10 days ago I flew to Atlanta, Georgia with the mindset of, ‘this is just one more step on your way to the real race.’ While that is indeed part of the truth, it isn’t the whole truth. I saw amazing things in the last ten days, things that I might not have believed in even a few months ago.
- In ten days I gained 42 new brothers and sisters.
- In ten days we expirenced healing that we didn’t even know needed to take place.
- In ten days walls came down. Sometimes walls we didn’t know were there.
- And a million more things.
One of the most amazing things that happened was in the airport yesterday. I needed to charge my phone. I was actually pretty desperate, because that’s where my boarding pass was, and I wanted to get through security! (Pro tip, if you want a boarding pass on your phone, that’s super cool. But you probably should also have a paper backup.)
So I really really needed to find an open outlet, and there were NONE. And nobody showed signs of leaving soon. Drawing on all of my courage, I walked up to a group of three girls, and asked if I could use their outlet when they were finished. They told me of course, I could use it now, and I sat down and started talking with them. It turns out that they had been working at a young life camp for the past month and were just heading home. They asked what I was doing, so I told them about the Race. Soon some of my squad mates came over, and we all talked about school and Jesus, young life and the race, how to honor our parents and how it can be hard to honor them when they are opposed to a decision we know is the right one. It was super fun. And then the truly awesome part happened. They were getting ready to go through security and we were saying our goodbyes when they asked if they could pray over our group. (Or at least those of us who hadn’t already flown out) We held hands, just a group of fifteen or so 19 and 20 year olds, in the middle of an airport, and prayed for each other. As one of my new friends closed the prayer, she thanked God for the YES we have in our spirits, and you could feel everyone tense up and take in a deep breath. This sweet women had no way of knowing how much of our ten days were spent talking about, praying for, and finding the YES in our spirits, yet she praised God for that very fact. The number of times I’ve seen the Holy Spirit move in a tangible way is relatively low, but this was certainly one of those times!!
All in all, training camp was an amazing experience, and I am SO pumped for launch. These next six weeks are going to be a hectic eternity. But then I get to do life with my new family for almost a year!! Thank you so much to everyone who has made this possible! Please be in prayer for us as we get ready to launch. Many of us have a long way to go to be fully funded. If you are interested in partnering with one of my squad mates, please let me know and I will connect you with someone!!
