My Week at Fat Camp…
Just kidding it wasn’t that bad ha! There were a few times it felt like it though. I’ll get to that in a minute. Wow, where to start? I’m still reflecting and trying to soak in everything that just happened. Training camp felt like the longest and shortest week ever. As I was driving home, I kept thinking to myself “Wait, we’re done? Already?” It was a huge relief but weird at the same time because I wanted my squad to come home with me. Guys I’m so stoked about my squad, leaders and mentors! These people are amazing. Everyone has different personalities and backgrounds but at the same time we have so much in common, #1 being Jesus!
Arrival:
We arrived to camp greeted by a swarm of Adventures in Missions staff. I parked my car for the week and headed down to my squad’s (A Squad) campsite, set up my tent, and met everyone. That was the last time I wore make up until the last day of camp. The girls pretty much quit caring about being “cute” after day one lol. Showers consisted of a 5-gallon bucket of cold water (which was nice because we were roasting). Toilets were porta potties all week (oh the smell). We had hose water to drink all week, no ice, just whatever temperature it was in the ground is what we got.
Food:
Each day had a theme. The themes were Latin America, India, Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Adventure Day, and Coming Home Day. All the meals were served family style. There were 8 people per table so they would put 8 servings of whatever on a platter and when it ran out, that was it. Of course, one of the favorite days was Latin America Day. Shout out to the AIM kitchen staff! India day was interesting. We could only eat with our bare right hand (no utensils) and do NOTHING with the left because that’s the “unclean hand”, in other words the hand you wipe with. Eastern Europe Day was the opposite. We could only eat with our bare left hand and had to always keep our wrists up on the table. It’s considered inappropriate to have your hands under the table. It comes across as deceptive and back in the day people thought you might be hiding a weapon or something. Africa day was pretty good. They brought out a platter that looked like peas, mashed potatoes, and turnip greens. The “peas” were lentils, but they tasted like purple hull peas. The “mashed potatoes” were something that made me think of maze or the stuff that’s in tamales? We couldn’t use utensils that day either, so you had to get a ball of the maze stuff then press your thumb into it to make a scoop for the other food. Asia day was my least favorite. My chopsticks game is weak lol. One of the meals was noodles with roast beef looking lunch meat in a beef broth that tasted like it had clove in it. You sprinkle some kind of crunchy sprouts, fresh basil, and lime juice on top. It’s pronounced “Fuh”. I’m not super picky when it comes to food but that was the one meal out of all the things we ate that I had a hard time getting down. Adventure day consisted of some rainbow-colored rice, green scrambled eggs, crickets, and a preserved duck egg. The “white” of the egg was a translucent black with a grey sludge looking yolk. I couldn’t bring myself to try it, sorry Charlie. Coming home day was biscuits and gravy (Yes Lawd!) hot dogs, hamburgers, BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese. It was fantastic!
Teaching Sessions:
The teaching sessions were amazing, so much good info. I feel like if you’re even halfway interested in missions you should go to a camp like this. The speakers put so much in perspective about ministering to diverse groups of people throughout the world. We’re not going out to make “American Christians” We’re going to point them to Jesus, not Adventures in Missions, not the World Race, not a denomination, but to Jesus. Their way of worship may look different but as long as it lifts up Jesus and is biblically sound, that’s what’s important.
Squad Time:
We did Squad/ Team building activities pretty much daily. Everything we did throughout training camp was intentional and had a purpose behind it. Our leaders paid attention to everything we did, how we interacted with others, how we handled stressful situations, etc. After the activity they would go over what they saw, what we did right, what we could have done better. They also allowed us to reflect on what we just did and our thoughts on it. They really value feedback both ways. It’s wonderful! Sometimes it can be a little tough but it’s all for the sake of growth and unity.
