Training camp was one of the hardest 10 days i’ve had, but in ways that I was not expecting. I’ll start by saying things that I surprisingly did not struggle with. Although most of these things were in some way uncomfortable, God gave me the strength to not think about these things or to just embrace them. First of all, Georgia was very hot and muggy, and living outside would not have been my first choice but somehow I was invigorated by it. Porta Potties have never been my favorite thing, but I didn’t let it get to me. I ended up finding a love and appreciation for freezing cold bucket showers. Dirty clothes, bugs, unfamiliar foods, and packing up my entire pack (including my tent) almost every day were all things that I would expect myself to struggle with, but in a great way, they only made me feel more accomplished.
Now the hard parts. When I arrived at camp I felt like I was misguided in my decision. I went through the first few days and the only thoughts in my mind were how did I get here, why didn’t I just go to college, and I don’t belong here. Everything that I hadn’t thought about; leaving my family, leaving my friends, living in an erratically new atmosphere for 9 months, and having to let up on my very independent spirituality caught up to me very quickly. The only thing that I knew to do was to pray for Peace over my decision. In doing that, God clearly showed me what his plan was. I felt that I was deceived by God, but in fact I was listening to him clearly and he was telling me to go on the race, it was just for different reasons than I had expected. God used my passion for people, traveling, and a need for a drastically new experience to get me to training camp where he then revealed a whole new depth to my passions. Before camp, I thought that I was going out to do God’s work by helping people, bringing blessings, and making relationships. I have now realized that is only the beginning. The greatest gift and blessing that we can give to people is to simply show them what peace and joy the Lord can bring to them. The smiles and kindness that missionaries can bring to people are no match to the blessing that the Lord can bring to them. All I can do is show people what God has done in my life, how he walks with me, how he comforts me, and why I want to strive to walk like Jesus did, and God WILL do the rest of the work.
After realizing that God did guide me to the race for a reason, He only continued to reiterate that to me. When I began to give thanks for what I was gaining from this experience, instead of dwelling on the hard parts, I got the opportunity to enjoy so many blessings. My team, which is 6 other girls that I will be doing life with, is so perfect. I feel so much comfort from this group of wonderful people it is overwhelming. From just 10 days at camp I got the opportunity to learn from such great speakers and mentors. I also had the true realization of how great everyone and everything I have at home is. I have such a wonderful support system and a beautiful place to call home. Last of all, one of the biggest rewards I have gotten is the opportunity to share with people since I have been home. Since I have been working through things myself, the conversation of the Lord has been magnified among my friends and even some strangers. I had learned so much during camp, and it only helped me to have better words to explain why and what God can do.
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