It’s been over a week since I came back home from Training Camp, and it’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts and process (a word we emphasized every hour because it’s actually a lot more important than I thought). In a nutshell, Training Camp absolutely reinforced my confidence that God wants me here, and I can’t wait to live in community with my squad over the next 11 months.
The title of this post is a little misleading. I think a better one would have been, “The emotional turmoil of missing your friends back home and you new friends from the World Race: a memoir,” but that’s a bit wordy.
Anyways, meet my squad!
J Squad! AKA the Blue Jays
These will be the people I go to each country with for the next 11 months. We grew so close so quickly in the 10 days of training camp. They really are such an illustration of what it means to live in biblical community.
Next is a picture of my team right before we went around neighborhoods to pray for the people that lived there.
The Wild Geese
From left to right: Sarah, me, Christian, Victoria, Alison, Jordan
I will be spending the most time with these 5 people when we split off into our teams in each country. This is the team I will do ministry with, eat with, live with, laugh, cry, joke with. I am so excited to be a part of this group and see what the Lord does in all of us and through all of us.
On the Monday I left to go to training, I remember being nervous the entire car ride. It was a nervousness I hadn’t felt in a long time. The nervousness of doing something you feel you were made for but not having any idea what it will be like. Of stepping out in complete faith because you know this is the right thing, but you also know you are going in completely over your head. You no longer have control.
And that’s how I approached Training Camp. I wasn’t going to try and make myself any type of person so I would get along with my squad, and I think everyone else was doing the same thing. We all felt the gravity of the journey we were about to go on together, and we knew the importance of being honest and vulnerable with one another. No false selves. We just leaned into Jesus and asked him to be the center of all of our relationships.
Over the next several days we learned a lot about the Bible, communication, world religions, cultures, etc. A lot of useful information for traveling the world to share the hope of the Gospel. More importantly, however, we learned about the Father’s heart for us, his children, and how to live together in community. We learned what it looks like to put our needs aside for the sake of our team and squad, and for the sake of the Gospel.
If anything, Training Camp was a taste of what life will be like on the field. Weird/good/different foods (I ate a preserved duck egg called a “thousand-year-old egg” that is apparently a delicacy in China), bucket showers (cold), no indoor plumbing (porta potties), smelly squad mates (myself included), long pants in 90-degree weather (men in Africa don’t where shorts), community, service, and love. So much love. We worshipped together, pursued God together, and fought for each other. There were days when I felt distant from God and people, and still my squad fought for me.
If Training Camp was just a sample of life on the field, I know now that I am going to be so overwhelmed by the fierce love of Christ shown to me through his Holy Spirit and through my team. There is a love that you can only experience as part of the Body of Christ, and it’s the love we were all meant for. A love that is unconditional and simultaneously reminds you of your righteousness. A love that does not fear darkness. A love that calls you out way beyond yourself, and as scary as it sounds, I know it’s good. It’s just in God’s nature to overwhelm us with love and life. Because he’s not a tame lion, but he’s good.
The Brosciples
(Photo by Amy Johnson)