Physical/ Mental:
The hardest physical and mental part of training camp was the hike. I had to hike/ jog 2 miles with my full weight pack on in 38 minutes. I missed the time by 4 minutes and had to get up the next day and do it again. The second day I was getting all psyched up telling myself “Ok, you’re doing this TODAY. You are not doing round 3. You can do this!” I get started and about 20 seconds into the hike I had a full-blown anxiety attack. NOT in the plan. I wasn’t even winded yet. I started walking and felt this tingling heat go through my chest and into my face. My mouth was tingling. I’m crying, feeling like an idiot, and immediately think, “I can’t do this. I’m not ready. I need more time.” THANK GOD for awesome squad mates and our mentor Ashley Francis (Fran) for talking me through it and cheering me on. I made it through the hike and didn’t have to do it again (Thank you Jesus!) because I was so sore at that point I didn’t know how in the world I was going to be able to do it any faster.
The second toughest physical aspect of camp I would say was sitting or laying on hard surfaces all the time. I camped one time about 10 years ago when it was freezing outside. This past week was very different. I finally started adjusting after about 3 days. Mind you, I’m laying on a 1 ½ inch thick sleeping pad on rocky ground…not an air mattress. It was crazy hot. I’ve decided I like camping and am fine with it if it’s in the fall but no thanks to summer camping lol.
RELIEF!
On day 7 I was just about past going. I could tell I wasn’t at my best physically or mentally. I didn’t care about talking to anyone or participating. I just wanted some legit rest. Bill Swan is the director of The World Race and did several teachings during camp. On day 7 he invited everyone to his house for dessert and game night to allow team bonding and time to relax. The main floor and basement was open to everyone but most everyone stayed on the main floor. My friend Heaven and I were just looking around and went to check out the downstairs when I saw it. He had MASSIVE bean bags. I flopped down on one and it just hugged my entire body. IT. WAS. AMAZING. I laid there a minute just soaking it up but I felt obligated to go upstairs and socialize. I laid there going back and forth asking the Lord what should I do? I know I should be doing stuff with the squad but I’m running on fumes here. I rolled over on my side and it was the closest I’ve felt to my bed in a week and the absolute most comfortable I had been since I arrived at camp. I had known nothing but hard uncomfortable surfaces for days with little sleep and there it was in front of me. REST. I teared up and cried inwardly, “Lord! You see me and know exactly what I need, when I need it! Thank you for putting it on Bill Swan’s heart to have comfy bean bags in his house and that he’s so welcoming to Racers!” He’s been on the Race himself, so he totally gets everything we went through. Praise the Lord yall have know idea what that meant to me. I slept on the chair for about an hour and a half and felt like a new person when I woke up. It was amazing!
Personal Lesson:
I feel like the main take away for myself from the whole thing is that the next year I will be stripped of all my go-to comforting habits. I’m going to have to learn to allow Holy Spirit to be the God of ALL comfort in my life. I won’t have my super soft bed. I won’t have the opportunity to “eat my feelings”. I can’t go see Jack and Lucy whenever I want. I can’t hang out with any of my friends/ family from home. Even though they’re a phone call away, the phone won’t always be readily accessible. I can’t soak in the tub whenever or veg out in front of the tv. I can’t just say I’m tired, I think I’ll go home now. I won’t have hardly any alone time. As middle-class Americans we have a million different things we could to do destress but when I leave, I won’t have access to most of those things. Jesus and my team will be my only options. Yes, I know He should be our first and only choice but I think we all know that’s a lot easier said than done. On a positive note, I won’t be going through this alone. I have an awesome squad and team that’s going to be dealing with the exact same thing. We’ll learn and grow together and for that I’m so thankful.
Fundraising:
Right now I’ve got $12,540 raised with $6,660 remaining to reach my goal of $19,200. The fundraiser I’m doing right now is called Adopt-A-Box. In the picture below you’ll see a chart numbered 1-100. You can pick 1 or more boxes and whichever number/numbers you choose is what you’re committing to donate. If all the boxes are adopted, then I will have $5,050 raised towards my goal! Donations are tax deductible and you can give in a number of ways. The easiest way to give is to click the “Donate” button at the top right-hand side of this blog. You can give via debit card, credit card, or check. If you want to mail in a check you can send it to Adventures in Missions P.O. Box 742570, Atlanta, GA 30374-2570. When writing a check, please remember to put Janie Neill in the memo on the check or it won’t count towards my trip. Please message me on Facebook or text 205-237-0869 when you decide on a number so I’ll know to mark that box out. Thank you so much for your prayers and support!
