https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WybvhRu9KU
God is not a man, God is not a white man
God is not a man sitting on a cloud
God cannot be bought, God will not be boxed in
God will not be owned by religion
God is love, God is love, and He loves everyone
Training Camp was much more than 10 days of training. Training Camp was a time that walls were broken down and rebuilt. It was a time to intentionally get to know 50 other people who I will be doing life with for the next year. It was a time to learn about how to effectively be a part of international ministry. It was 10 days of love, laughter, listening, and learning. The one main takeaway was “There is so much FREEDOM.” When you lean on God to guide your life, there is freedom. When you sacrifice things in your life, there is freedom. There is freedom in the name of Jesus! There is Freedom when you let him fully invade your heart. THERE IS SO MUCH FREEDOM!
I was also placed on an amazing team with 6 remarkable individuals. Their names are Toni, Ashley, Marlin, Daniel, Sherese, and Donavon. It was amazing to see how our team formed over the first week of training camp. We all decided on Tolmirós as the name of Team. Tolmirós means bold in Greek. Being bold is something that is a prayer of everyone on my team, to be bold and to step out of our comfort zones. I was also placed in a leadership role on my team which is a true honor.
The lyrics that are posted on the top of this blog are from a song called God is not a white Man by Gungor. This song reminds me of the box that I put God in. I think I know God because I have been walking with him for a long time. The truth is that I still have a lot to learn. This learning comes from walking with him on a daily basis, which has been hard over the past few weeks. I’m currently 20 days away from launch and I feel ready to leave but yet there is something stagnant about my walk. I’m so focused on launch that I’m missing things that God is doing in my life today. God will not only be with me while on the Race, he walks with me on a daily basis. It’s up to me if I choose to align my walk with His.
I should be posting another blog before launch and one more when I arrive in India. Stay tune and I hope you all are having a wonderful start to your fall season!
-Joe
