Hi there! I just got back from 10 days of training in Atlanta which involved sleeping in tents, attending trainings and sessions as well as worship with my new family (among many other fun activities!).
And to be honest summing up camp to “It was so great, we prepared mentally, physically and spiritually for our journey and I got to meet my squad” doesn’t even begin to cut it. So here are 11 (let’s embrace the number) take-aways and things I want to share with you!
1. Jesus wants followers not fans, so let go of your control and grab onto Jesus with both hands because who needs a safety net when you’ve got the Creator on your team. Do life with God, take Him with you through the day, chat with Him, laugh with Him, and find the treasures He has hidden for you in people, situations, your brain and the neighborhood park. He is witty and creative and He Loves to shower His children with joy
2. Stop for a second and figure out what God thinks about you. I promise you will stop trying to put on layers or masks and you will find so much comfort in being the silly, unique person He created you to be (in His image)
3. I can do hard things. Like bucket showers when its 35 degrees outside, sleeping in the pouring cold rain, open up about things that I myself don’t even want to face. Because its all for and WITH Jesus
4. God speaks to us, we just have to stop and listen. There are different ways to connect with the Lord, find the ones that work for you and meet Him there because trust me, He loves spending time with you
5. Community living (sharing 5 feet of space, seeing each others early morning faces and having quiet time in a group of 30) is challenging, even for an extrovert like me. But it reminds us of the basic yet so important principle in scripture of choosing others. And after you eat from the same bowl, sleep together under the stars and in a very loud airport, after you wash each others hair and faces for an entire week, you will fall in love with your team. Get ready, because you won’t want to stop hugging them and as comfy as your bed is the next week, you’ll miss time with them and their smiling faces during morning session
6. Every time you meet someone you see a different part of Jesus that you hadn’t met before. So, act like it, get to know them and celebrate them. Do this with people at the store, in line, in different countries, people that you share an office with and the ones that get assigned to be your squad-mates. Do it with your family and with your friends
7. It is not our story, our life is a part of a larger more meaningful collection of love stories that are meant to point back to our Papa. So it doesn’t matter how many hallmark moments we have, or how many times we win, it matters how we reflect God and His love
8. If we choose to focus on the heart (reason or why) behind people’s actions, we will realize that things usually come out of place of love and we will appreciate them even when misunderstood or miscommunicated. Remember to look at the heart.
9. God is running after us and nothing will stop Him from coming after us
10. When you choose to see people through God’s eyes, you will begin to understand so much more of them and you will begin to know how to love them and cherish them, serve them, laugh with them and do this crazy thing called life with them
11. Words from one of our incredible leaders: When it comes to Gods character- it is totally predictable (love), when it comes to the way God does something- it is totally unpredictable
If you are a future racer trying to read this thing for tips and what not (because let’s be honest, we all know you are looking at every blog in hopes to get some inside trick or tip on how to survive training camp), here you go:
1. Listen to me, BRING TISSUES
2. Baby wipes 100% count as showers
3. Get ready to be uncomfortable. I am not just talking about uncomfortable because you are an introvert or because you aren’t wearing make up. But be uncomfortable in the rain, be uncomfortable after you realize you ran out of clean socks with 6 days left to go and everything in your pack is wet, be uncomfortable with the norms of this world and be uncomfortable as you open up and share with your team. Be uncomfortable because the results and the complete surrendering to God is worth it
4. Don’t create more obstacles for yourself. As an don’t let a little cold, a little rain, a porta potty or anything else get in the way of loving your Jesus and loving your squad
5. Crickets really don’t taste that bad, specially with Peanut Butter
6. It is never too cold for a game of cards
7. Dance between sessions, your body and your soul need it
8. PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE YOUR SQUAD-WARS DANCE. Or don’t and have a blast performing it
9. You will be a hot commodity if you bring fruit snacks and a strong deodorant
10. Get ready to fall in love with Jesus in a whole new way and to welcome 30+ new weirdos into your life (they will change things, I promise!)
11. Don’t worry too much, you probably packed the wrong things anyway.. The good thing is, its only training camp so you have 2 months to re-pack and return everything you didn’t like at REI
