From July 10th – 20th, six gap year squads, all going on different routes, joined together in Gainesville, Georgia for 10 days of chaos (in the best sense of the word) known as training camp.
For those 10 days, we pitched our tents (and took them down and pitched them again and took them down over and over…. All in the name of practice! Won’t be having tent trouble i can tell you that) and finally met the faces that we get to call family for the next year. We attended sessions, learned about our future homes, ate with our hands, mastered the art that is bucket showering, hiked the Georgia hills with our 40 pound packs, and avoided the porta potties sitting in the July heat as much as possible. All kinds of dirty and sweaty and tired but way more joy and excitement to over power it.
I’d be lying if I told you I hadn’t thought about quitting the race a few times in the first couple days (spiders bigger than your hand waiting on your pillow at night take a real toll on a girl). But by the end of camp, I had no doubt in my mind this is where I was supposed to be. This is what I’m meant for. Nothing has made more sense to me. I was pushed physically, emotionally, spiritually, and every way in between. We laughed until we cried, we straight up just cried, we encouraged and loved and lived. I really feel like I grew 10 years in those 10 days.
The men and women leading us are crazy in love with the Lord and pointed us to Him every second of every day. God showed me things about myself, about those around me, and about Him that I had never seen before. My heart was WRECKED in the best way possible. One girl said something day two of camp that I saw come to life in so many ways; “Heaven is not just a place we go when we die… it’s a culture we get to create on earth.” Watched this through my team coming alongside each other with deep struggles, no requirements, just 8 broken girls loving each other. I watched this when I looked around the room of 300 people, exhausted but worshipping, singing “He is faithful” and “I am a child of God” at the top of their lungs, proclaiming it, BELIEVING IT!!!! I watched this as our squad mentor spoke over us with not a fleck of doubt in heart, “ You are limitless with Christ. You are going to be limitless.” And my 48 squad mates (angels, all of them I swear. Too good to be true!) empowering, encouraging, loving one another with everything they had. Heaven touching earth all around me. Real and vulnerable and beautiful stuff!!
I’d take up hours of your time if I could to tell you every good thing that happened at training camp. I honestly wish everyone could experience the magic that happened. I’ve never felt so ready, so capable, so in love with the Lord and His people. “God loves us just the way we are, but he loves us too much to leave us the way we are.” I am limitless through Christ. I am so ready to be changed.
Some disposables to give you an actual look at camp life::
Home of T-Squad!!! Lots of tents, lots of bugs, lots of life. (We won squad wars by the way…important stuff)
real life site of the famous bucket showers
one of those “heaven on earth moments” i was talking about. “you. are. good.”
when it rains so you don’t have to bucket shower!!! gross? yes! camp acceptable? Y E S
Chefs for the evening. 2/8 wildly amazing guys on my squad. All types of odd these boys. Full of joy and love, all of them.
Africa day means eating with your hands. Couldn’t tell you what’s on that plate but I can tell you Will tried his best and Malia gave plenty of sass about it (not out of character for either)
little bit of T-Squad. Don’t deserve them at. all. influencers and leaders and WORLD CHANGERS!!
opened her tent to me when mine was “lost at the airport” (simulation of the day). the stunning Mady McHugh
my team! Selah! – “pause and reflect on the Lord” read their blogs you won’t regret it (Brooke Selby, Abbey Rhoads, Kelsey Parrish, Emma Eaton, Mary Grace Curran, Hannah Chaon)
pre-squad wars… Intense and insane and maybe a little too competitive?? Just a reminder; we won.
