I spent the past 10 days in Georgia at training camp. I walk away with countless stories about how I saw God move and stories about simply having good times with my squad. Since I do not have eternity to talk about every detail and every story, I want to share a few things I took away from training camp:
- Never take flushing toilets for granted.
The only restroom facilities we had all week were porta-potties. Imagine 300 people using 15 porta-potties, sounds like a party doesn’t it?
2. Running/walking 2.2 miles in Georgia is WAY harder than Oklahoma.
In order to complete training camp, every racer must finish a 2.2 mile hike wearing all of their gear in their backpack. Georgia hills and heat make it a little harder than 2.2 miles in Oklahoma!
3. When trying Indian food, take a small taste test before taking an actual bite to prevent setting your entire face on fire.
Each day at training camp we had a different theme for the day. Our meals reflected the culture of whatever country was our theme for the day. One of the days was India day! I learned quickly that India likes their spice!
4. Showers are over rated (sorry if that made you say ew).
Along with the lack of flushing toilets, there were also no showers. So that meant bucket showers for the win!
5. NEVER LEAVE YOUR TENT WITHOUT PUTTING YOUR RAINFLY ON!
Georgia weather is a little crazy. You can never let the deceiving looks of a sunny day make you think it is okay to leave your tent open with no rainfly. Georgia loves pop up storms.
6. Sleeping in an airport over night is rather exciting.
Throughout training camp we were faced with a variance of inconvenient scenarios that could potentially happen on the field. One of these scenarios was having a 12 hour layover in an airport. Thus, we were all in a fake airport over night! It was a giant sleepover!!!!
Although my experience as a whole was fun and amazing, there was one night that completely blew the rest of them out of the water. The last night we had baptisms, which allowed those who wished to make their faith public in front of their new family the opportunity to do so. There were many stories and reasons behind the hearts of those getting baptized. There were some who rededicated their lives, were stepping out in faith, and even some who had never been baptized and were ready to do so. Regardless of the reason, you could actively see the Holy Spirit moving! After the baptisms, we all met for one last group worship time. An hour and a half of believers, full of love for their Savior, yelling praises. All pride vanished from the room during this time. Every single person in that room had an audience of one. Nobody cared how they sounded or what they looked like. There were people dancing, singing, yelling praise, standing in silence, praying, etc. The only thing that mattered at that point was telling Jesus how much praise he deserves. How much we loved Him. How magnificent He is. How great and how merciful He is. It was pure, authentic worship.
In all reality, when you take a step back and take a look at His character, all you want to do is praise Him! A song that kept recurring all week was “Reckless Love” by Cory Asbury. When I sit back and think of Jesus’ character, these lyrics run through my head:
“The overwhelming, never ending reckless love of God. It chases me down, fights ‘till I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine. I couldn’t earn it. I don’t deserve it, still you give yourself away.”
His love is so overwhelming. Not only does He love us at our worst, He chases us and fights for our hearts. He leaves the 99 hearts that are already His to come after the one lost heart. We do not deserve His love, yet He runs, and He runs, and He runs until He catches our hearts.
Cory Asbury later sings in his song something else about His character that blows my mind:
“Theres no shadow you wont light up, mountain you wont climb up coming after me. There no wall you wont kick down, lie you wont tear down, coming after me.”
My fellow racers would probably agree with me that hiking up hills carrying baggage is no fun and definitely not something we would prefer to do. Jesus, however, will GLADLY climb up any mountain (not just a silly hill) and carry the baggage for you. Sometimes we get in situations where we put ourselves on this mountain because we mess up and don’t want to deal with it. I am so thankful Jesus doesn’t leave us on the mountain. He climbs to the top knowing there is pain at the top, knowing there is baggage. None of that matters. When He reaches the top of your mountain, everything silences. Fear, pain, baggage, they all leave when He walks in the room.
The last night at camp was definitely my favorite. All I could do was sing about His goodness. I am so thankful He willingly climbs up the mountains I put myself on. I am so thankful He leaves the 99 to come after me. He is so good.
Being on the post side of training camp seems crazy to me. How can it be time already? 7 weeks and I fly out to my first stop. Although this seems crazy and definitely scares me from time to time, I trust His goodness. I know He is sovereign and will never let me down. All I have to do is take His hand and run beside Him without fear of the unknown.
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” – Corrie Ten Boom
