Training Camp!

Wow, training camp was such an amazing experience!  It’s hard to put everything that I learned and experienced into one blog post, so here are some brief highlights of daily life at camp.

• Sleeping in a tent is fun as long as you ignore the many giant spiders crawling on the outside.
• You sweat constantly.  Changing outfits is a matter of deciding which clothes smell the least.
• Bucket showers are very refreshing when the weather is super hot and humid.
• Trying new foods is exciting, but sometimes it’s better to pop the food into your mouth without looking at it too closely (crickets and a preserved duck egg).
• Learning about different cultures and how to relate to them is eye-opening. 

While at camp I finally got to meet my squad – the people that I will be traveling around the world with for the next year.  God definitely knew what he was doing when he placed me on Z squad.  I already have so much love for these people and I can’t wait to see how the Lord is going to use them to impact His kingdom.

I also got placed on my team.  We chose the name Team Scelte (meaning chosen).  These four women are who I will be living in constant community with for the next several months.  I’m so excited to serve, learn, and grow with them!

Throughout camp we had many sessions on a wide variety of different topics.  The biggest takeaway that I received from the teachings was how much God loves me.  This is something that I have known in my head for a long time, but that knowledge did not fully translate to my heart.  However, during camp I had several very personal and intimate encounters with God that allowed me to begin see how much he loves and cares for me individually.  I’m so excited to continue discovering the ways that God loves me, and in turn share that love with others around me!

On the last night of camp I actually chose to get re-baptized.  Most of my spiritual walk since I first accepted Christ as my savior has been defined by apathy.  The last couple of years the Lord has really been working on my heart and I have had a more earnest desire to know Him.  Choosing to get re-baptized was a declaration to myself and others that I never want to go back to that place of apathy, but that I want to grow and continue walking in intimacy with Him.