First, I want to define what Training Camp is: It is a week that my teammates and I come together for intense preparation for the journey we are about to go on. The Worldrace asked us to throw away any expectations, because what we think we may need for a trip of this magnitude is probably not what we will actually end up experiencing at Training Camp.
This past week had been quoted to me as the best week of my life/ going to love this training camp, etc. This is exactly how the name came about. Instead of experiencing HELL week like sorority/fraternity’s do we experienced a HEAVEN WEEK.
I went into training camp with as little expectation as possible from the blogs and post that I have read, which is hard to do! The goal of camp is: To determine who are you? Who does God intend you to be? How has your journey brought you here? Through this weeks training I decided to get rid of my expectations and allow God to show me what he wanted for me this year because lets be honest his plans for me are way better than what I have planned for myself.
So, this week did not include any type of schedule. We were notified on an as needed basis. If you know me you know that I do really well with a schedule. So, this was hard task!! BUT… I am so thankful I did not know what was about to come! Even if I was told I probably wouldn’t have believed it!
An overview of training camp included:
Once arriving at training Camp, I got to meet my CRAZY/AWESOMELY AMAZING squad, the ones covered in red from head to toe sweating as we helped each other put up our tents! Basically we knew K squad when we saw them, cause they wore red, our team color!
Meals were from every culture throughout the week. This meant we followed the culture’s way of life. This included: Eating with our hands, sitting on the floor, sharing with 8 people which at the end of the day could result in still being hungry after your meals.
The week included group lecture/worship sessions that we could see the Holy Spirit move in ways I have personally never experienced! Which meant that it was important to allow for brokenness within your squad, yourself, your team and be able to see everyone grow closer together through the work of the Holy Spirit.
Sleeping arrangements! Haha I am beyond glad this was not introduced to me at the beginning of the week. Part of the importance of this was simply the surprise! It included: not sleeping in the same place two nights in a row, which allowed for me to get to know my squad through the experiences. Telling the story now sounds funny but in the moment we worked together and it seemed normal!
Team building: All I need to say is hula-hoop, magic carpet and plane crash x 2.
We met the camera crew for the documentary we are about to be on: Gray Media (http://www.graymedia.tv/html/About.html) will be partnering with Adventures in Missions for this project. The purpose of the documentary is to allow more people to be exposed to what God is doing in and through World Racers and the impact He is having in their lives and those they serve. I am going to be honest, that having a camera crew at first made me really nervous but now once getting to know the camera crew on a personal level I am really excited that I have been able to be involved in this opportunity because they are going to be a HUGE part of displaying the family interaction with my squad and team throughout this next year.
Overall, I left the week with a family of 52 individuals who I had never met before! Adventures in Missions prepared me for the worldrace in so many ways that I had never even imagined prior to training camp. We were exhausted by the end of the week: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually hightened. This week was REAL! It allowed me to be vulnerable! This week presented challenges that we weren’t expecting to face as quickly as we did. It opened up past wounds in some and brought healing to others. It brought us together as a squad while we also drew intimately closer with the Lord. Although the days seemed endless, our week at training camp was short and we just scratched the surface of the growth to come in the next 11 months. There is so much more that we have yet to experience. So without a laid out plan or schedule Training Camp happened and gave me more than I could have asked for.
MORE BLOGS TO COME ABOUT THIS HEAVEN WEEK!
Court 🙂
