Training Camp

Hello friends and family, I am recently back in Buffalo,  I have returned from training camp in Gainesville, GA.

The best way to describe Training Camp was a pressure cooker. With intentionality, the folks who organized TC really raised the bar on us Physically, Spiritually & Emotionally so that we can go out and highly prioritize the mission.

AIM (Adventures In Missions) Staff, Volunteers, World Race Alumni, Speakers, Leaders, and Prayer warriors set up scenarios for us that would replicate potential challenges on the field. 

During this very well thought out 10 day training camp, we, as a squad experienced all of but nowhere near limited to the following:

 

• We learned tips for effectiveness in blogging, photo journaling and vlogging.

• We completed the fitness challenge: jogged 3mi in under an hour while wearing our hiking packs.

• We set up & took down our tents and gear most every day and helped others do so.

• We took cold “bucket showers” (not together) but we helped wash one another’s hair.

• We brushed up on the region of the world were are going to be traveling in: 10/40 window. & learned respectful ways to communicate, navigate, and exist within those areas.

• We ate with our hands from the same plate.

• We worshiped collectively through song and dance. Some days, 2 hrs per day.

• We learned about & saw first hand the importance of and intertwinement of Intimacy, Community and Mission.

• We built a tarp shelter, cut wood, made a fire, cooked food, sang and listened to one another’s stories.

• We ate burnt crickets.

• We experienced connecting with God via 7 major pathways (Aesthetic, Experiential, Activist, Contemplative, Student, Relational, & Naturalist)*** I would love to expound on these in another blogpost. but here is a fun quiz.

• We wrote letters to people in the Georgia Prison system.

• I cried the most tears I have ever cried in a years time in one day.

• We studied the basic beliefs of Christianity, nominal Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Atheism.

• “Slept” on the floor in an “airport”.

• We listened to God in new ways & we sang Him new songs. 

• We waited for words & images from God.

• We prayed for strangers.

• We survived by sharing body heat. (I didnt bring enough clothes, I thought Georgia would be warmer at night?!?!)
• We had a change in countries we would be traveling to, ministry host & ministry plan. So we had to create it. Opportunity is everywhere.

• We witnessed our teammates be healed.

• We never got a full night sleep.

• We gained a deeper realization of Gods love/worth for our sisters by recognizing their flaws and shortcomings.

• I saw a real live baby scorpion for the first time!!!

• We mapped out our life and its major events and reflected on the things that brought us shame. 

• We forgave people and the hurts of our past.

• We began intentionally practicing healthy “feedback” and over communication.

• We got rained on, physically, spiritually and emotionally.

• We were given plenty of opportunities to step out of our comfort zones. & we were invited to take risks.

So. One of the most important take aways for me (and there were soooo valuable nuggets of information… I could do a whole blog post on those)was this:

The World Race is not a machine that is going to produce growth by coming out the other side. We have to Step Out into it… Risk that is…. We have to go into risk with others & we have to pull others into our risk.

 

Dear God, Help me!!! Trim the fat of my laziness, vanity, self-sufficiency and pride that I hide in to avoid taking the risks that will refine me & us(my team). I want to love and serve others more effectively. -Nora

 ***also please check blogs and videos by my squad and team. Alyssa and Shelby have videos they made about training camp. Find them by going to the left side colunm.