Describing training camp in words, especially through a blog in a limited space, is just honestly not possible. I went in with expectations, however, they were all greatly exceeded. This is what I expected…
1. I expected to sweat a little bit and be pretty hot since it was in Georgia.
2. I expected to meet the people I would be traveling with and make friendships.
3. I expected the staff to tell us where to go and what to do.
4. I expected our squad mentors and squad leaders to be pretty cool people, who tried to get to know us as best as possible considering there are 47 of us.
5. I expected to worship and pray and get a lot of good advice for the race.
Well, the Lord showed me to never put expectations on anything!
1. I sweated more than I thought possible. I would take a bucket shower and never actually dry off because I started sweating immediately after. It was so hot, and not only were we outside camping, but we were hiking and exercising. I don’t know that I have ever smelled that bad in my life, but I was surrounded by 46 others that smelled equally horrible (no offense y’all).
2. I did meet all of my squad members, but I didn’t develop friendships. We became family. My grandfather passed away while I was at training camp, and these people immediately gathered and prayed over me, prayed for my family, and just showed me unbelievable amounts of love. I cannot wait to travel with these people for the next 11 months!
3. The staff did tell us where to go and what to do. They provided lovely sleeping scenarios whether we lost our luggage, or slept in community tents, or slept in an airport, etc., but they did way more than just that. They invested themselves into our squad, prayed for us, loved us, gave a listening ear, and just were there for us no matter what we needed.
4. Our squad mentor, squad leader, and squad parents did the exact same thing. There are a lot of us, 47, but they invested into each one of us and made a solid effort to get to know us, but they went deeper, and they have continued to show their love and support for us since leaving training camp. They have gone above and beyond their “job description” and have loved each member of this squad whether it is sending an encouraging word, praying, taking time to put together a list of books, or anything else we need. I honestly would feel 100% comfortable going to these people if I needed absolutely anything.
5. I worshiped. I prayed. I got some great advice for my trip, but this is not what affected me the most. THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS SO PRESENT AT CAMP!! I cannot put into words the breakthroughs I had at camp, the obvious presence of God and the Holy Spirit through me and through those surrounding me. If we went one morning without a worship session, I felt like I was seriously missing something inside of me. I CRAVED the Lord and what He had for me at camp. He completely brought me out of my comfort zone, and while that is terrifying, I grew so much in 10 days, that I cannot even begin to imagine what the next 11 months will look like.
This is obviously just a very brief overview of training camp, but I hope that you got that the Lord changed me in 10 days. I may not feel fully equipped as far as Bible passages, and speaking, and cultural things, and so on and so forth. However, I know that I am filled with the Holy Spirit and God is with me every single step of the way. If I have Him, then what is there to fear?
