Heyyo Family!
I have just returned home from a week long WR training camp in Atlanta, GA. At this camp we were stretched mentally, physically (poor/no sleep), emotionally and spiritually. Here are 10 snap shots of what the week entailed.
1.Our squad of 57 is named second generation “S” squad meaning it is technically the second round of the alphabet, or the 47th World Race Squad to ever launch, beginning in 2007.
2. Our squad Rocks. made up of kids from all over North America. From the Midwest to Ottawa, to Maryland, East Coast down to Orlando, lots of Deep South kids, into Texas, Cali, and wrapping up in the Mountain West. 12 awesome, solid guys, 42 sweet, fun girls. All of which God has hand picked for this stretching adventure in his Kingdom.
3. Spiritually we had a lot of messages and worship sessions weighted heavily in our first half of the week. We all left broken of our selves and filled with Jesus.
4. Physically we slept in tents on a normal night, woke up at 6 am and packed up all of our stuff. Worked out as a Squad. And started our day.
5. WR staff challenged us repeatedly with uncomfortable circumstances. Many of these included unusual sleeping situations. One day they took half of or squad members tents, sleeping bags, clothes and toiletries. So sharing was a must. Another day they had us sleep in community tents made for 5 with at least 10 people, other days we had to make tarps and shelters for 60 with what we had. All fun, it was cool to see God in these stretching circumstances.
6. My personal favorite was sleeping on a school bus with our entire squad. Hammocks were stretched wide-ways across the bus. Five ppl slept shoulder to shoulder wide ways in about 5 rows on the entire surface area of the floor. Everyone else filled in the open but uncomfy seats. This was not a good night of rest for anybody, some did not sleep at all, but I feel as tho it bound our team very tight.
7. Eating was challenging, or at the very least different. We were given a bowl which was usually 50% to 75% full. No seconds. My 3500 calorie diet dropped to probably 1500-2000. Each day was themed with a different culture. Ever day we ate everything with our hands. I loved this. But others didn’t. I craved fruit and nutrients so much, as most of our meals were some sort of rice/starch base.
8. The second half of the week was concentrated on team building. Our group of 57 was split into 8 groups of ~7 in which we will be doing our ministry work. I will be doing an introduction to my team in a future blog.
9. My favorite passtime was swimming in the beautiful green Georgia lake. It was not cluttered with houses, so the trees swept far over the shores, Almost like swimming in the jungle. Our squad even joined for latenight moonlit swims. Needless to say I swam here every chance I got…for shower purposes of course. : )
10. Most of all God moved me. I became family with my squad mates. I laughed lots and had a bunch of fun.
Have a blessed day!
Jake MacLean
