During the day we were informed with great lectures about how to be better at things & practice things that will happen on the race. Examples being: how you connect with God, gifts of the Holy Spirit, spiritual warfare, and healing. People connect with God in different ways by being outside, in a certain building, and through music just to name a few. The night we slept on the bus and lecture for that night was on spiritual warfare. I knew it was real, I just didn’t know how real it was until that night.
The speaker was inviting the Holy Spirit down on us to be baptized in the Spirit. Holy Spirit was coming in power cause I could hear him working in others as they were laughing, dancing, singing, and other ways God does his thing. I heard and then felt something I have never felt before.
A couple people close to me had something crazy going on with them. One start laughing and it was not the joyful laughter I was hearing; the other person screamed bloody murder. I felt the presence of the enemy for the first time while feeling the presence of God. I have never felt so much afraid in all my life, my body was shaking. I had no idea what do but cry, that was the only emotion I could process. (Later that night I learned that one of my squad mates had a demon in him and that was all the screaming and the presence.) I couldn’t move from where I was; all I wanted to do was to get away from the screaming. Finally, someone came up and prayed for peace over me. I went to the back of the room so seek God.
The presence of the Lord was strong that night. I was asking him to come and baptize me like I have never been before. A staff member came up and asked if I needed prayer for anything. I don’t recall what I told him; he rebuked it and next thing I know he was speaking truth into me, (I really wish I could remember what he told me); my heart went cold when I heard all this. He started praying the Spirit over me to be filled. Next thing I know, I fall over backwards full of the Spirit; my whole body went numb, and started shaking after a while. Full peace and joy of the Lord fell on me that night.
Before I go on there is a tiny back story to what happens next. I barley made the deadline to make it to training camp. I was having all these doubts that the Lord would provide everything and I was getting frustrated with how fundraising was going. I was having doubts that this is not where the Lord wanted me where clearly it was.
While on the floor full of the Spirit and the person praying over me to scream it out. Next thing I know I am screaming out the barriers that were keeping me from enjoying him to fundraising. I was connected to God in away I never felt before.
Lord had touched a part of my character that night which is hard to explain. We all slept on the bus that night, which was not really fun cause we were all cramped. Everyone had such grace with each other. Halfway through the night, a leader came on the bus and got someone, (they were sending that person home cause they felt that person was not ready.) I got maybe an hour sleep that night being full of the Spirit and just wanted to spend time with him. After this happened most of us prayed for unity with our squad, later went into the gym to worship.
This is only about half of how the Lord wrecked me. I had no idea how the rest of camp would look or how I would know who would be on my team. Next couple of days were team building exercises, and one certain exercise I just about died it was so hard. Was it worth the view and the character part it wrecked…absolutly!
