As I mentioned in my previous blog – “Training Camp…Where Do I Begin? Seriously Though…” (longest plug ever right there) – I mentioned that we had different living situations every night at training camp. There is a long-standing tradition of keeping the nitty gritty details of training camp a secret, and there’s a reason for that. However, I’d like to share a more in depth look at one of those nights. It’s not to be rebellious and break the tradition. More so, it is to tell of the amazing program that Adventures in Missions (AIM) is and a few life lessons I learned that day/night.
So, it all started on a not so beautiful Tuesday morning on the Appalachian Trail just past the Unicoi Gap in northern Georgia. All the men of the different squads launching in July were embarking on the second half of our “Man Hike.” We had hiked in 6 miles the day before, set up camp, cooked dinner, had a small lesson from an amazing man of God and our guide David Reeves, and simply hung out as men (aka told fart jokes, talked about poop, and which way we wipe…too much?). Anyways, It started raining at about 8pm the night before, and it DID NOT STOP for about the next 36 hours. So we wake up at about 5:30 in the morning to set out on the last 14 miles of our “Man Hike.” Or, if you’re me you woke up at about 1 AM and didn’t go back to sleep.
As we set out on our 14-mile hike over two peaks in the pouring rain, I decided to be as positive as possible. I didn’t want to bring the rest of the group down with my negative attitude because the fact of the matter was none of us wanted to do this 14-mile hike in the rain over 2 peaks. But, it was the only way we were getting back to camp. To make a long miserable story short, we made it to our destination faster than we did the day before when we hiked in 6 miles in good weather. It was incredible! Spirits remained high, and we worked great as a team.
Upon arrival to AIM headquarters, we were informed that we would have about 45 minutes to prepare for the new sleeping scenario as a squad. In this scenario we were given about 4 tarps and some rope. We were then told this was our shelter for the night. To be quite honest at first thought, I was PISSED! I was working on about 3 hours of sleep. I had just hiked 14 miles over two peaks in the pouring rain. It was still raining. I was given about 45 minutes to even get my stuff back to the campground just to be turned around and told I wouldn’t be staying there that night either.
Insert life-lesson number one: Life is what you make it.
I had already had to contend with and shoot down my bad attitude all day, and it wasn’t about to stop now. I thought to myself, nobody here is excited about this living situation, and my complaining and bad attitude is not going to help. Therefore, I was very thankful to God that He convicted me very quickly that night to be positive.
When we arrived to Don Carter State Park we went directly to our campsite. We all started on our different tasks to get the campsite ready. I was on the team to keep the bags dry. It just so happened that there were four trees there that were the perfect distance from each other to tie the tarp to create a roof to keep our bags dry (mini-miracle). As that was happening, we also had a team preparing dinner that we had been given fully cooked by AIM staff (another mini-miracle). We also had a team creating our living quarters for the night with the remaining 3 tarps and remaining rope. By the end of their build, they had built what I like to refer to as the Noah’s Ark of tents. It was about 60 feet long and about 12 feet wide and nearly waterproof. Honestly, given the situation and landscape, I don’t think they could have come up with better housing.
Insert life-lesson number two: Notice the mini-miracles and give thanks.
As I mentioned, in the process of setting up camp we experienced a lot of mini-miracles. Another mini-miracle is that we had 3 engineers on our squad and two other members that were so quick on their feet to come up with such a good tent. We also had other squad mates that stepped up to the plate in the form of keeping spirits high despite the less than desirable situation.
Even in that I began to feel my negative attitude come back. I was totally down for sleeping on top of the bags and not cramming 56 people into this tent. But, I almost immediately shut it down after I was humiliated by God’s conviction.
You heard me right! 56 PEOPLE and 1 TENT!
The guys ultimately became space heaters for the girls and the rest of the tent. I know I have a warm body, but never did I think it would be crucial to the survival of others around me (a bit of an exaggeration, but hey roll with it). Throughout the night and into the morning others and myself decided we were just going to try and laugh this night away. We cracked jokes and just did our best to keep spirits high. To be honest, my initial desire was not to be positive, but with the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the attitudes of others around me I decided to be positive.
