Wow training camp!What an experience! How can I describe in a few words what happened in those intense 10 days which actually fully mark for me the beginning of this crazy awesome thing called World Race?
WHERE AND WHAT IS IT TRAINING CAMP?
it took place last August from the 8th till the 18th and it was a well structured mix of worship, prayer, teachings, Bible studies, games, missional-purpose sessions, sharing, team and relations bonding time, community…And this last thing was actually what I struggled most! Don’t get me wrong, I love people…but I am a quite independent person, not very gregarious and I like to be on my own or at least to cut some “me time” during the day..plus, I don’t like to be in big groups, I mean I don’t have a “group mind-set”, I tend to be a “out-of-the box thinker, I usually prefer to go out with 1 -3 people max at the same and the same thing goes with activities or conversations, I prefer when it’s small and more intimate, when everyone has the chance to speak and be noticed and acknowledged and listened to…in groups there is always someone who, directly or indirectly, takes over, someone who wants to be at the centre of it all, who wants to lead, to take control, to dominate, etc… well, it turned out I had to spend these 10 days CONSTANTLY in a big group, my squad…but I found out or better…the Spirit of the Lord taught me that there is something special and powerful when a group is together for GOD, for His glory and in the name of Jesus!
INTERESTING FACTS:
SLEEPING IN TENTS for the all time in a spider-infested-wood (well, now maybe I am bit exaggerating here but those “leggy” creatures were having a party over there and I wasn’t happy to be part of it at all!)
ROUTINES I didn’t necessarily enjoy: packing and unpacking gear almost every day!
Practical field SCENARIOS: such as the airport losing half our bags, finding food to eat in a simulated super noisy, colourful and busy marketplace (organized by the staff who brilliantly played different roles, including the beggar, the good and corrupted currency-exchange men, the thief, the party girls, etc) and even getting to sleep inside on our “host’s church” with AC (which I am not super fond of at all) for a night.
SHARING 3 meals a day with other 40 people, sitting in a group of 8 and making sure everyone had had their portion from the food tray at the centre of the table.
BUCKET SHOWERS which actually were a moment of pleasure as it was super hot!
PORTER TOILETS (not a fan of these at all, it’s best for everyone I don’t go into details!:)
WASHING DISHES outside with production/assembly-line style.
FOOD CULTURE DAYS: for example on Indian day, we had to wear ankle-length clothes, to cover our heads at meetings and to use our hands to eat. On Adventures day, we had to be ready to try out new things…well I a m not sure how open I was when they presented in front of me a tray of colourful rice, fermented “alive” duck egg and crickets! Check this picture out:
ATL (Ask the Lord) activity or Joy- makers day: we were split into teams and prayed for the Spirit of the Lord to lead us to some particular place or to put something in our hearts: my team decided to go to a local care and memory center home. We spend some time with the residents, we chat with them, we played bingo and sung together. It blessed my heart to see those people smiling and being happy just for us to be there, they asked us to come back very soon! That day actually spoke to me a lot about the beauty of service and the reasons I want to go on this mission trip. There is so much joy in serving and seeing other people smiling because of something even small you did for them. We certainly don’t have to go on the other side of the world to be a blessing for other people, we can do it within our community, with our neighbor, colleagues and friends! We just need to listen to people around us and watch out for those who cry out in silence!…Who God is telling you to bless or encourage today???
One of my FAVOURITE STUDY: awareness of cultural sensitiveness and how to adapt the Gospel to different culture systems without compromising the truth of the Bible and keeping Jesus at the center.
GAMES I never played involving flour, marshmallows, and running: checked out this picture.
SABBATH DAY: spending time alone with God, in His Word, enjoying and resting in His presence
two-mile timed fitness HIKE wearing our big packs: the course was rather rigorous, but I made it! I thank God and also my teammate Licya who was running next to me and motivated me to not give up!
SQUAD WARS: we competed against each other in games and a dance-off; so much fun!
