Ok this post will barely scrape the surface of what training camp was, but I am going to do my best to give you the overview of the most memorable things. In one word, training camp can be described as humbling. I was grateful for the teachings we gleaned from. We had the opportunity to hear from some amazing speakers, and I always left sessions feeling poured into and encouraged! Our living situation for the week was quite an experience. We camped out in tents in the woods, which is pictured here (and yes, Maddie and I did our skincare together every night before we hit the sack with our eyemasks):
Halfway through the week we had to relocate the tents because we had some unexpected rain storms and the tents flooded.. :/
Our only bathrooms were porta potties (which, with 55 people using them, filled up way too quickly). Our showers were in these storage containers, but I ended up hitting the bucket showers because the storage container showers were always super crowded. Unfortunately, I disturbed a bird trying to catch some z’s in the bucket shower and was personally attacked. I am convinced the whole camp heard my reaction to that incident and poor Carolina had to deal with my freak out (personal shoutout to Carolina who is pictured below, hey girl heyyy) haha.
Our squad got broken up into four different teams (each consisting of 8-9 people). We got to do a lot of team prayer which was so fruitful! We prayed for our team dynamic, what we wanted to get out of the trip, and what we felt like the Lord was speaking over our trip. We also did some crazy team bonding exercises that were revealing of our personalities. My dear friend Graham and I got silenced for some of the exercises because we.. let’s say.. delegated too much. We eventually got really good at delegating with our eyes haha. We learned (and are still learning!) a lot about how to steward our leadership giftings in a way that translates well to everyone in the group. I am grateful to have so many different personalities in our team because we have all been able to serve the team in such unique ways! Below is a pic of my lovely, perfect team! From left to right we have: Addison, Grace, Brianna, Delci, me (heyyy), Laura, Brittany, Graham, and Hannah!
We also had to come up with a team name. There were many, many suggestions, some were cutesy, some were just comical, but the winner ended up being… drumroll please….. the P31’s (which stands for the Proverbs 31 woman if you aren’t picking up what we’re putting down lol)!! The deciding factor for this name was the thought that we were the only all girl team. Upon further notice we found out we were in fact, not the only all girl team, but it’s the thought that counts right?
One of the primary things that I felt the Lord highlight for me during camp was surrender. The first day of training camp I felt so overwhelmed by things that kept coming to my mind. I felt so guilty because I desperately wanted to be present during worship and sessions, but I couldn’t stop thinking of home and situations I left at home. I kept praying that the Lord would give me answers or a plan so that I could finally feel present and glean from the teachings we were being given. On the second day of camp we did something called listening prayer for devotional time. During this time the Lord convicted and spoke to me so clearly. The verse, “Be still and know that I am God,” (Psalm 46:10) was highlighted to me. What a powerful reminder! It was like something clicked in that moment and ever since I have had a total perspective shift. I just have to do it. I needed to be still and be present. Gleaning from God is not conditional! I don’t need to have the answers. I don’t have to have everything figured out. I don’t even have to have things figured out by the time I go home at the end of this trip. I just need to be still and know that God is directing my steps. This is God’s will, God’s way, and boy am I grateful! I felt the burden of “my plan” lifted off of my shoulders! How comforting that we have a God who is writing our story for us? I have been able to take comfort in knowing that I can be present and learn more about God, and that doesn’t mean that I am wasting time or being lazy. God will take care of the rest! I could go on and on, but my trust in God’s love and provision for me has grown so much over the week at training camp! And the Bible says that perfect love casts out fear. I know this to be true because in what other circumstance would I be sitting here, in Guatemala, typing out this blog for all of you lovely people back home. Only by God’s great love that continues to cast out my fears for this trip.
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