It is amazing how badly Satan will fight when he knows you are moving mountains for God. My two-hour flight ended up being six hours due to bad weather and made me the last to arrive on my squad. As I mentioned in my first blog, my word for this journey is trust, so strangely enough I was not worried at all. The issue Satan intended for stress and doubt, God turned to two new friends, rest, trust, and adventure.
Each day at training camp was a new, beautiful challenge. Most days we would set our tents up and take them down in the morning, we only had port-a-potties, and some days it even rained. The amazing thing is, everything that most would view as stressful or something “they would never be able to do” was erased by the joy of God and the family he was giving us.
I can confidently say that my squad is my family. In less than a full 10 days we were pouring our hearts out without fear of rejection or judgment. Each person filled a little part of my soul and fueled the fire God placed in me. Every day was filled with laughter and tears. Some days I was so overwhelmed by emotion that I would tear up at any given moment and that was ok. My squad and this past week have changed me for the better.
Throughout the week we sat through many sermons, seminars and training sessions. My mind exploded and my eyes opened as I learned how to “empower the church to spread the kingdom of God,” and strive for “universal reconciliation for universal worship.” We learned about cultural appropriation, the Holy Spirit, Kingdom, missions, forgiveness, proper communication, unreached peoples groups, powerful women and how to be one, spiritual warfare and more.
I wish I could truly explain what I learned and each experience that occurred but I cannot. Here are a few highlights below:
Purpose:
Every day I think I braided four or more of my team member’s hair, and I LOVED it. I called it my ministry/service. It strangely enough brought me closer to God and of course closer to every person I was able to help in this small way. Some days I would have a line and others I would braid the guys hair, that was probably my favorite since it never really worked. This small act excites me for all the women, girls and others who I can make feel special by the simple act of braiding hair.
Freezing:
Our second night there we had a scenario where half of the team’s bags were lost on our flight so I got to be tent/snuggle buddies with an amazing chica, Nicole. It was hot that day so everyone prepared for a warm evening by sharing what we had. Little did we know it would be the coldest night we experienced all of camp. The boys sent out an SOS for blankets and ended up building a fire, even though we were not suppose to. I mean, it was life or death at this point. Not really but it was so cold. I only had my pillow and a thin sleeping bag liner to cry into as I shuddered in the smallest ball I could pull my body into. The next morning, everyone crawled out of their tents and realized no one slept and everyone froze. It was one for the books to laugh at later.
His Voice:
Guys, God speaks. I always wanted to believe he did but I was never sure if I really heard him. So I used this time to listen and trust. I heard him first through songs of praise, then by verbal confirmation through prayer from someone who knew nothing about me. I heard him loud and clear in the night sky and felt him in the morning sun. I heard him in others and saw him in our ministry.
The lady in Pink:
So, we had a day to go and evangelize in the city. I was discouraged upon arriving at our ministry location, as I didn’t feel any movement from God on who was “my person.” I did not lose hope, as my word is TRUST. My mind was swimming with, “Ok, God… I’m looking,.. I’m here… what do you want me to do?” My teammate, also feeling discouraged, decided to go to a different side of the street where she thought she felt called. Looking out the window I spot a lady in pink loading boxes from a trashcan into her truck. We pass her and I feel something come over me saying that she is “my person.” I remove all fear and doubt and say, “Shelby, turn around, that woman in the hot pink shirt is my person.” Shelby then whips around and I hop out. Now, there is no easy way to bring up the gospel and ask to pray for someone. You just have to do it and trust that God will do the rest. I was able to learn about an amazing woman, who loved the lord, needed prayers and needed just a little help that day. She filled me as much as I hope to have filled her.
