What a whirlwind this past month has been! Between work, fundraising, volunteering and making time for friends and family life has been crazy to say the least.
You think packing for ten days would be as simple as throwing some clothes into a nice bag and be done, right? WRONG! Whatever you pack, you have to carry on your back, and you have to fit it in a backpack – much different from a regular suitcase – not to mention that you have to fit your tent, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and pillow in there as well. I am an over-packer by nature; I love to be prepared for everything. And of course it’s all material things that do not have to come with me, but it is something that I will be working on in the next two months before I leave, because this is not about the things I bring with me but about God using me to do His work.
In the chaos of fundraising and getting prepared to leave, I have lost sight as to why I am doing this and whom I am doing it for. I am beyond blessed with support from my family and my community, but I need to remember that I am in this for God. God has called upon me to serve Him in this way and I need to remind myself that when I start to get nervous or worry about fundraising, God is guiding me. He has set out this amazing plan for me, to trust in Him.
Part of preparing for training camp is learning to set up your tent and all of your sleeping necessities. Well I have the most amazing little sister, Jenna, who was willing to help me learn to set up my tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag! I had not yet touched anything until Tuesday – I’m completely crazy. I had a major fear of never being able to get anything back into the little bag it came in, but hey – I didn’t roll up sleeping bags like a pro at Camp Wapo for three summers for nothing! I also knew nothing about how to pack my backpack so our family friend/angel – Pam taught me how to get everything in my pack and made sure I had all good brands!
Luckily I bought things that were extremely easy to set up! I was able to set up my tent in less than five minutes and everything else was easy as could be! My tent was spacious and sleeping pad extremely comfortable, I set up my tent and put everything in it so that I knew what it would be like. But then the moment of truth came; it was time to put everything back in their designated bags… AND IT FIT! I got my tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, pillow, and sheet all back in their tiny bags – it felt like a miracle!
Wednesday 6.8.16
I woke up early to catch my flight at the airport, we had to hit the road by 5am to get me on my plane by 6:50am to take off at 7:30am. It was very strange to have been alone; it was my first time traveling alone. I knew what I was doing, but it felt weird to have no one to talk to or to watch my bags if I had to go to the bathroom.
The plane ride was so short, about an hour and forty minutes, I wasn’t even able to finish a movie. I was the first one off the plane, I was so excited I found my way down to baggage claim and my bag was one of the first ones out I grabbed it and headed to our meeting place and there were already a ton of people there meeting their squads, I found mine dressed all in green! We talked about where we were from and what made you decide to do the race. We got food and waited for hours until the shuttle came and picked us up from the airport. After 3 ½ hours our squad leaders arrived to check us in and take us to Gainesville, which is about an hour and a half from the airport.
When we arrived we had a huge welcoming committee at the front cheering for us! We had to check-in and set up camp (dinner was an on the go sandwich and a bag of chips) – which was really easy because I had just done it the night before! As per usual I over packed, my backpack is so heavy and my clothes are the heaviest part! And getting everything situated in my tent was harder than I thought it was going to be. After set up we had worship, and it was unlike any other worship I have ever been a part of. It was so eye opening and exhausting! So when worship was over I went straight to bed.
Thursday 6.9.16
We woke up at 6am to be ready for our morning workout at 7am, which was a half hour hike with our backpacks and daypacks. It was hard and there is a very mean hill that feels like death when you walk up it, but once you’re at the top it’s such a rush of accomplishment. After our hike we got about an hour of personal time, which was really nice because I was able to open my bible and reflect on the day before!
All of our meals are served family style, so a tray with food for eight because we sit at tables of eight. For meals we eat food we will be eating around the world, so it was Asia day! While eating the food is part of it, another part is learning the culture and manners of eating, so we were not allowed to serve ourselves we had to serve each other and we had to leave some food on our plate if we were done, but if we wanted more we would eat everything off of our plate – different than here in America where we enjoy being in the “clean plate club”.
Breakfast: Soup with noodles and a half an orange (very minimal food)
Lunch: Veggie fried rice, an 1/8 of a sandwich and 1/8 of an orange
Dinner: Fish, white rice, and a Asian coleslaw (it was amazing)
After breakfast we had worship and then squad introductions and games to meet each other. We then had free time before lunch, we get to hang out with each other, play games, talk – it’s wonderful.
We had sessions and things to do to get to know our Squad. After dinner we had worship and then bed.
