About two weeks ago we had training camp for the three squads going out in January 2012. It’s an amazing thing to be on the other side of what was just the beginning at our training camp last May. Future racer, Leah Malone, gave a pretty good rundown of who we are and what we’re striving for in doing what we do each day.
(photo by leah malone)
Training Camp takes place
in the woods of middle-of-nowhere Georgia
where you’re kindly fed fish head soup, ugali,
and a grilled tomato banana and cheese sandwich.
Where you sleep in tents,
then on a school bus,
then under a tarp.
And you go to bed after midnight
only to wake up a few hours later,
before even a hint of the sun rise,
to freeze your buns off at morning exercise
running up and down the hills of Georgia.
Yep, these people are crazy.
Some of these people are alumni.
People who flew, drove, and hitchhiked
to spend the week with us, sleep deprived,
at training camp.
They served us by scrubbing toilets,
waking up at 4am to cook our food for the day,
and praying life/truth into us
over and over and over again.
Their clothes never match
…I’m pretty sure they’ve forgotten how.
They saw greatness in me and pushed me towards it.
They’re ALWAYS either-
a. dancing
b. laughing or
c. praying.
These people are crazy!
Speaking of prayer-
Its like the real deal for these people.
Rarely …never… did I hear prayer start with
“Dear Heavenly Father”.
Usually it started more like
“Hey Daddy” or,
“Its me again Papa” or,
“Abba we love you” or simply,
“Hi!”
…It’s almost like they KNOW this guy?!
These people are crazy.
They stand on chairs
or in the middle of the woods on chairs
and yell things.
Declarations they like to call them.
These people are crazy.
During worship there are people
laughing,
dancing,
praying,
sitting,
and standing.
Some people have their hands in the air,
and others have their faces on the ground.
Yikes. These people are crazy.
These people dream about
shutting down every brothel,
ending the AIDS epidemic in Swaziland,
getting clean water for African villages,
seeing Haiti restored,
and finding a loving home for every orphan.
They dream about these things
because they’re actually living to make them happen.
I’m telling you-
these people are crazy.
Everyday normal conversation
consists of things like-
fire tunnels,
feedback,
declarations,
poop problems,
and ridiculously awesome
workings of the Holy Spirit.
These people are crazy.
And apparently,
after traveling the world for 11+ months
it becomes difficult, if not impossible,
to speak in full sentences.
Because of this,
everything is shortened by an acronym.
ATL,
OES,
TIA…
I guess I should start practicing!
These people are crazy.
These people actually believe
every word of the Bible to be true.
They believe healings are possible. Now. Today.
They believe that God breathes and life happens.
They believe we are no longer slaves to sin.
They believe that the power of Christ is IN us.
They believed in the potential for the quiet girl sitting in the back
with the walls around her heart to experience freedom and love.
They believe and pray the same prayer Jesus did-
“on earth as it is in Heaven”.
And you know what…
I’ve started praying that too.
Because I actually really, really like that idea.
On earth as it is in Heaven?
Absolutely. Bring it on.
There’s no doubt in my mind
that those strange Kingdom minded people
who I met this week in the woods of Georgia
are absolutely CRAZY.
But what I decided this week is,
I’m ready to be crazy too!
The Kingdom of God is worth my abandonment.
in the woods of middle-of-nowhere Georgia
where you’re kindly fed fish head soup, ugali,
and a grilled tomato banana and cheese sandwich.
Where you sleep in tents,
then on a school bus,
then under a tarp.
And you go to bed after midnight
only to wake up a few hours later,
before even a hint of the sun rise,
to freeze your buns off at morning exercise
running up and down the hills of Georgia.
Yep, these people are crazy.
Some of these people are alumni.
People who flew, drove, and hitchhiked
to spend the week with us, sleep deprived,
at training camp.
They served us by scrubbing toilets,
waking up at 4am to cook our food for the day,
and praying life/truth into us
over and over and over again.
Their clothes never match
…I’m pretty sure they’ve forgotten how.
They saw greatness in me and pushed me towards it.
They’re ALWAYS either-
a. dancing
b. laughing or
c. praying.
These people are crazy!
Speaking of prayer-
Its like the real deal for these people.
“Dear Heavenly Father”.
Usually it started more like
“Hey Daddy” or,
“Its me again Papa” or,
“Abba we love you” or simply,
“Hi!”
…It’s almost like they KNOW this guy?!
These people are crazy.
They stand on chairs
or in the middle of the woods on chairs
and yell things.
Declarations they like to call them.
These people are crazy.
During worship there are people
laughing,
dancing,
praying,
sitting,
and standing.
Some people have their hands in the air,
and others have their faces on the ground.
Yikes. These people are crazy.
These people dream about
shutting down every brothel,
ending the AIDS epidemic in Swaziland,
getting clean water for African villages,
seeing Haiti restored,
and finding a loving home for every orphan.
They dream about these things
because they’re actually living to make them happen.
I’m telling you-
these people are crazy.
Everyday normal conversation
consists of things like-
fire tunnels,
feedback,
declarations,
poop problems,
and ridiculously awesome
workings of the Holy Spirit.
These people are crazy.
And apparently,
after traveling the world for 11+ months
it becomes difficult, if not impossible,
to speak in full sentences.
Because of this,
everything is shortened by an acronym.
ATL,
OES,
TIA…
I guess I should start practicing!
These people are crazy.
These people actually believe
every word of the Bible to be true.
They believe healings are possible. Now. Today.
They believe that God breathes and life happens.
They believe we are no longer slaves to sin.
They believe that the power of Christ is IN us.
They believed in the potential for the quiet girl sitting in the back
with the walls around her heart to experience freedom and love.
They believe and pray the same prayer Jesus did-
“on earth as it is in Heaven”.
And you know what…
I’ve started praying that too.
Because I actually really, really like that idea.
On earth as it is in Heaven?
Absolutely. Bring it on.
There’s no doubt in my mind
that those strange Kingdom minded people
who I met this week in the woods of Georgia
are absolutely CRAZY.
But what I decided this week is,
I’m ready to be crazy too!
The Kingdom of God is worth my abandonment.
—–
love it. if you’re interested in partnering with me, i’m in need of financial support of $1,000 per month for rent, bills, gas, food. Any donation monthly or one-time makes a difference. if you have any questions, please feel free to email me and i’ll also be coming home around thanksgiving so i’d love to meet up for a coffee! thank you so much <3
— on a sidenote, while we were volunteering at the Catalyst conference in Atlanta last month, i was introduced to one of the billboard cows from the famous chick-fil-a!
