Oh training camp…what can I say..this week has been the hardest, best, most emotional and most rewarding week of my life thus far. I have met so many amazing people who can and do and will influence my life to better serve Christ. I was so overwhelmed and terrified the beginning of the week..I wasn't sure this was where God truly had my heart, but now I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God chose me for this specific purpose and trip. I cannot even begin to tell you the adventures we have been on this week as a squad and finally as a small team of 7 who will travel the world together next year. I am beyond astounded at the beauty and grace God has shown towards me. There is a new side of God, a God I had no idea existed or maybe I thought he did but never experienced him til this week. I now know a God I can commune with, that I can actually hear his voice speaking to me, and a God who proclaims love and power of his children so that they may do great works through him.
As far as preparing physically for our trip…every morning we got up before the sun rose to exercise as a squad and spend time in the presence of our Maker. We slept outside every night except one..and we were able to sleep in small cabins together. One night we actually could not bring our tents…hiked for a bit and finally ended up at our final spot for the night, with tarps and firewood for the night. As all 45 of us scrunched under two tarps while it poured the rain that night.
I am in the beginning of becoming a changed and new person in Christ this week and I know he will continue this journey for me as I prepare and leave on The World Race.
As we broke up into teams yesterday, I was beyond ecstatic with the 6 other people I will be traveling to 11 different countries with next year. As we left the camp yesterday to make a memory as a team for the first time, we were all in agreement that we should go minister to a few people before dinner. So be began to look for a hospital of some sort on our way to Wal Mart. As we entered the Wal Mart parking lot… right in front of us was The Hope Center. The Hope Center is a cancer treatment center and God led us straight to this spot for our first ministry as a team together. After leaving Wal Mart, we ventured into the Hope Center to see if it was a possibility that we could sit and talk with patients while they were getting treatment. As we were redirected upstairs, long story short…the top boss said they had never had anybody ask that before so he should probably say no. As we were leaving we noticed the front poster board was a story of the Monarch butterfly. The Monarch butterfly travels 500 miles every year to Central Mexico to lay eggs on a particular grass…to bring forth a new generation. The Monarch has "steadfast perseverance" and brings a new fullness of life every year it travels to Mexico. As we stood there as a team, we all realized, this summarized our team as a whole. We are going and do have steadfast perseverance and we will bring forth a new generation of Christians willing to fight for a new fullness of life. We all agreed, team Monarch should set the pace for our next year's journey. We were about to leave for dinner and my teammate Leah decided to go back in and take a picture of the poster so that we could remember why we formed our name. As we waited for her, we went back in to find her sitting with a lady named Connie Watson. She was at The Hope Center for her first treatment of chemo. She began to tell us she just had a new grand-baby and all she wanted to do was just LIVE. We asked if we could pray with her and she immediately agreed she would love to have us pray with her. As we began to circle around her, we felt the Holy Spirit move in a way none of us were familiar with or had ever experienced. We prayed with conviction and courage. We prayed with faith and healing. We prayed that she would be cancer free!! After we had finished praying, Connie was in tears and could not stop praising the Lord. All she kept saying over and over again was, I just want to be obedient I just want to live. You will Connie..You are Connie
What an AMAZING way to kick off the beginning and the start of a team venturing out into the field next year. I am so blessed and so thankful for the 6 people that I will get to experience life with next year and I thank God for placing me with the World Race and with my new found family. I can't wait til Launch !!! Keep myself, Justin, Jesse, Megan, Sam, Michelle, and Leah all in your prayers as Team Monarch embarks on a new adventure and a new life in January.
Dios Los Bendiga!!!
