It was quiet. No one spoke. Yet, there was a sweet presence and stillness in the room. The seconds seemed like minutes and minutes like hours as the tears began rolling down my face. My mind was racing to find the words yet my throat felt as though it was shoving them back down. I knew I HAD to open up. I had to be honest with myself and with my team. It was now or never. “Lord, give me the words to explain and the courage to get them out…”
Training Camp was more amazing than I ever imagined. I don’t think anyone left before exceeding their expectations going into it. Guys, God is SO GOOD! There are just no words to express… but I’m still going to attempt to give you a glimpse as to what He did at Training Camp.
Coming home from two weeks in Georgia, where I spent every waking moment growing closer to the Lord and closer to my squad of 40+ people while attempting to better understand the amazing 11 month journey ahead… let’s just say I thought I could sum it up after a few days to process. It has now been four weeks since camp and I still don’t know how to put it all into words, so bare with me.
As I sit, thinking of the many precious moments during training camp, the Lord is revealing to me the takeaways from those moments. He taught me so many things and revealed Himself in countless ways. The Lord showed us who He is through moments where I witnessed generosity, community, family, being valued, feeling wanted, being empowered, the call to evangelize, sisterhood, encouragement, feeling honored, safety, being upheld, grace, love, unity, and being redeemed. So now, without further delay, let me share some of those moments with you…
On the first day of training camp, one of our squad members was faced with a dilemma. He was informed that he needed an epiPen to continue at training camp, another $300 or more that he didn’t have. When presented to the squad, he was given the full amount and then some within 40 seconds! THAT’S GENEROSITY. THAT’S COMMUNITY! Feel free to read the full testimony on Joseph‘s blog by clicking his name.
Worship time was so amazingly intimate. The sweetness of soaking in God’s presence as we all poured out our hearts in worship… something I have felt but this was with everyone, every day for the first week, morning and evening. It was addicting. I’d have to say, worship was probably my favorite aspect of training camp. The cool thing was, God did something new in every worship session. He touched our hearts on a new level and we grew deeper with Him with EVERY song. Just when we thought, nothing could be greater… BAM! He showed up in a new way. Throughout worship, there were many moments where the Lord led some people to pray for others, or simply hug them… and the tears began to flow. One moment I will never forget was when the Holy Spirit led everyone on the squad to lay their hands on one of our squad members in prayer during worship. It was like one huge FAMILY, all connected, surrounding a member and lifting him up in prayer. There is soo much more to say about worship, but what better way than to share some testimonies from my squad members! I encourage you to read Andrew and Ben‘s blogs about worship by clicking their names.
Here’s just a glimpse of worship at TC.
Around day 3 or 4 for me, the enemy began to attack. He was feeding me lies and I began to feel that my squad didn’t really want to get to know me, or that they didn’t care enough to save a spot for me at our tables during meals. Somehow, among 200+ people, I began to feel isolated and alone. BUT GOD. He didn’t let me dwell in that place for long. A feeling of relief came when a squad mate noticed my composure and called me out on it. He took the time to listen and talk through what was bothering me. The Lord opened my eyes to see that I was not the only one feeling this way, and that the feeling wasn’t accurate to the way my team felt at all. The enemy tried to wedge his lie in, but with just one squad mate taking a moment to respond to Holy Spirit, He showed me that I was not alone, I was VALUED and I really was WANTED. It was a cool moment where the Lord was breaking lies from the enemy off of both of us! Please go read Michael‘s training camp testimony by clicking his name (he’s got some pretty fun videos and pictures from TC too)!
We often had 3 or 4 sessions (or more) a day! These sessions were more than just “Here’s what you’ll be doing in Colombia… etc.” We learned who we were in Christ, we found restoration in His grace and forgiveness, what community looked like, breaking off shame, identity in Christ, the role of the Holy Spirit, how to tell our story, evangelism, healing, and much more! After the sessions about praying for healing, we had a time to pray for one another. Guys… THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS AT WORK! I got to pray for one of my squad mates for healing in his eye. Although we didn’t see the healing completely manifest in the physical, it DID improve and I KNOW God was at work! We all were brought to a new level of feeling EMPOWERED THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT. And I tell ya, over 20 people (at least) stood up and said they were healed of something! Wow. What a good God we serve! I encourage you to read more about Caleb‘s story and how the Lord is working in his life.
