When asked what my expectations were for The World Race, I would often respond, “I have no expectations other than the typical ones: spiritual growth and stretching.” I found out at training camp that this was only a half-truth. My training camp experience was great. I did, indeed, have a good bit of spiritual growth. But there were also times of fun, times of bonding, and times of reflection.
The entire week was fun. But not all fun is exciting. The games and worship were exciting fun. However, the cleaning and “chores” weren’t exactly exciting. But as a squad we were able to make these normally mundane activities fun by singing or horsing around while doing these activities.
The bonding times with the squad were great as well. We bonded a lot while making “chores” fun. But we were also able to bond while setting up tents, or sharing tents when “half our luggage was mysteriously lost on Kenyan Airlines”, or trekking through the woods as a squad to a campsite for a night.
My times of reflection were happening all the time because I enjoy being in nature and camping out for a week reminded me of my childhood Boy Scout adventures. I was also able to reflect a lot on the sermon sessions.
One of the first lessons we learned at training camp was that we should have “no expectations.” One thing that I learned from this lesson is that expectations are one of the things that hold you back from growth the most. I didn’t think I had any expectations and I surely didn’t expect to gain a new set of friends and family. Hopefully, I can keep my expectations out of my head for the rest of my life so that God can continue to build me up and mold me into the man He wants me to be.
We are the clay, and You our potter;
And all of us are the work of Your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8 NASB)
