We have officially survived our two weeks of training camp at the AIM headquarters up in the Appalachian mountains in Georgia! Here is a before and after side by side just for fun….
The physical changes are mild, bucket showers, new foods food from all corners of the globe, and 12 nights of tenting, 8 of which were in the rain, will do a number to anyone, but the internal work of the Holy Spirit in us and the rest of our squad is so tangible. We are stoked for what has happened and what is to come. X squad (the larger group we are a part of, pictured below) is made up of some amazing people. We fell in love fast. People from all corners of the US, many different professions, walks of life, and stories of what led us to this point of leaving behind family, friends and careers and embracing life on mission with the Lord and together, are now a family.
Training camp included a lot of amazing teaching, hours each day, along with worship, team building activities, field scenarios, and fitness testing. We covered topics ranging from What is Mission, Cultural Contextualization of the Gospel, Listening to the Holy Spirit, Living Life on Mission, Our Role in God’s Greater Mission of reaching every nation, tribe, and tongue, contextualized worship, cultural adaptation, Ministry Partnership, Pain and Grief, Storytelling, Self-care on the Mission Field, and many more. AIM is such a solid organization. We have nothing but great things to say about their heart, mission, and greater vision with the World Race as a means to empower and equip the next generation of radical Christ followers to take the gospel to every corner of the globe.
AIM’s heart is to see the 10/40 window reached, covered, and saturated in Jesus. The vast majority of unreached people groups live in this section of the world. We were rocked by the fact that only 1% of missions financial support goes to missionaries on the front lines in the 10/40 window, and also the fact that globally, more missionaries are “sent” to the US that are sent to the 10/40 window. According to Joshua Project, an amazing organization that categorizes unreached people groups and works to bring the gospel to these areas, 42% of the world’s population is still considered, by definition, unreached. 3 billion beautiful people. We will be spending roughly half of our time in the 10/40 window and we are stoked about it. Sharing the gospel is still illegal in Laos and as we spend time there we can’t wait for the Lord to break through barriers in ways only He can. Discipleship and evangelism will be at the heart of our work in all countries we serve in. From the villages in South-Central Africa to the high Andes mountains and the Amazon jungle, we will partner with local pastors and ministries that live on mission daily, reaching their communities with the gospel and discipling others to also live out the Great Commission and our mission as the church to reach every nation with the gospel.
Halfway through training camp we were officially assigned to our smaller teams that we will do ministry with for the first few months on the field. We will travel to each country with our larger squad, but our team of 6 will be placed at a specific ministry site together. We are officially Team Koinonia. Koinonia is a Greek word meaning togetherness, community, oneness in spirit and purpose, intimacy with God and one another. Our prayer is that as a team we exemplify all that Koinonia means as a together and in Christ. Here is Team Koinonia L to R upper: Bowen, Jeevan, and Austin, L to R lower: Brooke, Erin, and Ally. We are stoked to do life with these amazing people.
In and amongst our intensive training, the Lord did some amazing work in the hearts of a lot of us. Members of our squad shared the depth of their stories and the Lord’s redemptive work in their lives for the first time, many experienced true freedom in Christ. Our squad grew really close, very quickly, and even members of upper leadership at AIM said that our intimacy as a group often takes a few months on the field to cultivate. The Lord has special things for X-squad. We can feel it. We had the absolute honor of baptizing a member of our squad together at the end of training camp. Brandi asked us to do it and to say we were so humbled is an understatement. She is an amazing woman and to journey with her throughout training camp was such a gift. Ally was also asked to be a part of baptizing another squad member Ailie and man, she is a powerhouse, full of life and she is growing in the Lord’s giftings in her life and we can’t wait to be a part of this year with her. Here are a few pictures from the baptisms.
As we write this, we are 90% funded and so thankful. We feel so much peace as we head into our big move, selling the majority of our belongings, and diving into this season. We serve a good Father. He is worthy of it all. Every inch. Every morsel. Every moment.
We love each of you. Thank you for being a part of this. We are humbled beyond words to be here, now. For such a time as this.
For even more of a taste into training camp, take a look at the video produced by the media guys at AIM. They are a talented crew.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ8gCcZRGkM
Love,
Austin and Ally
