For the past two weeks I have been in Gainesville, Georgia for training camp. Needless to say, it was an amazing experience. I’m so thankful for my crazy squad of 24 that I will be traveling the world with this upcoming year. I learned a lot during the days of training camp, and I wanted to share a few highlights and my overall thoughts on this experience.
The first day was filled with a lot of energy and excitement as people arrived. Squads were finally meeting each other after months of anticipation. I personally had 2 big questions: Would I like the people on my squad? Would they like me? Those were quickly answered. It didn’t take long for us to realize we all felt at home with each other.
The awesomely crazy Orange (L) Squad
After the initial excitement of the first few days, I ended up getting sick. Of course the day I got sick was the day of the required fitness hike. The hike wasn’t too intense, just a 2.2-mile hike with our 35-pound packs on. We had to finish within 38 minutes. Normally this hike would be no big deal, but I feel like God was teaching me a lesson in humility. When I woke up, I didn’t want to move. Voices in my head told me I couldn’t do it and fear began to creep in. I began to think that this trip would fail just like the last big thing in my life seemed to fail.
Then, some of my teammates knocked on my tent, and asked if I needed help packing my stuff up. I responded with a quiet “Yes.” I got up, and immediately felt the weight lift off my shoulders as I saw a few of my squad mates helping me. We got my stuff packed up in time, and I prepared for the hike with a prayer walk. My anxiety and worry faded away as I relied upon God’s strength, and part of that came from encouragement from my teammates. I gave it my all, I finished the hike, and then I puked my guts out. Strangely, it felt good. Before the hike, familiar voices in my head were telling me I couldn’t do it, that I would fail to finish the hike and the mission trip. After the hike, it felt like I was expelling all these things, and it felt amazing.
Once the endorphins wore off I crashed. I had a fever of just over 102, so I had to rest inside on a couch. That couch became my home for the next few days while I was sick. After asking my squad, I decided to name it Marv. Marv was much more comfortable than my tent. The staff at Adventures in Missions was great in accommodating my sickness, so a huge thank you goes out to them! Though Marv was comfortable and inside with air conditioning, it sucked not being able to participate in most of the activities with my squad.
A very flattering picture of Marv the couch
It turns out God was teaching me another lesson in patience and humility. While I wanted to be out supporting, encouraging, and leading my squad, I was stuck inside resting. These are people I had grown to love immensely in just a few days, so I was sad not to be with them, but God was telling me that I don’t have to be present with them. Instead, He was teaching me how to encourage them through prayer because He is always with them. I would spend some time reading scripture and then I would put those things I had learned into a prayer over my squad. It often sounded something like this: “Lord, thank you for my brothers and sisters. They are people I have come to love. You go before us into this trip, rid us all of any fears and doubts that may linger, and lead us to love those we will come into contact with. Amen.”
It was cool to see how so many of them gathered around me while I was sick, too. Though it was difficult to ask for help, they carried my stuff, asked if I needed anything, provided food and Gatorade, prayed for healing, and cheered me on through the process. Only a few days after being sick, it became time to say goodbye to Marv (though I wasn’t really sad to say bye).
Being sick only lasted a few days, so I still had most of training camp to spend with my squad. Each day we ate food from a different area around the world: Latin America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and India. We also had an adventure day and a returning home day. I enjoyed learning how to eat with chopsticks and the fried crickets really weren’t that bad. I ate a handful of them and if we had some BBQ sauce, I think they would’ve been pretty good.
Most days included some kind of field scenario to help us prepare for things that might happen while we were out on the mission trip. These included: “lost” luggage, community living, marketplace simulation, kingdom outreach, and an overnight airport layover. I have to say, the airport layover was my least favorite. We had to try to sleep in an “airport” equipped with a speaker that played some LOUD airport background noise. Somehow, we all survived it, but I was ready to throw that speaker out a window. Still, I am glad for each of these experiences because I feel like they did provide me with a better understanding of different things we might experience out in the field.
Tom & I attempting to sleep in the “airport”
Overall, training camp was an amazing experience. I love the people on my squad, and they love me. The days were set up well with scenarios to prepare us for the real deal, the worship was freeing, the sessions were informative and educational, team building exercises allowed you to get to know your squad, and ultimately the focus is entirely on Jesus Christ. As a result, I do feel more prepared for my trip and I don’t think I can wait another 6 weeks to start! I’m looking forward to how God is going to continue to stretch me, to mold me, and to strengthen me to do things I never thought I would do.
“Ministry is life, and life is ministry.”
