10 days in the Georgia heat.
Outdoor, bucket showers.
No cell phone.
Team bonding and building.
Daily physical exercises.
Lots of vulnerability.
And, an intentional pursuit of God within community.
This is a (broad) picture of what training camp was like June 8-18th. It was physically, emotionally, and spiritually demanding. We sweated. We cried. We were broken before the Lord and we were also restored. I met my squad and I already love them so much!
Meet my squad! L-Squad – aka – Love Squad
These individuals quickly became much more than my squad-mates. They were the community I had been lacking and in need of for months. I wish it didn’t sound so cheesy when I say that these people became family. But, I mean…
We camped out together as a squad every night.
Ate every meal together.
Prayed together.
Laughed together.
Cried together.
Worshipped together.
This is what a family does, and I’m so glad God hand-picked all 29 of us to be on this journey together.
I didn’t know what to expect coming into training camp.
I didn’t expect to cry and share personal things about my life in front of people I had just met.
I didn’t expect to make friends who were intentional about speaking truth into my life.
I didn’t expect to see people walk in with pain, shame, and brokenness and leave with joy, freedom, and restoration.
I didn’t expect that I would walk away from these 10 days with more strength and faith in the Lord than when I showed up.
But that was exactly it. God was just wanting me to “show up”. He was teaching me that all He required of me was to be available and interruptable. (I know interruptable isn’t technically a word, but you get it.)
These are two things that tend to ride against the waves of societal norms. We’ve become “too busy, too often” that positioning ourselves to be available to listen for God’s voice seems like a hassle. We’ve learned to ignore things that make us go out of our way and interrupt our tight schedules. I didn’t realize I had adopted this way of thinking. I had been guilty of all the above.
But then it hit me… If the Lord is calling me to be His hands and feet to the continent of South America, but I can’t even make time to be available to Him in my every day life, what am I really doing and who am I really doing the World Race for?
God ignited something in my heart during these 10 days of training that has carried onto these past six weeks being home. He’s been preparing me and teaching me what it looks like to live in total surrender.
I have no idea what this next year will bring, but I am confident in this one thing:
Being obedient to the Lord never results in disappointment.
So, here’s to a year of growth. Both in the Lord and in community.
Cheers!
– Ess
