Has anyone ever been camping with 50 strangers for 10 days with only bucket showers to stay clean? It’s not that LIKELY a lot of you have. For that you should count your blessings, at least I think you should, but maybe not. Training camp was one of the most interesting times I’ve had. I walked away with many new relationships that have given me a better look on how God sees his children. It taught me to look at everyone as an image of God’s creation. The community we all created in 10 days was insane, it shouldn’t be possible to love some many people in such a short time. God has given this to me and I’m forever changed by each individual I talked with on my squad. So, what did we do to create these bonds and become so close. WELL, let me tell you!!
It all started the day I arrived: I pulled up an hour early to training camp, made sure I knew where I would be staying, and where I would be checking in. As I got out of my car I walked up to the log cabin where we all would be checking in. This is where I met my first two squad mates. One of these squad mates turned out to be my group’s squad leader. I’m so excited about this, congrats Jenny! Continuing on with my story, we began to meet and greet people as they started to arrive. By the end of the day with the last of the people coming in, we started to get in herds by the road and started consuming the last of the new arrivals. With some of the main questions being ask, “Where are you from?” and “How long did it take you to get here?”. I was surprised to found out and had the honor of meeting two of our squad mates from England and Australia. Pretty cool I know. Our first goal of the day was setting up our tents at our camp site. While setting up the tent I was informed on the possibility of seeing scorpions this week. I didn’t know there were scorpions in Georgia, this was a surprise to me. This was just another chance to bond over things that we didn’t know we would run into. After we all set up, our next task was to go down to the training center for evening worship. Little did we know that we would be worshiping three times a day for five straight days. It was an amazing time to praise God in whatever form of worship that looked like. This was a safe place we all went to hear God, become more comfortable, and in tune to the Holy Spirit’s voice. We all came from different backgrounds, churches, and it was exciting to see all the energy in the room. God was definitely present when we worshiped together. We ended the night by a group prayer and off to our tents we went.
The second day we had to be up by 7 a.m. to do morning exercise. We all bonded over the fact a lot of us either didn’t like running or we were out of shape. We figured out fast who was a morning person and who wasn’t. The morning people brought smiles to all the faces as they talked and danced around everyone in the morning. One of the focal points of camp was the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and taking care of our bodies. Today was the first day we would do our first sleeping scenario. The theme of the day was Asia so a lot of food consisted of rice and noodles. All the food was very delicious and we got to learn what was culturally acceptable at eating times. By the time evening came the trainers were ready with the first scenario it was about 4 or 5 o’clock they had us pack everything up including our tents. Then directed us to bring all of our stuff to the front of the log cabin. It was then we got the details for our first night scenario. Half of our bags have been shipped to the wrong country and they hadn’t arrived yet. We only had 25 bags and whatever we had in our day packs for 50 people. They sent us off to figure out how we would get through the night. As soon as we got the go ahead to figure out the situation at hand, we all gathered into one big circle, and decided to make two groups. The first group consisted solely of people who still had bags and the second with everyone who’s stuff got lost. From there we decided to have everyone find a partner (sleeping buddy). I was paired up with my friend Naomi, so after everyone found a partner we all got to work setting up camp. We all worked together as a team to not only set up camp, but share and give as much away to make everyone as comfortable as possible. Luckily I had my sleeping bag attached to the outside of my day pack. Besides wearing shorts, I was set. Naomi was quick to offer a pair of pants, so I was ready to beat the cold night ahead. Later that evening someone decided to make a bonfire. As soon as it got dark the temperature dropped dramatically. We all gathered around the campfire into one big tight circle to conserve the warmth. Everyone at this point no longer cared if they were in anyone’s personal space. It was freezing and the fire was warm. We ended the night by talking about the day’s events and what the future may look like for the rest of the nights. It would be a long night for a lot of my squad mate. Side note to future racers: pack a variety of clothes, you can always layer, and always have an extra pair of clothes with you in your day pack.
