*DISCLAIMER: If you’re a future racer and want to be surprised about Training Camp, stop reading!*
Walking into Training Camp last Saturday, I had a few expectations and stereotypes typical of a “church camp.” Those were quickly blown apart.
Expectation: Setting up my tent at the beginning of the week and sleeping in it every night, cozy and alone, and taking it down the next Saturday.
Reality: I slept in my tent 3 times in 7 nights. The other nights included sleeping our whole team of 37 people in a bus, sharing a tent with another girl when the airline “lost” half our team’s luggage, and being given 6 tarps and nothing else after being sent to a campsite off the Adventures in Missions campus and building our own makeshift tent from said tarps. The makeshift tent was pretty awesome, by the way.
Expectation: A little bit of physical stuff, maybe some hikes in the surrounding forests.
Reality: The first few days were not physical at all (besides walking up that dreadfully steep hill on campus). Then we got to Tuesday. First, there was a simulated plane crash where he had to get girls with “broken legs” and girls who were “unconscious” down earlier mentioned hill to the “safe place.” Then, tied by string to five other girls, we had to complete boot camp like exercises in-sync. I’m talking squats, sit ups, and other things an unathletic girl (like myself) does not do. Let’s just say that hill was really a struggle on my thighs the rest of the week.
Expectation: A few good worship nights where I would feel God’s presence around me and a few good sermons that I might doze off during (the amount of sleep I got that week was minimal).
Reality: Worship that I had never experienced before. I’ve never knelt down on my knees during worship but I did. I’ve never danced during worship but I did. I’ve never prayed out loud during worship but I did. And I’ve never quite felt so personally affected by God’s presence like I did. And those sermons challenged me in ways I never imagined.
So, yeah. Training Camp was like listening to a Ke$ha song.
The expectation is that it’ll be a typical pop song, with a typical beat, and you’ll forget about it soon after it’s over. The reality is that it’s actually amazing, catchy, and you can’t get it out of your head for weeks. Training Camp was incredible and the lessons that I needed to learn will reside deeply within me for these next nine months.
If I made you a list of all the things we did this last week, you’d honestly look at me like I was insane when I ended that list with, “…And it wrecked me in the best way possible!” (Much like if you wrote down the lyrics to a Ke$ha song, you might doubt the awesomeness of the song) But experiencing it is a whole other ballpark.
In conclusion, expectations are hardly ever met. But if God (or Ke$ha) is involved, it’s better.
IN OTHER NEWS, MEET MY TEAM!
TEAM ALETHEIA (“unconcealed,” “unclosedness,” or “truth”):
From left to right: Angela, Kate, Maggie, Anna, Hope, and myself!
These girls are my 24/7 team that I’ll be doing life with starting in September so please pray for them, as well!
AND FINALLY, MEET GAP SQUAD B:
The rest of my squad that will travel together to
The Philippines,
Swaziland,
And Nicaragua!
