World Race training camp was challenging, beautiful, exhausting, joy filled and life-changing! I’ve been back home for a few days now and i’m still trying to process everything that God did in my heart while I was in Gainesville, Georgia.
It was 10 days full of scenarios that were designed to stretch us and push us outside of our comfort zone. We camped out in our tents through torrential rainstorms, we ate all types of international foods, we took ice cold bucket showers, we completed a challenging fitness hike with our giant packs on, we used porta potties the entire time, we learned how to look at scripture through different cultural lenses, and we spent a ton of time building relationships with one another.
But it was also SO MUCH MORE than all of that!
There was one specific moment in worship that i’ll never forget from my training camp experience. We were singing “my chains are gone, i’ve been set free” and God gave me a vision of a heart that was tangled up in chains. I saw His hands gently unwinding all of the chains off of that heart, removing them completely, and setting the chains in a pile on the ground. The heart was no longer in bondage, no longer enslaved, it was completely free! I heard God clearly and loudly in His quiet and gentle voice say to me, “Are you ready to fully walk in this freedom i’ve offered you?” I wept and said YES, Lord! He is my chain breaker and I am walking in freedom because of Him and Him alone! Galatians 5:1 — “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery”
I could probably write an entire book on what all God taught me and did in my heart in just those 10 days, but for now, I just want to share some of my favorite things that He revealed to me at training camp!
- I was born to be LOVED by Him.
- And so were all of you! 1 John 4:19 — “We love BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.” How cool is it that God created each and every one of us with the desire of simply being loved by Him!! I realized when I was at training camp that I have been so busy searching for ways to prove my worth, acceptance, and love for Him… that I haven’t really been living in the Truth that HE LOVED ME FIRST and that His love alone is more than enough! We need to start living like we are LOVED fiercely and unconditionally, because we are! We were made for the center of His love!
- Surrender > Perfection.
- Perfection is something I have spent nearly my entire life striving for and struggling with. Anyone who knows me well, would likely use the word “perfectionist” as one of the first words to describe me. When I was at training camp, the words I continuously heard from the Lord over and over were “I want your surrender, not your perfection.” Instead of fighting for perfection, He’s asking me to fight for His Kingdom with a giant YES in my heart. A YES to whatever and wherever He calls me to. I’m finished with trying to control and perfect everything within and around me and i’m walking in a new level of surrender with my Heavenly Father. His will, not mine. His timing, not mine. His way, not mine.
- The Holy Spirit is wild, beautiful, and actually the coolest.
- Training camp radically transformed my perspective of the Holy Spirit and i’m still in the process of learning so so much! What I do know is that the Holy Spirit will call you to some pretty unexpected things. Like spending a couple hours encouraging and praying with people at a specific gas station that the Spirit led my team and I to. When the Spirit moves in us, we have the choice to walk boldly in obedience, or to brush it off and continue on with our normal day to day life. A lot of our sessions were about learning how to walk in obedience when when the Spirit guides us. Like asking Him to give us a word for someone in the room, and then boldly stepping out to go and speak that word over them. There were so many leaders, squadmates, and teammates that came up to me throughout those ten days with words that only God knew I needed to hear. Words that were exactly the opposite of what the enemy had been speaking over me. Words that were convicting, encouraging, and overwhelmingly good. The Holy Spirit is our wild, beautiful Helper who comes to convict us, never to condemn us!
- Be Still.
- There was one day of training camp that was designated as our Sabbath day. We got to choose how we spent it and were encouraged to really focus on being honest with ourselves and with God about where we were at physically, emotionally, and spiritually. One thing I realized is just how difficult it is for me to sit still and simply rest in His presence. Even in my “quiet times” I always have music playing in the background, but sitting in complete silence is so hard for me to do. So, on my sabbath day, I spent time practicing being still and in silence with God, simply listening to Him. I realized that many of my conversations with Him are often pretty one sided. It’s nearly always me doing the talking, and not doing much of the listening. I’m learning that the more I posture myself in a place of silence, the more I will be able to hear from Him. And the more I know His Word, the more I will be able to hear His voice! Also, I realized how I have never really made Sabbath a priority in my own life and how incredibly vital it is for my walk with my Heavenly Father. When we are still, God does something truly beautiful in us, that He couldn’t do any other way!
- Ministry is Life, Life is Ministry.
- This was something we heard ALOT throughout training camp and being back home now, I am seeing how TRUE this is. My ministry and mission field for these next ten weeks is right here in my own backyard. My ministry is here now, overseas in 11 countries throughout this next year, and who knows where it’ll be after that. Whether you’re sitting in church, walking through the aisles in Target, eating dinner with your family, or talking to the barista in your local coffee shop… there are endless opportunities to build up the Kingdom of God. How cool is it that no matter where you are or what you are doing, God wants us to join in on what He is doing in the lives of those around us?! God is building up His Kingdom all around you. Are you going to choose to sit back and live a simple, comfortable Christian life, or are you going to be a vessel of His love, light, and Kingdom to everyone you meet?
There are about a hundred other things I could share with you about what God taught me in just 10 days at training camp, but for the sake of this post, i’ll go ahead and stop here. If you’d like to hear more though, please reach out! Let’s get coffee or have a meal together!
Here’s a pic of my amazing c-squad family! The people who embraced me and loved me for who I am and instantly became my tribe. I seriously can’t wait to continue to get to know them and their beautiful hearts as we continue on this adventure together!
I walked away from training camp knowing that i’ll never be the same. I walked away from training camp believing that this is just the beginning of a this crazy, wild, beautiful journey God has me on. I walked away from training camp understanding that this isn’t even about the 11 countries I’m going to be in this next year… it’s fully and completely about God’s Kingdom and learning how to continuously die to myself and live wholeheartedly for Him! He is faithful and good and so so holy!
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