I have realized this calling will be completely different from anything I could have imagined.
I gathered up my belongings to enter into the Dayton intl. Airport July 6th. Surprisingly, I was not all that nervous. You see flying for me has become a breeze. Basically to the point where I walk in with my shoes already in one hand and laptop placed in a separate bin. Which if you have flown you know that security only tolerates people of readiness. “Keep the line moving people!” But that is besides the point. The real feelings that were escalating in my body before arriving to training camp consisted of anxiety. Honestly, leaving the country for 9 months doesn’t seem to scare me. What really scares me is meeting a group of 45 other racers and having forced community. This only intimidated me a bit. Although I soon came to realize this was an irrational fear of mine. Upon arriving in Atlanta, I made my way to baggage claim where I also met up with my fears. This was it. The time had finally come. I would finally meet faces that I had only seen in photos. As I reached down to grab my pack from the baggage carousel I looked up to see a friendly face with a pack similar to mine. She had a bright smile and eagerness in her. From that moment on I could not stop talking to everyone on my squad. Each individual acquired a sense of genuineness to them. I could not help but be in awe of every person I was encountering. There were people from Maine, Colorado, Arizona, and even Canada. All across the country. I was overwhelmed, but I soon realized we all had something in common: Each one of us was choosing to leave behind a life of comfort in order to bring the gospel to others. We all had the same desire to go out and make disciples of every nation.
Attending training camp gave me a deeper perspective of what the phrase, “Go and make disciples of every nation” truly means. In order to bring the kingdom to Earth we all have a role to play. I am fairly shy and tend to keep to myself, but I can tell you this, when God is in the process of using you for His kingdom, He is going to give you the words and courage to do so. Training camp did just that. It tested me in my faith and my strength. Relying on the Lord is not always easy, however, it is worth it in the end. It is not effortless to follow God. In fact, most of the time it always requires work on your part. I knew that if I wanted to grow in my faith both mentally and physically, I would have to surrender all to God. During camp I had to do just that when it came to the fitness hike.Yes, this is mostly physical strength but it also demanded positivity as well as team work. So the seven of us girls strapped on our weighty packs to hike 2.2 miles in the 90 degree weather of Gainesville, Georgia. Before setting off I might have been a bit cocky, because I imagined myself finishing with breath still left in my lungs. Boy, was I wrong! As a team we were required to complete the hike within 38 minutes or less. The group of us girls lined up, each with a card at hand stating our starting time of 1:52 pm. The leader clicked the timer and we were off! In my head I knew I needed to finish this in time. The fitness hike is a way for the leaders to see if we are physically capable of backpacking for 9 months around the world.
As we approached the first big hill it grew harder and harder until…“oh there goes Abby.” I had stumbled across a beautiful, mystical, crystal clear sprinkler. I would like to state that it was above 90 degrees and 100% humidity that day in the good ole south. Unfortunately, the sprinkler took me out. As I ran through the glistening water I soon found myself wiped out on the ground. My pack decided to take me down to get a better look at the grass, I guess. This was just a minor setback. I got up to finish the race set out before me. Sadly, my team and I did not make it. This meant the next day at 6 in the morning we would have to hike another 2.2 miles. Only this time we would finish with some time to spare. Although I was rather upset that the next morning we would have to wake up early to do it all over again, I knew that my life for the next nine months was going to have a lot of little falls and minor setbacks of its own. Sometimes God brings us on paths filled with scenic waterfalls, flowery fields, mighty mountains, and heat that takes your breath away. However, God has not called us to a life of comfort. He is our guide through those unbearable hikes. I may have to hike a thousand more miles in my life, but if I have God to face those mountains with, then you can count me in.
“God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.”
