music and have dimmed lighting, and listen to a great message…but put it on steroids. Imagine if those emotions that get stirred up at service were actually acted upon instead of fizzling out. Imagine if you actually dug deep into those emotions and asked yourself the hard questions. Imagine actively applying what you hear immediately instead of worrying about being the first one out to beat everyone to brunch.
Welcome to the world of Adventures in Missions the World Race Training Camp! There is no brunch waiting for you at training camp after sessions, there are no comfy beds to lay in for an afternoon nap, and there are definitely no hot double soy lattes from Starbucks waiting for you either. How could our minds be on these luxuries when they were no longer in our sight. When we had abandoned these comforts to seek a life that filled us more with Christ than instant self satisfaction.
Now don’t get me wrong, I suffered along with the best of the other caffeine addicts after a day went buy without coffee, and my patience wore thin as I grew tired from physical activity and lack of sleep. I quickly learned that these comforts were just that. Comfortable. But they were also preventing me from stepping out of my comfort zone and seeing what God could do in me. Seth Barnes says in his book Kingdom Journeys,
“Just the physical act of leaving brings about spiritual fruit. We learn to depend on his Spirit by breaking unhealthy habits and addictive comforts. Learning to leave is how we find our true selves.”
We sat in sessions and small groups thoughout the week that touched on abandonment, brokenness and dependence. We not only talked about it but actively dug into it. I was able to explore the harder emotions and memories of love, shame and forgivenness. I had the chance to learn and practice the power of the Holy Spirit and healing prayers bringing to life the stories you only read about from the Bible.
It was one night in particular that we had a session on the Holy Spirit that we were asked to take a moment of silence to pray, allow God in and communicate with the Holy Spirit anything that He wants to share with you, discuss, or bless upon you. Never having really done that specifically before I closed my eyes and tried to empty it of all the thoughts that floated around. After taking a moment to pray, I started seeing what I thought was an eye, not just any eye but a large eye, like a horses. Then the outline of a horses head formed. After that my own mind and thoughts started to overtake and I opened my eyes feeling overcome as the girl sitting besides me proclaimed, with a wide smile, she had received a clear message from God!
Feeling slightly unsuccessful after that session, my night wasn’t yet over, as we had been assigned a squad activity to do. The Nights Watch. An activity that included consistent prayer from 11 PM – 6 AM, meaning someone had to be up praying the entire night. My 30 minute shift started at 2:30 AM with another teammate, so when the alarm went off we set off into the bitter cold night to pray. After staying bundled in my sleeping bag and taking turns praying, our positions were soon relieved. She stayed behind as I walked back. The stars were beautiful that night and there was a peaceful silence that hung in the crisp air. I was suddenly wide awake. Not only that but I had a Holy Spirit sense to read my bible. Now, it was 3 AM remind you, I was wide awake, and now I was feeling like I needed to read my Bible. I fought with this feeling the whole walk back and finally gave in as I settled into the tent. I opened to where I had been reading, Proverbs, and decided I’d just finish off the chapter I was on. My eyes widened as I came to the LAST verse:
“The horse is prepared for the day of battle,
but the victory belongs to the Lord.”
~ Proverbs 21:31
Now interpret is as you will, but I know where my heart stands. Since being accepted on the World Race I have been praying that God will prepare me for this journey. He chose that night to confirm to me, “Yes, my child, I am preparing you” and that He has the ultimate control over my life. That yes, He heard my prayers, and He was, in many ways, already preparing me. HOW COOL!
This is not just a journey to 11 countries. A battle can be defined as: a struggle; a contest; as, the battle of LIFE. A dauntless journey that only God can prepare me and my squad for. We are daily engaging in doing our best and trusting God to bring the victory. See, training camp was so much more than campfires and s’mores. It was about surrender. Abandonment. Stepping out of our comfort zones. Laying down our false identities. Training camp was a means to unclutter our junk to clear way for God to prepare our spirits for His victory.