SWIMMING in the beautiful LAKE of Gaineville (that was an important moment for me because it was the first time I had the guts to do it and overcoming my fears of germs, infections and so on, thank you Lord!;)
My TAKEAWAYS or truths I knew already but downloaded even deeper in my heart: MISSION IS LIFE and life is mission; I am already the Will of God in Christ; I can change my perspectives and CHOOSE to love people I don’t know or I don’t initially or necessarily connect with at first sight; with God, I can stretch further and go beyond the limitations I had placed or decided for myself; adopting a Kingdom-of-God mindset and attitude on every occasion by seeking the lowest position and going for the “least” person; having a YES in our spirit for God and His people even when we doubt, fear or don’t fully understand; you can be an expression of the love of Christ even when people don’t know your language or can’t get what you are saying; my story matters and it can be used for the Kingdom; I can be the local Church by building good relationships and community.
THE BATTLE FOR COMMITMENT
I must admit training camp has not been easy for me! It was definitely challenging, emotionally and physically tiring and draining at times but it was worth it! I must confess that against all the odds it was actually there I made up my mind 100% and became fully committed to the World Race. I had struggled for such a long time with this particular decision making process! So many doubts and fears and reservations! I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing for me to do, especially at 34 years old when certain decisions seem to have a heavier weight, such as leaving a good job, stability, a city which you made your own after quite a few challenges, getting my family worried. Moreover, I din’t feel equipped, talented or good enough…and most importantly I couldn’t figure it out if actually God wanted me to do it or not, if He approved…and I desperately needed HIM to approve my choice!I had prayed and asked for a specific sign, for a crystal clear answer…and somehow, in His infinite patience, throughout this journey of my long internal battle and confusion, He gave me many little signs of direction towards a “yes, you can go, it is ok with me”…but still It wasn’t enough, I wasn’t convinced, I wasn’t sure God had actually spoken to me, I was basically still torn inside…It was around the 3rd and 4th day of TC that the thickness of the cloud of confusion faded away and got that clarity that I was longing for! God spoke to me so incredibly regarding my future and what to do with this present opportunity of mission trip. He delivered me from the burden of pressure and from the fear of failing and doing the wrong thing! And believe me, I have now peace about it, that PEACE that only Jesus, the Prince of Peace, can give!
” Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying: this is the way; walk in it” – Isaiah 30:21. This verse resonated and sinked in my spirit like never before during that week! The 2 tiny words “whether and “or”, apparently so meaningless, actually spoke tons to me! They refer to 2 opposite directions and amazingly God will be in both! WOW!
I particularly liked one expression used by one of the speakers, Mr Blake. He told us about a particular episode of his life when all of a sudden he found himself struggling with confusion and doubts because he was “forced” to choose between different good godly opportunities. His Christian mature mentor at that time pointed out to him that whatever the option he would have picked “he was already the will of GOD in Christ”.
If you walk with the Lord and you acknowledge HIM in whatever you do He will show you the way (Proverbs 3:5-6) and your are already HIS will because He made you and He chose you.
In particular, I realized that what it really matters it is not about me going or not to the World Race but choosing to put God first and living for Him whether I stay or I leave! He will bless my path either way just because He loves me unconditionally. And if I ever will take “wrong” steps or don’t choose the “preferred” path He has planned for me, He will redirect my way back to Him out of His Grace and Mercy. Yes, sometimes He “tells” us to do specific things, but on other occasions He leaves us with different options or paths to choose from. What He truly requires of us is to “abide” in Him and put Him first in whatever we do and wherever we go! What it counts then is being an expression of the Kingdom of God all the time and bring the light of Christ we have inside to people who don’t know Him. What’s more, I learnt that missionary people are not the heroes: when we choose to go on mission (but even when we “stay”) we join God in the Work He is already doing! We are working with Him to build the “Highway” to the Kingdom for as many people as possible!
Mr Deon, another great speaker we had, gave us a few questions to ask ourselves when we are struggling with decisions or when we want to know if what we are doing is wrong or right in the eyes of God. Here they are for you as well:
1. Does it align with the principles of the Bible?
2. Does it exalt Christ? Does it give glory to God?
3. Does it bear good fruits?
4. Do other believers approve it or testify of its “goodness” or “worth”?
5. Is it something than can come to pass?
Regarding the World Race, I can answer a loud YES to all these 5 questions!
THE FIRST TINY CULTURAL SHOCK OF THE RACE AND…THE BREAKTHROUGH
To be honest I wasn’t enthusiastic at all about the idea of doing training camp: I remember being on the plane to Atlanta and thinking that those 10 days were an emotional self-inflicting torture and they would have been the longest of my life! I actually prayed God to help me make it till the end and to make them count!
