Training Camp

Yesterday I came home from my training camp for the World Race in Gainsville, GA. It was a truly amazing week. So much learning, fellowship, preparation, and fun took place over this last week.

I have to say the best part for me was actually getting to meet all the people that are going on the World Race with me. The people that I get to call my family for the next year. It was amazing to actually get to meet them in person and not just see them over a zoom call or talking through our group chat. 

Here is a picture of M Squad after we reached the end of our hike.

I am so grateful that I got the chance to start getting to know these people. That I’ll get to grow closer to them. That we can support each other in our struggles. That we can love one another. As the year goes on and we’ve gotten past that sort of honeymoon phase of the race we’ve been guaranteed that it will be harder to be there for each other. We’ll not always want to choose each other. But this is when the trip can be the most amazing, in my opinion. This is when we can choose to love one another. 

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12 NIV

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35 NIV

I’m excited to show the world Jesus by the way that I love these people. For people to see us together and see that there is something different about us. It won’t always be easy by any means to love them. I won’t get it right all the time there will be times when I choose myself over them or I hurt them in some way. But love is the one thing that God has commanded us to do. I want to love them in a way that I can’t do myself. To be strengthened by the Holy Spirit to love them when I can’t do it myself.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

Now I won’t be with all of the people on my squad all the time. We get split up into different teams that usually end up going to different parts of whatever country we’re in. I’m on a team with four other people and they are the ones I’ll be around all the time and I’ll have the most opportunity to love.

Maybe my next blog will be an intro to the people on my team, I’m not sure. Regardless of what my next blog is it will probably be written in Romania. I leave to go back to Georgia on August 6th. We’ll be there for about a week then head to Romania.