Friday 6.10.16
We got to sleep in! Well it felt like sleeping in, we all woke up at 7am to be ready for breakfast by 8:15 am. There was no workout this morning because we had our required fitness hike.
Food today was Eastern Europe; that included eating with your fork in your left hand and spoon and knife in the other and toasts were given at every meal. The food was phenomenal after feeling like not getting a lot the day prior.
Breakfast: pastries with jam inside, strawberries, yogurt, and scrambled eggs
Lunch: sausage, red potatoes, and cucumber tomato salad with dill
Dinner: Noodles with tomato sauce, lamb and a baguette
After breakfast we had some more personal and squad time with team building activities and bonding time. We had a session and then lunch following. After lunch was our fitness hike.
When we commit to the race we are required to do a fitness hike, 3 miles in 50 minutes with our big backpacks on. We broke out into groups of 5-7 and if you were slow you would be in the first group – well I already knew I was slow so I wanted to be placed in the first group. I started at 1:30pm and finished at 2:22pm. I was 2 minutes off, just two. I struggled through it, it was so much harder than I thought it would be, more hills than I thought, and it was way hotter than it had been. But I was blessed with an amazing angel, Alys. That girl and God got me through one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. I would not have finished if it weren’t for Alys and the glory of God. And although I did not make the cut off, I felt so good about myself, everyone on my team was so supportive and encouraging and I just felt so blessed in that moment that I was already ready to do it again. God gave me such good spirit after that, I cannot believe how happy I was that I had to do it again, because normally I would be so disappointed in myself, but I couldn’t help but feel proud.
We had some personal time after our hike and then we had squad scenarios. This scenario we were split off into pairs, one was a lion and the other a tiger. The “airport” lost their packs, so the tigers had to share their things with the lions. I shared my tent, and we both slept on the ground together, the tent was a lot warmer with two bodies in it.
After dinner we had worship and a session, which is no short adventure. When the music gets going everyone starts dancing and praising His name, it’s amazing to see what God is just doing here at training camp. After an extremely hot and sweaty worship, I was able to take a shower! Here at camp we have bucket showers – you fill up a bucket with a hose, take it into a stall and use the cup in the bucket to shower yourself. It was freezing and it felt awesome. And off to bed I went.
Saturday 6.11.16
6am we got up to workout at 7 as a squad, today was ½ hour run. After our workout we went to breakfast and got a little surprise.
It was Africa day, which meant that the men got to sit at the tables and the women had to serve the men their food and sit on the floor to eat. Men are also very affectionate towards each other so men holding hands walking from place to place means friendship. We were also told to eat with our hands.
Breakfast: hard boiled eggs, bananas, oranges and French fries
Lunch: collard greens, lentils and pop (which is a corn meal type thing that looks like mashed potatoes)
Dinner: Jerk chicken and white rice
After breakfast we had worship, a session and some squad time. Lunch followed and then personal time and one on one’s and check-ins. After my check in I was to do the three-mile hike again, and it was even hotter than it was the day before and we did it on a black track. I was doing so well and then the heat got to me, I have never felt that way in my life, I felt like I was going to throw up and pass out. I don’t remember certain parts of the hike, so for my health my coach I was with said it’s not giving up, its listening to your body, so I did. I had a really hard time cooling down and the nausea would not go away. So I had to sit inside and cool down, which I did. God did this for a reason, I am not in the best shape and I know that, but this is God’s way of telling me that I need to take better care of my body because in order to serve and take care of others, I need to take care of myself first. So I am still going on the race, they have grace and I have been given endless grace. My squad has been so supportive and praying for me and encouraging me. It has been amazing to feel so much of God’s love from people I met 4 days ago.
So we had dinner and our last worship with the band and a session. It was so powerful, the holy spirit was present in that room. And then our scenario came into play. We were flying from Central America to the Philippines but got stuck at a layover for twelve hours in South Korea, so we slept in the training center “airport”. All we had was our carryon because our packs were checked and already in the Philippines, so we had time to learn how to pack our daypacks for travel days. It was cool in the “airport” it felt amazing, but they played airport sounds all night super loud! I don’t think I got a wink of sleep.
Sunday 6.12.16
Back at it at 6am we were able to pack up our things and head back to our squad’s campsite and were told to leave everything but our daypacks in our tent. No workout this morning, thank the Lord.
Today was Gender Retreats so the men went for a twelve-mile overnight hike and the women have sessions and team building activities.
