DISCLAIMER: Training Camp spoilers are ahead! If you are a future World Racer, I advise you NOT to read this blog. I want you to experience training with no expectations so that you can have your own unique experience! Trust me!
Everyone else, go ahead and read the blog 😀
I just got back from the World Race Training Camp yesterday! For those of you who don’t know, Training Camp is a 10 day long camp where all of the squads leaving in September 2015 came together to prepare for our 11 month journey and grow in God. We spent the whole time sleeping in tents, going through WR scenarios, worshipping, eating foreign foods, and participating in team building activities.
Training camp was not at all what I expected. I was pushed to my limits physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I was out in the Georgia heat and humidity almost all day every day. I had to go through caffeine withdrawals for the first 3 days (the headaches were real though). I only took 3 showers the whole time, and they were out of a bucket. I had to face the shame from my past and share it with others. I was hungry most of the time because our meals usually were a very small bowl of foreign food. The team building exercises were not easy. In one exercise I had to carry someone on my back for about half a mile up a couple huge hills in the blistering sun after doing multiple squats, lunges, and pushups. I thought I was in shape but DANG THAT WAS ROUGH!! A normal night of sleep was about 5 hours in my tent. Some nights we barely slept at all because we had sleeping scenarios where we had to sleep in uncomfortable situations that we might face on the race, like sharing a large tent with 10 other people. I was exhausted physically, emotionally and spiritually. But…. through it all, IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!!
I have never been as close to God and other people as much as I was during training camp. I was able to be vulnerable with my squad mates and shared things with them that I have never shared with anyone before. From that, I received healing because I allowed God and other Christians to help me face the darkest parts of my heart. I gained a new perspective on life and an appreciation for the things I often take for granted like a shower, running water, a bed, clean clothes, and air-conditioning. I made 49 new best friends on my squad who I love and appreciate and cannot wait to spend the next 11 months with. I learned so much about God and myself during this time. I learned what it means to minister and love on other people like Jesus did. I am still processing what I went through and probably will be for a while. As much as I wish I could share everything I did and learned with you all, it would take me about 5 days and be about as long as a novel. Instead, I am going to share the most important and impactful things I learned throughout the past 10 days.
Things I learned at WR Training Camp:
1. How to listen to the Holy Spirit:
Before training camp, I did not understand the Holy Spirit very well. I know that the Holy Spirit resides in those who accept Jesus into their hearts and we are supposed to listen to it. This was a very abstract idea that I never grasped. This all changed in training camp.
During one of our evening sessions, the speaker called a couple racers to stand up in their seat. He then asked the rest of us who were sitting down to pray to God and ask Him if there was someone standing who we should pray for and to give us a word, a picture, or a bible verse that we could tell them. If we felt a calling to pray for them, we were to go up to the person and tell them what God told us. After a couple minutes of this exercise, the speaker asked for some of those who were standing up to share what people prayed over them. It amazed me how each person received prayers from other people that were applicable to what they were going through in the moment.
So, the way we listen to the Holy Spirit is by asking for God to share with us what He wants us to do. That overwhelming feeling or thought after we ask is the Holy Spirit communicating to us. But we can not just stop there, God wants us to do what he tells us. Sometimes it might not make sense what He is asking, but I have heard some amazing stories about people following the Holy Spirit and speaking directly into other people’s struggles.
For those of you who might still be confused about the Holy Spirit or who are having trouble determining what is from God and what is not, here are a few practical things that I learned at training camp that might help. There are three places where our thoughts come from. God, our flesh, and the enemy. We can tell if our thoughts are from the Holy Spirit by asking these 5 simple questions:
- Does it exalt Christ? John 16: 13-14 “But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”
- Is it scriptural? Proverbs 30: 5-6 “Every word of God (SCRIPTURE) is flawless; he is a shield those who take refuge in him. Do not add words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”
- Do other Christians confirm it? Proverbs 15:22 “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers (other Christians) they succeed”
- Does it produce good fruit (fruits of the Spirit)? John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit– fruit that will last- and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
- Does God bring it to pass? Isaiah 55:11“My word [goes] out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but it will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”- (you won’t get this answer until what God says to you actually happens)
If the answer to these questions is yes, then you can assure yourself that the thought is from the Holy Spirit.
2. You can do ministry ANYWHERE
During one of the days in camp, the leaders of camp prepared an international “marketplace” for us where we had to purchase our dinner. The leaders set up a realistic marketplace where they dressed up and acted like food vendors, crazy tourists, beggars, and street performers. The place was crazy and stressful with the “vendors” yelling, people riding motorcycles through the market, the “beggars” asking everyone for food, and “performers” asking for money, and “tourists” asking questions. We had fake currency and had to haggle the vendors for a reasonable price. When I entered the market I was immediately stressed out and went into panic/survival mode. I didn’t talk to anyone and I only wanted to buy my food because I was hungry and afraid I wouldn’t get my food because of the long lines and crowdedness of the place.
After the market experience and dinner, we were brought into the sanctuary for debriefing. The leaders/actors told us they had been watching us the whole time and that we did not act the way Jesus would. I was completely convicted. The market was an opportunity where I could have spread God’s love to others by talking with people on the streets and showing them the love of Christ. I could have given my food to the homeless, I could have helped out the tourists, I could have asked the names and stories of the vendors, but instead I pushed them all away because I was selfish and wanted my food.
The lesson I learned from this experience is that every place I go is an opportunity to minister to others. All I need to do is take time to get to know the people around me and show them love and care. Through this, I might even have the opportunity to share with people why I am acting in a loving way which I can gladly share “because Jesus loved me first”. This leads me into the next thing I learned which is:
3. Talk LIKE Jesus instead of ABOUT Jesus
When Jesus came to earth he spent most of His time hanging out with people and showing love to all people, even those who were considered “unlovable”. Instead of telling people to love God and become a Christian, He showed them love and care first and then answered their questions about God when they asked. I think as Christians we confused ministering to others as telling others about the Bible, the “rules” of Christianity, what Jesus did and how to get to heaven. However, we forget that ministering to others is about building relationships with those around us and showing love. By showing others love and grace, people will notice something different about us and will want to know why. When they ask, then it is important to tell them about Jesus and how He has changed us.
Actions speak louder than words. People will be drawn to and curious about those who show them love and grace instead of those who quickly tell them about Christianity and then never speak to them again. If you do not agree with this, I will tell you first hand that the only reason I came to know the Lord is because someone showed me love and care, even after I had shared my sinful past. These people never left my side and were there for me when I needed them. I wanted to know more about God when I realized He was the one who made them this way.
4. Being vulnerable is a GOOD thing/ Christians ARE NOT PERFECT
Before training camp, I DID NOT LIKE BEING VULNERABLE. I am an emotions-stuffer. When something bad happens or when I go through something hard, I like to keep it to myself. I do not like telling others about my past because I do not want to appear weak and I do not want others to hurt me. Because of this, I kept a lot of my past and hurt to myself. I also had this belief that every Christian was perfect except for me and that my sins were somehow “bigger” and “badder” than everyone else’s.
One night after session, we were encouraged to share our shame and past with other people in our squad. At first I thought “no way I am doing that. If they really knew who I was, they would not accept me”. After listening to a few other people’s story, I realized that they were sharing sins of their past that was not so pretty. I quickly realized that these people around me, who I previously believed were perfect, law obeying Christians were actually just as broken and sinful as I am.
From watching others share their past with bravery, I finally worked up the guts to share my story as well. I will admit, it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I told these people who I had only known for a couple days secrets, sins, and shame that I had never shared with anyone else or had even spoken out loud. Just after I shared my story, I felt open, wounded, and exposed. But then, something amazing happened. I was embraced, the people around me gave me hugs and told me how much they loved me. They all prayed for me and what I was struggling. I instantly felt lighter and at peace. I had let light into the darkest parts of my soul, and now shame couldn’t hold me back because I had shared my past and was told that God loves me anyways. I cannot explain to you how relieved I was after I shared, it was as if a physical weight was lifted off of my shoulders. The next day at worship, I felt free and able to worship God with all my heart. I could not stop smiling and praising God for His love and wonderfulness.
If you struggle with shame as much as I did, I encourage you to share your shame with others. Find a group of safe people who know about grace and love, and ask them if you can be vulnerable with them. Then let it all out, the good and bad. The enemy likes to use our darkest sins against us by saying “you are the worst, no one else has done something as bad as you” but that is such a lie!! And you will realized that as you share your story and others share with you that no one is perfect and that you are not alone in the pain and sin that you are going through. You will feel free, I promise!
If you don’t have safe people around you can always tell me your story. I would be happy to tell you mine first just so you can see that I am not perfect 🙂
TRAINING CAMP WAS AWESOME! I LOVE YOU X SQUAD! X SQUAD BEST SQUAD!
