Coaching at RashidatO.com | Social Activism at Whereveryougolove.com
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One of the most fun and important parts of training camp is to get to know and start to connect with members of your squad. Up until training camp we had been group texting and video chatting, but now that we were in person, it was time for the real relational building to begin. And my team was off to the races! I have never seen a group so quickly come together and love on each other.
It started our first night in worship…
As our team gathered in our designated seating area, we start to dance to a little Christian rap by Andy Mineo as we waited for the session to start. We had absolutely no qualms about having a little fun… And it was awesome! Our freedom continued into worship as we all gravitated to the open space with no chairs so that we could go HAM for God and worship Him for the blessing of finally arriving at training camp.
I love to sing to out to God. I had plenty of practice as I participated in choir after choir as I grew up in church. So starting with the first song, I confidently opened my mouth, sang out and worshipped God for all that He is. As I took a breath and tried to learn the words of some of the worship songs that I didn’t know, I was blessed to see and hear my teammates open their hearts and mouths in the same way. Regardless of what each of us thought of each other or what the other teams may have thought… We… Went… Hard!
Oh, but we did not stop there! Oh no!
A couple days later we had a sleeping scenario called “Camp Out”. In this scenario we had no gear except for some tarps and rope. We had to make our own shelter and I’ve never prayed so hard for a night without rain because none of us would have been dry or able to sleep if it did happen to rain. Tension was high as we tried to create and execute a shelter with limited supplies, a excess of opinions, no experience, and hungry bellies. But we made it through; a shelter was created!
That night the team ate and was merry as we made the best of what we had. And then Keith and Karen showed up with S’mores! As the food moans over the deliciously warm and goey S’mores grew, the tension of past task subsided and the team settled into worship lead by Walker and his guitar. I took a walk for some alone time. As I sat on the bench next to my teammate Laura, us introverts, I listened to the beautiful melody that bellowed out over the trees as my squad began to sing their hearts out.
The team sang for hours… well into the night! And that night my squad morphed from Squad M of the Misty Mountains to Squad M of Mighty Worship! Camp out night was trying for me personally, but no tension could outweigh the overwhelming love that spilled from my team that night.
And from that amazing group of 37 people, our leadership team created 5 teams of 6 and one team of 7 of the specific people that we would do life and ministry with over the next 11 months.
Keep an eye out for the video where I introduce my team, but below is a video of some of our worship time at launch this past week. We bless Him because not only does He love us, but He is also God. A good God, a good Father, our Creator, and the same yesterday, today, and forever. I encourage you to worship God for all that He is and participate in the worship of this video.
Worship is not about or for us… It’s all for His glory.
