There is no doubt that I am right where I need to be. I have never felt so at home with such a large mass of strangers that I now call family. As most of you know I just spent the past 10 days in Georgia with Adventures in Missions for training camp. Never have I been so afraid but felt so safe. Never have I had so many unsure nerves but felt so at peace. Never have I had so many questions but been so sure of myself. Training camp was filled with so much joy, laughter, hilarious conversations and people that I know will be my lifetime friends. Although everyday is pretty much a blur by now I can try and recap what happened for y’all.
Upon arrival in Atlanta I was greeted by some team members that had gotten there before me. We met in the, what seemed to be the middle of the airport, food court area. As the hours went on more and more people showed up until we had a mountain of backpacks piled so high that we had to be moved down to a lower level due to it being a “fire hazard.” LOL. Here we are gathered together to attend a camp that will forever change our lives. When in reality we were called to one day change the lives of others. I have never been surrounded by so many, at the time, strangers who were in the exact same spot as I was in life. My parents thought of it as “53 Gretta’s running around” which would be a pretty accurate representation.
After a few days of getting to know each other I felt as though I had known all of these people for years on end. My squad (J-Squad) was slowly forming into a close knit family and you could literally watch it unfold before your eyes. It was a safe place. I have a newfound love for being completely and utterly vulnerable to all of them. We dove into conversations that I wouldn’t even have with some of my friends back home. God has really challenged me with being totally honest and vulnerable in every way possible.
Over the span of 10 days I made some of my best friends. God has blessed my life with them. God is GOOD. He is so so GOOD! I have never felt so safe and sound in my walk with the Lord. I have never felt so close and strong in my faith in Him. I have been living dreams that were constantly shattered but now I am living a dream that is finally coming true. ALL my life I have wanted nothing more than to travel the world and share the love of God with those who don’t yet know Him and now it’s happening. It is happening. I am ready. Bring it on. The best part is that I get to enjoy it and cherish this opportunity with 53 other beautiful, God fearing, God loving, crazy Jesus freaks. I am so excited to go out and not only say what the love of God can bring you but SHOW people what the love of God can do.
