Hello hello!
I sit here composing this post having just returned from Training Camp. To say that it was an exhausting week would be an understatement. It was exhausting in every way you can imagine (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) but it was so good. This will be a long post because I know there is an interest in what happened at camp…fair warning.
Camp lasted from May 17-May 24. Sitting here with the knowledge that it was only a week long seems absolutely impossible given that I feel as if I have been gone a month. I arrived in Atlanta on May 17 with the expectations that I would get to finally meet the people that I would be doing ministry with this upcoming year and that I would be ready to walk through a wall for Jesus. I was right on the first account but had no idea that it would be Jesus who would be walking through walls.
I wish I could give you every detail about camp in a post, but so much happened that I’m going to give you the meat and potatoes of the experience. Be on the lookout for a follow-up post. One thing I learned from camp is that I believe in what Adventures in Missions is doing. This is the organization that World Race as a program operates underneath. The Lord is clearly with this organization and the people who are a part of it. They are so intentional about preparing us and are so obviously for us. Their goal is to make our World Race experience the best it can possibly be and it was apparent in the way that training camp was conducted.
For starters, we were never given a schedule. I am a planner so that was a bit of a stretch for me. After about a day I grew accustomed to it and even welcomed the freedom to live completely in the present. We were rarely told anything but the next step of the day. I think I turned my phone on once throughout the whole week to check the weather and that was about it. We were completely rooted in the present and it was a beautiful thing.
The week began with a long series of talks. Before we could even think about ministry, we as the racers had to deal with the things that were holding us back. To give you a sense of the types of topics that were covered here is a brief list: bounded set/centered set (the idea that we are free to find intimacy with Christ rather than be constricted to “religious” expectations), forgiveness, grieving, Holy Spirit, healing, and so many more.
Of those topics, the one that was the most new and had the biggest impact was the Holy Spirit. We had one session where the speaker said we were simply going to invite the Holy Spirit in to see what He would do. It can look different for some people and comparison would hinder/distract from the work being done in us. All I can really say about that is that it began with a huge wave of peace. I felt more calm than I had in a long time. Earlier in the day I had mentioned that I wanted to learn to cry, to let down walls that kept me from feeling all that God wants me to (this was mentioned in my post “Crocodile Tears”). Surprise, surprise, I cried during that session. I’ve learned a little bit about how God communicates with me and it usually takes on the form of pictures. What I saw that night was a butterfly landing on my shoulder and kissing me cheek with a voice saying “I love you daughter” over and over again. It was overwhelming yet fantastic all in one. My Jesus loves me!!! Coolest part? He loves you too! More than you know.
Once we made it through the long list of talks the focus of camp switched from self more towards the team. This made a great deal of sense to me since you cannot fully love another until you feel the same about yourself. There had been some activities related to the entire squad throughout the week, particularly when it came to where we slept and how we ate. We pitched tents to sleep in but had to have everything packed up by 7 in the morning at which point we would do some type of exercise to promote a healthy lifestyle followed by half an hour of quiet time with God. Meals were done in community with eight people to one platter a food. Often there was not enough to make us feel completely satisfied and the presence of silverware was not constant. It was wonderful to see everyone taking great care to be sure that everyone got at least close to what they needed to eat. The cuisine changed based on regions beginning in Asia, then Eastern Europe, then Africa, and South America. It was not all fantastic food nor was some of it particularly flavorful but it did nourish us. Everything that was done at camp was deliberately put in place to prepare us for things that could and likely would occur on the field.
We also began to do team formations. To clarify, I am a part of the July Route 3 squad that consists of 44 people. From that group we got broken up into seven teams. I was increasingly more impressed with Adventures in Missions because they included our opinions and insights in the team formation process. We did three separate team formations that involved a variety of activities prompting team unity and cooperation. Some groups worked beautifully together while some did not work well.
I would like to present you with the amazing group of women that I will be traveling with for at least a portion of the race.
Team Fearless Laughter from left to right: Meagan Jasitt, Racquel (Rocky Rossbach), Shannon Pere, Whitney Conner, Christina Smith, and me
We were given the opportunity to choose our own team name. After a long conversation on whether we all believed that this team could work we realized that joy and laughter would definitely be a part of who we are as a unit. Additionally, most of our weaknesses come from the need to be more fearless with who we are. Thus Fearless Laughter was born. I’m beyond excited by this combination of women and am humbled to have been named their team leader for this season.
I would also like to introduce you to my entire squad.
We are F squad and have come to refer to ourselves as (F)amily. That name is completely accurate now that I’ve met them all. I adore each and every single one even after having only known them a week. They are incredible people who love the Lord. What more could you ask for? The last day we were asked to come up with a chant for Squad Wars. We began by singing “We are Family” followed by Shannon yelling F STANDS FOR and us alternating with faith, freedom, family, and fabulous. We put that chant together in about 15 minutes while other squads spent a good portion of the day working on theirs. The funny thing is that we won best chant. Just goes to show you the unity that our squad has even now.
I will be posting more about training camp but wanted to give you a few important updates:
1. I officially leave June 29th for Team Leader training in Atlanta and depart from the country on July 3rd.
2. There has been a route change. All of the countries are the same but the order has changed: Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Swaziland, Botswana, and South Africa.
3. I still have a t-shirt campaign going on that will close by the end of the week. Check it out: https://www.booster.com/fundraiser-for-a-world-racer
4. I reached my second financial deadline of $7500!!! The Lord is moving in incredible ways and I cannot express my gratitude adequately. Thank you, thank you, thank you for partnering with me on this journey.
5. I’d like to challenge you to let the Holy Spirit work in you. Where in your life have you felt like you need to remove some walls? What sort of baggage do you need to take off? If you approach this with an open heart you will not be disappointed.
