I'm not gonna lie, I was scared to go to training camp. Not like 'head between your knees, breathe into a paper bag' scared, more like 'I've heard weird stories about this thing, i don't know anyone, oh crap crap crap!' scared. As per usual, I was scared for unmerited reasons. From the first second that I met the people on my team, I was overcome with two major realizations: 1. These people are not nearly as strange as I ancticipated (I mean, you have to be odd if you're willing to pack up and leave the country for an entire year, right???) and 2. We had an immediate bond because all of us, regardless of where we came from, were brought together in the middle of Georgia, for the same reason! Each one of us was driven by a distaste for the actively deteriorating moral compass of the world; by a longing to spread the love that we have each felt endlessly after countless mess-ups; and by a faith that we whole-heartedly trust will bring us through the hardships that lie ahead, just as it has in the past! The moment that I realized those two things is the moment that I stopped being afraid of what I know I have been called to do.
Now don't let my fear-free chatter fool you. Just because I have embraced and accepted the happenings of that week does not mean that the week was anything comparable to 'easy' because it most certainly was not. We got wrecked. Emotionally, physically, spiritually. I had known my squadmates a whopping 2 hours before I openly "ugly cried" in front of them. But it didn't even matter, because nobody could see me through their own tears anyways!
Squadmates refers to the 62 other people who will launch with me on the World Race in 36 days (September 5!!).
We are divided into nine teams of seven and we will all travel to the same countries but to different locations in each country. My team is composed of me and six other delightful ladies, handpicked to make this experience as authentic and unforgetable as possible.
We chose the name Hephzibah for our team, meaning "he delights in her" from Isaiah 62:3. I can't wait to regale you with stories of our adventures over our 11 month journey!
