Training Camp — U Squad — Orange Team
A smart fellow once said, “The purpose of training is to tighten up the slack, toughen the body, and polish the spirit.”
He was right.
Honestly, I don’t know where to even begin with telling you about training camp. Some days I felt as if I were training to survive in the army while others, how to survive an airport.
There are 5 main things I learned at training camp.
1. What bucket and baby wipe showers are
A bucket shower is a large paint bucket which you fill up with freezing cold water from a water hose and, with a measuring cup, splash water onto you until you are clean. No matter how hot it is outside, the water somehow manages to stay at a constant freezing temperature.
Replacing the bucket shower (incase you can’t take the coldness of the water or you don’t have the time) is the “baby wipe shower”. This consists of wiping your body down with a few baby wipes, smelling yourself for a stench, and calling it good when you don’t smell as bad as you thought you would.
2. Don’t mock the backpack runners… give it time and it will be you
In college I always laughed at the kids who were booking it across campus backpack flying in the air following behind them. Running with a backpack never gives you room for a great running stance. No matter who you are you always look like one of those lizards that run on their back legs, and you never look coordinated. Well, during training camp we had to hike with everything we owned on our back. The hike was 40 minutes for 2.5 miles. Not that big of a deal right? WRONG. 40 minutes is shorter than it seems. I’m in pretty good shape and guess who was the one backpack sprinting at the end? Me.
3. (Mom was right) You don’t know what you are missing till its gone (Things I knew, but came a reality to me at training camp)
I no longer have my comfort of 3 pillows.
I do not have running water for brushing my teeth.
Some days my luggage gets lost and I will not brush my teeth.
A tile floor sounds like a discomforting bed… and yes, yes it is.
I will go to bed feeling sticky from humidity… often.
No seconds, extra or desserts
We were given meals at training camp similar to things we would eat on the field. Each meal had just enough food that I never felt hungry, but I was never full. I didn’t realize until training camp how it was a comfort to me to always know I could have more if I wanted it (even if I didn’t want or need it).
4. Community
I slept in my own tent only 2 nights of the 10 I was at training. 1 in my hammock, 1 on the floor of an airport and the rest with my squad mates.
This community has blown me away. I have only spent 10 days with them, but at the end of the 10 days I felt as if I had known them for years. They are a body of believers who desire so deeply to sharpen and grow with one another for the kingdom. I loved staying up late with them singing worship songs and talking about what God has done in our lives. I can’t wait to see what this next year has for us.
5. Attitude is everything
One night they had us camp out. And when I say “camp out” I mean the only thing they gave us for camping equipment was rope and a tarp. The night that was chosen for us to camp was a night that stormed and rained HARD. Nothing we had with us was left dry. We tied up the tarps in the rain and held the middle up with long branches so that they wouldn’t collect with water. It was a long and very cold night. We had to share supplies because we weren’t allowed to bring our own bags. That night we had 4 girls sharing one sleeping bag, 3 on 2 sleeping mats and 18 under one tarp squashed so tightly together if one moved everyone knew. I was so cold I shivered myself to sleep, but I couldn’t help but be so joyful as I laid there cold and wet. Everyone I was with made light of a horrible situation. They were joyful in the midst of (what we would have considered then) pain and suffering. For many children around the world that is their reality every rainy night. For me, that was only one night of my life. I had never experienced anything like that.
They say that empathy is being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and feel for them. Well, until that night, I believe had been sitting on the sympathy side calling it empathy.
I’m thankful for training camp, the hard experiences just as much as the fun easy ones.
God is good. All the time.
