If you want to know what it is like to be completely wrong about something you’ll want to read this!
As most of you know I went to wilderness Georgia for 10 days to do “some” training for my mission trip. And “some” training I thought it was. I am not going to lie; I was not very excited about it. I thought it was only about a 2 mile hike, the boring but necessary information about traveling, and bucket showers. Oh, and that I would meet the people I’d be traveling with, and I will admit I was not looking forward to that either. I was almost positive I wouldn’t like anybody.
My thoughts ranged from “Why do I need to drive all the way to Georgia just to prove that I can walk 2 miles with my pack on?” and “I have to like them, I am going to be living with them for 9 months!”
So now let me tell you about how wrong I was…
….. When Hannah, Reya, and I showed up we were showered with cheers and embraced with hugs. I did not know who these people were, but I was instantly excited to meet them!
…. The first night we had a session and God broke down walls everywhere. We worshiped and worshiped and we were challenged with the question “Why are you giving up a year to be here?” This was not boring information this was precious time with the Lord.
… The 2 mile hike that I thought was going to be easy was not a joke. Even as a runner, I was relying on the Lord to move my legs each step. Nicki and I stuck together the whole time pushing each other and when we finished we threw our 35-40lb backpacks down tired, but in awe of our Father who allowed us to complete it. It wasn’t a moment of proving I could do anything; it was about me finding my strength in Christ.
The week continued more and more like this. I had no idea what I got myself in to. We’re not even talking 24 hours at this point! And this was just the start of community living in tents, bucket showers or baby wipe showers, no personal space, sweaty clothes worn 3 and okay maybe 4 days in a row, eating food community style, all hands in even if its soup, and field scenarios!
Field scenarios look a lot like not a lot of sleep and a lot of getting out of your comfort zone. That’s all I’ll say though because it’s supposed to be a surprise for future racers! Just know they don’t mix well, BUT there’s an awesome ending to it all.
The mindset I had about going into training camp was not one I am proud of; I have been given an incredible opportunity to share the gospel all around the world, so there was everything to be excited about! Also God hand-picked my team so I should have known my team was going to be awesome! And truly all 54 of them including my squad leaders (3), squad mentor (1), and squad coaches (2) are already a blessing to me!
Training camp wasn’t about all of the detail though that I so badly want to share with all of you; it was about dealing with things that I didn’t even know I needed to deal with. It was about learning about grace and forgiveness more than I ever thought I would. It was about finding freedom. I found real freedom. The kind of freedom I feel when I dance and I don’t know what I’m doing, but my body is moving and it’s fun. It was simply about letting go of all of the fear!
These are the women I will spend 9 months with. God designed this team before we even knew each other so we call ourselves team Poiema which is a Greek word that translates to His masterpiece or His handiwork as it says in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”.
SQUAD
Community living!
