The title of this post ends with a question mark because I am not sure I can truly sum up the last 10 days. But I will try!
TRAINING…CAMP…WAS…
WOW
I drove into the woods of Gainesville, Georgia with little to no expectations. I wanted to come into camp without preconceived notions of what I would encounter or how each day would go. I wanted it to be an encounter full of surprises. Well, Adventures in Missions, YOU SUCCEEDED! You left me with my mouth agape in constant surprise! There was so much wisdom, life, and love that was poured into us throughout these 10 days. I am still swimming through the downpour of information trying to process it. So allow me to invite you all into my experience to process it with me:
My Squad
D Squad! Man, these men and women could not have been put together any better! My squad is weird. My squad is LOUD. My squad loves (or learned to love) hugs. My squad has a hunger for Jesus. My squad will drop what they’re doing to pray when its needed. My squad will also stop in their tracks to start a dance party or sing on cue. My squad is AMAZING and my squad is 34 ways God has expressed his love for me. These people will be walking out God’s calling for us for 11 months in 11 countries and will be my family for a lifetime. My squad is FREEDOM! I can’t wait to see how God uses each of us to set the world free and spread his Gospel!
My Team
Within my amazing squad, I have a team of 6 amazing women who I will specifically do life and ministry with on the race. We are known as “Team Tent” and the name perfectly captures what we represent! “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house (tent) of the Lord forever.” Not only will we be “tented” by Christ’s love for us, we will also be covering one another with prayer, love, comfort and support every day for our race. Lauren, Laura, Michaela, Courtney, and Kaysha…I can’t wait to walk out life with you and bring the love of God to the nations. GO TEAM TENT!!
My Showers
This section is short because I only took two. Outdoor bucket showers in 40 and below temps are not fun. God and I will work through this hurdle for the next 11 months, so stay tuned.
My Leaders
“The mouths of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just.”
The leaders, speakers, mentors, trainers, honorary trainers, mobilizers, and servers we got to spend time with during camp are people who TRULY walk out the will of God. They are not perfect, but God placed a perfect word in each of their spirits to share with us! Whether it was a hug that lasted longer than usual, a giggly talk on the floor after a session, or just a chat while walking, each of these people took time to show us the realness of the Holy Spirit. I am so thankful that they will be interceding in prayer for us while we are away and SO EXCITED for the months when we’ll get to see some of them overseas! They are the newest members of my growing family and I am so blessed to have them.
Sessions
This is not meant to sound conceited, but I’ve gone to school longer than most. If there was anything in camp I thought I would be a piece of cake, it would be sitting through seminars and listening to speakers. I. was. wrong and I am now laughing at my naivety! Sitting in classrooms with professors is one thing, but it’s a different story when you’re physically exhausted, emotionally exposed, and the lessons you’re learning are speaking to your spirit instead of your brain. MAN, those sessions were HARD! My pen couldn’t scribble notes fast enough, my heart couldn’t have been more convicted, and my spirit couldn’t have felt more alive! We dove into the topics of vulnerability, shame, hearing from the Holy Spirit, and identity [just to name a few]. And THEN we took it a step further by sharing what we felt about each topic with our peers! WHEW! Never have I shed so many tears, talked so much about my feelings, or heard so much truth from others around me. I know some of lessons that we learned may not resonate now, but I am excited and expectant to see each seed come to harvest during the World Race!
Scenarios
The airlines “lost” half of our bags and we had to share tents and supplies. We were given foreign currency and had to navigate our way through an overcrowded marketplace to purchase food for a night. We were driven to a remote campground with limited supplies and had to create our sleeping area and cook our own food. We ate with our hands. We covered our shoulders, knees and ankles to respect other cultures. We walked to the border of Thailand to travel into Cambodia. We sat in nature to see if we could hear from God. We walked around Walmart to practice evangelism. We used planks of wood to make it across a ‘river’ [aka the dining deck]. We were all crammed into one room and slept with the lights on and the sounds of airplanes constantly going. We used buckets for showers. This is only a few of the MANY scenarios we were given. Each was intentional. Each was a learning tool. And each one will be something similar to what we might encounter in the next year. I am incredibly thankful that AIM took the measures to use the scenarios to prepare us for the unexpected.
In conclusion
TRAINING CAMP was WOW
I feel like God and I went to a couple’s retreat and we worked on every facet of our relationship! I feel like I was truly introduced to the Holy Spirit and what our relationship looks like. There was no honeymoon phase during camp. It was real, it was emotionally raw, and it was 10 days of revelation!
I drove into the woods of Gainesville, Georgia with little to no expectations. I left the woods of Gainesville, Georgia with an expectation of God to do BIG THINGS within me, within my squad, and throughout the world
FOR HIS GLORY
THANK YOU FOR READING. UNTIL NEXT TIME!
TEE
