Since the day I applied for the World Race my faith and trust in God has been stretched and challenged. I often found myself feeling lost and confused and feeling very alone during the fundraising and preparation process, even though I had tons of great friends and family helping and supporting me the whole time. When I first got accepted to the trip I was so excited that I was finally going to do God’s work over seas that I didn’t even mind leaving everything behind. But then, as the days went on and the excitement died down I was smacked in the face with fundraising goals and the realization of what I was really doing, leaving my friends and family back home while I went off to dangerous countries and unknown places. This is when I began to understand what I was really going to missing out on this year.
I would love to say that the first thing I did when I was feeling unsure and afraid was diving into Scripture and finding what God had to say, but unfortunately it was not. It took me a good while to finally listen to what God had to say. Once, I started getting back into the Word, there was one point that God kept trying to get through to me as I read, and its that I am not alone. I am not the first one to leave everything I love behind to follow the One I love most. Katie isn’t the first person God has ever asked to do something this crazy. Throughout the Bible God is constantly telling people to get up and leave their comforts to go and do good works. In fact, after reading more I’ve come to understand that He is actually going easy on me (I get to come back home after 9 months). In Genesis 12 the Lord calls Abram away from all of his loved ones and his beloved home town to go and follow what the Lord desired for him. If God can equip a 75 year old man, then He sure can equip me for the field. In Exodus 3, God spoke to a regular Joe and told him to go save His people. There are a lot of days where I feel like Moses, unprepared, unworthy, unable but Gods promise is true and like Moses I wont be alone literally and spiritually. Not only will God be with me on this trip, but He has also provided me with five of the greatest ladies around to travel with!
And this brings me to the part of this blog that is about Training Camp! ahhhh training camp what a week. The week that every new world racer looks forward to the moment they become accepted!
On day 8ish Seth Barnes asked me to describe training camp in one word, this was an easy task. Exhausting. let me explain, I don’t mean exhausting simply in the literal sense of being very tired (which I was, but that’s not the point) everything at training camp was 100% all the time.
The worship was so incredible that amazing that it sucked up every ounce of your energy because the songs were so meaningful and true that your whole mind and body was captivated by the music.
The sessions were so filled with truth that your whole soul was yearning for more and your mind was focused on the knowledge being poured into you. And at the same time our hearts were being stretched into new directions and we were being fed new information that made us grow in our faith.
The workouts and hikes were so intense that your whole body was using all of the energy you had to keep going and finish the 2 mile hike.
The community was so revealing and vulnerable that it took every ounce of your being to just let go and be free of what was holding you down. We had to fight against awkward and keeping to ourselves. You have to keep your mind focused on being present and building friendships all the time.
Staying positive and not complaining abut our lack of food and sleeping situations takes constant prayer and self control.
All of these things alone were exhausting, and together you wouldn’t believe. But God held us together, seriously I know that personally I have never had to depend on the faith and love of our awesome God ever before in my life. there were days when I felt like I literally falling apart and I could feel the Lord working in me and my squad not only holding us together but building us up as a squad and in our own relationships with Him. The Holy Spirit was going crazy in our hearts and I’ve never been filled with so much joy and sincere happiness.
There was one day during our Women’s retreat where I was asked to make a drawing of how my heart was feeling this week. the first word that came to mind was bursting. Bursting with Joy and an abundance of all my other emotions, and then came overflowing which is a more peaceful approach to the same concept. My heart was/is so full of joy and love and peace that it was overflowing and dripping as if it were a sponge holding more than it could soak up. the two collided and this is what I drew. 
This road is not easy, its hard, community is hard, being present is hard. But its so beautiful, so amazing it will literally take your breath away and in the mists filth, hunger, rank smells its the most precious week ever. While I was 5 days unshowered and makeupless I learned what God really sees as beautiful, I have never felt more valuable in my life than I have after training camp.
So this is the end of my unorganized blog. Training camp was hard. the world race is going to be hard. training camp was beautiful. the world race is going to be beautiful. there is more to say but I don’t know how to explain it, God is wonderful, life is wonderful and I am so joyful.
With lots of Love,
Katie Jane
