Hello friends! I apologize for this much delayed blog post! I have experienced so many different things during this first month of The World Race in Thailand that I am eager to share with everyone! So please read on and enjoy!
One of the first things that our squad did upon arriving in Thailand was something called Training Camp. It can best described as a long retreat with many Biblical lessons and seminars to equip us spiritually for the months ahead. As an example, two of the topics we learned about were on listening prayers and spiritual warfare. But in addition to the spiritual training, we were also given real-life training on how to live “World Race style” — that meant learning (and actually practicing) how to live in tents everyday, hike over a mile with 50 pounds of gear, eat communally out of a large pot with our hands and go three days without a shower. FUN!
Normally for all other squads, Training Camp takes place back in Georgia a few months before leaving the country. However, because my squad is the Fusion squad made up of international participants, our Training Camp was held in our first ministry country. And we were able to experience it on a beautiful ranch near Chiang Mai, Thailand that is called home to a wonderful family named the Eubanks. They are part of a group called Free Burma Rangers, which aims “to bring help, hope and love to people of all faiths and ethnicities in the conflict zones of Burma, to shine a light on the actions of oppressors, to stand with the oppressed and support leaders and organizations committed to liberty, justice and service.” Please check out their website (www.freeburmarangers.org) and see the work that they do!
And now, here are some pictures and more info from Training Camp!
[Teaching Sessions at “The Loft”] We were blessed to have two sets of coaches to teach us during Training Camp: Tim (first picture) and Karen Dilbeck, who were last year’s Fusion squad’s coaches, and Doug (second picture) and Renee Duffy, who will serve as our coaches for this year. This meeting space is the open-air patio of the Eubanks house, which we affectionately called “The Loft.” The view of the ranch from up here was amazing!
[Teaching Session at “The Cabana”] “The Cabana” was the patio area of another building on the Eubanks ranch where more teaching sessions were held and also served as our kitchen and dining area. This is where our squad spent most of our time together!
[Tent Living] Living in tents will be a reality in many different countries while on The World Race. During Training Camp, we got to live in them for five days in a row. It was pretty daunting at first, but after awhile you get used to the sounds of barking dogs and firecrackers at night!
[Casa de Sang] And here is my home (potentially) for the next 11 months!
[Hiking with Gear] Racers are expected to encounter many situations this year where carrying all of our gear for miles may be required. This is a picture of our squad praying before starting our one mile hike, which we had to complete in under 20 minutes and is a physical requirement for The World Race. In the end, every person on our squad made it!
[Communal Living (and Eating)] Living in community means lots of sharing with others…and that includes your food. I actually enjoyed this part of the training — and it helped that the food was delicious!
[The Men] Our squad of 23 people is made up of 19 girls…and 4 guys. So naturally, us men needed our own time and space to kick back and enjoy a few drinks. Or in this case, a Thai soda called “Man Some” — no joke! And I thought everyone else was gonna do the “Man Some” pose like the guy on the bottle…but apparently I didn’t get the memo…
[pictured from left to right: Doug (coach), Daniel (mentor), Sang, Salvador, Chris, Tim (coach), Darek, Scott (mentor – not pictured)]
[Fusion Squad 2016] And here is our entire squad — along with our coaches, mentors and squad leaders! We were tremendously blessed to have so many amazing people train us for those five days! 2016…here we come!