Food was just American finger food.
Breakfast: cereal (honey nut cheerios or apple jacks), apples and a blueberry muffin
Lunch: Pita bread, tuna salad, lettuce
Dinner: Baked potato, broccoli, sour cream, butter, gravy and watermelon
After breakfast our first session was about finding out who God wants us to be as women. It was extremely powerful and we were able to get into groups of three and have deeper discussions and relate to each other that way.
Then for team building we were broken into groups of seven and had scenarios that we had to work through, it also happened to be combined with our workout for the day. So in our scenarios in order to pay for things we needed we had to do certain workouts such as, squats, push-ups, sit-ups, planks and lunges. It was exhausting but so worth it, we did such an amazing job as a team it was really fun.
After lunch we had some personal time and then another session. This session was hard, it was raw, it was about guilt and shame and how to deal with those things and how we are daughters of Christ and that we need to depend on each other. We gave it up to God, it’s not over though, and getting rid of shame is a process.
After session we had an hour and a half of personal time, so I ran up to the deck grabbed a couch laid under the fan and took a nap for an hour. It was so glorious. Then I woke up and helped my squad create a packing list with things we need for the race.
After dinner we had squad time. It was real, it was raw, and it was emotional. There are so many women on the squad that have been through so much and it is painful to see your sisters in pain. But we have each other to support and help heal.
I took another bucket shower, and once again it was phenomenal. And then I went to bed – and I did not wake up once, I slept like a rock and that was the first time I had done that since I got here.
Monday 6.13.16
We got to sleep in a little this morning and got up at 6:45am and we had team workout it was yoga this morning at 7am. We had to have all of our backpacks packed up and as we were packing the men returned from their hike. We were very excited to see them. We had breakfast and then personal time.
Breakfast: toast, scrambled eggs, sausage and cheese
Lunch: PIZZA!!!!! God’s most beautiful blessing
Dinner: kabobless kabobs – chicken, zucchini, yellow squash, red pepper, onion, spices, coconut milk
After breakfast we had a session on community and feedback and how feedback is helpful but in our culture we have so many negative connotations with feedback but it is a healthy part of life. Following lunch we had another session more about the field – Wi-Fi, being present, PVT (Parent Vision Trips), and parent information for launch. We learned how to blog and vlog and why it is important to do, because it’s not our story it’s God’s story and some peoples voices can’t be heard so we have to be their voices.
We had a Squad camp out! So we went to Don Carter State Park and camped out, we made a shelter and dinner. It poured for about a half an hour and then we headed down to the beach for worship, it was so beautiful, the water was warm and there were real toilets. We slept under tarps crammed in like sardines and I slept like a rock.
Tuesday 6.14.16
5:45am wake-up call to get up, pack up and have breakfast so that we could be shuttled back to camp. We had personal time, squad worship and team building activities and then some down time so we headed up to our squad hang out which was the deck behind the lodge.
Breakfast: Bagels with either cream cheese or peanut butter and fruit
Lunch: Tacos – hard and soft shells, lettuce, tomato, rice, beans, corn and beef
Dinner: Chicken, rice, beans and plantains
It ended up being Latin America for food and culture practices. Kisses on the cheeks are a good way to greet people. We were also told to practice our Spanish.
After lunch we had a session about basic information on the race. We then had more team building activities. After dinner we had an amazing worship about the Holy Spirit and how it speaks to us and through us to help other people. It was incredible.
We had a late night scenario where we had to stay up worshiping all night, so at anytime one of our squad members had to be worshiping in the dinning tent. So I showered and did a shift from 11-11:30pm and then I went back and crashed.
Wednesday 6.15.16
Woke up at 6:30am to workout out 7am. We did whatever we wanted to do as a workout this morning; we were confined to a small space so we did circuit training and stretching. I led a Barr routine, which really stretched out my legs but it was extremely calming.
We headed down to breakfast which was “Travel Day” themed. So it was things we would eat on the go.
Breakfast: Bread, peanut butter, bananas and raisins
Lunch: PB&J sandwiches and chips
Dinner: Out with Team
After breakfast we had announcements that we would be broken into two groups and one had a session and the other had final team building group and then one last session. Following lunch we met at our Squad sleeping area and found out our finalized teams. We then had to say yes and commit to each other and we did a very powerful “yes” line where we got to look everyone in the eye say yes we commit to you for this 11 months, it was very powerful!
Now here is my beautiful team – the Worthy Warriors!
