Hi friends! So let me tell you about the last 10 days…
Training Camp is 10 days of being introduced to different cultures, sleeping outside, being challenged physically, learning about living in community, meeting the most AMAZING people you will be spending the next year with, being poured into by leaders that truly love you, and experiencing the love of the Father in the most refreshing way.
Now here is 10 things I learned at Training Camp:
1) Bucket showers. I learned how to take a bucket shower. And the reason I say “learned” is because guys…it’s a process. You have to strategically pour a certain amount of water on your hair so that you still have enough to wash it all the way through. You do this on repeat until you get as much soap out as possible because friends…THE WATER WAS ICE COLD AND IT WAS 40 DEGREES OUTSIDE! (sorry to yell, I am just slightly traumatized) But now I feel like I can take on the world.
2) I learned how The Body of Christ works. I’ll tell a short version of a very beautiful story. We were challenged to go Evangelize and go door to door asking how we can pray for people. We were separated into groups of three and were sent off. In my group, we prayed in front of a house and just asked the Holy Spirit to take us wherever He wanted us to go. We began walking and just trying to listen to the Holy Spirit (who was NOT talking to me and left me feeling a bit frustrated) but as we were walking, my squad mate looked back and felt a tug towards a home. The very first home on the street. We trusted the tug and walked up to the house. A older man opened the door and his daughter was with him. They invited us in and began to share the cries of their heart. The wife walked out and joined us as we prayed over them. We then felt a tug to put our hands and pray over Kelly, the daughter, because she was just diagnosed with pneumonia and bronchitis. As we began to pray, the mom started to cry. When we finished she said, “Kelly was not suppose to be here today. She was suppose to go to the church and have them pray healing over her, but she was too sick to go.”
So God sent us. Truly an amazing moment to see how much He loves His kids. He chases us down. He reminds us (through the most unexpected ways) that He is right here, holding our hand, telling us everything is going to be alright. What a loving Father.
3) Sleeping Situations. I learned that when sleeping in the FREEZING COLD (yes, I am being dramatic) always take the time to blow up your sleeping pad. Seriously. You will stay so much warmer not being directly on the floor ESPECIALLY when it is pouring rain outside. Just saying’…learned this from experience 🙂
4) Papa. I learned that referring to God as Papa brings me a new kind of comfort and intimacy with Him. I love it. I feel so close with Him when I say it. May be weird for some people, but I love being a little weird anyways 🙂 I love my Papa.
5) PORTA-POTTIES. I survived 10 straight days of porta-potties…seriously, I feel like I can now conquer the world. Also, cleaning them every two days was just not cutting it. I saw things I can never unsee.
6) THEY WASHED OUR FEET. I learned what serving those around you really looks like and how sometimes it can be a bit uncomfortable. Here’s another quick but beautiful story. During a worship night around the campfire, one of the men in my squad asked to read a scripture. The scripture was when Jesus washed the disciples feet. After he read that scripture, he said that all the men wanted to wash the ladies feet. Woah, did NOT see that coming. That is a little out of my comfort zone and to be honest, I did not feel worthy of that. But once I pushed my thoughts out of the way and just let them wash my feet, I felt this overwhelming amount of trust for these people. I have never trusted people this quickly in my entire life. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced.
7) HUNGRY. Asia Day was THE STRUGGLE. I feel like I ate two pieces of rice that entire day.
8) HA! The beauty of child-like faith. I am going to write another blog post about this but I just wanted to put this in here. Also, saying “HA!” while singing worship is pretty fun and liberating.
9) HOW I FIGHT MY BATTLES! I can win the battle in my mind. I walked into training camp feeling like I can never escape who I use to be. But guys, My Papa is SO sweet to me. I have been in a constant battle in my mind for as long as I can remember. I thought I could never escape some of the dark thoughts I had. Before Christ, I was a mean person with very selfish ways. Although I am made new, I still had thoughts in my mind EVERY DAY that reflected who I use to be. I was talking to God one day and just asking Him to help me. I wanted to escape my mind. My thoughts. Who I use to be.
And He finally spoke to me and said,
“Why do you keep dwelling on who you use to be, when I don’t even remember that person anymore? I see you as my shining star who loves people with no bounds.”
HE IS SO SWEET TO ME! I am free from the battle in my mind and I am NOT who I used to be. PRAISE BE TO GOD!
10) SQUAD GOALS. I love my squad. I can’t believe God allowed me to meet the most wonderful people with hearts that reflect His love! AND I get to spend a WHOLE 11 months with them! HEART EYES FOR DAYS!!
This is training camp and I will never be the same. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and brought me here! I can’t do this without you. My next goal is $10,000!! Will you join my fundraising team and help be apart of people hearing the name that breaks EVERY chain!? The name that never leaves people the same!? The name of Jesus Christ! 🙂
~ Shelby (seriously love you guys)
