Ashley and I arrived at Training Camp last Sunday afternoon on 3 hours of sleep, having already dealt with a dead car battery in the middle of the night and it took us 10 hours instead of 8 to get to camp. Needless to say we were slightly on edge.. my stomach was in knots all day as we traveled to Tennessee.
What had we signed up for? Who were these people? Why had God called us to this ministry? Was a training camp really necessary to be a missionary? All these questions and more plagued us as we pulled into camp.
Here goes nothing! Welcome to Camp
We learned quickly to let go of any expectations we may have had. Expectations about training camp, about the Race, about our squadmates, and most importantly about how the Lord was going to move and reveal Himself to us. The first three days our sessions and exercises were focused on us.. the racers. We all have baggage, junk and sin.. Parts of our lives, we'd rather not acknowledge. As humans, we are all broken and in need of a savior who can redeem us. Jesus is the answer, but I knew all of this before camp.. Right? I knew it my head and in my heart, but am I living it every day? My desire is to realize that I am broken and flawed and ask the Holy Spirit to fill me with His love daily as I rely on Him for strength. I pray that I would feel His love in my bones!
Amazing worship with 175+ World Racers
During the second part of the week, we spent time practicing what we learned about the Holy Spirit. When God speaks, do I listen? And on the off chance I'm listening.. Do I act on what He is saying to me? Not always, but I'm getting better. When God called us to the Race, we responded in faith and here we are. It's a process and Ashley and I are learning to listen to what the Lord is saying and act on it.
After not showering for days and sleeping under the stars in the rain ,
we're still looking fresh to death.
The living conditions and accommodations at training camp were not as rustic as we had anticipated. Each morning after breakfast we'd prepare to travel to our next country (campsite) and begin a new day.
Also, during the second part of the week our Z squad (26th World Race squad to go out) worked on team building. Our squad got to know each other, how each of us found out about the race, why we felt God was calling us to the race and how we expected God to use us in the coming year. Z Squad, also known as the Omega Squad, knows how to party too! During squad wars with the other squads at training camp, our Z squad fought tooth and nail for Justice and Righteousness and had a blast doing it!
Z Squad prepared for Squad Wars!
After returning home from training camp the Lord really impressed upon me an urge to pray and encourage my squadmates from now until we launch in September. I found this passage of scripture and it fits Z Squad perfectly!
Philippians 2:1-4
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
