Training camp…. it’s suppose to be hard, it’s suppose to stretch you, it’s suppose to make you uncomfortable, you’re suppose to feel awkward and vulnerable, you’re suppose to be dirty/stinky and constantly be hungry… and what better place to test how you will respond to it all than in a safe environment where the people love you and are going through it with you. So much happened during the 10 day of training camp that instead of boring you to death with all the details and the minute-by-minute play of each day, I’ll instead give you a quick summary of the daily highlights.
Day 1- Welcome to Training Camp! Here, set up your tent in the dark and in the pouring rain. Good luck. Oh and here’s a sandwich.
Day 2- Take down your wet, dirty tent, stuff it into your stuff sac and cram it into your pack (and yes it rained all night and yes it is still currently raining). Better start getting to know the names of the 38 people you will be living with for the next 11 months and begin relating to them… all at once. There’s always room in a 2 person tent for one more. Sleepovers are the best when the “airlines loose your luggage.”
Day 3- Hey, it still hasn’t stopped raining. Let’s go to another teaching session where they’re going to blow our minds on topics like the Holy Spirit, and the kingdom of God. See and experience things during worship that I’ve never experienced before. Get the text that my grandma passed away early that morning. No more pain, she is in heaven talking God’s ears off and filling the skies with her whistling and singing.
Day 4- Shower for the first time. And by shower I mean throw a bucket of water on your head. Find out the specific 4 to 5 people from your squad that you’ll be living with as a team. Squad camp fire night and testimonies. God is doing some incredible things in and through my squad mates.
Day 5- Sabbath. Rest. Read your Bible. Praise. Journal (AKA process all that you’ve been learning the past four days). Shocker, it’s still raining.
Day 6- Released from campus! Encouraged to have intentional conversations with those in the city. Pray and cry with a woman at an antique shop whose son is about to get a divorce and whose mother’s health is failing. Go to a home that has flushing toilets for ice cream and brownies. Miss my grandma’s funeral, but I wouldn’t trade the several days I got to spend with her before I left for anything. Thankful for the precious time I had with her in those last days and the restful state I got to last see her in.
Day 7- Rise and shine and hit the trails with your 30 pound pack. And also don’t slip and fall because everything is muddy and slippery.
Day 8- About time for shower number 2 I suppose. Don’t get pneumonia cause it’s freezing outside. But not complaining because it’s better than being sweaty all the time.
Day 9- Sure, I’ll a cricket and pink rice. 1,00 year old egg….I’ll pass. Market night, why not cram 150 people into a tiny makeshift “street market” and drive a 15 passenger van down the middle of it. Throw in some homeless people, a blind guy, a guy selling drugs, police, loud music and food venders shouting at you to buy their food. And don’t forget to wear your backpack on your front or things will begin to disappear. Eat your food with your hands and try to respond properly to the beggar that comes up to you asking for food or money but you can’t speak her language. If that ain’t a party, I don’t know what is. (*Disclaimer- all the characters in this event were the squad mentors and leaders playing the parts of individuals you would most likely see at a typical street market in other countries.) Dominate in squad wars by plowing my face through a bowl of flour to get a marshmallow (flour boogers for days), run around with a balloon tied to my ankle, and keep the beat while my squad mates showed off our worthy America’s Got Talent singing and dancing skills to win the golden title of Squad Champions.
Day 10- Clean the campus, eat at Waffle House and say goodbye to your squad that have become your people and that you now get to look forward to ministering alongside with for 11 months! Continue processing stuff you were exposed to on day one… and never stop.
Concluding thoughts from training camp- I truly believe we have the best squad leadership! Our mentor, leaders, and coaches are so humble, they are passionate about serving Christ, they love sacrificially, and they extended so much patience and grace towards my squad and I with our endless questions of what it was going to be like on the Race. They have called me to dig deeper into the Word and given me a glimpse of the sweetness found in a close, personal relationship with the Father. While I still don’t have all the answers and feel like I’m wadding through gobs of information, I believe the Holy Spirit is about to reveal himself to me in a way that I never imagined or thought was possible. I left training camp, more excited for the Race than when I arrived, yet overwhelmed with the responsibility to learn and to grow as much as I possible could in the next six weeks before I launch. If you ever have an available ear for me to talk off to allow me to process through things, let me know and we can grab a coffee or tea anytime. If you want further details or clarification about any of the daily snap-shots I shared above, please message me.
On a side note, we had a route change!! Instead of going to Bolivia we are going to Ecuador and Chile. So we are actually going to 12 countries in 11 months. Not that we are over achievers or anything but…hahaha!
God is good!
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Porch where we ate our meals
Tent site
Worship center
Good lookin squad!
X Squad!
My sisters that I get to spend the next 11 months doing ministry with!
