We made it!
Training camp for the World Race was absolutely amazing. We gained this beautiful family of 43, the most amazing Squad Mentor and Coaches, and trainers!
Meet X-Squad 4th generation! And what a beautiful generation to be a part of!
So, for now, 11 short stories for our 11 days training for our worldwide mission adventure!
Day 1 and 2
So we arrived in Gainesville, GA a day early for the Storyteller workshop (which was awesome), and woke up damp. Forrest says it all. No one slept that night as it poured. But the way Devon and I looked at it…since we started off camp this way, it could only go up! (and drier)
Day 3
The official start of camp! You can check out this video of our squad before the first worship session!
I’ve never participated in a more violent game of “Never have I ever”,but it was one of the best ways to break the ice and bond with our squad.
Just so you know…I’ve never attended public school and never owned an automatic car.
Day 4
Our fitness test was this day! And oh my goodness, our squad pulled together in a way that was beautiful! 2.2 miles, 38 minutes, an anxiety attack, minor asthma attack, and some Meghan Trainor helped get us both across the finish line. I’ll never forget my squad mates who took my pack from me as I collapsed in the gravel. I’ve never been more physically exhausted, but knowing I accomplished a hike even I was nervous about was so amazing.
And so was that baby wipe shower afterwards.
Day 5
I don’t remember much, other than being so sore from our hike.
The day of our first dance off! Dylan and I (Bethany) had a fantastic time showing off our moves. I don’t have any video (I was dancing my butt of to Adele and Cotton Eye Joe), but here is a photo from afterwards 🙂
Day 6
Gender Retreat Day! Derek and I loved being able to bond with the men and women on our squad in such powerful ways. We both had such amazing breakthroughs in our spiritual walks, and we girls had some ice cream sandwiches. And y’all, I didn’t think I could love ice cream any more than I did in that moment.
Day 7
Wooohoooo campout! Our entire squad was taken off of the AIM campus and left in the woods overnight! The girls built a makeshift tent out of tarps, the guys slept in hammocks, some of our talented guys and gals prepared dinner, and we shared some of our most embarrassing stories around a campfire. If we weren’t already bonded, that definitely sealed the deal.
Side note: we also found out about another route change! Instead of going to Laos, we are heading to Myanmar! Can’t wait!!
Day 8
So a few tips if you are heading to training camp married.
- Don’t expect to sleep in the same area every night. We were apart about every other night for the first week. Embrace it, love on your squad mates, and take advantage of every spare moment you have together.
- One night when I was alone in the bucket showers, Derek stood outside the wall so we could talk about everything we were processing (because you will have NO down time. No time for boredom at TC!) It’s probably one of my favorite memories.
- Let your squad see your love.
- Baby wipes. Febreeze spray. You have to share your tent and sometimes a bucket shower isn’t listed on the schedule.
Here is a fun video vlog of Day 7 as well 🙂
Day 9
Y’all! We were placed into our team! Meet Team Paradosis!
Paradosis is the Greek word for “surrender”, which is our heart’s goal this year as we embark on this journey. We want to surrender our lives to Christ so He can use them to the fullest extent.
We will have a more in depth blog about our beautiful teammates coming soon 🙂
Day 10
This was marketplace day! It was WAY too crazy to be taking pictures and videos, but let’s just say it was the most realistic field scenario we had! It was loud, the king made an appearance, and we had some pretty awesome food.
Also, our team has matching super hero t-shirts.
Day 11
SQUAD WARS
I convinced Derek to wear a green beard, Dylan and I danced our hearts out, and regardless of the point total, we FINISHED as a squad. Even if that meant some of my squad mates dug their faces through flour to find that last marshmallow.
*Pro tip-don’t try to blow your way through the flour, just dive in.
There you have it! I can’t believe in just a few short weeks we will be launching with this new family to make Jesus known in 11 countries. We are so excited to share this journey with you all because……
Derek and I were placed in leadership positions!
Derek is our team treasurer, and I am the team story leader! We are so excited to help serve our teams, as well as the people we are ministering to over the next year!
Derek is obviously in charge of all the team money, and I will be creating, encouraging, and posting content for our team! I’m so excited to be working in this role. It’s been my dream for a while to use the arts for ministry, and it’s amazing how God has led me to this point.
Before you go…
Once everything processes, we have reached $21,000 of our total funding! That means we have $15,000 left to go until we are fully funded! If you would like to help support us as we start our lives of full time ministry, we would be honored! You can clock the “donate” button at the top of the page for more!
Thanks for reading! We love you guys!
