My sleep schedule is finally back to normal(as can be) after the wildest week of my life. I’m the type of person who has the same routine every day and gets anxious if I don’t get something done that I “needed” to. Well, I definitely didn’t have the same routine… at all. Logistically, it just doesn’t make sense when you look at what normal life is supposed to look like.
I woke up at 3:00 AM on the Thursday I left and didn’t arrive in Gainesville, Georgia for training camp until over 12 hours later. Our schedule was jam-packed for the next three and a half days with teachings, worship, and getting to know the team. On Sunday night around 10:00 we headed to the Atlanta airport to spend the night(we had an early flight). I got zero sleep that night and during the following day of travel I only slept a few hours. By the time we got to Lima, I’d been up for over 40 hours!! But that wasn’t the end. We still had another 10 hour bus ride to get to our first ministry location in Trujillo.
How in the world is anything cool supposed to happen during that chaos? I’d have been thinking the same thing, but honestly, this has been the most eye opening and transformative week I’ve had(and it’s only the second day in Trujillo)!
Let’s start with the beginning. My first blog was titled “What Brought me Here”. Of course those reasons I gave were from my heart, but to be honest, I didn’t truly know why my heart felt the tug to go to Peru. Literally the first night I got my answer. During one of the first lessons or in a talk with my team, I remember the question why are you here coming up often. That night, even though I should’ve been tired, I started journaling about what we’d done so far and what the experience was like. Then I stopped and wrote “Why World Race?”. Here’s what I felt God telling me not in that moment(I hadn’t remembered this event until just now):
“I had just watched I’m not Ashamed(based on one of the victims of the Columbine High school shooting) and felt the need to go to the Columbine Memorial. I was immediately drawn to Rachel’s story and love for people. What really got me is the quote I saw that she had written in one of her journals. “I have this theory that if one person will go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same.” I didn’t realize until now but I remember praying that night in the cold, dark, and quiet memorial for God to give me a way to show the compassion and love of Jesus as fearlessly as Rachel. And boy did he answer… With Peru.”
So there’s the simple way to answer the complicated question of why I wanted to go on World Race Semesters.
As far as training camp goes, I could easily pour out ten pages on the amazing things the Lord did in my life through worship, community, and teachings. But for the sake of those reading this, I’ll try to narrow it down as best I can.
1. Community
I usually am not comfortable in new social situations. I guess probably because those times, I wasn’t being welcomed into a Christ centered community with such amazing people. I mean I knew Ronny(my admissions advisor) was a chill guy, but I didn’t know EVERYONE there would be. Seriously, I felt like I didn’t have to adjust one bit. My whole team is awesome and I have an amazing leader named Andrew. We’ll definitely have times we don’t get along or agree on things, but I knew they were people that I’d be just fine spending the next three months with.
2. Worship
When I come back home, it’s definitely gonna be hard to adjust back to the way my church worships. Some(probably a lot) wouldn’t like how loud or intense it is, but I LOVED it. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so convicted and moved by Holy Spirit than during those hour sessions. There were people praying, dancing, and yelling at the top of their lungs, all to give praise to the one and only God.
3. Teaching Sessions
The topics of teachings were focused around the three circles of Adventures in Missions: Mission, Intimacy, and Community. Almost every one I felt Holy Spirit stirring my heart, trying to tell me something, or bringing me to tears. They were so incredibly moving, but in particular, the messages about Holy Spirit really hit home. To nobody’s fault but my own, I had taken Holy Spirit for granted my whole life and didn’t realize it until training camp. Deon, a South African who came to share with us about Holy Spirit, said “The Holy Spirit doesn’t come to visit; He comes to stay”! I would ask for the Spirit to lead me when I was in trouble or wanted something to happen, but that was about it. The topic of the Holy Spirit wasn’t talked about in depth in the churches I went to much so I didn’t really know what to do about Him. I know now that: He never leaves, he is always in me trying to work through my life, and is my guide. The best way I can describe it is now I understand that Holy Spirit and I are in a lifelong and intimate partnership to further the Kingdom of God and bring me into deeper relationship with the Father. And not just when I want him to show up, but every second of every day. LIFE = MINISTRY. MINISTRY = LIFE.
As far as stuff going on in Peru, I don’t have a ton right now because this is only the second day I’ve had ministry. What I can say is that just like training camp, my expectations have been absolutely shattered. Kinda thought we’d be showing up to find mountains everywhere and vegetation like no other. Turns out we are surrounded by mountains, but we’re in a desert. It’s hot and humid and we are on the outskirts of Trujillo in one of the more dangerous parts of the city(don’t worry I’m totally safe – our host Joel Savage knows the area perfectly). Not what I expected but so much more at the same time. The people here live with nearly nothing, in these tiny shacks that you don’t EVER see in America. Yesterday, I went with Joel and Isaac to install a toilet for our cook Vidala(what she had was not adequate) and after seeing her bathroom situation, house, and kids showering with buckets, I felt so guilty. I had been bummed about my living situation and didn’t take the time to think about what the Peruvians around me were dealing with. That really broke my heart… but not as much as it fixed it after.
I’m here now. And I am all in. God cares so much more about are being than our doing, so that’s how I am going to live. Time to start some chain reactions.
