Wow! To be honest I really have no clue where to start because Training Camp was…incredible, inspiring, deep, fun, life-changing. On October 8th, driving down to Gainesville, GA I just kept thinking to myself that it was dream and no way this was really happening. When finally arriving I was greeted by some of the nicest people and started the Ladies Retreat off with an awesome worship session. Upon returning to my tent that evening, I found a sweet note from Papa and remember thinking ‘This is exactly what I needed to hear.’ I knew right then and there that God was getting ready to do some serious work inside of me and show himself to me in a whole new light.
Beauty for Ashes retreat was incredible and allowed me to get to know some of the ladies from my squad and leaders before training camp. It was great getting to know these beautiful ladies on a very intimate level and opening up about our lives to one another, with absolutely no judgment just acceptance. We talked about our view of God, painful moments in our lives, our worth, forgiveness, scars in reference to our stories, and declarations; all of these topics were incredible and it was so freeing to bring everything that we hide to the light and to be able to relate to one another and learn from each other that we are not the only ones to experience these things. Our stories are important to us and a lot of the times we are ashamed of them and tend to hide them, so we can avoid people looking down on us or pretending like they never happened. But I love how one of the ladies described our stories, they are gems or diamonds and are precious and should not be hidden or thrown away but to be cherished and taken care of. Through this retreat God has shown himself to me in a whole different light and something that I have never viewed him as, since it was never really talked about God being like this when growing up. God gave me the image of him as my husband, which in Hosea 2:16, “When that day comes,” says the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’ instead of ‘my master.’ He continues to say, “I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord.” One of my squad mates and now team mate told me about Hosea and when I read these verses it blew my mind and I could feel God pursuing me and how he wants all of me. I am excited to have this season with God and looked forward to what he shows me. Another topic that hit really hard was my worth. They asked us to pray and then draw a picture or write down what God was saying our worth was. I started to draw a mountain scene with the northern lights in the background and hearing God tell me that my worth was this incredible beauty of creation and how I am beautiful and worth more than I could ever imagine. Whoa! And to think this was just the beginning of what God was getting ready to show me.
On Saturday morning, we had to leave AIM before training camp and were to come back at four. So a group of us piled up into two cars and journeyed out into Gainesville. We first made a stop at the YMCA, where we got to take hot showers, since the whole time at the retreat we lived in our tents and our showers were bucket showers (which really aren’t bad just a little cold at 7:30 in the morning). We then proceeded to make some stops at Target and Walmart to pick up some items that we figured may be helpful during training camp. We ended up at a laundry mat to wash some clothes and gear that had gotten soaked due to the rain. It was a great time getting to know everyone and we definitely had some great laughs. The drive back to AIM was a little nerve racking cause I still could not believe that I was going to be training for the World Race and it all just seemed like a dream. Once arriving, P Squad got all decked out in our orange gear and hugging one another before going down to register…and then it began Training Camp! Living out of tents and packs, sharing food with everyone, bucket showers, crazy scenarios (which were so accurate and possible to happen in this coming up year), the most incredible worship sessions, mind-blowing teachings, and team building. I do not want to give it all away for those to come but I will say it was challenging but so much fun. They pushed us physically, emotionally, and spiritually and I have to say that it was hard but so life-changing, eye opening, and inspiring. We really got to know one another in our squad, trainers, and leaders. There was so much encouragement and love going around and building of a community that I am so blessed to be a part of. The teachings we had were eye opening in awesome ways and allowed me to grow so much closer to God. I watched two people be healed and many others begin to heal including myself. One of the teachings I really enjoyed was talking about staying in the present, even now before launch and how I should not wish it away because this time is just as important as what is to come. The speaker gave a great story to make it hit (note this story is a brief and rough one compared to his); there is a monk walking and then a tiger comes out and begins to chase him. There is a cliff in front of him, so he jumps and grabs a hold of a branch and while he is there he spots a strawberry by the branch. The tiger is our past, the cliff is your unknown future, and the strawberry is the present. We should enjoy the strawberries in our lives right now instead of trying to figure out our futures or dwell on our past. This is just a brief look into training camp and what God has done inside of me. I cannot express the excitement in me and how I am thrilled to go out into the nations and build His kingdom up. But I am also excited to use this passion and drive to help and inspire those around me to grow closer to God and what he has for us.
Also, if you notice to the left my blog there are some lovely ladies who show up and this is my team. I am so excited to be teamed up with this amazing ladies and cannot wait to do ministry with them. We are the Awakened Warriors! I encourage you to not only continue to pray for me but also for these wonderful ladies and my squad. God is doing such great things in our lives and preparing us for something bigger than any of us. Thank you for all the support, prayers, and love; remember y’all are not donating to me but you are investing in the kingdom of God.
“Love came down and rescued me, Love came down and set me free, I am Yours, Lord! I’m forever Yours! Mountains high or valley low I sing out and remind my soul I am Yours! I am forever Yours!”
