I got back from training camp yesterday. Training camp is 10 days at Adventures in Missions’ campus in Gainesville, GA. I went a day early for a storytellers workshop, where I learned how to better share stories that I will come across while on the race. Check out the video my group made: https://youtu.be/N0twueQPPtQ
The Biggies:
I got to meet my squad! We make up a grand total of 27 wonderful human beings – 20 girls and 7 boys.
I also got put onto a team, Team Submerge. Me and 5 other girls! Yay for gal pals. I’ll be introducing them to everyone soon, so be on the look out for that!
(Everyone on my squad will be going to the same countries as me. However, from our squad, there are 4 different teams. All the teams will be scattered throughout the same country. This way, we’ll be able to reach more people and have an even bigger impact.)
I was also chosen to be the treasurer for my team! This means I’ll be the one in charge of handling and budgeting the $$ for our team. This will definitely be a challenge and a huge responsibility, but I’m honored and excited to get to serve my team in this way.
So what did training camp look like?
Training camp definitely kept us on our toes. It was physically demanding. It was emotionally draining, but at the same time completely fulfilling. I wish everyone could do training camp, even if they’re not doing the world race. I guarantee you’d leave different than you came – in the best way possible. It’s crazy how much you can change in 10 days.
Training:
It wouldn’t be training camp without some training. Every day, we had anywhere from 2-3 training sessions. These sessions ranged in topics. We had training on how to share the Gospel (tools to use and how to start the conversation), how to share stories we come across, what it means to follow Christ vs. just believing, how to live in close community, and so, SO much more. I truly feel equipped and prepared to head out in August!
Worship:
AIM’s worship team is seriously so extremely amazing. They are completely led by the Holy Spirit and they know how to stir up hearts. Worship was probably my favorite part of training camp.
Fitness:
In order to be able to launch in August, we had to be able to pass a fitness test. We had to be able to hike 2.2 miles (WITH OUR FULL PACKS) in 38 minutes. We did the hike on AIM’s campus, which happens to be hilly. Very hilly. It was hard and we had to jog to make the time. I passed and finished with 4 minutes to spare! We also had one day (when the guys were gone on their man hike) where the girls had to work together to do over 1,000 burpees, 1,000 pushups, and 1,000 squats. This was after the hike. In other words, my body has never hurt so much, even after all my years of soccer. We had two other days where we got to choose our physical activity. I chose yoga both times, because again my body hurt. I laughed more than I ever have with Tay trying to do yoga. So. Much. Fun. (Side note: me and Tay cannot do yoga to save our lives)
Sleeping:
Ah, sleep. Who doesn’t love sleep? I know I do. Every night looked different. The first night we set up our tents at our campsite. The next morning we had to pack everything back up and later that day the “airport” lost half of our squad’s luggage, so everyone had to bunk up in someone else’s tent. I got the honor to share my tent with my teammate, Megan! The next night was back to our own tents. Then one night we had a layover in an airport. This meant we slept in a building with all the chairs set up like they would be in an airport, with all the lights on, and a playlist of airport sounds on repeat. I have never had a worse night of sleep and the bags under my eyes showed it. Another night, we slept in big community tents. The rest of the nights we were in our own tents. There was a lot, I repeat A LOT, of packing and unpacking our bags. But now I feel like a pro at packing up my bag, so thats good.
(Above: airport sleeping scenario)
(Above: Training camp will quickly make you appreciate getting to sleep in your tent)
Showers:
Training camp is sweaty. At least it is in June. And I’m sure it always is after the fitness hike. So how did we stay clean? Bucket showers, my friends. I’m no stranger to bucket showers. I had to use them at training camp for India back in 2016 and for my month in India! A bucket shower is pretty self explanatory. You fill up a big bucket with water from a hose, carry it to your stall, and use the measuring cup/scooper to pour it over yourself, then you do your thing.
I also discovered the power of baby wipes. Sometimes you just don’t have time to take a bucket shower. This is when baby wipes are essential. I actually felt cleaner after using baby wipes than I did after taking a bucket shower. And in case you were wondering, you can indeed shave with a razor and a few baby wipes. And no, I did not get razor burn. I’ve never felt so accomplished.
Food:
Every day at training camp was a different country. One day was India, so every meal was Indian food and the girls had to cover their hair during meals. Another day would be Africa, the next Latin America, and so on. The food was good and I was able to eat pretty much everything even with a gluten allergy.
Squad Wars:
Squad wars is a big deal in World Race world. It starts before we even get to training camp with little challenges like: Be the squad to post the most blogs over the next 3 weeks, or make an 11 second video to introduce yourself and be the team with the most participation. Every time your squad places in either 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in a challenge you get points. Going into squad wars, I squad was in 1st. On the last full day of training camp, we had squad wars. This consisted of a squad dance-off (we won!), and three or four other activities/games. I’m proud to announce that I squad won squad wars, so we get bragging rights for the next year! GO I SQUAD!
We’re I Squad and our color was red…so the Incredibles shirts were literally perfect.
Overall:
Training camp honestly changed my life. I’ll be posting a blog more on that later, but I loved every minute of it, even the tough ones. It wasn’t all fun and games, God revealed some hard things to me, but I’m so thankful that He did. It made me so much more excited to start this adventure in August. It taught me to live in the moment. I was intentionally poured into more than I ever have been in my entire life. I am so thankful for our AMAZING leadership team and all my squad mates. For now, I’ll be enjoying my last 6 weeks at home with friends in family.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to get emails (or texts) every time I post!
You can also follow along at:
Instagram: @carolinejj14
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2g5p0SwXcEmkKslyU1g0dQ
