this past friday i left gainesville, georgia with a new perspective and a new spirit in my heart. i went to this thing called training camp… and it was certainly an adventure.
i spent 10 days in the hot georgia weather– hello, humidity!– sleeping in a tent (most nights), taking ice cold bucket showers, using porta potties, meeting and falling in love with T SQUAD, and sitting in on tons of amazing talks preparing me for the field and a life with the Lord. these past 10 days have been some of the most exhausting (physically and mentally), heart awakening, and brutal days.
but i left a couple things there at AIM (adventures in missions)… i left all FEAR, DOUBT, and SIN. and in return i walked away filled with love, courage, strength, and excitement from the Lord. i heard Him the clearest i’ve ever heard. i felt him the strongest i’ve ever felt.
but that doesn’t mean it was all sunshine and rainbows. there was rain. there were thunderstorms. sometimes they were long, sometimes they were short. and i wrestled with god a lot in those 10 days. i said no. i asked why. i doubted. i cried. i forgave. i listened. and then i said a huge YES in front of God and every single person on my squad.
that yes meant a lot more than “yes, i’ll go to another country and share the gospel.” that yes meant that i would give up my own agenda for the father’s. it means that i will sacrifice my own comfort, cleanliness, safety, and money to follow His plan. it means i’ll walk into this thing called the world race with a blindfold over my eyes holding the hand of the lord and putting all my faith in Him. it means i’ll trust Him even when i don’t want to. it means i’ll say yes even when i want to say no. it means i’ve given Him the rights to my life. i did all those things when i was baptized, but they didn’t hold this much value, or power in my soul. now, they are the backbone, they are my existence, my heart, my soul, and my mind.
in those 10 days, He asked me to do a lot of things.. He asked me to give up a lot of things. most of those things being not easy to give up and not easy to do. confusing, disheartening at times. but i won’t forget when God says He loves the brokenhearted. don’t let any other voice tell you that you’re too broken, that He isn’t fighting for you, that He won’t leave the 99 for you. because He will. always.
it was a hard yes, a scary yes. but a yes that has the mightiest power behind it. the broken, the lost, the unknown, the unheard. god’s light is ready to shine on each one of them.
so, YES. let’s do this crazy awesome thing called life, t squad.
