God.
That is the really the only word I can come up with to describe the 10 days of my life spent at training camp.
For those of you who don’t know, I traveled to Gainesville, GA on July 5th for Training Camp for my upcoming 11 month Missions trip to 11 different countries.
While there I spent 10 days getting to know 37 different and truly amazing people, growing closer to God, getting to know myself better, and experiencing all kinds of craziness to help prepare me for my trip. Craziness like bucket showers, sleeping right next to complete strangers (at the time 
), 18 mile hikes through the Appalachian Mountains, having very limited personal time, missing loved ones, and so much more!
God taught me so much in those 10 days, a lot of which I am still processing and absorbing.
But one thing that is standing out to me in this moment is the word Believe. God gave me this word at training camp through a man named Austin Draughn from Y squad. At the time that Austin approached me with this word I didn’t truly believe that he had the right word or even the right person. Ironic isn’t it? But the more I ponder on this word and it’s relation to my life, the more I believe that it was meant for me.
The number one thing I struggle with, is doubt.
I doubt that I am truly following Him.
I doubt that He speaks to me.
I doubt that I am capable of the things He asks of me.
I doubt that He can use me.
I doubt that I have the strength to push past my fears.
And those are just a few. But I believe God started a process of tearing down the stronghold of doubt in me, using the word Believe.
I am starting to believe:
That I am following Him.
That He does speak to me.
That I am more than capable with His help.
That He can and wants to use me.
That I am no longer a slave to fear.
That I am a son of God.
And that I can tackle this monumental task before me that is the World Race! (With His help of course )
And the last thing I believe is that God also wants to use YOU! I am still in need of prayer, encouragement and financial support. So I ask that you would consider partnering with me in this journey and supporting me in 1, 2 or perhaps all 3 of these areas!
I still need to raise another $13,000 by the end of the year but I need $6,200 in the next month or else I will not be able to launch with my awesome squad and would then have have to postpone my trip until January or later and launch with a different squad. But I don’t believe that is God’s plan for me. I believe He put me on this squad for a reason and that He wants me to go in September.
It’s definitely going to take a miracle to raise that much money in a month but I believe He can do it. And I don’t know about you, but I sure want to be a part of that miracle story!
I will do my best to keep you updated on my journey of unpacking what God did in me at training camp, as well as His provision of funds.
In the meantime, Believe God’s truths about your life and live them out! Have a blessed weekend!
With love from your brother in Christ.
-Jon
