Have you ever tried to wash a load of laundry in a washing machine backwards?
I haven’t.
I can’t even turn the knob on the washer backwards, mostly because that it is impossible.
If it were possible, cleaning a load of laundry in a washing machine backwards would feel a lot like World Race Training Camp.
Normal version of how to wash clothes in a washing machine:
-
Grab dirty clothes.
-
Put dirty clothes in washing machine with detergent.
-
Choose your settings on the machine.
-
Close the lid, start the machine, and walk away.
-
The machine washes your clothes, alternating between different cycles: fill, agitate, spin, rinse.
-
Take clean clothes out of washer.
Training camp version:
1.) Clean.
“Clean” is the end goal of washing a load of laundry. For World Racers, it’s just the beginning. We came into camp with brand new camping gear. Our hearts were filled with nervous excitement. Joy shone from our faces and was extended through our arms via hugs and high fives. None of us knew the full extent of what we were about to face, but our ignorance was bliss.
We also were broken, but we hid our brokenness behind smiles. We kept our whitewashed walls up, for surely we would not have to come out of hiding just yet.
2.) Rinse.
It wasn’t long into training camp before God started rinsing us off. The whitewash we had painted over parts of our hearts–the parts that we knew were broken and hurt but tried to hide–poured off, revealing our hurts, our brokenness, our sins, our humanity. Early on in our group teaching sessions, we were prompted to share deep parts of our hearts with others we had just met. It was uncomfortable at times, but we could still hide behind our walls, to an extent. We could still act as if we had everything together and under control.
3.) Spin/agitate.
Training camp was challenging in every way possible. It was physically challenging, mentally challenging, emotionally challenging, and spiritually challenging. We faced, confronted, and tackled fears head on. We functioned on very little sleep, ate less food than usual, and did a lot of physical activities. We worked through the deepest parts of our grief, our hurts, our shame, our guilt. We slept in crazy, way less than ideal situations almost every night.
One night in particular had the potential to either break us as a squad and as individuals or bond us together into an unbreakable family. We came out of that night as an unbreakable family, but not before we were broken down. That one night, we truly came to the end of ourselves. I know that I speak for many on my squad when I say that I got to the point where crying and saying, “I can’t do this!” was the only option. The walls of our hearts that we had kept intact for so long came crashing down. We had nothing to hide behind anymore. Our true, unedited, imperfect, selfish, overwhelmed, sleep-deprived hearts and mouths yelled out, no longer satisfied with hiding. We were finally truly ourselves. Our brokenness was the linchpin for our squad transforming into a family. We call ourselves the wolf pack, and on this night in the middle of the woods, our name became our identity. We became a wolf pack.
4.) Fill.
Over the course of the ten days of training camp, we became filled. We were filled with factual knowledge, emotional strength, and new depths in our relationship with Christ. Our minds and hearts were filled with laughter and memories of a lifetime. We were filled with awe as the Lord worked in us. Our hearts grew in hope, in confidence, in purpose, and in peace.
5.) Dirty.
It’s been said that in ancient times, a Jewish man who desired to become a disciple (student) of a rabbi (teacher) would literally follow his rabbi everywhere, learning, discussing, and studying the Scriptures. The disciple would “walk in the dust” of his rabbi because of their close relationship. During Training Camp, Jesus walked among us. We never saw His flesh, but His sandals kicked up the red Georgia dirt all over us. We followed after Him, no matter where He went; running or walking, we were there with Him. His presence was marked by changed hearts and changed lives of over a hundred and fifty young adults, eager to share their encounters with Him with others all over the world. His love brought peace and freedom to hearts chained by fears. His joy restored hearts lost in sadness and despair. His peace flowed in and filled hearts smothered by stress. His gentle hands wrapped around ours as we danced with Him. He whispered His truth and knowledge to us and shouted His joy. His dust from walking among us covered us all. We came away from Training Camp dirtier than we came into it, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
