Going into training camp was beautifully overwhelming. New place, people, and a completely different atmosphere, and I absolutely loved it. It was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically, but it was completely worth it and I wouldn’t want to change any second of it because my God did immeasurably more than anything I could ever dream or ask for.
New Place:
So, I’m from the north and I was not prepared for the humid weather Georgia blessed us with while we were there. I thought I had the whole bipolar weather thing down since I live in Cleveland and it’s sunny one day and snowing the next, but Georgia takes it to a whole level of sunny one second and monsoon four seconds later. Even though I was sticky 98% of the time and looked like a greasy hot pocket, I fell in love with the hills, red dirt, frogs and greatly appreciated the cold bucket showers at night that made me feel somewhat clean for a couple of hours.
The People:
I went a day early to the storytellers workshop and I’m so thankful I did, mostly because I was able to take a shower without having to wait in line like I had to when the rest of the 250 racers came the next day. I learned a lot and I’m very thankful for the people who invested their time in training us in this specific ministry and I can’t wait to start practicing the skills I learned. Also, meeting my team in person after months of only seeing them through a screen was surreal. It was like I knew them, but I actually didn’t know them at all. But just in that first day of training camp we became very vulnerable with each other and learned a lot.
The next day, the rest of the racers joined us and it was the official first day of training camp. The people just walking in were really overwhelmed and were in shock and it was really funny to watch. I’m part of Gap K, the red squad, and I appreciate every single one of them so much and I’m so thankful for how perfectly God orchestrated each one of us to be on this route. I loved living in community with these beautiful people and I can’t wait to do it again for nine months. I already miss taking naps together on the training center deck, waking up to country music every morning, and celebrating when someone actually pooped that day.
Within Gap K, we were broken down into smaller teams of 6-8 people. Let me introduce to you my beautiful team: Talithia Koum.
Starting from the left: my odd potato head is at the bottom, then we have Hannah Simpson, Bekah Monroe, Tennessee Applegate, Grace Gladney, Ashley Levesque, and Lauryn Raleigh. These women right here are some of the strongest people I’ve ever met and I’m honored to spend the next nine months working with them. I can already tell God has some insane things in store for us. Our name, Talithia Koum, comes from the story in Mark 5:41 when Jesus tells the little girl, who everyone thought was dead, to rise. “Then, gently taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up.’ ” Being an all girl team and after a couple of days praying about this name, each one of us felt God speaking this exact thing to us. We know this journey we’re about to go on is going to be difficult and we’re probably going to want to quit, but because of His great love and mercy for us, He will gently take us by the hand and tell us to “rise” and keep going.
New Atmosphere:
I would also like to thank the entire Adventures in Missions team, servant leaders, trainers, mentors, mobilizers, squad leaders and everyone else involved with this program. Thank you for pushing us beyond what we thought we could do and disciplining us and preparing us for our mission. My relationship with God and those around me skyrocketed and I’m so unbelievably happy and thankful.
Now I have about 6-7 weeks to process everything I learned and try to prepare for this new adventure. I still have some fundraising I need before I leave in September, so if you would like to help, I would greatly appreciate it! I would also love to answer any questions you may have or explain more about what the World Race is or any other question! Thank so much y’all. (Ohioans please don’t hate me for saying y’all, I just lived with a bunch of southerners and it rubbed off on me, sorry).
