Wow….I have been back from training camp for over two weeks now and I’m still in awe of what the Lord did. He grew me in so many areas, showed me so many things, and stretched me so far past my point of comfort.
For those that don’t know, training camp is a ten day training for The World Race in Gainesville, Georgia. It was extremely difficult but so so beautiful at the same time. It consisted of sleeping in a tent (which feels great in the Georgia humidity), going to the bathroom in boiling hot porta potties, feeling like a co star in the movie bugs life 24/7, taking far too less bucket showers than I’d like to admit (thanks U squad for putting up with the smell), sweating through all the shirts I brought in 3 days (but for real who’s idea was it to only bring 4 shirts?), and spending more money on snacks than I should have and still managing to lose 22 pounds. Even though these living conditions were hard, God showed me so many things in this process. He showed I don’t need a bed, I’ll be fine without a hot shower, I can live without Chick Fil A (but I still bought 24 nuggets at the airport going home), and I don’t need all the clothes in my closet. I truly can live without the materialistic things I cling so tightly to. It broke my heart that we take these things for granted on our day to day life, but people across the globe will never get these things. I know it’s just a small fraction of what I’ll experience on the field, but I went home with such a greater appreciation for the things God blessed me with than I ever have before.
Each day at camp, we had a different country. That means we had to dress appropriately to the specific culture, eat the food they eat (yes for those wondering, I did eat a bug), and act out cultural norms. We also had scenarios we might encounter while on the field like losing our luggage and making do with what we have as a squad, sleeping in a tight space with 12 girls, and my personal favorite, spending the night in a fake airport as if we had a long layover with all the lights on (the best sleep I had all week, thank you Lord for AC). We also learned about so many things, like evangelism and different tools to spread the gospel, different religions we may encounter, how to give and receive feedback, pathways to God and different ways we can experience Him, how to appreciate cultural differences, and so so much more. My favorite thing I got to do was meet the 46 amazing humans I get to call my family and the people I get to serve with for 9 months! They are some of the most kind, loving people I’ve ever met and wow I’m so excited to do life with them!
I could brag about my squad all day but anyways…training camp was amazing. God did so many incredible things in forms of prophecy, physical healing, speaking truth and life into these people who are about to go travel the world with the sole purpose to bring people to Him, and just showing up in indescribable ways. The main thing God showed me, and it will shape the entirety of my race, is that my strength resides in Him and in Him alone. For so long I found myself trying to carry the weight of things on my own, but would fail every time. This week, so so many times (and boy do I have stories that would definitely turn into a novel), I had to give that weight to Jesus because I am too weak to carry it on my own. His strength didn’t hit me until one of my squadmates came up and told me “Makayla while we were praying for you, I just got this image of wings. God just wants you to know he’s carrying you.” Like WOAH. The fact that God will go as far as carrying all our weight, baggage, fear, and literally us through difficult times, that’s true love.
One of my favorite worship songs is “I Will” by Citizen way. I always find myself listening to this song when I need to be reminded that I’m not going through this life alone. I love the chorus when it says
“When you wonder if you’re always
Gonna feel this way
Hear the Lord of heaven say
I will hold you when you’re breaking
Like a father and a friend
And I will carry you through darkness
‘Til we see the sun again
So rest your head and cry your tears
Know that I am with you here
When you can’t lift that weight
Believe me when I say I will”
Wow! God, you are SO good! This lesson I will keep with me on the hard days during the race. Because at the end of the day, Jesus you’re all I got and you are so good and I know your strength will get me through it!
With that being said, this leads me to my next challenge in life! My next deadline of $10,000 is in about 16 days (the last day for online deposits is August 21). This means I have to raise $2,000 in about 2 weeks! I mean I CAN do all things through Christ who gives me strength, even though it may seem impossible! I truly believe God has called me to spread hope and make disciples of all nations this next year of my life, but I simply cannot do that without your kindness and generosity. If you feel led, I would be so eternally grateful if you would partner alongside me and give a donation! I cannot tell you how blessed I am that the Lord has provided the first half of my funds, but we still got a long way to go before I’m fully funded! And thank you so much to those who have given, I’m so grateful for you!
Here are some ways you can help send me to Swaziland, Nepal, India, and Guatemala:
1 ) Adopt a box!
Here’s how it works: you pick a box, and donate that amount (51=$51). Also the number you pick, is the amount of times your name goes into a drawing for a $50 visa giftcard! If all these boxes are filled, I’ll raise about $5,000! You can donate directly to my blog or venmo me @Makayla-Lipscomb
Note: numbers 4, 10, 37 and 43 are taken.
2 ) Buy a shirt!
Each shirt is $20, or $25 if you need it shipped. I have been told by multiple people it is super comfy!
3 ) Come to my pool party fundraiser!
Bring your friends! Bring your whole family!
4 ) Buy some bracelets!
They are supa stylish! Not only that, but 50% of the proceeds goes toward my missions trip, and the other 50% goes towards women in the Philippines! (I have more types of bracelets than these if you’re interested)
Thank you SO much! Every cent helps me reach my goal and every dollar is so so appreciated! If you are unable to give, but still want to support me, prayer is so important! If you would pray that the Lord would provide these funds, not only for me but for the rest of my squad so we can all launch together, that is just as valuable as giving money!
Prayers going out for all of you and your hearts! I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store for this next year!
Lastly, here are some pictures from camp!
2:30 in the morning heading to Gainesville, Georgia with all my gear! This is what I’ll be living out of for 9 months!
Meet team To The Wind! My team is the 6 people I will work closely with and live with for 9 months! These ladies are so on fire for the Lord and oh my goodness I love em with all my heart!
Tent livin!
SQUAD WARS!!!! On the last day, all the squads competed in games like dodgeball, dance battles, and lots more. We all broke out the face paint and gave it our all! We lost terribly, but it was still a great time!
Prayer is something we did all the time. We prayed for the countries we are going to, we prayed over our meals, we prayed when one of us was going through something hard. So so cool to see how the Lord answered.
Lots and lots of bonding time! Heart these humans!
And a bunch more:
SEE YOU IN 35 DAYS SWAZI!!!!! AHHHH!!!!!
