3:30am– My mom and I are waking up in a hotel room in Pittsburgh to catch my flight at 6:00am to Georgia. My mom is a gracious one and awakes to drive me to the airport. We hug goodbye and I step into a line. A line which I have no idea will lead to an incredible week and a half of growth and encouragement at World Race Training Camp.
When I first felt called to go on the World Race, I read a great deal of blogs from past and current racers. I wanted God to speak to me through these people. To open my heart to what it meant to be a missionary, a World Racer.
I read-looking for every detail of what was to come.
What was training camp like?
What did it look like to be at launch to our first country?
What was a “team” and how was it different from a “squad?”
Surprisingly, I didn’t find all the answers.
I wondered why no-one had written a detailed account of what happened at Training Camp.
But, after traveling to camp, I understand the lack. To ask for a detailed account was like asking a couple to write a single blog post about how they met, what led them together, and their feelings up until engagement.
Too much info. Too little space to write in.
For those of you looking for those little details as I was, Here’s a short small-talk list of some of what training camp held!
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It was 10 days at a small piece of property in Georgia where we slept in tents, had dinner in a dining tent. There were no flushing toilets, and water was brought to us in large coolers. Here was our site!
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There were many team building exercises.
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We used bucket showers- a bucket in an area. scrub, dump, scrub, dump- needless to say, I only had 2- OK- 1 of those. Hey, God sees me as white as snow.
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My squad (B -squad) has 36 people in it.
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This squad was broken down into teams of 6.
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This is my team! I am honored and humbled to be able to lead these girls around the world, their hearts are so full of Christ and their faces are BEAUTIFUL!
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There were scenarios at camp that prepared us for mishaps abroad- airport loosing our bags, what it means to share and ration supplies, how to navigate to the hospital when your teammate has chikungunya, etc.
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We ate meals family style: one plate for 8 people and had cuisine from all around the world.
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Worship was INCREDIBLE!
But, what I would like to capitalize on was how my heart was changed during training camp. Those 10 days were not only an info-shock, they were also a time of growth with the Lord.
I experienced blessings, challenges, and made acknowledgements I had long ignored.
I broke down and was built back up again. I emptied my heart to fill it up with truth.
I sought intimacy with the Lord, I heard him speak, I witnessed him heal. I cried, I laughed, I learned what it meant to be a missionary, and what it truly meant to serve.
I learned about my Testimony. That it is a powerful way to show Christ and it’s been given to me with purpose.
I learned what community truly is.
I grew through my faith and interactions with those around me. From the leaders, to my squad mates, to other members of squads camping near us. God continued to reveal himself to me through them.
To see Him all around me.
He asked me to listen.
It was a time during one of the qualification exercises to go on the World Race that really stood out to me as seeing Christ in those around me.
We were requested to do a “fitness hike” – completing a 2 mile hike in less than 30 min. with all of our gear. Our whole squad went at it.
The deal was: if we weren’t able to complete it the first time, we were given a second opportunity.
I was given the humbling chance to come along the second go to encourage those who are giving it another try. While walking alongside one of the girls there, God halted me in my tracks.
It was a hard hike and feat to complete. There were tears, there was sweat, and there were times when I thought one of the girls would be sick.
But, I continued to walk alongside them. One girl, I walked alongside for most of the walk. In the midst, she began to cry. Puzzled I continued to encourage her. She paused for a moment- looked me square in the eyes and said
“I will not give up.”
“I will finish this.”
I looked back at her just completely floored by her words and dedication. But, she was struggling? She was thirsty and tired and weary with exhaustion. She can stop! But, she didn’t.
She was an inspiration. God was putting us both through this trying time, and I could see the ways He was working there.
After the hike, we all collapsed together in a cloud of tears and hugs. I couldn’t tell you the love I saw and how I could just see Christ gleaming through. These squadmates were heroes. They didn’t give up, they didn’t give in.
Training Camp was just a small taste of the many trials and tribulations my squad and I will be put through this next year.
But, I know that even through the valleys of life, the hard times-the fights- and the battles – God wants us to whisper to ourselves what my squad mate spoke- “I will not give up.”
Because He has gone before us, and He is walking with us. And He is growing us through these experiences.
One of the songs that we sang over and over again at camp was “No Longer Slaves” by Bethel Music. The lyrics ring like this:
“I’m no longer a slave to fear
I am a Child of God.”
What greatness can be done in a life uncapped by fear?
I want to know.
And camp was a time for me to realize that my squad and I have been put together on this wonderful journey to find out. Pushing aside the fear and pressing on, never giving up.
Because Christ has called us to act, and solemnly, we are listening.
Those 10 days were just a small exert of what the next year of my life will look like.
Who’s excited to see what it brings??
This girl, right here!
To you future racers out there: Don’t fear, God brings you to training camp for a reason.
Before I went I didn’t know who I was, or why I was going, but I followed His call there and trusted that He would work in me. And He did. You may not know why you are called to The Race yet, or even what it means to pack a backpack for a year. But, Be confident in Your call here and satisfied in that You are doing what You are meant to do. I found that. I realized that no matter how much I pray about it, or how much I run from it, God is not going to change this calling on my life. I didn’t get into this to give up, but because I have a purpose to fulfill.
Will you support me?
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With so much Love,
Ally
