AIM has an amazing community of people working with them. Training Camp felt like a parade of people all of whom believed strongly in the power of our God to do as He will and to raise up a generation of believers ready to change the world. Beyond that, they were all deeply in love with us, the G-Squad World Racers, giving their time and talent to prepare us for the field. The exhortation of each one of these leaders – nationally recognized speakers/educators, former world racers, friends and neighbors of AIM – was that we would “press in” to the gifts the Holy Spirit is waiting to give us and the plan God has for us. “Pressing in” often felt like one of those phrases we start throwing around as Christians that we sort of expect everyone to understand. It’s really easy to hear someone say a phrase like that, throw up an “Amen” and move on, not truly considering what your brother, sister, or leader is actually asking you to do. Most of the week I wasn’t really sure what “pressing in” entailed, but I simply continued to pray that the Lord would give me what he wanted me to have, and that he would give it to me abundantly.
The first half of Training Camp wasn’t filled with practical ministry lessons. Consequently Jimmy (our main coordinating leader) had to continue to remind people that the practical stuff would be coming. I however was so very thankful for those first five days because they were God’s answer to the cry of my heart over the last year or two. As per AIM’s philosophy we were preparing ourselves to live intimately with our God and with each other. We talked about honesty, vulnerability, shame/performance, and grieving the seasons of our lives that have left us scarred and ill-prepared for true community. These first five days put many, if not all, of us far out of our comfort zones. For me, it was a time of God reaching inside of me and literally tearing out everything I had been trying to keep from Him and others and waving it around for all to see. I loved it.
