With training camp coming up, I’d like to offer some advice to future world racers!
Training camp will be one of the best weeks you’ve had in a long time. You get to meet your squad family!! These people will be with you through everything over the next year. You are about to travel the world together!
A good squad is one of the most critical components to having a good, solid world race. Embrace them with open arms! Break down any walls you might have up. Be vulnerable. Get deep. What do you have to lose?
One of my favorite memories from training camp was having a campfire every single night. You better make it happen on your squad! It’s here that you can share your testimonies, worship God together, and really learn to trust one another. Like I said, this is your new family! Soak up every minute you have with them. It will be a couple months until you see them again so enjoy this week with them as much as possible.
Dance and sing your heart out at worship every night. Listen intently and reflect on all the teachings throughout the week. The speakers are full of wisdom. I still go back and look through my notes from camp and am so grateful for the information they provided to us.
Keep your phone turned off. You don’t need it. Stay present and dig in to your squad. You can upload those Instagram pics later, I promise. #latergram
Go Hard! Fight for each other every day. Seek one another out and love your squad mates well. I still remember when people on my squad reached out to me that week… And it really was one of the best weeks of my life. I fell in love with my own squad and now we all look back at camp and think of how awesome it was. It’s really great to see how much God has grown each of us.
Bring snacks! You might get hungry. They feed you, don’t worry! But it will be different food than you’re used to and you may have to share 😉 so bring your spork!
Training camp is tough some days. You’ll get annoyed. You’ll get irritated. But AIM does everything with good reason. They’ve been at this world race thing for a while. Trust them! They want what is best for you and your race. If you have questions or concerns, seek them out. They are all so willing to help and they’ve all been on the race themselves so they know what they’re doing!
Have fun! Training camp is really the beginning of your race. Your race is a once in a lifetime experience! Enjoy every moment, laugh, cry, dance, and be yourself!
My squad and I will keep all the new July squads in our prayers as you head off to camp. God bless you all!
