Well,Training Camp for the World Race has now been over for a week. I've had some time to process everything and I want to give you all a few highlights of my week.
1. Great Teaching– Ron Walborn is the man! He spoke on Grieving, Healing and Forgiveness, a Deeper Life with God, the Role of the Holy Spirit, Spiritual Warfare and more. He is a wise man, funny, and speaks the truth in love. I learned so much and was so encouraged by his teaching. You can find him on iTunes, and I highly recommend you do.
2. Squad Bonding– The X Squad is easily the most united, fun, spirited, best dancing, loving, and over all best squad ever! We are the 50th Squad to be launched by the World Race and I can tell you that there really is something special about this group. We are probably one of the smallest groups, but we are mighty in spirit. I loved meeting my squad mates, hearing their stories, bonding with them, being open with them, challenging them, encouraging them, and having fun with them. They're going to make this year special!
3. Bonding with the X-Men– One day the men and women split up and the men were bussed to a location off site. On the way we were told we were going to Currahee Mountain. The same mountain the paratroopers from the HBO series Band of Brothers trained on before going off to WWII. I love that series and was excited to follow in their footsteps. We ran the first half and then were told we had 20 min to get to the top (1.1 miles from where we were), but 2 guys were blind, 2 were paralyzed, and our squad leader was mute. Soon the biggest guy on our squad was paralyzed, then another blind, then another paralyzed and blind. Needless to say it was quite a struggle and bonding experience. At the end of this exercise, I knew I could trust the men of the X-Squad with my life.
4. Bonding with my Team– The AIM training staff watched us during the whole week. They evaluated how we acted and reacted in various situations. They put us into teams and gave us challenges. They asked us all kinds of questions. Finally they put the pieces to the puzzle and put together the teams for X Squad. We prayed for them during this time as we knew it was not an easy process. Eventually we were given our teams and allowed a night out to bond. My team, Team Zeal aka FSTUFJ is amazing! I can't wait to serve along side these 6. I have very high expectations and hopes for our team and I believe that God is going to grow us and stretch us and work in and through us in mighty ways this year. Our team has already had some authentic time together of calling a member out and up in a loving and honoring way. Feedback is a huge part of the World Race and I'm confident that our team will do it well. I'm so excited to see how we grow together.
5. Growing anticipation for the World Race– I didn't have a lot of expectations for Training Camp. I had been given some advice by World Race Alumni, but the best advice is the less prepared you are, the better you'll do at camp. I think that was some good advice. Now that Training Camp is over, I can say that I'm super excited for the World Race. I believe that it's going to be a life changing year for me and my squad mates. I don't think we'll come back the same people. I'm super excited to see what God has planned for us and I hope you will follow me on this wild journey.
Below is a little video I made of some of the fun moments my squad mates captured during Training Camp. Although there were a lot of fun moments, there were also a lot of worship times, teachings and growth in my faith as well as my squad mates. Many people think this year is all about going on a fun trip and seeing the world. Sure that's small part of it, but I know we're going to be doing kingdom work and warfare and that juices me up! Please continue to keep me, my team, and my squad in your prayers as we prepare this next month to launch into some serious situations. Thank you!
