Hi all,
I know you were all waiting for that typical “this is how training camp went” blog post. But after a bajillion and two rough drafts, none seemed to be right. Training camp was hard. But it was also the most beautiful eleven days of my life. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure if I was capable of finishing it in the beginning and by the end of it, I didn’t want to come home. But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. If you want a play by play of training camp, shoot me a message and I’ll send you some names of squad mates who killed writing a blog post about our fermented duck eggs, crickets and our waterlogged packs.
There are three things from training camp, that have vividly changed my life. The Holy Spirit, His undenying desire to be MY everything, and our bodies are a temple. No, these are not the only things that I took away from training camp, however these are the few I feel will help you understand where my heart is.
HOLY SPIRIT: I didn’t grow up in a church, so my biblical theology isn’t of one who grew up hearing all the Sunday School stories. I had heard a few from my parents. Christmas, Easter, etc. Besides that, I only know what the church taught me, beginning my freshman year of HS, what my peers taught me (because I like to ask lots of questions) or what I learned on my own in my quiet time.
At training camp, I learned, on a deeper level, of the Holy Spirit. I always heard of the Holy Spirit being apart of the trinity, but never knew the extent to how powerful the Holy Spirit is. Seth Barns, the one who began world race, said in one of his blogs, “The Holy Spirit’s power leaves other faiths – religious systems that rely on mere words – in the dust” and I believe that to be so true. The Holy Spirit is ALIVE and IN US.
BELOVED, NOT TOLERATED: During one of our sessions, a sweet lady, starting talking of this beautiful love story. The entire time she was sharing, I was just in awe and asking God to please bless me with a love like this. It’s something that I have desired all my life. To just be so deeply in love with someone. She was sharing stories of all their time together and how beautiful the last 19 years of her life has been. I was just begging God, please fulfill this desire in my heart, but I also becoming frustrated at the same time. Why is this lady talking about this right now, when I am trying so hard to say okay to God and leave on this 11 month mission. I don’t have time for a love like that right now? But then Ms. TT, told us the name of this man that she has been married to, Jesus.
Those of you who know me, just picture the light bulb here. Because I was shocked.
I can have the love that I desire, and so much more, because that’s how deeply God desires to be the one to fulfill those desires for us. How freaking beautiful? I fell in love that day. And haven’t looked back.
YOUR BODY IS A TEMPLE: is something that people say, that I never understood until training camp. We had to complete a fitness hike. It was about 2.3 miles in 38 minutes. It seemed so doable. But, I failed. I failed it by less than 20 seconds.
While trying to complete the hike, my squad mates encouraged me the entire time, some even ran the trail with me again. They started chanting “DayQuil ain’t got nothing on you” as my pack, that seemed taller than me, felt suffocating on my back.
I did not realize how much authority I was giving to satan. My body IS a temple, and I wasn’t taking care of it. I allowed a lie, from satan, to distract me from doing exactly this. Depression. April 28th, 2019, was one of the worst days of my life. And I allowed depression to consume me in ways that I wasn’t aware of until I was standing face to face with the lady that kindly let me know that I failed.
I didn’t fail that fitness hike because I was doped up on DayQuil the entire time I was at training camp. Or because I was literally unable to breathe without coughing my brains out. Or because I was completely sleep deprived. I failed because I allowed satan to have authority in my life. I allowed him to tell me I was depressed. I allowed him to consume my life, mentally, emotionally and even physically. I am thankful that I failed the fitness hike. I took that authority away from satan. I learned that living in depression is a choice, and I choose to live in joy, because my God already defeated satan and through the Holy Spirit, I can experience that pure FREEDOM and JOY!
Side note, at training camp, I made a promise to myself, to never fail a fitness hike again. Since getting home, I have lost 6lbs, and I have shaved off 5 minutes in my total time for 2.3 miles.
Training camp showed me how big God can be, if you allow Him to be. And how present He desires to be in our lives. I also had the privilege to meet my 38 squad mates and all of our leaders. I am so excited to do life with these incredible people for the next 11 months in TWELVE different countries.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. If you have any questions or would like to hear more about what I learned at training camp, please feel free to reach out to me. If you would like to partner with me financially in the journey, and would like to learn about the different ways you can do so, again, feel free to reach out! I am still only 36% fully funded.
Because They Haven’t Heard,
Calla Rae
