Hi readers!
I’m home from training camp!
Curious what I did there?
Well, I camped in the wilderness of north Georgia with 215 of my new best friends!
The whole week was geared toward preparing us for the world race. Each day highlighted a specific country or continent, and we learned local customs while enjoying ethnic cuisine. We also encountered challenges that may well happen on the race—having half of our luggage lost, sleeping on a bus, having restricted shower access. . .
Believe it or not, that was the easy stuff! The challenging (but most important) part of the week was the spiritual formation. We had 3.5 days of non-stop worship and teachings—which is right up my alley! However, I struggled a lot with comparison that week, comparing myself spiritually with everyone around me—and I wasn’t happy with the results! But more about that later—let me share with you some of my favorite moments of training camp! J
7 things I loved about training camp:
7. No cell phone, tv, Netflix, or facebook
- I completely disconnected from technology all week, and I didn’t miss it one bit! Technology can be very distracting and quite a time sink—I spent my time doing much more productive things at training camp 😀
6. Squad wars
- What’s life without a little friendly competition? Especially when that competition involves eating an entire lemon, rind and all, without making a face. Or pouring chocolate syrup on your friend’s face, then throwing cheerios at her. Or just a good old-fashioned dance off!
5. Team human pyramid picture
- This is my team—you will meet them later. . .
4. Team formation—7 men (and women) on a towel
- What are we doing here? We are all standing on a towel while trying to flip it over, of course!
3. Being surrounded by 215 people who loved me, encouraged me, affirmed me, and served me
- Every time I felt like a second-class (or third or fourth-class) Christian, someone would come along and affirm me as the beautiful warrior of God that I am <3. I can’t wait to live in community with these people for the next year 😀
2. Dance parties
- I know I mentioned them already, but I really like dancing 🙂
1. Training Camp was an invitation to take my relationship with God to the next level, and I said yes!
The World Race is the most daring thing I have ever attempted. Everything about it is way out of my league. There were multiple days during training camp that I was on the brink of dropping out of the race entirely. But when I shared my fears with my teammates and took it to the Lord, much of the power of that fear was broken.
Now, I’m nervous, but also grateful—grateful to exchange growth for stagnancy. Grateful to exchange intimacy with God for a false sense of security. And you can do the same. I’m no more courageous than anyone else. I have the same desires for comfort and security as everyone else. And I almost didn’t take the jump because I have fears, like anyone else. It’s a little too soon to tell, but I think this risk I’m taking is going to have an awfully big pay-off. When I come back in 12 months, I expect to be a very different person. You’re going to be a different person, too! Keep taking those leaps of faith when God invites you to—He will come through for you!
Till next time!
KO
