This is the shortened version of my original blog. The original was four pages long. Oops.
Going into training camp I was experiencing a wild range of emotions. The night before training camp I cried for roughly 4 hours straight and had 2 anxiety attacks.
Terrified. Excited. Anxious. Exasperated. Euphoric.
As Christ would soon reveal to me, all of these feelings would be justified in the best way possible. (whaaaaat?)
before you start reading
Here’s the basic things you need to know about training camp.
We walked in only knowing people from their social medias. We all slept in tents in the middle of the woods on sleeping pads. Each morning we had to pack up ALL of our stuff, including our tents. We often ate off of tables with our hands. Germs weren’t really a thing. Port-A-Potties are at the top of the line for luxury pooping. Also a majority of us couldn’t poop the first four days (bodily functions were a very common topic). We only ever saw ourselves in reflections. That was a blessing in disguise because we looked ROUGH. We carried a chair with us at all times. We only had our phones late at night for about 10 hours or so. We became very resourceful. Peanut butter and instant coffee became sacred objects. We “showered” out of buckets of cold water. We were all scared out of our minds at first.
I am trying to think of the best way to summarize training camp and I think I have found it. A true story. As a teammate and I sat in Starbucks in Kroger after leaving TC on the last day, another member of my squad also happened to be there. She told us this story that actually happened to her not even an hour before in Chick-Fil-A. As she went to the restroom she heard the soap dispenser going off like crazy???? She got out of the stall and a fellow racer looked over at her in fear. Hand soap was dripping from the racers face as she said “I couldn’t do it anymore. I needed to be clean.” And in that, my dears, I summarize training camp.
Rather than spending four pages explaining to you all of the deep majesties Christ revealed to me at TC, I’m going to summarize all of them into one collection of individual phrases and statements.
Mission work is about Universal Reconciliation & Universal Worship.
He is the Prince of Peace
God is going to do RADICAL things through His warriors in Myanmar.
Your relationship with the Holy Spirit is unique to you.
Sometimes you may not even realize you’re harboring heavy unforgiveness.
Don’t be disheartened if the way Christ communicates to you is different than the way He communicates to another.
The Holy Spirit is literally the most amazing thing on earth.
Encouragement is key to a Family On Mission.
God is powerful and binding.
the stories of camp
I began the 10 days with a heart of uncertainty. Not even 3 hours in and I was questioning if this was truly what God wanted me to do. A night of unrest emphasized by an early morning on the second day included: the never ending sound of bugs, the continuous bark of dogs, other squad mates unrest, the bite of a tick, and the random cold chill of the 3 am breeze. I felt so inadequate this day. I was in a sea of lonely. I didn’t know how to praise like they did. That night I fell asleep with prayers on my lips and tears rolling down my cheeks. I felt so out of place. I didn’t want to leave but what if this was God’s plan the whole time? What if I wasn’t meant to actually go on the Race?
Y’all, God is so cool. I was overcome with peace the next morning. I asked God what I should read in my quiet time, He gave me Isaiah 12. Isaiah 12 talks about peace, joy in hardships, spreading His Name, and singing with my all to the Lord. There’s also a Jesus Prophecy. That’s a saucy burrito if you ask me. All of this would come in very handy to me as the rest of the day was full of heartbreak. My team of 7 had become a team of 4 in the matter of 3 days. Our team was broken up. I’m not going to lie, it was really awful.
But still He is good.
And by His grace, I was put on the same team as one of my original team members who I love ever so dearly. That is the story of the Forgotten Four Fives. There were many sessions of bonding and times when God was ever present among our group throughout the week. There was something different about our squad, and others could see it. We spent most free time together singing praises to our Papa. He showed me the vastness of His nature. He introduced me to the Holy Spirit (being raised Baptist, my main man HS was more of concept and didn’t have His own traits).
We ended the 10 days of TC with a radical dance routine and a night of worship. A dance routine featuring cheerleading stunts, color run powder, wii bowling, girls vs. guys battle, splits, Drake, the dirty dancing lift, and chimichangas. We won. Needless to say. In worship the Holy Spirit had fallen like I’ve never known before. I constantly joke about the idea of prostraighting. Mostly because the word prostraight is funny. For the first time in my life I genuinely saw someone prostraighting themselves before the Lord. I felt the Holy Spirit move in and through people. It was amazing. Worship was followed by lots of tears and hugging and sentiment as we all thought of the idea of parting.
Parting is such sweet sorrow.
The first thing I did after leaving camp was go to the nearest Kroger with a Starbucks in it with my dear Elyse. We sat and talked in the coffee area for about 45 minutes before she jumped up and said OH MY GOSH I HAVE TO USE THE RESTROOM TO WATCH IT FLUSH. Truly iconic if you ask me. We then, rather delusionally, walked around Kroger picking up groceries. I bought a bag of salad, unsalted kettle cooked chips, a jar of crunchy peanut butter, 5 clif bars, and a probiotic drink. Elyse bought many similar snacks. I am convinced she is my soulmate for this very reason.
summary
Training camp was really awful. And it really sucked. But wow, the way Christ moved was incomprehensible. But because scripture says to count it all joy & He is my joy: training camp was absolutely amazing. He opened my eyes to realize I was giving up my comfort for Him. He showed me following Him required more sacrifice than I had thought. God is so good y’all. Training camp reassured me that this is the path Christ has laid before me. This is the mission Christ has called me to. I am beyond thankful that Christ has asked me to come alongside Him in the journey to spread His Gospel.
For my final regards within this post, I want to thank everyone who played a part in getting me to this point as well as getting me through this point. Because WOW. It was rough. I would implore you to consider donating to my mission trip if you haven’t already. I need to get roughly $2,800 more to launch. In total I need roughly $8,500 to be fully funded. I cannot do this mission trip alone. I need people to come by me and be willing to help me get to where I’m going. Any and all donations are GREATLY appreciated!
Thank you for reading & I am pray blessings over you and yours.
