What has been going on?
I met my World Race Family!
I’ve spent 10 days in Gainesville, Georgia for Training Camp for The World Race! Who else is crazy enough to go on this next adventure with me? These ‘red’ shirted peeps!
Cool huh?
{YESSSSSS}
This is my SQUAD I will be traveling and working with during 2016! We all selected the same route for 2016 and will be traveling to the same countries!
Got time to snoop? Here’s the link to ALL their sites! http://www.theworldrace.org/?tab=participants&group=16W0101
Where are we going again?
Dominican Republic, Haiti, Panama, Costa Rica, South Africa, Mozambique, Lesotho, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, & Indonesia.
Within my SQUAD we were assigned smaller ‘TEAMS‘ that we will live & minister with in each country.
Want to meet my TEAM?
Their pretty huh?
{YESSSSSS}
So these BEAUTIFUL ladies are my TEAM-MATES, from within my SQUAD.
Top level from left to right: Abigail Sheckels, Kerri Klenkel, & Autumn Graham
Bottom level from left to right: Maddie Grimm, me, Jackie Halyard, & Jourdan Miller
*****Since training camp, Autumn Graham has decided to not launch with us in January,. Please be praying for her as she goes to India & Nepal with Adventures in Missions from January – April! SHE’S A WORLD CHANGER YA’LL!!*****
The uniqueness in each of these girls is INSANE. The stories, struggles, regrets, strengths, influence, attractiveness, heart, and DRIVE these girls have for life and the Kingdom is crazy cool. I believe whole-heartedly that we were put together for SO many reasons, and God will reveal those throughout the race.
Feel introduced? Have some visuals? Does it feel REAL yet that I’m doing this?
What did we do during World Race Training?
uh… well… it was INTENSE. I literally had no idea what I was going into.
{like 0. I knew what to pack.. that was about it}
1. Food: We ate foods that reflected the country or area of the world we ‘were’ each day. Confession: some days I was convinced I was going to starve.
{Asian food for Asia, African food for Africa, etc.}
2. Physical: We excercised everyday
{squad workouts in the morning, we had to complete a 2 mile hike in our backpack in under 30 minutes}
3. Spiritual/Emotional: We had sessions, on average, twice a day
{you name it, we talked about it. Shame, Identity in Christ, Why Am I doing this?, Discipleship, Forgiveness, Processing Pain & Emotions, Holy Spirit, Healing, Sanctification & Soul Ties, Healthy Communication, Evangalism, etc. etc. etc.}
We learned that the Lord wants to use our messy, gross, embarrasing, regrettable stories for HIS good.
{my steps in a nut shell}
1.Own the past 2. Blab it to the Lord and others 3. Soak in the freedom that comes from vulnerablilty and transparency 4. You will be happy you did!
GUESS WHAT? There was never a time I confessed something and was alone in my sin. The Lord released so many shameful regrets, struggles, doubts, and fears that Satan has placed over and over on me.
Part of that was my favorite aspect of training camp.
DOING RIGHT THEN WHAT WE WERE CHALLENGED TO DO. PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE! MAKING IT HAPPEN PEOPLE!
For example: Sermon about Shame, THINK about it, JOURNAL it, PRAY about it an hour after the sermon ALONE. Then break into groups of 3 and TALK about it. Release it and PRAY over it.
Done.
We weren’t told to release shame, and then went to lunch! We were encouraged to allow the Lord to reveal shame that we have tucked away in the ‘locked case in the closet in the basement’ of our hearts!
I am so thankful I released baggage to the Lord and can now add it to my story!
PRAISE THE LORD.
I am so thankful & excited about this next adventure! Training Camp brought so much confirmation that this is what I am supposed to do right now. I’m not able to plan out the rest of my life right now, just the next 11 months. And that is ok with me! I was prayed for, listened to, fought for, and challenged. If these 10 days are just a preview of what the next 11 months will be like, I can’t help but smile about what the Lord will do in and through me this next year. I pray I won’t be the same person after these 11 months.
Please pray this over me as well!
Seriously go on The World Race,
Anna
