Training camp wasn’t always smiles and giggles and laughs. But then again, neither is life. The 11 days spent in the Adventures in Missions base in Gainseville, Georgia were a whirlwind of goodness. For some, they didn’t want to go home and leave the newfound friends they found within their squad. Despite knowing that they would soon spend nine months abroad with them in a few short weeks. Others couldn’t wait to leave so that they could eat the oh-so delicious meal that is Chick-Fil-A. For me, I missed home. I wouldn’t say I was homesick, but I did miss my family and friends. I felt so far away and distant. Being from Washington State, Georgia was not my norm at all. The humidity surrounded me at times I felt like I couldn’t escape! Pop up storms made the dry ground around you a kitty pool in a matter of seconds. Although I didn’t leave Georgia completely in love with their climate, I did leave Georgia completely in love with my squad, leaders and even more so, Jesus. Training camp eliminated nearly all distractions that were keeping me from Jesus or holding back my relationship with God. I didn’t feel homesick because I had a new family in my squad and found myself a home in God’s presence and kingdom.
The squad I am a part of for World Race Gap Year 2019-2020 is a squad of surrendered hearts. People who want all the nations to praise the name of Jesus. A squad of full hearts and pure joy. Now don’t get me wrong, we all had our off days. We all experienced attacks from the enemy at some point. But we band together as a family and fill our hearts with the truth of the Lord. At times I found myself confused. Even in times of doubt I knew the Lord was with me. Sometimes the answers to my prayers were silence and stillness before the Lord. He knew what I needed in every moment of every day.
Days at training camp consisted of… morning devos, breakfast, sessions, squad time, lunch, sessions, personal time, dinner, worship, session, squad debrief, and finally, bed time. The days were packed. At times I found myself struggling to process everything that God was doing at camp. It seemed as though my mind couldn’t catch up with my heart. After reflecting with my team, I realized that I had to take a step back and be still. Be still in the Lord’s presence. I had to realize for myself that I have to work to get quiet time with the Lord. One thing our squad was very interested in were each other’s love languages. My number one love language is quality time. In order to have a healthy relationship with my friends, family and people I encounter, I need to make time to have that quality time with those people. I realized that my relationship with the Lord goes the same way. If I want to hear from Him, to feel His presence, and have a thriving relationship with Him, I have to spend quality time with Him. Both in community and one on one. This looks like sitting quietly listening to what the Lord has to say. Listening to or singing songs of worship. Diving into the Word to get to know God more. Having discussions with others about how God is working in our lives. I found myself thriving in times of silence before the Lord or quiet prayer. This allowed my heart, mind and soul to catch up with the world around me. Often times I heard God the loudest when I was quiet. When I took a step back and asked the Lord to speak rather than me speaking all the time.
Although there is so much to be learned between now, launch and our time out on the mission field, training camp helped to prepare us for things we may encounter in each country. We learned of the major religions we would encounter, culture, food, manners, how to share the gospel so that it would be understood in different cultures. We practiced ways to share the gospel to children, how to share testimonies at the drop of a hat, how to lead house church and so much more. We can always broaden our horizons and learn more, but this was a beautiful start and a window looking into what we may encounter on the field.
Commonly asked questions:
What is the “squad”?
Our squad is a group of 38 people people traveling to the nations together. This is our large group.
What are the “teams”?
Teams are smaller groups ranging from 5 – 8 people within our squad. Although our squad will be housed together and travel together for the most part, our teams will separately go to different ministries within the county. Not all will have the same experience.
On our last full day of training camp, there was an opportunity to be baptized. I had wanted to get baptized at least a year prior to this opportunity. Although I was baptized as a baby, I wanted to get rebaptized as a step out in my own faith. Sharing to the world that I, Hannah Upkes, choose to follow Jesus Christ for the rest of my days. It was no longer my parent’s faith but it was my own. For a long time I toiled with thoughts of “who will baptize me?” “Who do I want to be there?” “What will people think?” And so many more questions, many of which were selfish. At camp after many prayers and listening, I came to the conclusion that I needed to do it at training camp. My home had many distractions and I was more worried about the people around me rather than what the act of baptism symbolized. This wasn’t for the people back home or for my squad. This was for God. I did it for Him because I know that the plans He has for me and the things He can do in my life are far greater than any person or any thing on this earth. Of course I am thrilled to celebrate with my community back home, but I was honored to share this with my new World Race family. Prior to baptisms we had squad wars which consisted of mud and flour and rain. Although I was covered in these things, post baptism, I had never felt more clean in my entire life. I still had flour and mud cemented to my face but I had been cleansed of my sins through baptism.
HALLELUJAH HERE BELOW! ALL THE PRAISE IS YOURS FOREVERMORE!!
I can’t wait to launch with my squad in 7 weeks! We launch September 6th! Starting in Swaziland, moving forward to Thailand and finishing in Nicaragua. Thank you for all your support in prayer and finances! My next fundraising goal is $10,000 by August 22nd! I am $4,088 away from this goal! Any amount helps! $1, $10, $100!!! Please prayerfully consider donating to help me share the gospel to the nations and share what God has done in my life with the world. If you want to sit down, have coffee and chat more about training camp or the race, contact me at [email protected] . I would love to talk with you!!
Much love, Hannah Upkes
