Two weeks ago, as spent in Gainesville Georgia at the site of Adventures in Missions, World Race Headquarters for a week of training camp. We camped, listened to sermons and teaching, ate communally, slept communally; these things I expected. I expected to learn more about what we might be doing, meet and get to know the group I would be with over the next 11 months, and to have my faith deepened a little bit. What I did not expect was to leave there feeling as my my life had drastically deepened, for the better.
First off, Dr. Rob Reimer played a huge role in the change that happened. He is a pastor who is affiliated with the adventures in missions team and spoke to use for the first few days of camp, roughly 4-6 times a day. Sounds like a lot, and it was. But the realizations that were made and the lives that were energized to pursuing a deeper relationship with God made every second of it worth it. The material was dense and the ideas were deep but over the course of the week, these truths and ideas were experienced and processed. They became so much more than academic or biblical truths, they became passions. I make these sort of claims because of not only what I have experienced but also because of what I have witnessed and heard others speak of experiencing.
Towards the end of the week we were put into the actual teams that we will be doing life with for the next 11 months. My team consists of 6 individuals including myself. I am seriously so excited for the team I have been put together with. They are equally broken and desiring a life overflowing with the love of God and I am so excited to be stretched, challenged, and grow with them.
After grouping up , we had the task of coming up with a team name, of which we decided on “Free to be.” Free to be encompasses so much more than just the freedom to choose or the freedom to change. It is based on the assumption that Christ’s death on the cross set us free from the bandage of sin. And yet, the love of God goes so much farther! It is so complete and powerful that is allows us (when we are relentlessly pursuing God’s love and desiring to be in his presence) to be free to be brave , fearless, confident and so much more! It makes us free to pursue life in the way God first intended for us to live.
This phrase is so much more than just simply a clever team name. It is a motto and reminder of how big our God is and how much he truly loves us. It has powerfully stoked the fire in my heart for God, and I have a feeling that I will be forever grateful for the river of God’s love that the World Race Training Camp has helped me dive headfirst into.
