Last week I went to the infamous World Race training camp! I met my squad mates, leaders, and trainers, and together we roughed it for a week in the woods of Georgia.
I’m just gonna jump right in and say, training camp was really hard. This should not have come as a surprise. When I said yes to the World Race and asked God to start preparing me, I should have known that He would not hesitate to answer that request in a timely fashion. Training camp was no exception, and from the moment I arrived to the moment I left the Spirit was doing mad work.
Here are just a few things I asked God for, and some of the ways He responded:
Help me part with my comfort
Oh, OKAY, no problem Julie.
- Sleep in a tent outside — definitely not the same as my comfy bed, but alright sure.
- Sleep in a tent outside with only half your gear and another person to share it with — Um, okay, getting colder.
- Sleep outside on tarp in the middle of a lake swamp that smells like fish — well at least the stars are pretty.
- FIT ALL 60 OF YOU PLUS ALL 60 OF YOUR PACKS ON A SCHOOL BUS MEANT TO SEAT 40 AND SLEEP THERE ALL NIGHT… — SERIOUSLY?!
In others news, eat fish head soup for breakfast, 86 silverware, 86 coffee (the worst), shower with a bunch of daddy long legs, wear the same clothes all week.
Yeah, I’d say I lost some comfort. And I didn’t always like it, but you know, at the end of the week, I realized that I was fine. God gave me energy and peace when I need it, and I found that in light of diving into Christ and into community, the importance of all my creature comforts faded right into the background.
[on the bus, no room for the Holy Spirit here] [setting up camp — tent time]
Speak to me
Okay, let’s play the prophecy game! Only it’s not really a game, it’s serious communion with God. Picture 2 circles, 1 inside and 1 outside. The outside circle closes their eyes and asks God for a word for whoever stops in front of them, while the inside circle walks around until told to stop. Then, EYES STILL CLOSED, those on the outside circle give the unknown person in front of them the words they feel God wants to speak. Scary? Um, yes. Yet God reminded me that I walk by faith, not by sight. He showed me that He likes to come through for me where I can't. The prophecy “game” turned into a powerful time spent in the presence of the Holy Spirit, during which many received freedom and encouragement straight from the Lord. Amazing.
Put people in my life who will challenge me
Strange as this may sound, recently I have found myself genuinely wanting to be called out on my crap. I am well aware that I am not perfect, and living in close community pretty quickly exposes areas where you can grow. Luckily AIM practices this method called "feedback" where you get together with your team (mine is pictured below) to give each other both positive and constructive comments. In our inaugural feedback session as a team, check out some of the comments I got:
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Be careful of focusing on performance- when things don’t go well you kind of shut down - Watch your moods– your frustration shows and can bring down the morale of an entire group
- When you engage people you make them feel warm and welcomed— but you tend to jump around from person to person and it can come off as not very genuine
For a group of people who just met me, you could say they hit the nail on the head. (They also gave me words of encouragement and positive feedback too, more on that to come in a later post). These things are not easy to hear, but they are necessary. I need to be sharpened and pruned to become more like Jesus, and with my team’s love and input I believe I will be.
Help me find my worth in You alone
There’s nothing like living with 60 perfect strangers for an entire week to bring out your insecurities. I felt like I was right back in high school, wanting to fit in but not sure how, wondering if I have anything to offer that someone else cannot offer better. Halfway through the week I found myself missing those who already know me.
But God in His goodness showed me that when I get too comfortable with my environment I get complacent. I become focused on me instead of Him. Training camp forced me to refocus on Him, and to ask Him to affirm me and validate me. He loves to do that for me anyways 🙂
I want to experience You in a crazy way
The worship and teachings were unreal. The presence of God was so thick around the pavilion where we had our sessions that I’m pretty sure even the most hardened of unbelievers would not have been able to deny it. God blessed me with some amazing encounters with Him this week, pretty much indescribable. But they were scary. Meeting God recklessly means letting all that I am come to the surface, including some things I would rather hide or ignore. I faced a choice: either close it all in or let it all out. The Spirit nudged me to let Him in to the raw spots and give Him a chance to move. It was scary and exposing, but only by cleaning out my wounds can they begin to heal, and there is nothing quite like the salve of the Spirit.
If this is how God moves in just 1 week, I cannot imagine what He will do in an entire year.
The Holy Spirit absolutely BROUGHT IT this week. I can't wait to see what happens next.