Halfway through training camp, after a couple sessions about evangelizing, we got to go out and practice! Now, evangelism is not new for me. I love to go out and evangelize with my dad or my church family back home! But this time was a little different because we were going door to door to pray and talk to families. I was very excited but also a little nervous. So much happened in that evening, but one of the best moments was when we got to pray with a family that spoke Spanish! I was excited to use the little bit of Spanish I knew to help our team translate. And the husband and his wife were so touched! They definitely had some major prayer requests and it was such an honor to be welcomed in to pray with them! Although it can be a bit scary looking at first, it feels soo good to get out of your own world and FOLLOW THE CALL TO EVANGELIZE! There are many ways to evangelize, not just door to door. Ask the Lord what YOU can do even now!
One sweet and simple moment came after a lovely day of hanging out with the ladies at camp while all the men went on a hike. I grew so close and more comfortable with the gals on my squad that day. Our wonderful leaders gathered us at the end of the night for one of the sweetest nights of training camp. They had hot chocolate, M&M’s, blankets, pillows, candles, and a fire going on the tv screen. Listening to testimonies in that circle of sisters was the perfect ending to a beautiful day of SISTERHOOD.
We loved the morning of worship with the ladies!
At the start of week two, the dreadful day for which we had all been preparing finally came… the fitness hike! We had to hike 2.2 miles in 38 minutes, up and down the hills of Georgia. It was rough, but I’m so thankful for the amazing squad I have! The leaders stood along the path, cheering us on and encouraging us all the way. Then, when members from my amazing squad finished, many went back to continue running with the rest of us and cheer us to the finish line. Two favorite moments from that day were first, when about 10 of us ran the last leg of the hike with the last member to finish from our squad, while everyone else cheered us on from the finish line. It was soo sweet to witness the ENCOURAGEMENT that emanated from Every. Single. Person. And my second favorite was after catching our breath… one of the squad leaders gathered us to share that out of 40 members on our squad, ALL 40 PASSED THE FIRST TIME!! And that’s how we do it! TOGETHER!
Happy and ready to shower after the hike!
In community, there is honor. And HONOR is what I was given! The two most prominent times the Lord taught me honor was first, when the sweetest, most God-fearing, honoring, and respectful group of 14 men decided to surprise the ladies. One evening, after a most perfect day, we sat around the fire and worshiped the Lord. Then the men of our squad brought out buckets of soapy water and shared that the Lord put it on their hearts to show the women respect and honor by washing their feet. One by one, they took turns washing the feet of 29 women, while they spoke truth and encouragement to our hearts. Many tears were shed. It was so humbling and honoring we could hardly stand it. In turn, we were able to bless the men of our squad in a group prayer to encourage and strengthen them too.
The second moment I felt especially HONORED was the moment our squad mentor pulled me aside to ask if I would be willing to be the leader of my team of 6 ladies. Growing up, I never thought of myself as a leader. I liked to be the “helper” and let others take the lead. But over the last few years, the Lord has been nudging me to take leadership classes and prepare me for a leadership role. I am beyond thrilled that He trusts me enough to step into this role for the first 5 months of our journey, and that the leadership on our squad listened to His voice in placing each of us in a role He designed for us. Of course, I don’t feel like I’m there yet (wherever there is), but I’m opening my hands and ready for the Lord to teach me what leading my team well will look like and how He can use me to further His Kingdom through this role.
Finally, I felt a sense of SAFETY, and was UPHELD by GRACE and LOVE as I sat around with my team of girls. During that tender moment that I hinted to at the beginning of this blog post… we were sharing our shame. Some of the deepest, most shameful memories were welling up in me and I knew I had to be honest and open with my team. As I opened up my heart to these ladies, tears running down my face, I was met with tender love, grace, and forgiveness. I felt safe in their presence because they carried the presence of the Lord. There is no other feeling like that of God’s grace and love through a group of believers when you share your innermost hurts and can feel the shame lifted away.
My beautiful team of ladies: Team Papoula Fogo
(Me, McKenzie, Julie, Ashley, Lauren, Aleesa)
Throughout the course of two weeks, I learned what COMMUNITY truly looked like; through holding hands in prayer together around the campfire, hugging our leadership after we all said “Yes” to the call, and sharing testimonies while watching members of each squad be baptized. We became a FAMILY that is UNITED and REDEEMED. I couldn’t ask for a better group of people to travel the world with next year! I am beyond excited for what God has in store for us! Several of my squad mates who got baptized shared their testimonies, so check out Nikki and Emilie‘s posts too!
Worshiping together around the campfire
Happiness and hugs as we all said, “Yes” to the call.
This blog was primarily about testimonies from training camp. But, if you want to read more details about the squad as a whole and meet the teams, please check out my friend Tyler or Emilie‘s blogs because they sum us up so nicely!
Lastly, if you want to see some awesome and fun recap videos from TC, check out Whitney’s blog, Nicole‘s blog, or Tyler‘s vlog about TC on YouTube.
S Squad – Sojourners!
What’s a better way to end than with a dance party?
