I recently got back from an 11 day intensive “boot camp” in Gainesville GA called Training Camp, where All 6 squads (about 300 people) that are launching around August gathered together in preparation for the World Race. The AIM (Adventures In Missions) staff poured wisdom, truth, and information into us much like trying to drink from a waterfall. It was here that I finally got to meet my SQUAD! All 45 of them (including Squad Leaders, Mentors, and Coaches). This was an overwhelming time full of mixed emotions. I was nervous, anxious, excited, joyful, free, pensive, exhausted, frustrated, patient, energized and refreshed.
Training Camp was a time where I experienced what it looked like to trust God when I didn’t have all the answers, when I was uncomfortable, and when I was expressing to Him how much I loved Him. Most days it’s really difficult to put into words what happened at TC, to adequately describe what all I learned spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally and socially. But the best way I can is to say that He was there. He was actively moving in the hearts of my squad-mates, leaders, trainers, and even myself. I knew that He was desperately wanting to teach me that there is more to following Him than what I have been doing thus far. That He wanted to speak to me in a personal and intimate way. That I can hear and recognize His voice…and be moved to tears simply by the sound of it.
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
John 10:27
I was surprisingly stunned by the level of intentionality I saw in the AIM staff in how they organized and prepared us. I saw how everything had a specific purpose and was carefully thought out. They spent time digging into the deeper issues of why we were there and what we were to accomplish. They spoke on identity and who we are in Christ. How we tell ourselves and let others speak identity over us rather then seeing ourselves how He sees us and allow Him to tell us who we are.
God is our Healer! We were taught how in order to bring healing to others, we have to experience it ourselves. “If we don’t see God as a healer then we will try to heal ourselves.” I knew this cognitively but emotionally and practically I was ignorant to it. “What we do comes out of who we are” and this happens by sitting in and working through our pain rather than running away to try and avoid it. There is something very beautiful about pain (I know that is really weird and difficult to comprehend, especially in the middle of it), but it connects us to God. This world is pretty messed up, everywhere we turn we often experience or witness painful things. This is unavoidable, even when we try to push them away. They are real and they hurt. But Jesus has a few things to say about pain and suffering.
As beloved children of God we become heirs to all that He has. With this we get the amazing ability to talk to God as a child would, the intimate role of pouring out our frustrations, our fears, our weaknesses and hurts…and guess what? He listens… intently, just as a good father would (Rom. 8:15-17). But with this role of children comes suffering. This is a reality. However, it doesn’t have to be this big nasty enemy that we have to be afraid of. As a matter of fact, it is something that we can rejoice in! Pain and suffering produces in us endurance, character, and hope (Rom. 5:3-5). The pain of this world is NOTHING compared to the glory and magnificance of what will be revealed to us (Rom. 8:18). I believe that this is both revealed immediately here on earth by what is accomplished in and through us, and yet to come, when we meet Him face to face in all His brilliance surrounded by his presence while receiving the full reward of being his heirs.
I think I just went off on a tangent rabbit trail… Back to TC!
Here is my squad:
We are definitely a bunch of ragamuffins 🙂
ISquad…Pinkies Up! By the way, we won Squad Wars WHOOP WHOOP!!!
We had fun, leaned on each other (sometimes literally), and sought Him together as we dove into what biblical community truly looked like. We soaked our shirts in our own sweat, managed to get red dirt over absolutely everything we owned, and learned that we don’t need as much as we thought we did.
Community
I learned what healthy, biblical community looks like. It is made up of three main components: Feedback, Vulnerability, and Self-discovery.
Feedback- Inviting others to speak into your life.
Vulnerability- Inviting others into the “hidden” parts of your life.
Self-discovery- Inviting the Holy Spirit to show you who we are created to be.
“Calling people our of their junk and into their greatness where God designed them to be—this is community.”
I am placing myself in intentional biblical community, but it will only happen if I embrace it with hopeful anticipation. While I am the one going, you too have the same opportunity to dig in and lean on others with the same fashion. There are people all around you, people at your work, school, the local coffeeshop, your family. They all need community, they all need you to speak truth and life into them. We were made for community.
This is when we all gave our “YES” to each other. When we decided we were all in!
Here is my team! From top left to bottom right: Abbigail, Jenna, Alexis (Our fearless leader), Claire, Doug, Jason, and Me.
Below are two videos that my squad-mates have made for Training Camp:
