Training Camp
Hello friends! I want to give you the low down on my living conditions in Ecuador and my experience at training camp.
First let’s start with training camp. They truly prepared us for the worst. We only had portapotties for 4 days and outside washing stations. The showers consisted of a shower house, questionable curtains, and a bucket (no running water). I found out that Georgia weather this time of year has rather chilly nights and then add freezing hose water on top of it and you get many screaming girls having no idea what they signed up for. Finally, to end the day after lectures, teaming building, praising God, and many other taxing but refreshing tasks, we got to sleep on the floor with a thin mattress among fifty other girls.
If there is one thing I can say about training camp it is it taught me to be flexible and adaptable. One of my favorite parts about training camp was the food. Why? Because everyday was themed a different country. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner made from tradition foods from either Africa, Latin American, or Southeast Asia and I have to say, I am not a fan of eating with my hands. It felt like I was eating all the grime under my fingernails. Gross right?
But behind all these tangible ways to make me grow was the incredible spiritual growth I experienced in 4 days. The lectures were incredible and the worship made me appreciate different styles in a way that I had never before. Adventures in Missions puts an emphasis on Community, Intimacy, and Mission as there view on living out the Great Commission. They believe that when these three concepts are combined, the kingdom of God within the body of believers is achieved.
Warning… this next part can and will make some people uncomfortable and has the possibility to challenge your spiritual lenses because I know it changed mine. I was introduced to the spiritual gifts of healing and prophesying at camp. I had only heard stories about these things but they were happening right in front of me. We were taught how to hear and obey the Holy Spirit in a personal way. Part of me thought this was all a load of crap but then I thought Who Am I to question who and how God chooses to work through? I decided to keep an open mind and heart about what was happening and a miracle occurred. I thought I was crazy; I didn’t tell anyone for the first whole day because I thought it was just the Georgia air or whatever that means. I was prayed over for healing, and God chose to heal my knee pain I have had consistently for a year now since the surgery. The weakness is still there but the pain is gone. This happened to another girl at the camp which validated me and helped me realize that this was not some magic in the water situation but God placing His healing hand on my knee and blessing me. I think it might have been His way of saying “this is just the beginning of My power, don’t doubt me again because you’ve never seen it before”. Thank you God for the incredible reminder!
Finally we can move onto Ecuador. They prepared us for the worst at training camp and after 19 hours of travel we arrived at Inca Link Quito, Ecuador. I have a real mattress sleeping with only 6 other people, real bathrooms, real showers, and Ecuadorian food at least twice a day in ministry days. There have been some food I never wanted to stop eating and some that I wish I had never started eating but that is part of the experience. There are many odd things we do not do in the United States that their culture deems “normal” here like never flushing your toilet paper down the toilet, not letting any food go to waste and I mean Any, or their concept of personal space.
There are many more details I could bore you with and I will in a later post but for now I would just like to thank you all for reading along with my journey and supporting me with your prayers. I plan to continue keeping everyone as updated as possible but WiFi can be hard to find here. Hope you all have a wonderful day and here is your daily reminder that Jesús te ama!
