I have been trying to think of how to summarize training
camp for the World Race this past week.
I have written down numerous stories, lessons, thoughts I had during the
week. And nothing seems to really
capture what I want to say. All I
can do is start listing the words that describe the week:
Freedom.
Grace. Love. Unity. Arise. Identity.
Passion. Confirmation. Truth. Blessed. Those
are the first 10 that come to mind.
It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us FREE. I was able to
tell someone that God loved them and see them believe it for the first
time. Freedom. I saw people finally realizing that
what they had been believing about themselves for 20 years is a lie. Freedom. I saw forgiveness overflowing. Freedom.
Grace and Love.
We had a camp out as a squad one night. We packed minimal stuff, hiked through the woods for a
little while, canoed a wee bit, and set up camp for the night. During our campfire a few people shared
their hearts, parts of their stories, fears, questions, where they were at. The response was not judgment or condemnation. It was grace and it was love.
Unity. The body
of Christ is truly represented in E Squad. People come from different states, different backgrounds, different
theological beliefs, yet because of Christ, they are united.
Arise. Before
training camp God gave me these verses for my squad: “Arise, shine, for your
light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the
earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and
his glory will be seen upon you.
And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of
your rising.� (Isaiah 60:1-3, ESV).
I saw something arising inside of them, individually and as a whole
community during the week. I don’t
know exactly what is arising but I know its powerful and that it can change
nations.
Identity. This
is where my passion lies. For my
generation to know that they are loved by God, that He calls us sons and
daughters. That we are His bride,
chosen, called, empowered. That
His Spirit dwells within us.
Identities were being rocked, broken down, transformed. There is a song called Where I Belong
by Cory Asbury. The chorus goes “I
finally found where I belong, in Your presence, I finally found where I belong,
to be with You.� I was singing
this song all throughout training camp.
This was something God was continuing to speak to me about myself and
about the men and women surrounding me.
Passion. E
Squad is a passionate group of men and women. They are fighters.
They give their heart in what they do. I saw this in the Dance-Off competition we had. Each person participated and did it
with joy. I saw this in the adoption
of our squad mascot, Eleanor the flamingo. Even though she was plastic, faded, legless, abandoned on
the campgrounds and probably meant for the trash, E Squad embraced her and made
her part of our family. If they
can get this passionate about a broken lawn ornament, how passionate will they
be about setting the captives free?
Reaching out to the broken?
Bringing His Kingdom?
Confirmation.
During the past few months, I have been struggling with certain
things. Am I really supposed to be going on the World Race again? As a leader? Do I really hear God’s
voice? Am I equipped for
this? From day 1 of training camp
God continued to answer all those questions with an overwhelming YES. I continually saw that I am called to E
Squad. Meeting my co-leaders and
seeing how we function together confirmed it. Seeing my squad rock it out at the dance off confirmed
it. Praying shame and fear off of
people confirmed it. Seeing God
move hearts, reveal new things about who He is, and overwhelm us with His
presence, confirmed it.
Truth. God’s
truth is more powerful then any lie the enemy could ever throw your way. Truth was spoken over so many and truth
was believed by so many for the first time.
Blessed. That
is the word that comes to mind when I think about my co-leaders, my squad, this
next season God is bringing me into, the life He gave me, has given me, is
giving me.
I know this doesn’t have the “nitty gritty� details of
training camp. But, these are the
words that I want share, that God has been filling my mind with since returning
from training. These words
are why I am going out again. It’s
not being called to squad lead.
It’s about being called to these people, to love, freedom, to identity,
to grace, to passion, to truth, to unity.
It’s about LIFE.
E Squad Picture! After Squad Wars, the last night of training camp. We technically lost to C and D Squads but we are all still winners to me and to Christ!
Women of E Squad during out camp out!
Eleanor (the flamingo) and Denise, the lovely lady who I stole all these pictures from!
* I am still in need of your support! Please prayerfully consider financially partnering with me! I have just over $500 in my support account and I need $5,900. That’s $5,400 more! Click on the support me link on the left to donate online. OR please make checks out to Adventures in Mission and mail it to: Adventures in Missions, PO Box 534470,Atlanta, 30353-4470. Please write Appealed by: OlsenHannah in the memo line. Adventures In Missions is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Donors will receive receipts for their gifts with the understanding that the disbursement of those gifts lies completely at the discretion of Adventures In Missions and that the gifts are non-refundable and non-transferable, per IRS regulations. Gifts may be tax deductible; please consult a tax advisor.
