Well Training Camp is now over but my passion for the Worldrace is still growing. People have already begun to ask me “how was it?” and I can barely answer them only because how do you explain the immensity of God in a few passing words? I can’t believe I’m already struggling to answer “how was it,” after training camp let alone 11 months of actually being on the trip! It’s scary coming back home, not because I’m afraid of being tempted or losing my passion but because it makes it feel as if nothing happened. As if I was in a coma for ten days and people are excited to see that I’m back on my feet. I don’t know how to describe it but the world just kept on spinning while I was gone. Regardless though, I learned A LOT.
So how do I answer the question of “How was it?” Think of boot camp for the military but instead it’s for missionaries. There were a ton of scenarios our drill instructors gave us that we had to work through as a team (my favorite being “oh, the airport magically lost all of your things.”) There were countless sessions which spiritually and mentally drained you. On top of all that we had to sleep outside every night in the cold. Yet the greatest lesson that I learned was not one orchestrated by our ranking officers. About midway through camp all the guys went on a 12 mile man hike on the AT which was a nice break from it all believe it or not. It was all really fun and relaxing until it started to rain and rain hard. My tent soaked through, thus getting my sleeping pad wet, my pack drenched, and of course I was dripping wet running around trying to leave the camp site. It was 7 am, everyone was soaked, and we were in a van headed back to Training camp. Sounds pretty miserable, right? Wrong. In the midst of all this God taught me a huge lesson. To know Him and to make Him known is worth more than my comfortability. It was almost like God asked, “Is a little rain on the trip going to stop you from spreading My joy? Is it going to hinder you from letting people know they are loved? Is your comfortability worth more to you than letting others know of My Son?” It was here that I realized I had to surrender. In order to complete the task He has set before me I have to be willing to abandon my comfortability. Not just things that make me physically comfortable but conversations and situations that make me comfortable. I can’t let something as simple as rain ruin my joy. During the man hike we were told there were 5 things that would make you become a man of God, the first one being that we had a choice. We could choose to live like and to live for Christ or not. This rain was God’s way of testing my choice. I could let it ruin my day or I could surrender my comfortability and find joy amongst it all.
