Well.. I’m sitting here on the floor thinking about how in about 2 days training camp will be over, and me and my team of 5 will be slowly traveling down to Ecuador planning to meet back up with the rest of the Squad on February 4th in Baños Ecuador.
I’m just now getting used to training camp but I know soon everything will change. With the change coming up I figured now would be a good time to blog.
Training camp has been a very unique experience. Living with 25 people doesn’t come with dull moments but definitely tests your character. Trying to share a toaster oven, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and much more challenges you to ask yourself, “Am I going to make it about me or serve someone else?” It’s been challenging but definitely rewarding.
Training camp has a structure but there’s also a lot of freedom from day to day but I’ll try and share with you what an average day could look like.
We wake up early morning for squad workouts and then finish up scrambling to get personal devotion time, breakfast, a shower, all to be ready for morning session at 9. The sessions consist of teachings, bible study’s, small groups, and more. Usually the morning sessions go into lunch and then we have some free time to nap or take a shower if it was missed. Then usually mid-day we have team exercises or ministry moments with the community to then after we have free time leading up to dinner. After dinner we have our night session in which we usually do a night of worship and prayer with some more teachings and personal reflection, which looks different day to day. Curfew is at 10 so we might go for a walk into town or scramble to find some cheap food to get us through the night. That has been the average day here at Medellin, Colombia. Each day has looked similar but immensely different. The conversations are always changing and going deeper, the teachings keep building on each other, we are finding more freedom and intimacy with Christ, our adventures change day to day and the people God has us meet is always different. Here at training camp we have learned about the Kingdom of God, the meaning of being a disciple of Christ, the reality of angels and demons in spiritual warfare, the principle of honor and leadership, we really have just gone deeper into the Gospel of Jesus and how He wants to transform us for His glory and for our good. We have learned how to have community and share not just the Gospel but our lives as well. Really the whole purpose of training camp was to get us ready in the right direction learning to be able to hear the voice of the Lord and Go!
This whole journey has been an adventure in itself but here during training camp I’ll highlight some of my favorites. Me and the guys climbed this mountain called, “The Three Crosses.” This was a very steep mountain which made it probably the hardest hike I have ever done. There were many moments when I wanted to give up and just enjoy the view that I had but God kept saying I have MORE. As I climbed forward God started reminding about how life is a marathon and not a sprint. He reminded me that He’s often more interested in the journey and not always the destination but He wants us to grow us through the process so that we can actually enjoy the destination even more. The hike was very painful but the view from the top of the mountain was beautiful. Another adventure was when we went paragliding. Flying over the top of the city was a very blissful experience. While I was in the air God was just showing me this is how He sees me. God sees the full picture and he’s in control while often I worry about the things unseen but it’s in those moment we ought to trust God. There was one day where a group of us went to a reservation on top of a mountain. It was a lot of travel across the city by bus and metro to then getting on the tram, which was my favorite part. We were expecting the tram to stop on the top of the mountain but then as we came to the top we actually kept going deeper and deeper into the forrest. This experience reminded me about how God wants to take us deeper then what we could expect. He has MORE for us. Going into that Forrest and walking alongside the waterfall and enjoy the local food was just a sweet time with friends. We got to sing songs and pray in the beauty of creation. It was definitely was a gift from God. Not only are the adventures ones of activities but also the adventures of daily life. I have been used as an interpreter to pray over people and just communicate a smile to the locals when my teammates need help, which has been a total blast to practice my Spanish. It’s getting much better 🙂 Anyways.. There was also a time when me and Alex were sent out to buy 2 waters and give them out to 2 people God would highlight. That has probably been my favorite adventure. Pretty much what happened was we ended up giving 3 waters to people and praying for them and also buying a thing of milk from a guy we gave the water and gave the milk to construction workers. During this whole process it was pouring rain but we didn’t care. We walked in love and were so happy. We got lost in the neighborhood but God led the way and we made it back. There was much more joy found in giving rather than receiving. We left imprints of the hope of Jesus and people’s life were changed. There have been other amazing moments when me and my team were playing music in the square and people came and we ended praying for them and some even encouraged and prayed for us.
This time here at training camp has been a blast. It has been so life giving to experience the MORE of God. Living in authentic community with passion to see the Lord speak and move has been refreshing. I’m so ready to continue to trust Him where the adventure awaits.
Thank you guys for your support and prayers! Keep tuning in!! More blogs to come soon!!!
