“But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.”
2 Thessalonians 3:3
This past week, I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Great Escape camp with my middle school students. It was quite the week full of excitement, games, worship, and lots of laughs. Camp is ALWAYS the highlight of my summers as a youth intern! The time that I get to spend with my students and the friendships that are formed at camp are truly incomparable. I love my girls with ALL of my heart!
Prior to camp, I was pretty stressed out about the Race and Training Camp. I had been traveling and working long hours for about a month, so I needed some down time to train for Training Camp and pack. It was hard to leave for camp without getting some of these things checked off my list. I would be back from camp with about a week to spare before Training Camp, and there was so much to do! Going into the Great Escape, I decided to give all my worries about Training Camp to the Lord. I asked Him to intentionally prepare me throughout the week, and He did just that. He answered my prayer in a variety of (sometimes silly) situations that brought me to a place of vulnerability and the beginnings of preparation. Here are 9 way that He began to prepare me for the Race at youth camp:
1. The bugs
On the first night of camp, I decided to sit out in my ENO and chat with one of the girls. Little did we know that we were going to get eaten alive by bugs!! I spent the rest of camp struggling through itchy bug bites, even though I was previously convinced that “I don’t get bug bites.” Bugs are a reality that I will have to get used to on the Race for sure!!
Many failed selfies were taken during ENO time (:
2. The heat
Since I live in Alabama, I am fairly used to the heat, but this camp was HOT. I constantly felt sticky, smelly, and sweaty during the day, and even during the night because the air conditioner in our room didn’t work too well. On the race, I’m not guaranteed a building to sleep in every night (yay for tents!), so I definitely will not be seeing many air conditioners over the year!
3. Living in community
Being in-between an introvert and extrovert, I love being around people, but I also enjoy down time to myself. Being at camp with a bunch of middle schoolers doesn’t really equate to much alone time because there’s always someone who wants to hang out. I love this, and I have been in this situation many times, but after a long, exhausting summer, I really needed the Lord to guide me through 24/7 community. I know I won’t have a huge amount of alone time on the Race, so I will definitely need the Lord to help me then too.
4. Washing my clothes in the sink?
The Great Escape is known for their crud wars. Let’s just say that this involves flour, shaving cream, and a whole lot of mud. Since I wanted to keep my shorts and undergarments, I had to wash these lovely smelling clothes in the sink. I also volunteered to wash some of the other girls clothes as well. I know that I will not always have a washing machine on the Race, so this process is something that I definitely need to get used to!
5. Living in not so clean conditions…
Middle schoolers are gross… enough said.
6. Waking up early
In order to make time for my quiet time and make sure a room full of kiddos were awake, I made sure to wake up with plenty of time to spare. I don’t think I will have many late mornings on the Race and I KNOW I won’t have any at Training Camp!
7. Igniting my prayer life for others
Usually, worship is one of my favorite parts of camp because I LOVE to sing! I love to dance around and exude my joy through song, but this was not the case at camp. During worship, I was led to pray fervently for my students on the trip. I spent most of worship praying for their lives at camp and after. I saw God transform lives through prayer, and I have never seen myself as a super prayerful person. I love to talk to God, but I realize more and more that I’m a little selfish in my prayers. God lit my heart on fire to pray and pray for these students, and He really stirred in my heart through this process. I know that praying for others will be a crucial piece in my journey as I pray over my team and others that I come into contact with.
These are just two of the amazing girls that I got to pray over this week!
8. Showing me that the world continues to turn when I’m not around
During camp, I got on my phone and saw some of pictures of friends having fun without me. These pictures were hard to see because I definitely wanted to be at home with them, but the reality is that I’m about to leave for 11 months. Friends are going to hang out and big events will take place without me. This is a really hard concept for me to come to terms with. I know that the world won’t stop for me, but that doesn’t make this any easier. I struggled as I looked at these pictures, but when I stopped to think about it, I felt a strange sense of peace wash over my spirit. I knew that I saw those pictures because God was intentionally preparing me to be away for a while. It will sting to see special moments happening at home, but I have to trust that God has me where my feet are for a reason. He wants to use me where I am, and it is possible to be happy for the people at home rather than exploding with jealousy or bitterness. This process is definitely going to be a difficult one– I realize this more and more everyday, but I am excited to see how God works through these feelings.
9. Exposing my fear
All throughout worship, God kept pointing the word fear out to me in every song that we sang. We must have sung a lot of songs about fear because He was REALLY hitting me in the face with it! I slowly realized that God was calling out a lot of fear that was present in my life. I was afraid of going to Training Camp because I didn’t want to fail. I was afraid of going on the Race and leaving everyone behind. I was afraid of leaving my job because it has essentially been my spiritual oasis. I had fear running all through me.
Once I made this realization, God REALLY showed up. I’ve been reading Acts this summer to learn more about the Holy Spirit and Paul’s missionary journeys. The next morning after being overwhelmed by fear, I read about Paul preaching in Corinth. Paul was a little run down because the people were not accepting the Word that he was preaching to them. After visiting so many places and facing so many obstacles, I can definitely see why! As Paul went home and slept, a really cool thing happened.
“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”
Acts 18:9-10
Even PAUL, the strong and courageous missionary in Acts found himself dwelling in fear sometimes, but God came alongside him and reminded him who is in charge. The God of the universe is on my side and He is FAITHFUL. I am still working on truly surrendering all of these fears wholly to the Lord (it’s a work in progress), but I have been overwhelmed by the ways that He has come alongside me to comfort and encourage me.
I might be able to question many things in my life, but this trip is not one of them. The amazing ways that God has gone ahead of me to prepare and provide has been such an incredible thing to watch. So as I prepare for Training camp, all I have to say is BRING IT ON!!
Over $12,000 fundraised
3 days until Training Camp
GOD IS FAITHFUL
Let’s do this!!!
-Jordie
