Moment of Honesty: I was NOT excited about training camp.
Again and again, I was told by World Race alumni that the ten-day training camp in Gainesville, GA was one of the hardest parts of their Race experience. I heard horror stories about the intense physical workouts, the rough living conditions, and the grueling emotional gymnastics Racers go through. It seemed that, in essence, the whole process was built to weed out those that were unfit for a year on the missions field. But surely, I’d be fine… right?
The closer I came to training camp, the more anxiety started to take over. What if I find out I’m not as strong as I thought I was? What if my squad doesn’t get me? What if I get sent home? When the day of training camp arrived, I packed my bags, sucked in my gut, and prayed to God that the next 10 days would fly by. Rip it off quick like a band-aid, Lord.
Those days did not fly.
Each day felt like a week. 10 days felt like a million years. And by the end, I felt like I had already been around the world.
But I’m here now, on the other side, to say that Training Camp was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.
Sure, it was hard. It was hot. It was smelly. It was awkward. It was exhausting. It was shocking. It was overwhelming.
But it was AWESOME.
I have so many directions I could take this blog in, but I feel it best to tell you the highlights. Here are five important things I learned at training camp.
1) Abandoning Comfort is HARD.
There was very little about training camp that I found “comfortable”. I slept in a tent in the Georgia heat with the Georgia humidity. I took cold bucket showers every day. I sweat through every shirt I owned but still wore each multiple times. Sleeping six uninterrupted hours was a miracle. I had zero access to my phone. I ate meals from different countries every day, sometimes having to pass on things that I deemed “unedible” (better you ask me about this in person). I couldn’t settle into a routine because the training camp schedule changed every day (including where/how I slept). I had to get really close and vulnerable with 43 virtual strangers within a matter of days. And all of my belongings were either smelly, wet, or dusted in the charming “sparkle gravel” that covered our campsite.
The first couple of days, I was borderline miserable. I had never realized how much of my own personal comfort I required as a standard for sane living. Not having my usual comforts forced me to realize how much I had made personal comfort an idol. When Jesus called his disciples to abandon their current lives and follow him, he didn’t even tell them to bring a change of clothes (Luke 9:3), much less a working air-conditioner unit. Learning to push through the discomfort of this new lifestyle broke me of myself and my desire to stay comfortable, and helped me step into the realm of faith in which God could move through me. It was awkward… but it was wonderful.
2) Simplicity is BEAUTIFUL.
Learning to live on less taught me to appreciate the things I took for granted. Eating times became moments of spontaneous worship when after several days of eating rice, bread suddenly appeared on the menu. The nights when I dared to sleep in my hammock, I woke up praising the Lord that I slept through the night without being rained on. The one evening our sleeping scenario kept us indoors, I couldn’t stop beaming at the thought of sleeping in air-conditioning (even if I was sleeping on the floor). And when we finally were allowed later in the week to venture off campus for team bonding, I’m sure all of Heaven echoed with the glorious sounds of World Racers worshipping in the middle of the Gainesville Chick-Fil-A.
I felt so much more at peace at training camp. I was able to hear the Holy Spirit clearer than I had in a very long time. My quiet times became beautiful moments of intimacy with Papa God when lit by the morning sun streaming through the trees. I could have full conversations with people without distraction. I never knew what to expect ahead of me, and so when each new sleeping scenario or challenge was presented, I learned to respond with an adventurous “yes”. Coming back home after these ten days to a life with temperature control, familiar food, and abundant technology now has me longing for that sweet time of abandon I had grown accustomed to.
3) My Squad is AMAZING.
The 43 people on my squad (and my 3 squad leaders) are some of the most amazing people I have ever met. For the most part, these people are nothing like me. And yet, the Holy Spirit knit this wild assortment of personalities and giftings into a beautiful family in a matter of days. Throughout this week, I was able to see deep into each person’s passion for Jesus and longing to see lives radically changed by Him. I was able to hear their past stories of pain, struggle, and victory. I got to worship and pray with each of these kingdom warriors, even in times when we all were dirty/sweaty/exhausted. We spent long hours talking about nothing, and everything. We laughed, we cried, we danced, we sang. By the end of camp, it was hard to believe I had only known all of them for 10 days, because it felt like we had known each other a lifetime.
A major principle in our World Race experience is that our squad is meant to function as “the church” (a la 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). The leadership taught us to remain vulnerable with each other, so that we can lift our weaker brothers up in times of need and remain a strong team. We made a pact that we would choose to love and serve each other through the hard times, and learn to love those that are different from us. And throughout the week, as I was struggling through the discomforts of camp and insecurities that the World Race was not for me, I quickly learned that EVERY SINGLE PERSON was feeling the exact same things. Through every long night, hot day, strange meal, and wall of defeat, we all kept pushing through because we knew we were all in this journey together.
Oh, and I should probably mention this.
WE. WON. SQUAD. WARS.
4) Missions is EXHILARATING.
Yes, actual missions training did eventually kick in. After the first half of the week, when the leadership taught us to process through our emotional baggage and find our identity in Christ, we dove headfirst into international missions training. Throughout various sessions, we learned about the different kinds of people we would be ministering to, intensive training in evangelism, teaching, and preaching, and we received tactical advice on navigating cultural differences and language barriers. We also had the opportunity to go through simulations of various difficult situations we will eventually encounter on the Race.
I’ve never really done missions before, so it thrilled me to learn about all the ways I’d get to serve in the next year. As a privileged American, I can’t save anyone. Sure, I can come in, teach a class, build some relationships, play with kids, and help construct a building or two, but I will accomplish nothing in the next year without the Holy Spirit moving through my ministry. I’ve learned that it really is the love of Jesus that compels me to share it with the hundreds of people I will minister to. Hearing testimonies from past Racers about the miracles seen and lives changed on the field gives me hope that God will move powerfully through my team in this upcoming year.
5) God’s love is UNBELIEVABLE.
Well, sure, I knew that. I’ve always known that God loves me, that I’m unconditionally forgiven of my sins, and that I have the Holy Spirit living in me. But this week, it really hit me. Over and over, I kept hearing God tell me “I love you”, even in the times when I didn’t expect Him to. As I was struggling the first couple of days to know how to be myself amongst my teammates, I had people pray for me, speaking God’s word that “it’s okay to be yourself”. And when I came before God one night at the end of a session, God revealed to me that I still held on to my own desire to fix myself. I used to come before Him with a laundry list of personality flaws, and I never really considered that God had already forgiven these things. When I came to grips with the fact that I was totally, utterly, 100% forgiven and IMPOSSIBLY loved… wow, did I feel His presence.
Once I realized this, I felt so much love and compassion for those who don’t know Jesus. I felt so exhilarated knowing that God was about to rescue so many of His lost children in the next year through my team. Worship took on a whole new meaning, knowing that I was among 300 future missionaries who were all about to actually go into the world and share the Gospel. Understanding the love and mercy God has for me completely flipped my idea of missions on its head. No longer am I doing the World Race out of shame for not “doing more” – Now I am going because the love of Christ is so great over me that I can’t help but tell others about it!!
Training camp has totally changed my perspective on the World Race. After these ten exhausting days, I was ready to go home for a shower and normal food, but my passion for the year ahead has exploded in me. I can’t tell you how excited I am to go around the world with my amazing squad, to see God move in powerful ways, and to be able to share all of my stories with you, my followers. I think I’m ready to go on the World Race now.
Love you, O-Squad Wolf Pack. Let’s do this.
*howls*
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” HEBREWS 12:1 (NLT)
