When I thought about going to training camp for the World Race, I never imagined losing 5 pounds because of the small meal portions, or spooning for warmth with 3 other girls on the floor of my tent, or waking after a night of rain to find puddles on the floor of my tent, or dancing the Cupid Shuffle. It was a week where I could recognize routine and schedules, but never knew what exactly was coming up next until someone told us at the last minute.
This photo really tells you that BOTH of these happen at training camp – Amazing worship time with a couple hundred other Racers, plus moments here and there to lay out in the sun with my new teammates, talking, laughing, and enjoying the brief moment of warmth from the sun.
You know that moment in the morning when you are just barely waking up, and you walk around your house like a zombie, feeling almost numb, as you get ready and try to fully become alert? That’s how my spirit felt for the first half of the week – numb, zombie-like, as if waking up but not yet able to feel or fully comprehend while trying to get ready and become alert. It was a very strange feeling, and it made me feel like there was something wrong with me, when I looked around and saw people practically bursting from excitement or weeping as God worked on their hearts. And I felt.. nothing.
It wasn’t until the last 2-ish days of camp that I felt like my heart achingly aware of the Bigness of God and of the healing He was doing in my life. He showed me several areas where He wanted to bring more healing, and it opened the door for even more healing to happen after I got home from camp.
I’m seeing in a new way how “Ogres are like onions”……. cough, cough. I mean I’m seeing how the Lord often brings healing in layers, like an onion. He starts with the outer layer of hurt to heal it, and over time He goes deeper in those areas to heal even further. I thought I had worked fully through healing in a lot of different areas in my life, and the Lord began to show me some deeper hurts I hadn’t let Him touch yet. And that’s when I cried. And that’s when I really began opening up to my squadmates and building relationship with them.
Meet Y squad. There’s about 50 of us. We are put in teams of about 7 who will work together for the coming 11 months of our journey. My next blog will share about the formation of my team.
