On June 7th at approximately 8:00 am, me, and two of my squad mates for the Race embarked on our adventure to Training Camp. Going into training camp they tell you not to have any expectations, they tell you it can be hard and uncomfortable, and they tell you not to try and figure it all out ahead of time. So, we pretty much went in blind. As we drove the 6 hours up to Gainesville, GA we discussed all of the possibilities and little bits of information we knew but we were ready for the adventure. As we arrived and were greeted by the 46 smiling faces of our other squad mates, I felt overwhelmed, excited, scared, and somewhat intimidated. The experience was like nothing I had encountered before. Every sense was involved. The Georgia air was different, the expectation and excitement were overwhelming. We registered and then set up our tents. At this point, I didn’t know what to do, except what I was told. We gathered that night as a squad and were asked, ” Why are you here?”
Well 11 days later, at home, having survived camp, drinking a nice, hot cup of coffee, I can now answer that question.
I am here because:
Jesus doesn’t call us to passively live. He calls us to be involved and serve alongside him. He calls us to exchange our lives for a life he has created for us. The biggest thing I learned from training camp is that God doesn’t just want visitation rights in our lives, he wants habitation rights. He wants to walk through each and every waking minute of life with us and grow us to be more like him. He desires to grow in intimacy with us, for us to be fully involved in community, and for us to set out on his mission. He calls us to abandon comfort and security, and follow him. He desires companionship and participation with us in EVERYTHING. This is what habitation of God looks like.
During one of the sessions at camp, a man spoke on the Holy Spirit. He took a cup and filled it with water until it was half full. He said this is God within you. He fills you up. But, God can’t fill you up if you have no room. He then explained a few of the things that take up room in our lives. “Shame and unforgiveness”, he said, are like bottle caps, that prohibit God from filling us with his spirit. He then asked “What caps do you have on your life?”
As I sat in that room, I asked myself that question, and I got an answer. For me my caps were shame from past sin that was weighing me down and holding me back from the freedoms God wanted to give me. Another cap was jealousy and envy of others. As I sat there and prayed about my caps and asked God to remove them and fill me, I was overwhelmed by His perfect love. You see, God never wanted me to have those caps. He wanted me to be free and secure in his love for me. He wanted to inhabit my life not just visit it. Once, I admitted my shame and envy God came and he loved on me, and he filled me. My cup became so full that I couldn’t help but spill a little holy spirit everywhere I went. This is my goal for my life. I want to be filled and constantly inhabited by the Holy, loving spirit of God.
When you experience the habitation of God, you will never be the same. The perfect example of habitation happened on our way back from training camp. Daniel, Maddie, and I stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. As we ordered our food and began to eat, I felt prompted to pray for our server. I didn’t know what she needed or why I was told to pray for her, but I listened and I asked her. We had already explained that we were missionaries and we were returning from training camp. I simply said to her, ” Hey, is there anything we can pray for you for?” That is when she began to cry. She then explained that her family is going through a very rough time and her parents are struggling. So, I asked if she wanted to pray with us and she said yes. We all bowed are heads and I prayed peace, healing, and comfort over her and her family. She thanked us and said that we made her day. We left and went on with our travels. But I couldn’t help but think about her later on. You see, that still small voice within me prompted me to pray for her. God was inhabiting my life, he spoke, I listened, and a beautiful thing happened.
What would happen if we did this EVERYDAY??? What would happen if we asked God who to pray for, where to go to lunch, where we can encounter people and tell them about him. If we did this at all times, the world would change. So, my challenge to y’all and even to myself is to be constantly filled by the Holy Spirit. Let him have habitation rights, not just visitation rights. Allow him to speak to you and guide you through everything. His plan is so much bigger than ours.
Thank you so much for reading this blog. If you have any other questions regarding training camp and what I learned, please feel free to reach out to me.
Also, if you feel led to support me, the donate button is at the top. I only have $5,000 left to go!!
God Bless and all my love and appreciation,
Gabrielle
PS. This is my squad!
Team Hesed: These are the six women I will be living, serving, and loving with for the first month of my trip. We will be partnered with a ministry in India and we will serve as a team, while the rest of the squad is divided into other teams and partnered with other ministries throughout India.
hesed:
Hesed is difficult to translate. No single word in English captures its meanings. Translators use words like “kindness,” “loving-kindness,” “mercy,” “loyalty.” Perhaps “loyal love” is close.
Hesed is one of the richest, most powerful words in the Old Testament. It reflects the loyal love that people committed to the God of the Bible should have for one another. It is not a “mood.”
Hesed is not primarily something people “feel.” It is something people DO for other people who have no claim on them.
The word hesed is displayed throughout the story of Ruth where it is usually translated “kindness.” Love is something we do, not primarily something we feel.
