On June 8th, I drove to Gainesville, Georgia to begin training camp for the next 10 days. Not knowing anyone who had gone on the World Race before, I went into the week with little expectations. I knew I would be challenged and pushed far outside of my comfort zone, and that I would leave prepared for the worst case scenarios I may be in during the race. However, the past ten days were much much more than that.
Having just recently switched routes, I arrived not knowing anyone on my squad. At first I was so intimidated seeing everyone around me recognize each other and group up, but my new family welcomed me right away and I soon began feeling comfortable around them. Once everyone arrived, we found our campsite and started unpacking right away. I set up my tent, introduced myself to the group, and headed to worship. The rest of the night was filled with laughing and storytelling around our makeshift fire of headlamps. The next few days were filled with repacking our bags, hiking, worshipping, learning how to teach and preach, eating scary foods, using porta potties, taking bucket showers, refilling our water bottles with funky water, and lots and lots of sweat. On top of all of this, every night was filled with a new living scenario- from getting my bags “lost during travel” to spending the night in an “airport”, complete with pre recorded sounds of people and planes. We all began smelling worse than ever, and quickly reached pure exhaustion. Our misery bonded us like no other.
I have taken so much away from this trip. I learned to appreciate the little things, like a popsicle after a hot day of hiking. I met mentors who I know will continue to pour into me throughout this journey. I found a community of friends who love the Lord and desire to grow just the same as me. And most importantly I was given two weeks away from the world to refocus my life on further building my relationship with Christ.
These past 10 days I also discovered which teammates I will be living with and doing life with during these 9 months, as well as my ministry location and mission field in Guatemala! Now that I know a little more about what I have gotten into next year, please feel free to ask me anything! The Lord is so good!!
