*July 25-August 4*
Ten days of drowning in sweat, eating unrecognizable food, sleeping in tents, and jumping into the unknown certainly paid off. It was like nothing I have ever experienced before. Strangers turned into best friends. Laughter turned into tears and then back to laughter again. I finally learned what it was like to live in community, and it was beautiful.
At training camp I learned what it meant to share and be open and be vulnerable. I developed friendships that in the past I had only dreamt of. For ten days, I lived apart from the world with a group of young adults on fire for the Lord. I never wanted to leave, it felt as if the the kingdom was, in fact, near.
God showed me who He was in Atlanta, Georgia. I prayed and He consumed me with His presence like never before. After years of walking with the Lord, I could finally hear His voice clearly and I grew closer to Him. It was magical. I realized the closer I felt to God, the better I felt about myself. I learned to love myself again as Christ loves me. I learned to love others as Christ loves other. I learned of the unforgiveness dwelling inside of me, eating away at my heart. I finally discovered what it meant to truly forgive and it was the most freeing feeling I have ever felt. God certainly did his work inside me those ten days.
People spoke words of life into me at training camp, words I had been itching to hear for a long time. Words like, “God chose you”, “you are exactly where you need to be”, and “you will do great things through Christ who gives you strength”. I had heard these words a thousand times before, but never spoken directly to me, never with all-consuming feeling that it was truth. It changed my whole outlook on this trip. These words showed me that the World Race: Gap Year 2015 was designed especially for me and for my squad and for the 100 others like me diving into other countries to bring the kingdom nearer.
Training camp flipped my life upside down, ripped open my heart, and broke my chains. Through it, God set me free. It showed me the kingdom is near and now I’m ecstatic to jump into the world with my team and make it come even closer.
