Last Friday, I got back from Gainesville, Georgia where I spent 10 days “training” for my trip. We slept in tents, ate weird food from around the world, and had field scenarios ranging from “losing” our bags on a flight (shoutout to my teammate Elli for letting me crash in her tent), and sleeping in the airport for a night. I learned about the 3 big religions we’ll encounter on the race (Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism) and got to meet my squad.
Those 10 days were really stretching for me, and I learned a lot. I’ll spare you all the details, but the biggest thing I learned was to take time to listen to God. At the beginning of camp, I thought that God didn’t talk to me because I messed up on being a Christian and didn’t deserve to hear him. (stupid right?) I was comparing my faith with others on my team and got mad at myself that my faith was lacking.
One night during worship, I prayed that I would hear God and told him I needed him to speak through someone else so that I would be able to recognize it as Him instead of my own voice. A leader came up to the stage and said, “I heard the Lord telling me to tell you all that there is a lot of comparison going on right now and that you need to stop comparing yourselves and focus on God’s love for you and listen to him.” It was exactly what I needed to hear!!! That was the first time I heard God and was actually listening!
It may not sound like a lot but I was overcome with joy and felt so close to the Lord at that moment. That night taught me that I need to stop being busy all the time and slow down enough to hear when He’s trying to tell me something.
Training camp tough at times but I am so glad I went! I’m so pumped to get out in the field!
I’m leaving for Guatemala in 41 days!!!!
