In August, I rode an airplane by myself for the first time. For what reason, you may ask? I was headed for Gainesville, Georgia to attend World Race Training Camp. I was stepping into what The Lord had scheduled since the day He spoke to me about doing The World Race last December. It was exhilarating.
Looking back, maneuvering the airport and stepping foot on the airplane was the first of endless adventures that would come in those 10 days.
The Lord made many of His promises clear to me in the 10 days while I was in Georgia that will stick with me forever and I know they will continue to flourish when I enter the mission field. Here’s what the Lord revealed to me at training camp and continues to reveal to me since I’ve been home:
The Holy Spirit thrives in community.
Walking into Training Camp, I only had few interactions with the people I would be ministering around the world with – my squad. My heart was burning for a community of people whose mindset, goals, and hearts were looking toward the King with me. Honestly, I didn’t ever think we could create a family in the matter of 10 days, but my God said otherwise. Over the course of training camp, we worshipped, cried, sweat (and sweat a little bit more), laughed, and shared what the Holy Spirit was speaking to us. In the midst of all those things, there was a constant – Jesus.
Through my squad, it was made clear what exactly Jesus meant as true community in the Bible. To stand as one with one goal in mind: being a light to the world. In the 10 days, community looked like talking about testimonies over breakfast. Community looked like high fives as we were dying during the 3 mile hike. Community looked like spending 3 hours praying over each other in the middle of the woods. Community looked like sharing the depths of your past with someone you’ve only known for 5 days. Community looked like giving away your last white chocolate macadamia nut Cliff bar to a teammate at 2am. Community was loving Jesus together, no matter what we were doing.
There’s such a joy in being surrounded by people who share the same passions and purpose as me. How beautiful is it that the Lord is so big, yet He can orchestrate so strategically? All of my squad came from different stories and places, ending up together, preparing to share the love of Lord to the world. We were handpicked by God himself way before we even knew we were doing the World Race.
Even as I’m writing this, my heart is overjoyed with the thought of seeing my squad soon, heading out to Ecuador together to show people Jesus. The time can’t pass quick enough until I’m back with my family. (J Squad #liftitup)
Jesus brings freedom even when we don’t think we need it.
Throughout my time at training camp, I had the idea that most of the parts of my life were fixed and figured out. I thought I had it all together, ready for all I was about to embark on in the upcoming October. But, as time continued, my heart continued to soften to what the Lord was ready to do. As I listened to sermons that started to hit home, I began to ask God to reveal to me the hurt in my heart that I’ve been convincing myself was not there. With that, I spent a few days processing and sifting through my past and present brokenness that God was ready to heal.
I held my life with Jesus on a pedestal for quite some time. Often, forcing myself to focus on helping other people with their brokenness, allowing myself to hide from my own. But, God calls us to look deep within ourselves, to look at the hurt and give it over to Him. At training camp, I did just that. The Holy Spirit revealed parts of my past that have deeply wounded me, things that I was never able to be freed from because I never knew they were wounds. There’s a beauty in pinpointing our hurts and fears, so that way we can fully give them to the Lord.
God freed me of the hurt I thought I could handle on my own. He is a good Father who knows what I need before I know what I need. Again, He is the Maker of the universe, yet sees His hurting daughter and will do anything to make her whole again, all for His glory.
Lastly, the Lord calls us to live a FREE LIFE.
Being at training camp made me finally, fully comprehend the adventure 53 of my closest friends and I are about to embark on. The best part? This is what I am called to do! John 10:10 specifically says, “I (Jesus) came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
I don’t know about you, but I love serving a God who delights in seeing His children find adventure and fun. So often, we get caught up in the rules and comfort and miss out on where true joy is found: saying “yes” to God and stepping out of comfort. Let’s be a people who become radical in all the world for the mighty King’s glory.
I am overjoyed that I get to travel to Ecuador, India, and Zambia for 9 months for the sole purpose of loving God and loving people. All I desire is to show God’s children that they are free, all they have to do is grab ahold of that freedom and live in it.
I wish I could have carried each and every one of you to training camp so that you could fully understand the beauty and liberation that came with it. But, I believe that there’s beauty in the fact that there are secrets I get to hold in my heart forever of the starting line of my 9 months with the World Race.
There are countless lessons and promises the Lord revealed to me after flying alone on the airplane. But, you would be reading and I would be writing forever if I wrote all about it. Friends and family, I hope you could catch a glimpse of what I’m about to embark on. It’s a joy and an honor.
To God be the glory.
