Hello!
I just got back from a 10 day adventure in Gainesville, Georgia called Training Camp. I spent a bunch of hot, humid days with my squad (the people I’m going to be traveling and living with these next nine months). Together, we survived eating crickets for breakfast, a monsoon, a lice outbreak, squeezing into rooms and tents that could hardly fit all of us, a difficult team hike in 100 degree weather, and hours upon hours of learning sessions. I took a lot of notes at camp. I thought that the best way to give you a general idea of my thoughts and experiences of Training Camp would be to copy down some of those journal entries!! Enjoy!
JULY 8 – “Good morning. I’ve gotten dressed for the day in a maxi skirt and tshirt, because it’s Africa day! We have to cover our shoulders, knees, and ankles. Yesterday was Asia Day. We had team dance battles and ate really good food. I’ve already noticed so much beauty here – people, nature, music, etc. Noticing the beauty in others reminds me of the creativity and artistry in God. It’s very cool. We are so lucky to experience such beauty.”
JULY 10 – “Good morning. It’s been a slow morning so far. We had our first field scenario in which our luggage was “lost” at the airport. Half of the squad’s backpacks were “lost”. I was lucky and still had mine, and I got to share my tent with Abbey! It was so fun and just like a normal sleepover, even though we were sweating, short on space, and hardly knew each other. In the morning, we woke up to The Office theme song playing as someone’s alarm, which caused giggles to erupt all over camp. It was hilarious.”
JULY 11 – “It is morning. A morning where God still loves me. Another hot Georgia morning where I don’t have to worry about hope being absent from me. I am full of hope. I know God is going to show us beauty and hard work and forgiveness during this trip. What do you have for us, God? What immense beauty is in store for us? We trust you and we love you!”
JULY 12 – “Last night was airport simulation night. Thank you, God, for rest and air conditioning and community and quiet. You have filled us up and up and up. Now, we are ready to give and give and give.”
JULY 15 – “Last night, I sat on the porch railing and stuck my head out in the rain of a monsoon with Colby and Cam. I danced in it with Jenna Rose and Elise. I worshiped in it with another squad. Our backpacks and everything in them got soaked due to an unsecured tarp. We had to sleep inside. There was hardly enough space for our squad and the other squad we shared the room with. It ended up being a night of really good, much needed rest. We played cards and listened to music. Lexi and I had a race to see who could blow up their sleeping pad the fastest. It was pretty difficult because we could not stop laughing. Good, good night. I can’t believe the next time I see these people, we will be traveling to Europe. Ahhhhh!!”
JULY 15 – “I have more bug bites on me than I have ever had in my entire life. Let me count them…I have TWENTY THREE bug bites!! YIKES! Two nights ago, there was a lice outbreak in one of the squads. We had to do lice checks in the middle of the night. Craaazy.”
As you can probably tell, Training Camp was insane! And this is only surface level! I experienced so many new things. I feel like God really wanted to push my bravery limits. It was really difficult and incredibly exhausting, but so worth it. My squad has truly become a second family to me and there has been a re-ignition of the excitement for Launch in me.
In the future, I would love to introduce you all to my team and let you know about some of the things I learned at Training Camp. For now, however, I need sleep. What can I say? Ten days surrounded by people in the constant heat being eaten by bugs wore me out! If you want to stay updated, there’s a cute lil Subscribe button at the top of the page! Thanks for reading! <3
Emm