Insert life-lesson number three: When your situation sucks you have to choose to be positive.
Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying be fake. You are allowed to not like your situation, and you are allowed to not be happy. However, you and the people around you are best off when you decide not to drown in that unhappiness.
Insert life-lesson number four: When in doubt play the thankful game.
I think I’ve made it pretty evident that this situation wasn’t initially fun. But, we made it fun. Earlier that day – on our 14-mile hike over two peaks in the pouring rain – our leader taught us about the thankful game. The thankful game is best utilized when the situation around you is horrible. It goes a little something like this… “I’m thankful it’s not 110 degrees out.” “I’m thankful we had cooked food given to us because we definitely weren’t starting a fire in that rain.” “I’m thankful for the people God has surrounded me with in this time of hardship.” Essentially the thankful game is used to remind you that things could be worse. Again, I’m not promoting that you fake your way through your hardship. What I am saying is that you remind yourself that in the midst of your trial, you are still very blessed.
Another title I could have given this blog is “4 Limbs, 5 Girls.” For very obvious reasons I decided against that title. But remember that part about the guys being space heaters. This is where the title comes into play. At one point during the night I had a girl cuddled up to me on my left side, a girl nestled into my right side, one girl cuddling each leg, and finally I extended my right arm to be used as a pillow for another girl. All the while, my male leader was just on the other side of the girl on my left. As I extended my right arm as a pillow I said out loud, “Is this even allowed!?” I realized in that moment the trust and respect AIM was treating us with. They were treating us like adults! That was also evident throughout my entire experience at Training Camp.
I should note here that I was previously a part of another Leadership and Discipleship Training Program/Missions Trip where something like this would have never been allowed. But the attitude and mentality of being treated like an adult with trust and respect was also not evident like it is with AIM.
As I said that out loud and came to that realization, combined with the other moments of trust and respect I received throughout Training Camp, I realized how jaded I was by my past experiences.
Insert life-lesson number five: Do your best to not to let your past experiences jade your future expectations.
I realized in that moment, and also in moments where we were pulled aside as a team/squad/group of guys, that the idea of trust and respect from leaders in an organization like this was foreign to me. Every time I was pulled aside as an individual or within a group, I was expecting to be punished or to be reprimanded. But my experience with AIM leadership was quite the opposite. My team and I received positive feedback, encouragement, and constructive criticism. This was so foreign to me.
I had these preconceived notions and expectations of what the leadership would be like according to what I had experienced in the past. For starters, it was a pleasant surprise and revelation. But, I also realized how unfair that was to my current leadership. I wasn’t judging them or thinking bad thoughts about them. However, I was preparing myself for a miserable time had I not come to those realizations. Had I kept those pre-conceived notions looming over my leaders’ heads, I could have very easily suffocated any relationship that may be formed over these next 11 months.
Notice I said, “Do your best not to let your expectations…” I understand that it is nearly impossible to not let our past experiences affect our current situations. But we must not let those notions loom over the heads of the people currently around us. They didn’t do anything to deserve it. So give them a clean slate to work with, and let them show you who they are. And don’t make it a game where they have to prove to you their worth and credentials. NO! They are there for a reason. If you want a positive relationship with them, don’t come into it thinking they have to prove something to you.
Overall the night that has been dubbed, “Tarp Night,” was a success in my eyes. We grew closer as a squad emotionally and physically (we literally had only known each other for 5 days). We created an environment where it was okay to not be happy and to be real. But, we also created an environment where we didn’t let that person stay in that negative attitude. I learned or was reminded of these life lessons. I experienced revelation from God.
I’m sure more happened than I even realize now that won’t be evident until later on. And, this blog would go on way longer than it already has if I tried to explain them all. If I still have your attention until this point, thank you. I can say this now, but I won’t know it for sure until these next 11 months are over, but I would venture to say that the things I learned that night – and in the 14-mile hike over two peaks in the rain – will set the standard for the attitude and atmosphere set during the World Race. These are life-lessons not just “tarp night” lessons.
And on that note here is my final life-lesson in this blog.
Insert life lesson number six: Take note of the life-lessons you are being taught. It will make you more apt to notice and learn more in the future.
