Training camp in a large nutshell.
BUCKET SHOWERS: Imagine the small shed you have in your backyard that holds your mower, weed eater, sports equipment, ect. That is what our shower house looked like. Basically you fill up a bucket with water that is bone chillingly cold. Then you go inside of a wood shack (shed) that is separated into 8 stalls by white shower curtains that blow in the slightly chilly breeze. With your shower shoes on, you try carefully to peal off all your NASTY BO clothing without touching the moist floor, for fear of getting your already smelly clothes smelling more of wet dog. Then, you have to amp yourself up for the freezing water you are about to pour over yourself cup by cup from the bucket. Once you get three cupfuls on, your body goes numb. You don’t shave, smell slightly better, probably don’t wash your hair, and only repeat this whole process one other time. (I only “showered” twice) Basically buy baby wipes because bucket showers just ain’t worth it.
PORT-A-LOOS: ((shout out to my foreign gals.)) At training camp you get the privilege of using port-a-potties. I have so much to say about this subject that I will have a separate blog dedicated to the subject later this week.
FOOD: The food at training camp was actually surprisingly great! Everyday was dedicated to a different country. We learned about the food and different cultural norms that went with the meal. Such as, on Africa day all of the men sat at a table together while the women served them and then ate on the floor. This made for awkward meals for everyone. As a strong independent women this taught me what its like to serve when you really don’t want to. On India day we weren’t allowed to use utensils so we all ate off of the same platter with our hands. This is actually kind of disgusting thinking about it now. I was so hungry at the moment that I really didn’t care. I guess cheers to a stronger immune system!
SQUAD/THE PEOPLE/MY HOMIES/FAMILY: I have never been so connected to 50 people in such a short amount of time. 10 days shouldn’t be long enough to bee so confident in loving so many people you just met. BUT I do. I love each of these people so much and I am incredibly excited to do life with them next year. I felt so comfortable to let my freak flag fly (its always flying high) and allow these humans to see the deep dark parts of my heart that I have been hiding for years. Allowing myself to fall into fellowship with these people is going to change my life. We are all completely different but together we make up the body of Christ. I added close to 50 people to my family and I couldn’t be happier.
TEAM: So my squad is made up for just under 50 people. Then the Adventures leadership divides us into smaller teams. My team is made up of 6 girls including me. Brittney, Naomi, Mariah, Lauren, Kirsty, and ME! This is the first team I will be with for most likely the first 4 months of my trip! We are small but mighty and I am so happy I get to be surrounded by a group of strong, God fearing women! Our group name is Diamonds!
“A book is meant to be read for beginning to end but is best understood from end to beginning.”
I have found the same to be true about people. Letting someone tell you their story long after all the pieces have fallen is an intimate thing to be apart of. I got to hear so many unique life stories and allowed myself to tell my own story. From that I better understand my squad and my team. I look forward to learning more and more about the people I live in community with and also all the people I come into contact with along the way.
ORDER OF COUNTRIES:
Mozambique
Swaziland
Madagascar
Mongolia
China
Myanmar
India
Nepal
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
El Salvador
WHEN I LAUGHED THE HARDEST:
I think this might be one of the hardest questions because I found myself laughing constantly at training camp. I guess you could say that the joy of the lord found me on this trip and I’m not letting go! (Also, talking about farts made me laugh really hard.)
WHEN DID I TRUST IN JESUS THE MOST:
I did a lot of soul searching at training camp. I allowed myself time to really dig deep into my heart and deal with the things I had been holding onto for a long time. Things like shame, fear, doubt, and forgiveness. The time I probably trusted the lord the most was when he told me to share my deepest darkest human trash with people I barely knew. But it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done. Every testimony matters and everyone has a story.
“What is impossible with people is possible with God. We just have to believe that God has called us to go into the world in his name, and not listen to the crippling or even paralyzing labels and limitations imposed on us by others. We cannot allow them to daunt us. Whom God calls, he qualifies—and he chooses everybody to do something specific, something that is part of his design. If we allow other people to tell us what we are and are not qualified to so, we limit what God wants to do with us. We may never get to those who need our help.” -Undaunted by Christine Caine
WHEN DID I KNOW I WAS DOING EXACTLY WHAT GOD CALLED ME TO DO:
Before training camp I was living my life in fear. Fear or the future and a fear of whether I was supposed to be going on the World Race. One night at camp we were worshiping and allowing the Holy Spirit to move and I prayed that the chains on my life would be broken off and I would be set free. After I prayed those words I felt freedom for the first time in a long time. I was free from fear. I was also free from all the wrongs and bad things I had been holding onto for so long. I knew in that moment that I was in the right place and that God was calling me to do big things for the World Race. I had allowed myself, the devil, and others to convince me that I wasn’t worthy. That night I knew I was doing the right thing and I was right where I was supposed to be.
Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
FAITH:
“Take me out to the middle of the river;
I wanna drowned in the good ole river of your love.”
Faith is something I will choose to have every day. I choose to have faith like a child.
FREEDOM:
The most important thing I found at training camp was FREEDOM!
“MORE THAN WORDS
MORE THAN GOOD IDEAS.
I FOUND YOUR LOVE IN THE OPEN FIELD.”
SLEEPING:
Sleeping actually wasn’t as hard as I thought it would me. I’m not sure if I was just exhausted or actually comfortable but either way I slept! Some nights were better than others.
I have a Big Agnes sleeping pad that is absolutely glorious. I thought it was just going to be a glorified pool floaty but I actually really love it! I have a Sea to Summit blow up pillow which is also surprisingly comfortable and probably my favorite thing I have bought. I just pray in the name of Jesus that it never pops! My sleeping bag is a marmot mummy bag and I think I like it. It’s never going to live up to my 5 blankets I sleep with at home but it’s pretty good! Haha!
We slept in tents, we slept outside on tarps, we slept in the “airport”, we slept in community, we slept like frozen sardines, but overall we slept.
HAMMOCKS:
Hammocks are lyfeee! I never thought I would be a hammock person but I SO am. They are comfortable. They are cool. They make you one with nature. I think my best nights sleep was when I slept in my hammock. (I did wake up in the middle of the night and hit my head on the butt of the person sleeping above me but no biggie!) I have an Eno double nest and it is bomb. If you don’t hammock I recommend starting.
FORGIVENESS:
Picture your coat closet in your house. Open up the door and look inside. Instead of coats on the hangers you see people you have unforgiveness towards hanging on the hangers. For me there were more people hanging in my closet of unforgiveness than I thought there would be. I gave myself time to take each person off the hanger, look them in the face and tell them what/why I was forgiving them, then show them to the front door of my heart and make them walk out, and close the door behind them. I told the people that had a constant reservation in my unforgiveness closet that they were no longer welcome. Once everyone was out and my closet was empty I picture myself locking the door. I think this was one of the most beautiful things I was able to do at camp and I highly recommend taking some time to do it for yourself.
-You can’t have unforgiveness towards someone and fully love someone else.
-If you wish destruction on someone else you are aligning yourself with Satan
-Forgiveness is a choice not a feeling. Choose until your feelings catch up.
-Forgiveness is a gift.
Psalm 34:14 “Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”
Luke 6:28 “Bless those who curse you, Pray for those abuse you.”
“I’m tired of the bitter waters, ROLL SWEET RIVER ROLL.”
PRAYER WALK NIGHT:
One of my favorite nights was when my team did an all night prayer walk. We had groups of 4 people praying all at all hours of the night. My group started the night off and then all the groups followed us up until about 6 am. It was amazing to play a small part in something that was so much bigger than my self or my squad. Living a life in living prayer is such a gift.
CAMPOUT:
This was the night when I truly fell in love with this group. I realized what a blessing it was to be surrounded by people that were dealing with the same thing I was and choosing to rise up and praise God through it. We went to a camp ground with food, tarps, sleeping pads/bags/pillows, and full hearts. We cooked our food around a camp fire and indulged in s’mores. For 2 of my squad mates it was the first s’more they had ever had…. They loved it of course! We sang worship around a camp fire and it was such a joy. I remember looking around the campfire at the faces of these amazing people and my heart feeling so incredibly full. Then, we all snuggled up side by side on tarps to sleep. I loved sleeping in the wide open. Every time I woke up to roll over I saw the stars and remembered just how overwhelmingly blessed I am.
THE CHURCH:
The church is no longer a building with four walls and a sound system. The church is body of people furthering the Kingdom and spreading God’s love. I am the church. You are the church. We are the church.
1 John 4:19 “We love because he loved us first.”
WHAT I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT DEFENDING MY FAITH:
You defend your faith the most by proudly living it.
These were just a few moments that I experienced at training camp. If you have questions or want to hear more please reach out to me.
I am still fundraising for my travels with the World Race. I am $7,100 short of being fully funded! If you feel lead to donate please go to the top of my blog and click the “donate” button! Adventures in missions is a 501C3 So you will get a tax deduction! HEYHEYYAY!
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Thank you for your support and endless prayer!
Xoxo,
EM
