Top 10 Things I learned at Training Camp!! PART 1
- People might not be as bad as you think if you just give them a chance.
My BIGGEST hesitation about doing The World Race was always the thought of living for a year with 30+ people I didn’t know. Most people don’t know this but, I have struggled for most of my life with social anxiety. I always tried to hide it but it was ALWAYS there. From crying my eyes out at a birthday party when I was 10 years old to a 4th of July party last year where I had to go to bathroom and say positive affirmations to my self in the mirror to prevent a panic attack. Being with people, especially ones I don’t know, has NEVER been easy for me. It always made me feel alone, depressed, awkward and inadequate.
I thought my fellow squad mates were going to be weird and I was gonna hate being forced to be with them. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Well…they are a little weird but so am I and there wasn’t a single moment that I felt anxiety. I could sit at any table or find myself in conversation with anyone on my squad and it felt like the most natural thing EVER! I am actually excited for the growth I will experience as a result of doing life with them.
- Ministry is life and life is ministry.
I heard this phrase about 5 million times during training camp. At first I was like “oh that’s cute” but over the course of the 10 days I spent in Gainesville, GA I really began to understand. One day we went door to door asking people if they needed prayer and plugging them into a local ministry if they were looking for a church. That was OBVIOUSLY ministry. But on that same day we were given a bottle of water and we were told to trust that God would place someone in our path to give it to. Well, the day was winding down and we were in my car headed back to camp still carrying our unopened bottles of water. I prayed to myself “God the day isn’t over yet. We still have a few more minutes before we make it back to camp and I trust that you will put someone in our path to give this water to.” We pulled up to the next traffic light and right outside the window were young boys playing football. I rolled down the window and yelled over asking if they wanted some water. One of them eagerly ran to the window and got a couple of bottles for himself and his friends. In that moment it clicked! I finally got it! Ministry is life and life is ministry. I won’t always have a bottle of water to pass out but I will ALWAYS have something that can minister to someone in some way. But, I have to posture myself to always be looking for that opportunity. Its not just about the big obvious “ministry” tasks but in EVERY part of my life I should be ministering. Which brings me to my next point…
- In order to see God move in big ways you must be faithful to Him in the small things.
There was one session where the speaker asked everyone who wanted to see a miracle on the race to raise their hand. Everyone’s hand went up. She then explained that obedience moves the heavens. Kingdom building sometimes looks like laying hands on someone and them walking out of a wheel chair. But most often, it looks like picking up your trash and leaving somewhere better than you found it. If you aren’t willing to practice obedience in the small promptings of the Holy Spirit to serve the least person, take the lowest position, and take last place you will NEVER be able to trust Him in the big things. The most important thing you do on any day is the thing He tells you to do.
- Its not a good idea to have a convo about brown recluse spider bites hours before sleeping in your hammock with no bug net.
Some lessons I learned were really deep and some of them were simply common sense practicality. One day, I had an involved conversation about brown recluse spiders and the damage that their venom does when they bite people. The conversation was prompted because someone had spotted a brown recluse in our campsite. That very same night I decided to sleep in my hammock instead of in my tent. Sleeping in my hammock meant I was exposed to the elements. A bug net is still on my list of items I haven’t purchased yet. Well, I woke up every 15 minutes paranoid that a brown recluse was taking a hunk out of my leg. I jerked myself awake screaming in my head “BROWN RECLUSE!” every time a leaf fell or a twig snapped or someone moved in their tent. Lesson learned: don’t spend the day fueling your fears and then expect to sleep soundly at night…aint gonna happen.
- TRY NEW THINGS!
As I mentioned in point 4 I spent the night outside sleeping in a hammock! Prior to camp I NEVER would have done anything like that! But I pushed myself to try something new and experience something I had never done before. My first night in the hammock was the night before the brown recluse debacle and it was great! I woke up feeling super limber and rested. I felt so good that tried it again even after they found a brown recluse at our campsite (see point 4). Something else new I tried was eating with my hands. Even though I brought a spork on both India day and Africa day I ate with my hands to try to embrace the culture. It was strange and at times kind of gross. As we ate images of the porta-potties and lack of running water were often on my mind. But, hey I’m glad I did it! I am so excited for all the new experiences to come over the next year.
There are so many things I learned at camp!!! I will tell you about 5 more of them in my next blog post. I am so excited to share every step of this journey with you all. God is doing great things and I am grateful that you are a part of it with me.
I am currently about $7,000 away from my overall fundraising goal. If you have read this post and would like to partner with me please click the donate button at the top of this page. Also, leave me a comment below I would love to hear what you think about my training camp experience. Is there anything you’re dying to know? I’ll address it in the next post.
