Well there is a lot to catch you all up on to say the least. First off, sorry if this post is a jumbled out of order mess, I’m still processing training camp myself though. When I got to training camp I was exhausted on all fronts. I had spent July 7th to August 7th at Pioneer Plunge, a wilderness camp in North Carolina, I came home and started unpacking and repacking. I had two full days at home, which were spent getting ready for training camp, then I left at 5am on August 10th for Gainesville Georgia. The first two days were really tough, and I was ready to go home. However, as the week went on I noticed that despite feeling physically tired I was starting to feel emotionally, spiritually, and mentally rested. Day 3 was our fitness hike, no problems there. Every day we had a different theme for meals. In all we had Asia, Latin America, Europe, travel day, Africa, India, adventure day, and America day. The first two day we had almost no meat, so when on the third day we had Europe day and had salami and ham for breakfast I almost teared up a little, it was beautiful. To clarify, travel day was simulating a travel day, so we did not have a lot of food, or very good food. Adventure day was giving us a taste of some of the more “exotic” food we will eat, so for breakfast we had cheese sandwiches with crickets on the side, for lunch it was an assortment of mystery meats, and for dinner they actually simulated a market. The market was pretty amazing because it was a full simulation. They had a taxi that would drive through, fake money, thieves, homeless people, local authorities, tourists, and a whole assortment of food you could “buy.”
I believe it was the fourth day that we had the man hike. For the man hike all of the men were bussed to Neel’s Gap. We hiked 12 miles of the Appalachian Trail, and it was awesome. It was definitely tough, but it was so worth it. That night we camped out and talked about what kind of men we want to be on the race and some other stuff. That night was great because I feel like that was the first night that all the men really felt bonded together. We made an agreement to keep each other accountable and call each other to a higher standard.
Later on in our time at training camp we started getting put into teams. We did several team activities to test how people would work together and get along. After each activity we would debrief as a team and then have individual interviews with the person who led the activity. After a few days we were put into our final teams. I got an amazing team. The day we were put into teams we got to go out into town to have dinner and bond. Later that night we went to our squad mentors house for dessert, which happened to be brownies and ice cream.
By the end of our time at training camp I was ready to be home, but at the same time I was hesitant to leave. At training camp I felt myself grow more than I ever thought possible in ten days. I felt so loved by my squad, which was amazing. I remember one day my friend told me that he saw me truly open up and act more like my real self and that he was happy to see that. For me that meant a lot because it showed that he wanted to see the real me rather than just a version of me that would make everyone happy. I remember thinking “what if I don’t get along with my squad or team?” and now that seems ridiculous because of how well we loved each other.
The realization that I only have 6 weeks has not sunk in at all. I mean I’ve looked at the calendar and thought “wow I only have six weeks,” but it still feels so surreal. I mean I’ve never been away from home longer than a month, so how do I just deal with the fact that I’m going away for a year? Anyways, now that I’m home I almost wish I was back at training camp. I enjoy being home with family and friends, but I’m bored. I’m used to being surrounded by people 24/7 and being able to hang out with them whenever I wanted, but now I’m just sitting around wondering what to do with myself. I have to get a job, get the rest of the supplies for the World Race, set up a new bank account, get vaccinations, go to the dentist, get a haircut, take my car to the shop, fundraise $10,000 more dollars, say goodbye to my friends and family, transition out of Wyldlife and Younglife, transfer power of attorney to my parents, write a living will, eventually sell my car, and then leave. It’s a lot to handle, so please pray for me. Pray for strength, perseverance, God’s favor, and peace.
