Spending 10 days in the Georgia wilderness will teach you a lot of things, and show you a lot about yourself. There is so much I could share with you, but to spare you sitting here reading for the next 3 hours (and to keep future racers from finding out too much about Training Camp) I have 2 different lists to share with you. The first list is 10 things I learned at Training Camp. The second, 2 things I forgot at training camp. I hope you enjoy, and if you really want to hear the 3 hour version, let’s get coffee.
10 Things I Learned at Training Camp:
- You can go 10 days with 2 showers, and by shower I mean 5 gallon bucket of water and a scoop
- Port-a-Potties are actually a viable and often times best option for going to the bathroom.
- You can go 10 days without actually washing your hands with water after using said port-a-potty
- Georgia dirt will really turn everything you own (including every inch of your body) a nice shade of brown orange.
- Utensils are not needed to eat any meal, including soup for breakfast.
- There is freedom in not looking at a mirror for 10 days, which is especially great because remember how you haven’t showered in a few days.
- Laser Tag is always a good idea. Imagining yourself as Lara Croft is just a bonus.
- Dance parties are the best way to end a night.
- Baby wipes are a legitimate replacement for a shower. Just don’t look at how dirty it is when you’re done.
- You can go 4 days in a row wearing the exact same clothes without realizing it. Just make sure you remember to wear deodorant, at about day 3.5 you will start to smell yourself. This is a good sign it’s time to change clothes.
This is the AMAZING A squad that I will be traveling the world with.
2 Things I Forgot at Training Camp:
1. I forgot to walk in shame. The world always tells us to be ashamed of ourselves and our sins, but for 10 days I learned how to walk in true freedom. This freedom only came by sharing the messy, dirty parts of my life with the people around me. There is nothing to be ashamed of because my squad knows my story, and they still love me. I am able to walk in the fact that I am chosen and loved by God always. I am more than happy to forget shame and walk in freedom.
2. I forgot that perfect strangers shouldn’t form community in only 10 days. In most situations you aren’t sharing your baggage with people after only knowing them for 2 days, but Training camp will do that to you. I was surrounded by care, love, and acceptance. At any moment I could look at the person next to me and ask for prayer. I’m really excited to do life with these people non-stop for 11 months.
Training Camp was so many things. It’s hard to really have processed all of it in 2 days, plus I came home with a fever, earache, and tonsillitis. So really I have just been sleeping since I got home, and trying to eliminate as much Georgia mud from my life as possible. I can say that I am so excited for the Race to start, and to really walk out what God has been orchestrating in the last 2 weeks.
I have been blown away by the support I have received thus far. I would not have made it to Training Camp with out y’all. But my fundraising is not done yet. I am still about $6,500 short of being fully funded. I just can’t even imagine the freedom of walking onto the field fully funded. Would you prayerfully consider making that a reality for me? THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for loving me so well and taking the time to hear my heart. This is our journey together, and I can’t wait for you to experience all that God has in store for you.
