Life and Life Abundantly: Week 1!

Hey Guys!

Okay so it’s officially been one week in Georgia and I could never in a million year have guessed how amazing, hard, and fulfilling this week was going to be. There’s so much I want to share with you guys! But first for context, let me paint a picture of what training camp looks like for racers like me and my teammates.

The World Race training camp takes place in Gainesville, Georgia, just about an hour outside of Atlanta. There are a lot of different mission trips launching right now with us, so there are about 200 people ages 17-30 all living on campus right now! We are separated by the squads that you are going on the same trip with, so I have about 40 new siblings who I spend all my time with! During the day we have about 3 different sessions, which are basically teachings and training and how to serve the Lord and share His love to everyone. In between those teachings are meal times and worship and a few other things, but we rarely have free time. When we do, we get to take bucket showers! Basically, this means filling up a 5 gallon bucket with water from the hose and using a measuring cup to dump it over your head. It may sound kinda weird, but after 5 days in the Georgia heat without showering, you would think that it’s the best thing ever too! 

As cool as bucket showers and worship nights are, my favorite part of the past week is seeing the Lord show up in the craziest ways. On the first day at training camp, we started the day with an hour of worship. Since it was the first time we had done this, no one was really prepared for the type of worship that the WR does. We were also surrounded by strangers, so it was for sure a little awkward. As we were standing there worshiping the King, I looked over and saw a staff member I had never met before crawling over chairs to come get to me. Honestly, my first thought was “what is wrong with this lady” and “I sincerely hope she’s not coming to talk to me”. Thankful, my hopes didn’t come true, and she came right up to me and introduced herself. She already knew my name and she told me that she had a message for me from the Lord. She then proceeded to tell me intimate details about my life that she had no possible way of knowing. Then she gave me a message about what the Lord was going to teach me and how He’s redeeming me. This encounter was just a taste of what the Lord has had in store for me throughout my last week. 

One of the blessings of the World Race is that everything that we do is focused on Christ (today they even managed to take an insurance information session and turn it into a sermon). We start our day with morning devos, and then into worship, and then sessions and teachings until about 8:30 most nights. Ever since that first encounter with the staff member during worship, something inside me began to shift. It was an if, for the first time in my life, I realized that I couldn’t hide anymore from God, and that I was grossly underestimating the power of the Lord. Not only that, but I felt incredibly inadequate to not only be in the presence of the Lord, but also to be chosen to do His work. Again, the Lord sat with me in my doubts and struggles, and literally the following day, we had a session about identity in Christ and what it means to walk in the authority of the Lord. This is very much something I’m still learning and struggling with, but my God is so sweet and He has been sitting and walking with me through this whole healing process. 

Not only that, but He has also been speaking to me in some pretty incredible ways. On Monday I was baptized in the Holy Spirit (if you don’t know what this is, text me or call me! I’d love to explain the significance of it and what it is in more depth!). I also got baptized in water for the first time in my life yesterday! It was a crazy experience, and the Lord truly showed up in so many ways through the whole process. Guys, I have so many other stories that I would love to share with you all, and I’m going to do my best to keep the blog and instagram updated. I love you all back home, and am so glad to be able to have this opportunity. Thank you!