This blog has taken me a few days to write because of all the processing I have done since I have been home from Training Camp. I finally came up with 4 things of what you can expect while at Training Camp.
You will be uncomfortable:
Whether you’re stretched emotionally, spiritually, or physically you will be uncomfortable at some point during training camp. Sleeping in a tent for 10 days straight, may not be part of your comfort zone. However, after 10 days you may get into your bed and the next morning you may find your back is hurting because you haven’t slept in a bed for almost two weeks. Yes, that actually happens. You may be one of those people that does not like to break down in front of people, that is me. However, be prepared to cry at Training Camp because it will happen. God is going to stretch you, but just remember we were never called to live a life that is comfortable.
Expect to change
I had a friend tell me that if I left Training Camp unchanged there was something wrong. I now see that he was right. It took 10 days of camping in the woods amongst 50+ other people, with only showering twice in 10 days and God wrecking my life to realize that I am not as great of a person as what I thought. I realized how quick I was/am to judge people, how quick I am to ignore people who are different than me or how quick I am to jump to the worst conclusion about someone. A thought I have when I look at someone now and want to judge/ignore them is that “They are people too.” Jesus loved everyone, even those who were harder than others to love, even those who the people considered basically worthless. If Jesus, the Son of God loved those people than I should too.
You will not have much alone time.
For the fellow extroverts out there you will strive in this setting. For you introverts, I’m sorry. I’m an extrovert, but about day 7 I was needing some alone time. The whole sitting under the dining tent at a table by myself reading my Bible while everyone else around me was having a conversation was just not cutting it anymore, I needed to be alone! I decided to go and find a place for alone time. Sometimes you will have to be creative with how you have your alone time. Maybe it is sitting in a large group of people and just tuning everyone out, or maybe you just need to go to your tent and not tell anyone, but there are ways that you can get alone time even if it is only for 15 minutes.
You will leave with your squad mates becoming not only friends but family
The fact that you are forced to spend 10 days straight with the same group of people means that you will become close with those people. You learn to trust one another, you learn to read one another, you even get comfortable sharing about different bodily functions.
When you first get to training camp these people will be complete strangers. However, there is something about not showering, living in tents, and just doing life together for 10 days that brings people closer together.
Never did I expect to learn so much and change so much in 10 days. However, when you are disconnected from what is normal to you, God shows you things. It’s not that Training Camp is the only place that God shows up at, but it’s the fact that we are more willing to listen because we are less distracted from the things that make up our daily life.
The past few days have been a whirlwind. I have been trying to process everything that happened while at Training Camp, but because so much did happen I feel that it is going to take a while to be able to fully process the 10 days I had at TC.
In the last month I am home I am trying to focus on home and not about The Race. There is a quote that I really love and have heard it a number of times and it has been repeating over and over again in my head, “Don’t leave before you go, and don’t stay after you leave.”
Financial update:
I currently have $8,910. My goal is to have $11,000 by July 1 which is the day I leave. That is less than a month to raise $2090. However, with your help I can reach this goal! If you wish to donate simply click the tab that says Support Me at the top of this page.