Erika, Desiree, Cat (our fearless team leader), Kelsey, Bethany, Jenna and Me!
We got to go out to dinner around Gainesville, so of course our first stop was Starbucks! And then we went to dinner at Mellow Mushroom, which was super good! We had great conversations and came up with our team name, Worthy Warriors! After we went back to camp and had a shower and went to bed!
Thursday 6.16.16
We started out the day with another early morning at 6:30am so that we could come up with and practice our dance for SQUAD WARS. We had a little personal time and breakfast.
India Day! Women have to wear a scarf or head covering on their head while eating or during meetings. We also could not use our left hand for anything, it is extremely offensive because people use their left hand to (excuse me, but) wipe their bottoms after using the restroom.
Breakfast: Lentils, pita bread, hard boiled egg and chai tea
Lunch: Chicken Curry and white rice
Dinner: Market Scenario
After breakfast we had sessions about things we will be doing on the field so; evangelism, teaching and preaching. I went to teaching so we talked about what to expect when teaching in other countries and with kids who do not speak English. We were broken into groups and were told to write a few practice curriculums. We had a break for lunch and then went back to sessions and I got to help teach curriculum we came up with – it was so much fun to pretend to be kids, I haven’t laughed so hard I cried in a really long time, it was great!
Then we got our last scenario – community living! We had to fit 10 people and all of our stuff (day packs and big backpacks) in our tent! We got situated and then waited for out dinner scenario.
The Market Scenario – it was terrifying! It was so loud and we had to convert money and find the food we wanted and people were trying to steal things and scam us and sell us “drugs”. It was so overwhelming. Then we had debrief about the market and how to handle certain situations.
We practiced our dance again and went to bed.
Friday 6.17.16
FINALLY – SQUAD WARS!!! … kinda.
We woke up and had breakfast, had two sessions on things that we were interested in being leadership for and working more closely with on the field. I went to Beauty for Ashes and a session on Orphans. Then lunch and after lunch we were to meet at our Squad campsite. We had another session on how to fill out a VISA for Ghana – which was terrifying because we had to send in our passports with our application to the Embassy of Ghana in Washington DC.
Then my name was called to go to the front of the room and I was asked if I was interested in being on the Logistics team for my squad. So I had to go to another session with Amy and Jonathan to learn more about logistics and what that role would entail. We accepted our role and it includes booking hotels, transportation, making sure everyone gets their visas and getting into countries – not too complicated right? [YIKES] (picture of me, Jonathan and Amy! Legitsticks)
Then we had a little while to prepare for SQUAD WARS. We went to a park and it was HOT, HOT, HOT!!! We started off with the dance off! We tied and as a tie breaker we had our best 3 dancers dance but sadly we came in second for the dance. After that we had the relay races which was extremely complicated and our team did amazing! We came in first place for the relay and last but not least was the tug of war… on the first round the two teams broke the rope. So we could only have our top ten people, and sadly we lost. We came in second place for squad wars! We had burgers and hot dogs for dinner and then we went to Dairy Queen for dessert and went back to camp, hung out and went to bed.
Saturday 6.18.16
Early morning again – Last one! We had to take down camp and pack up everything and put it in the circle driveway so that we could load the buses and vans to get to the airport.
We then had a “walk through” breakfast (pop tarts and fruit). We had to clean up the entire campus – we were in charge of general clean up so making sure there was no trash and putting tables and coolers back where they belong.
We said goodbye to each other and the people who drove left and we waited for about two hours to go to the airport, and once we got there we checked our bags and wandered around the Atlanta airport for six hours! We hit up chick-fil-a right away for lunch and got some Starbucks a while after that. We got to the airport at about noon and my flight wasn’t until 5:30, but my flight got delayed TWICE! So we finally took off about 7pm and I was able to get back to Minneapolis by 8:30pm!
I was so excited to see my mom! I talked her ear off the whole way home! I took a beautiful shower with running water and went to bed!
Sunday 6.19.16
I woke up at about 6am (7am Atlanta time) so it felt like sleeping in. I walked around my house for a while – bored because there was no structure and all of my friends were now spread out all over the country! I took about an hour nap, went to see Finding Dory, came home took about a two hour nap had dinner with my grandparents and then went to bed. I didn’t feel very good and I was exhausted all day!
Adjustment coming home was difficult to say the least, but It was an amazing week that made me even more excited for what the Lord has planned for me on my race!
