All world racers are required to upload two blogs a week.
And my assignment tonight, here at training camp, is to ‘practice-blog’. This
week so far, has been absolutely nuts. I came here, expecting to grow in faith,
but people here take it to a WHOLE new level. At our first worship service,
nearly everyone was up on their feet dancing, (which way out of my comfort
zone) so I just kinda tapped my foot to the beat and went with it. The second
worship service got even more intense. People were speaking out loud, shouting
things, jumping up and down,crying, some even speaking in tongue, which freaked
me out to the max. I began to feel extremely uncomfortable, and questioned my
purpose here. I felt like I was on a totally different level than them, and they
were much closer to God than I. Naturally, I began to feel insecure. At one
point, I got up and left the worship meeting. I talked to a couple of the
leaders about my feelings toward all of this, and one of them gave me an
amazing piece of advice. She said that God gives us all kinds of spiritual food
throughout life. Some of it we eat, and it nourishes us. Others don’t look
appetizing, but we might choose to try it later in life. What we really need to
focus on is the spiritual food he gives us right here and now. I thought about
it for a while, and realized that I was being selfish, and close minded. There
are going to be many circumstances on this trip in different countries where I
will feel extremely uncomfortable with their styles of living, and worship.
This is a normal feeling, but God tests and teaches us with discomfort. From
then on, I felt instant relief. I thought about how at sporting events, I raise
my hands and scream and cheer when my team is winning. At concerts, I sing
loud, and dance to the music. If I react this way to those events, then why the
hell should I hold back from the very one who CREATED these things. Why
shouldn’t I cheer for my maker?
The next day, everyone in the camp was overwhelmed with the presence of
the Lord, and we worshiped for 3 hours, on our feet, dancing the whole time.
(worship usually lasts for an hour or less) I have never felt God like that in
my entire life. Needless to say, I have learned to be open minded. Thank you
training camp. Goodbye.
