I am finally home after spending 11 days training for The World Race. 11 days felt like an eternity. I arrived in Georgia full of anticipation to meet my teammates and lean in to a whole new world of ministry.
I expected the nerves.
I didn’t expect that my tent would flood night one.
I didn’t expect that I would have to eat crickets for breakfast.
I didn’t expect to be completely vulnerable with total strangers.
Facing the unexpected over the last two weeks has set me on a course for complete abandonment of my own expectations and to rely solely on God’s plan.
What I learned is that I am not in control of my life. This isn’t even ‘my’ life to be lived, but a life in total surrender to loving and serving others well.
Before training, we were asked by our mobilizer to not watch/read anything about camp. Our trainers wanted everything to be authentic and special, so that we were able to get the full effect of what they had planned. I had watched a couple of videos before I was even accepted, but agreed that I wanted to be surprised, so I didn’t do much research beforehand, which I later regretted.
Most of us had some sort of idea of the things they put you through, so we spent the week guessing what was to come next based off of the videos we had seen. I’ll give you a little breakdown of what our days looked like and some of the things we were faced with.
Sessions
Every day we had sessions, where speakers would come up and talk to us about any number of things: community, ministry, intimacy with the Lord, shame, vulnerability, feedback, logistics of the Race, evangelism, healing. We spent hours in the “Training Center” processing information, taking notes, and praying. The first few days of camp we also had worship before and sometimes after the sessions.
Meals
Mealtime changed daily. Each day was a new country and we were required to abide by cultural norms of that country. On Africa Day, we had to cover our shoulders and ankles, we couldn’t use utensils to eat and ate mashed potatoes and lentils with our hands. We also weren’t allowed to sit or interact with any males during mealtime.
Along with cultural norms, we also ate food from that country. Curry from India, sausage links from Eastern Europe and, yes, crickets for “Adventure Day”. The last day of training camp was our “return home” day where we had biscuits and gravy, hamburgers and watermelon. Oh happy day! I could have cried. After Eastern Europe “sausage” day, I barfed twice in a dangerously full porta potty and avoided the meat for the rest of the week. I was going to name this blog “How I Lost 10 lbs at Missionary Boot Camp“.
Physical Tests
Not only did the lack of food aid in the last title, but we were also asked to do some physically demanding things throughout the week.
We were required to hike 2.2 miles with our full packs on. We knew about this in advance and were supposed to be preparing ourselves for the test. If we didn’t make it in under 38 minutes then we had to re-take the test the next day. If we still couldn’t pass, our trainers would ask us to defer to a later route in October.
2.2 miles may not seem like a lot. However, 2.2 miles with a 40lb pack, in Georgian heat, well, it’s not as easy as you would think. Everyone on my squad passed though! Which was super exciting.
Aside from the hike, we had to pack, unpack, lift, carry, hike, climb, and walk around the campus every day all day over and over again. There was this hill (mountain) from the Pavilion where we ate our meals to the Training Center and another hill (mountain) to our campsite. By the end of the week I felt like I could climb Everest.
Field Scenarios
Essentially, field scenarios are surprise simulations of a situation that could happen to us on the field. We knew about some of them from other blogs/videos, but nothing really prepared us for what it was like in real life. These bad boys make me twitch. I’m so happy I don’t have to go through another one.
The first scenario was, “The airport lost your luggage“. My bag was taken and I had to use what I had in my day pack. Luckily I had my hammock and so a group of us hiked into the woods and set up camp in the trees. This was actually one of the better nights of sleep I got. I’m just thankful it didn’t rain!
“Airport Simulator” was probably the worst night of my life. And I love the airport! After session they turned the Training Center into a makeshift airport where we couldn’t move the chairs and had to sleep on the floor. They blasted cold air and played loud Arabic airline sounds the entire night and left all of the fluorescent lights on. Earlier that day was “sausage day” so I had spent a few hours already throwing up in a porta potty, so sleeping on a cold hard floor with 100 people was my worst nightmare.
Needless to say, I was real salty that next morning haha.
“Night of Worship” was a scenario where we stayed up from 11pm – 6am in shifts and prayed, studied or worshiped. We did this scenario based off a story one of our trainers told us from his experience on the field. His team was placed in Africa and across the street from their ministry house, witch doctors would stay up late into the night worshipping evil forces. He described the situation as frightening. His team decided to stay up all night as well and pray against the witch doctors. We followed their example, and stayed up in shifts, spending our time in prayer and worship. I can speak for everyone that this night was really remarkable. Personally, I was really tired at this point in the week, so waking up at 4am was a challenge.
“The Market” was one of the last field scenarios we were put through and it came in at a close second to the “Airport Simulator” for how much I disliked it. The Market scenario wouldn’t have been so bad if it hadn’t have come at the end of a 6 hour session. We were all totally drained by the end of the day that it made the situation even more difficult.
We were forced to stand inside a market with everyone and haggle our way to buy dinner with our team. It was hot. It was loud. People were pickpocketing us. Police were cramming us back into the market when we tried to leave. There was a taxi (van) that kept driving through the market, squeezing us to either end and making us lose each other. It was rough. The merchants would throw food at us and rip us off. By the end, I had a pretty poor attitude and it was nice to debrief and re-center when it was all over.
The field scenarios were rough, some were better than others, but all of them had such intention and purpose. I learned a lot about what triggers me and how to handle conflict while living in close proximity to people.
Teams
We got our teams by the end of the week. The teams we are on are small groups picked from our large squad of 50. I’m on an all-girls team with 6 others and I’m really excited about it. Each person is incredible and brings such a unique aspect to our team. I can honestly learn something from each teammate which makes me extremely excited to stretch myself and lean into this new community of people.
We were able to leave campus one night and get dinner (and beer!!!) and then play around being totally goofy and free. It was needed and amazing! I’m super excited to write a blog introducing everyone to you, so that you can follow along on the things God is doing in their lives as well.
I was given the role of “Storyteller” on our team. I actually arrived to camp a day early to go to a Storyteller workshop where we learned different tools to help guide us in telling people’s stories. This role means I am in charge of telling the real stories that are happening on the field. I’m going to be using all the mediums, from photography and videography to writing. It’s going to be really amazing and I’m excited to get super raw and show you what life is like on the field.
There were a lot of hardships over the last 10 days and I feel like I was physically, emotionally and spiritually stretched. I have one conclusion about everything and that is that God is so so good.
God is this infinite being, stretching out and ruling over space and time and yet He wants to have a deep and intimate relationship with us.
God is in control of everything and can fulfill the great commission all on His own. God doesn’t need us, but He wants us to be a part of His plan. He calls us to join Him because He loves us and He wants us to share this life with Him.
God is infinitely big, but so intimately small. He cares so deeply about the little things of our lives. He has taken away the shame, guilt and scars we all have. He cares about the important things, the big things of our lives, but he also cares that I had to eat crickets one morning or that I was in a salty mood from sleeping on concrete. He is so understanding and compassionate. He has a love so deep for us it is uncontainable.
That is what I want to share with others. I want to go out into the world and love people in a big infinite way, but also love them in a gentle, tender and intimate way. God’s love stretches across all mediums and I want to be a part of His mission. Not just over the next 11 months, but for the rest of my life. God is moving in amazing ways and everyone at training felt it. We are going to be a part of something unique and indescribable.
I can’t wait to continue sharing this journey with you all.