Let me also add that travelling to America has been a sort of mission impossible! As you must know by now I am Italian and have been living in London for the past 8 years. Because of me just returning from my summer holidays back home in Southern Italy and because of huge delays, storms, crazy queues and jet lag, I didn’t sleep or rest for almost 35 hours, took 3 planes in a day, didn’t shower for 2 days, spent the night at the airport laying on the floor and going up and down like a zombie! I clearly remember my self at New York airport in the middle of the night, crying like a fountain (and a baby!) and being so mad at myself for having decided to apply for this Program! I was drained and I literally thought there was no way I would have lasted for the all 10 days of training camp or would have had the strength to commit for 11 months…but God has a way to blow our minds away and overcome our expectations and limits…because I not only made it till the end of training camp but now I am more committed than ever before and I am here just a few weeks from Launch, ready to be all IN on this world Race with the Lord!
My first World Race challenge in terms of “cultural shock and conflict” has started just there at training camp: I was already travelling to a different country, being fully immersed in a different culture and with people I didn’t know at all.
Both USA and where I come from, Italy and UK, belong to what it is defined the modern developed side of the world, we have a lot of things in common, especially today with globalization, Internet, TV and social media. However I must admit, I “felt” the differences on different levels: in the sense of humour, in the way of eating, in the traditions, games, music, experiences…and it has been honestly hard to be “the foreigner”. I m quite fluent in English, I don’t have issues with understanding, talking or writing. Moreover, I have been living in London for many years and very often I find myself thinking and praying in English too! I am used to live in a country and culture which is not mine, far from home, but London is a unique reality on its own, it is an extremely multicultural city, it is so easy to have friends or colleagues speaking other languages and hang out with a group of mixed nationalities. I almost never felt a foreigner, an outsider in London…but there, at training camp, it was just me, I was a minority, the only NON-American, non-English motherthongue person, at least in my squad…the main “issue” here was “being fully and totally part of the group, being considered at the same level during a discussion or conversation, being spontaneous or funny, being listened to.. I can’t deny I felt lonely, isolated and “excluded” quite a few times especially where the group was together just having fun…Don’t get me wrong, .it wasn’t that the people of my squad were not nice or polite…I guess certain dynamiques, barriers and “natural preferences” are inevitable….
I vividly remember being mad and asking God these childish questions:” God, why did you lead me here? Why did you allow me to make such a huge mistake, to waste money and precious time? I don’t like here, I hate spiders (yes, I had to fight with them every single night before going to sleep in my tent!), I don’t belong here, I am too old, I am different, I m not equipped, I can’t connect with these people, they are too young for me to spend almost an entire year with, after all I am not even so much eager in knowing them more”…but then, in His own perfect timing and loving-kindness, He spoke to my soul and heart (and He is even doing it right now as I am writing) : “my child, you are too focused on yourself, you are missing the point, the end goal, the”WHY” you are here, you are missing out on Me and on the fact that those young Americans are actually your brothers and sisters in Christ, they will be your local Church around the world”.
The breakthrough had started.
Jesus asks us to deny ourselves, to take up our cross daily and follow HIM (Luke 9:23). In that moment, it felt to me like “that” was my little cross, so I had no choice but to take it up, get over with the whole thing and choose Him, choose Jesus, choose to belong and get to know those people. I couldn’t continue to be blinded by my ego and presumption, I was being self-centered instead of being God and Kingdom centered! I was “worshiping” my emotions and my feelings, I was playing the part of the victim and most of the time I was kind of enjoying it somehow because it was easier than obviously fighting and getting involved…I realized that the more time I was spending drawing into my “isolation” and condition of being excluded by others, the more I was loosing sight of the mission, the great mission and commission Jesus calls us to (Matthew 28: 18-20)…At the end of the day, these young Americans, my Z squad, were God’s beloved children, I could “see” them now… and I was amazed at the wisdom, insights and talents they had! It was simply beautiful their hunger for God, their willingness to make a difference in the world, to live this adventure for and with Jesus!
Ultimately, what we have in common is so much stronger than our differences or barriers of cultures and languages! We stand in solid ground and God is our rock, the common thread of our lives!
Please pray for us all, for unity, genuine love and fruitfulness! Pray we can be the feet and hands of Jesus and be His good servants wherever we go!
Thank you for reading and for giving me your time!
Blessings to you all!
Love,
Simona
