Training
Camp Week…

If I said  IT hit me on the
plane ride… I’d be lying.

If I said  IT hit me sitting
with the group of world race backpackers in the airport…  I’d be lying.

If I said  IT hit me at our
first World Race gathering in the pavilion…  I’d be lying.

My first day of Training Camp went a
little like this…

         
A plane and bus ride of
tiredness and anxiousness

         
Overwhelmed by the
numbers of people with an energy that I did NOT possess at the time.

         
Asked to give up
my society, expectations, group choices, and even our country routes.

         
Hungry- (discovered we
will be eating culturally correct and proportioned food)

         
It was absolutely
freezing at night… in a tent.
BUT…

If I said I thought even for a second ‘what the heck am I doing here?!’ …
I’d be lying.

———-

Am I crazy?! Maybe… Even without the
initial ‘feeling’ of excitement or details of this trip, I had a sense of
peace & an overwhelming understanding that this organization ‘gets it’. Isn’t this the best part?!
Looking back,
what a leap of faith! Even when my first day of training camp seemed like a
disaster, I never once doubted my place or my commitment. I was able to see the
bigger picture in this process.  
I remember
thinking (and writing down)…

– I will get passionate about this missions trip

– I will make close friends

– I will gain confidence in my spiritual stance

– I will warm up (because there’s no way it will ever get colder
than the first night)

 

The rest of the week could be summed
up with:

–  Sunrise workouts            –  Great food                     –  Standing on Chairs

–  Camping in the rain       –  Inspirational Stories     –  Gross Food

–  Laughing                          –  Crying                             –  Singing Praise

–  Speaking Life                  –  Breaking Down             –  Digging Deep

———-

 
 
My Training Camp experience was a
perfect
testimony on how God never lets
us down. We cannot base

judgments on ‘one bad day’. My arrival day at Camp
could have been put under the category ‘Disaster and Doubt’.

Because I didn’t
allow it to hinder why I was here, it turned into one of the most
influential weeks of my life.

 

If I said IT hit me on Night 7… I’d be telling the TRUTH.

On Night 7, it was Official. I knew this
was the
Real Deal. The internet searches
and stories I read about the World Race were just windows… This week I walked
through the door, and I’m really
In This! I am the one with the stories to tell now, and these things
will be MY experiences and MY testimony. I am going to  fully expose myself to God, People, and
Situations that will change and hold me accountable forever!

———-

Its amazing how God is able to work
in an Open Heart. If I would have gone with ‘normal’, I would have dipped out
of this Training Camp on the first day. Well, news flash… this experience is
not going to be ‘normal’.
God rewarded my obedience with an amazing 9 day process, lifelong friends, and an
overwhelming confidence that I
Can & Will make a
difference. 2011
WILL be the hardest & the most rewarding experience of my life so
far… I will be changed forever. I WANT to be changed forever.

———-

Training Camp was an unforgettable growth process & it
was just a glimpse.

I am NOT fully financially supported. I am NOT packed yet. I AM exactly
where I am supposed to be. =)

If 9 days can deepen my heart & soul as much as it did,
imagine what will happen over 11 months!

 

Never place judgment on one ‘bad’ day,

Beka