Last night, I finally arrived back at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport exhausted but also looking forward to an 11-month journey coming later this fall. Emotionally, I felt like a dishrag after you ring all the water out… For me, training camp was a roller coaster. (Check out photos from Training Camp in the “My Photos” tab.)
To describe God’s voice during training camp, it was like spiritual acupuncture—specifically targeting certain areas and painfully bringing healing to unknown places. But there was also comfort, celebration and new freedom in my walk with Him.
Here are just a few things I learned from training camp, as well as some tips for future World Racers:
PACK LIGHT
Let go of what you don’t need. Sometimes having less makes it easier to enjoy things moment by moment. (But know the few essentials you do need daily.) Also, try to keep your pack under 40 pounds…
YOU ARE MORE ADAPTABLE THAN YOU THINK.
Sleeping in a tent, sharing one plate with eight people and showering out of a bucket become easier and easier when you embrace the process and enjoy the little things along the way.
JUMP IN!
There are so many different things going on at Training Camp! If you are a future World Racer, make an effort to connect with many different people on your team, and always look for the best in each new situation. Be flexible to embrace every new challenge and experience.
THE REAL YOU IS NEEDED.
Be yourself and embrace your story. Allow yourself to connect with the people around you. You don’t have it all together, and you’re not meant to. Get over yourself and reach out to people. You need them, and someone around you needs you to be you. Your natural gifts and talents show up when you’re not fighting with the idea of who you think you should be.
HARD CONVERSATIONS BRING FREEDOM.
Plain and simple, vulnerability leads to connection. I wish I could say that it’s getting easier to be vulnerable in my walk with God, but I am finding more and more grace and joy in the journey.
TIME WITH GOD SATISFIES EVERY TIME.
Get used to going to Him first when you can feel someone getting on your nerves or when a situation doesn’t go as planned. Even if it’s just under your breath, walking in broad daylight from point A to point B, every situation improves after prayer. It just does.
TWENTY-SOMETHING IS NOT THAT YOUNG.
You are stronger, more qualified and more capable than you think. There’s no time to waste. Respond to God now for what He’s prepared for you in THIS SEASON.
THE AMERICAN DREAM IS TOO SMALL.
Each person carries a unique influence and individual responsibility. In Christ, you can do more than you think you can. God’s plan is bigger than just you. Maybe He’s even more excited than you are about all of the unique things you dream of doing, because He can share who He is through what only you share (whether it be music, art, business, leadership…etc).
Guys– we actually have the power to beautifully share God’s love with the world. Living this truth—actually sharing who our Jesus is—is maybe more powerful step than we realize…
And that’s why I’m going on this crazy 11-month adventure. I want to see where this leap of faith takes me. What is on the other side of being so caught up with Him that I forget about all my own plans? What happens when I fall more deeply in love with Him and what He is doing throughout the nations? It may seem risky, but strangely enough, it feels like the safest place to be.
