I now know what every World Racer means when they say this next year of my life is going to be the “Worst, Best Year” of my life. I got a small glimpse at Training Camp this last week of how the Lord is going to start wrecking what I know to build something infinitely better than I can imagine. I think CS Lewis perfectly described it with this famous quote:
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
Let me give you a little insight into what I learned this past week…
- Backpacks are not waterproof.
I got to camp Saturday May 18th around 5 pm. I was greeted by F Squad (the 45-ish people I’ll be spending this next year with). We all set up out tents, enjoyed the sunshine and got to know each other the rest of the day, eventually all passing out in our respective tents to rest for the unknown adventures of the next day. When morning came, we woke up to the beautiful, soft pitter-patter of rain on our tents. As we packed up our tents into our packs, our squad leaders assured us that they would keep our packs safe and sound under a plastic tarp for the day. As the day went on it continued to steadily rain into the evening. When we finally made it back to our camp ground to set up our tents, our squad leaders were there to tell us some tragic news, and surprisingly it wasn’t that our packs were soaked (that was just the icing on the cake). It was that in our very first logistics scenario … ½ of our squads packs were “lost by the airport while flying overseas.” WHAT?!?! Ok, not only were we dealing with cold, wet sleeping bags and clothes, but we had to share with teammates that had “lost their luggage.” Not going to lie… I thought about quitting right there. But guess what, even though we had a fairly restless and cold night of sleep, I got to bond with one of my squad-mates, Christina, in a way that I might not have otherwise gotten to.
- We’re not robots.
If I received nothing else this week … I for a fact believe and have seen that the Holy Spirit is ALIVE and WORKING! And praise the Lord that He works through us in different ways! I loved seeing my squad mates worship, use spiritual gifts, encourage and help each other, pray for one another, and so much more in different, but equally beautiful ways! (PS – if you have more question, please ask! I would love to tell you the different ways I experienced the Lord and His work this past week!)
- Teaching yoga just might be my spiritual gift.
Each morning when we packed up our tents and met at 7 AM sharp, we were given an “Exercise Challenge.” Three of those days, I taught yoga to my squad. I was showered with love and appreciation for being willing to teach, and realized that my love for yoga can be shared with others.
- I might have to eat a goat in front of an African tribe.
Food this week was … umm … interesting. Each day had a theme of a different continent (Africa, Asia, Central America, etc.) and I have never seen so many carbs!! Each day we also had to adopt the customs of different cultures, which included eating with our hands one day, serving the men first for another, covering our heads the next, and so on. Most of you know I am a vegetarian, and surprisingly I think there was only 2 or 3 meals where I couldn’t really eat anything. On those fateful days I was prepared with some power bars and trail mix. However, I was assured that over this next year there will most definitely be countries and cultures I struggle in food wise. The chef that was at camp actually told me a story of a being in the middle of the African bush and a tribe killing and cooking a prime goat for them to eat. They sat around a table and the ENTIRE tribe stared while they ate this delicacy. Feel free to start praying that this doesn’t happen to me, but also that my mind and body will be prepared when I do have to take the occasional bite of meat.
- Baby wipes make everything better.
Ok… I have a math problem for you. 150+ girls are in the elements for 7 days with a very limited amount of free time and 4 showers. How many girls smell after those 7 days? Yep, this is not hypothetical. This was reality. I thankfully was able to shower 3 times this past week without hitting the frequent 20 girl waiting line once (a miracle if you ask me)! However even with 3 showers, at the end of the week I was a little ripe. Baby wipes were my best friend. Not just as a stand in shower though, but as a hand sanitizer after meals without silverware, as face wash, as TP the night we camped out under the stars in the middle of the woods, as my own personal pedicure when my feet decided to collect mud in every crevice! These babies were LIFE SAVERS!
- We can laugh fearlessly!
In the middle of the week we started some team building activities in groups of 6-8 to see how different individuals worked together. After several different combinations I got placed on my first team of 6 girls that I will start off the Race with, live life with, and do ministry with. I can say with complete and utter confidence that these girls are all beautiful and full of so much joy!!! If I have a 6 pack after these first few months from laughing so hard with them, I wouldn’t be surprised (Unless the carb overload counteracts that)! Each team had to come up with a team name and after a little debate we settled on “Fearless Laughter.” The inspiration coming from Proverbs 31:25 – “She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.”
Without further ado, this is my team:
** From Left to Right – Whitney Conner, Christina Smith, Casey Baxter, Shannon Pere, Rocky Rossbach, and ME!!!
- Details!!!
I officially know when I’m going to start my journey!!! It is awesome and somehow a little bit scary to set a date to it. I will leave my sweet hometown of Cookeville, TN in route for Atlanta, GA on June 30th. After a few days of debriefing on safety and the specific locations and ministry work my team will be doing, I will fly out bound for Bolivia on July 3rd. Yes, I said that correctly… Bolivia will be my first country, not Colombia. My route has indeed changed (as I’m sure it will at least half a dozen more times). Thankfully all the countries are the same right now, but the order has been switched up to the following:
July – Bolivia
August – Peru
September – Ecuador
October – Colombia
November – Japan
December – Malaysia
January – Thailand
February – Cambodia
March – Swaziland
April – Botswana
May – South Africa
- F stands for Faith, Freedom, Family, & Fabulous!!!
If you haven’t picked it up already, I’m on F Squad. My new (F)amily! And after this past week, I know that is EXACTLY what they are. I feel like I have already know some of them for years. I CAN NOT wait to spend this next year sharing life with them and growing into the sons and daughters that Christ intends for us to be. Please continue to pray for my (F)amily!!!
