Whoa nobody could have told me that in one week I could fall so deeply in love with strangers and experience so much healing. Training Camp for the World Race has been an emotional rollercoaster filled with new experiences and facing fears. Here’s a little of what I have been processing throughout this week.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Lemme tell ya they did not warm us up to the idea of training camp. The moment we left our parents at the hotel we crammed with our luggage into a hot van to drive an hour and a half to set up our tents in the pouring rain. After I had help setting up my tent I laid my head on my soggy pillow thinking “What on earth did I get myself into.” I got up and joined the team and just kept pushing. I made up my mind that I was going to just do it. I have to keep making up my mind as I carefully take a bucket shower as to not disturb the hornets nest behind the thin stall wall, or as I walk into an overflowed porta potty, or during our physical test not being sure if I would ever be able to walk again. All the while being filled with so much joy that I get the pleasure of doing this..that something this radical can’t be prepared for lightly. Also, I have learned that I need caffeine so much that I will in fact drink luke-warm instant coffee out of a plastic water bottle to get my fix. 🙂
I am seen.
Wow my identity has been a huge topic of conversation this week. I have never felt so supported and seen by a group of people who vocalize the qualities they see in me. The Lord has revealed a little bit of my negative experiences dealing with rejection and un-forgiveness that has allowed me to live in a distorted narrative for years. A lot of breakthrough has come this week by forgiving people who didn’t even offer me an apology. A LOT of breakthrough has come from me forgiving myself. I was given a gift of a key necklace (seen in picture below) and the word was “seen.” So, I am excited to continue to walk into my identity of how God sees me.
I am adaptable.
I have found that I am able to accomplish things I never thought I would be able to do. My heart is really coming from a place of yes, so doing things like camping or being athletic or being able to be present and functioning with little sleep is possible. I shared a ONE PERSON tent with a fellow teammate. We were basically on top of each other but we rolled with it. I’ve started speaking in a southern accent because a bunch of my teammates are from the south lol. The downfall of this trait is that all of my life, different Kelsey’s come out in different groups of people. I think I can use this trait to my advantage outside of the race and not have a million different personalities I’m just still figuring out what that looks like.
Those are just some snippets of things I’ve been thinking about this week. It’s not over yet, we fly out to Nicaragua on Saturday WOOOO! The mentorship and community I have received this week has restored my faith in God’s people. I was a little bitter in the past because I have been hurt by the church. People are imperfect and I am so grateful for a squad that embraces imperfections and strives to call each other to a higher place. We are definitely in our honeymoon stage of falling in love with each other so I will check back in month 6 or so to see how it’s goin 😉
Thanks for the love, prayers and support. Right now specifically I would love prayers for the transition out of the country, the rest of my financial support to come in, my health to continue to be good and that my stuff dries so I can pack it!!
<3