The third day came, as we exited our tent this specific morning I could see my breath. My body immediately began to shiver. A couple of the girls and I decided to come up with something I like to call the “cinnamon roll’. It starts with one person in the middle and we slowly start to curve around that one person. No joke this concealed enough heat to make my body stop shivering. Morning workouts came again, but this time everyone was at an agreement if we ran it would warm us up. As soon as we were done we headed inside to worship and get warm. The theme of the day’s food was Latin America, the food contained lots of rice and beans. By mid-day we met at our squad’s meeting point and we got the announcement that our stuff still hadn’t arrived. We finished the last of the meeting with some team building exercises. One of the exercises we did was called the “Magic Carpet”. It was a fun game where six of us had to stand on a towel at the same time. We then had to flip it completely over while not touching the ground. At first it was all trial and error, we had to problem solve as a team. By the end one person was on some else’s back and we were all holding on to each other tight to keep from falling. Many of us were standing on one foot and we almost got it too. It was around six when team building came to an end and I was trying to mentally prepare for this night’s scenario. While knowing we still didn’t have our stuff. As we walked towards our campsite thinking we still didn’t have our stuff, we got the good news. The stuff had finally made it back to us and that meant no sleeping scenario tonight. Who knew sleeping in my own tent would be an absolute dream come true.
Just so I don’t give too much away to future racers. I’m not going to do anymore day by day.
The fun adventures of bucket showers………. Maybe fun isn’t the right word. The adventures of bucket showers, that’s better. A lot of the time we as a team got closer simply because we problem solved together and we went through the same trials. Today it was bucket showers, at this point it’s been days for a lot of us. We all tried to hold off as long as we could. As we waited in line to get the buckets, some of us talked about how it should be executed. What was the best route to go? It was like 50-60 degrees outside and the shower house had openings all over to let the water out. There were openings at the top of the wooden shower walls. I can only image it would be to let the steam out of the shack. In this case there was no stream and we were washing ourselves in cold water from a pipe outside the shack. As we got closer we heard screams from girls that took the first plunge. Who poured the first cup of ice cold water on to their warm flesh. Many at this point had half a mind to turn around and just wait 10 days. We all tried our best to encourage each other as we stepped into the unknown. I grabbed my bucket and made my way into the wooden shack. It was divided into six stall, three on each side. I continued on till I made it to my stall. I began the process starting by testing the water. “Yep”, I told myself “still cold”. I tested it on stomach and then took the first move and began getting washed up. Once I got started I got used it, from the screams I was expecting a lot worse, it wasn’t that bad. After I was washed and dressed I left the showers to head back to camp. As I came out we all talked about the somewhat unpleasant experience, while reassuring the other girls in line.
Out of 50 people, you have a chance to find things in common, like make up. Make up is something that’s part of my normal routine. At training camp, I didn’t start wearing make up till day four or five. Once someone did it, we all were encouraged to join in on the fun. We bonded over the process and how it makes us feel more human. Hair is another common ground. Everyone on my team had hair and I was luckily enough to have two cosmetologists other than myself on my squad (one being on my team). Which meant many people wanted braids (including some of the guys), it was a quick and easy way to wear it. Braiding was fun, but even more when you get to hear your friend’s testimonies. We spent quite a few nights listening to each other’s testimonies, bonding over what God had been doing in our hearts, and how we got there. I’ve had the honor of hearing many testimonies on my squad. Everyone has come so far since they first gave their hearts to Jesus. He has made us all a new creation in Him and we get to step into the calling He has for us.
In conclusion, I could go on for 10 more papers about all the ways we bonded: over the sleeping scenarios including “airport scenario”, “night watch”, “sleep under the stars” (we got dropped off in a park for the night), and “communal sleep”. Through our amazing acapella skills around the campfire singing “famous one”, Bill we all love you! Through our squad wars and only having 20 mins to prepare a whole routine. We came through, even if we lost. We did it as a team! Jumping in the lake with my teammates with all of our cloths on (jeans and all). God has done so much at training camp, in only ten days He made us a family. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. I can’t wait to see where God is going to take this new community, but I’m excited to be a part of it. Please prayerfully consider supporting and donating towards my trip! Blessings to all and good health.
Love shows up in the most unexpected places!
