I’ve been back from training camp for a week now. It has taken a few days to fully process everything I experienced while I was gone. I spent 11 days in the hills of Georgia with the 27 people I will be serving with starting in September. The time I spent in Georgia was everything I knew it would be and more. It was definitely two of the most challenging weeks of my life. Everyone who knows me, knows that I’m a girly girl. Camping and being dirty and sweaty is not my element. This is one reason I’ve always known the World Race was a Holy Spirit lead decision and one where God would take me completely out of my comfort zone.
On day 2 of camp, I woke up questioning whether or not I was supposed to even go on the race. While I was thinking about things, I started pondering the thought of just going on a short term mission trip overseas. I’m positive this was my lack of comfort and fleshly desires setting in. Going into camp I wanted to remember to trust the process, especially since AIM has sent out thousands of missionaries. After day 2, those questions and fears started to diminish and I knew fully I was exactly where God wanted me to be. Those first few days were rough. My cell phone was dead after the first night and being stripped of everything I’ve ever found comfort in back home was painful at first.
There is no doubt that one of the most amazing things about the race is how we get to live in community as growing Christians together. It’s one of the main things that is going to fully help transform us more into the image of Christ. All throughout the week we were able to talk and discuss different topics in small groups together. This was one of my favorite things about camp. In small groups at church I’ve always been the person that was too shy to talk out loud or share anything I consider too private. God definitely broke down this wall fast over the time at camp. I was forced to go to places I’ve never wanted to visit deep inside because of the fear of pain that would involve. The best part of going straight to the pain was the freedom it brought. I think before just the fear of the pain was more painful than the pain itself. I definitely experienced a whole new level of vulnerability during my time at camp and I’m excited to see how that changes more throughout my time on the race.
Thank you all for your prayers and support. I’m excited to share more of what God is doing in the coming months. Please continue to pray for me and V squad. The majority of us are still fundraising for the race and would greatly appreciate your continued prayers.
My hashtag for next year if you want to follow my journey on social media is:
#heathersojourningthroughasia
