Training Camp – Week 1 (9/10/2023)

Hey gang! Just started the second week of training camp and all I can truly say is GOD IS MOVING HE IS HERE WITH US. & I have only been here for one week *mind blowing emoji* God has answered so so many prayers over the past year:

Mentorship

For the last year and a half I have been praying for a mentor/someone more spiritually mature to lead me in this life. Honestly, I sort of gave up on it because I was going to start the World Race and knew it would be hard to uphold a relationship with life getting in the way & time differences it would be difficult to have a relationship with someone who I would like to lead me. Fast forward to the second day of training camp and I am in complete awe of the amazing leaders God has for my squad. I’m in awe because they speak with so much love and truth, quoting scripture and speaking with so much confidence that is from
God and for his faithfulness in their lives. It is so clear that they seek to be more and more like Jesus and humble themselves to be taught by him daily. In our squad we have one squad mentor, three squad leaders, two life coaches and two bonus trading camp leaders what a blessing! Each of them want to lead us more into our relationship with God. Once again, I find myself in an answered prayer. And God reminds me that he hears every prayer and cares so deeply for his children. Thank you Jesus!

God Sees Us and He Cares For What We Care For

My second prayer is that I was pretty nervous about meeting my squad. Nervous about if they would be funny was my biggest worry. I couldn’t really tell people’s personalities through our groupme before arriving. Already on the first night we were laughing until our stomachs hurt. This first week has been filled with so much love, truth, joy and wisdom. God has blessed me so so much with the people of this team. I know that each person will support me, and each person has their own “specialty” that I can go to for it. 🙂 My favorite part is that we have been so moved by this training camp through the sessions they have given us, spiritually awakening thoughts and just being completely vulnerable with God and each other we have grown so close together and we are already saying I love you to each other because of how much we’ve been through in the last week.

God Repairs and Restores Every Broken Heart

This last year was pretty difficult for me in the way that I felt that I lost a part of myself because of past hurt that occurred in my life. I tried my best to stop myself from feeling, whatever it took, I would distract myself just so that I wouldn’t have to sit in the reality of the pain I felt. I typically love people pretty easily but in the last year I felt my heart grow very hard towards others. Not thinking people actually wanted to be there for me and restricting myself from fully loving others the way God intended they to be loved. As well as restricting others love for me. In my mind I wanted anything but love because that’s was hurt me. Once I got real with myself real and pure love was all I wanted & needed. Knowing that God is love, Holy Spirit is the ultimate comforter, & Jesus is the best friend I could ask for.

For a while I had stuffed it down, trying to forget the pain and the hurt thinking to myself that enough time has passed, no need to think about it anymore. Of course God, being the loving Father he is brought it up a lot this week. During a session, one of our life coaches, Joy walked us through a spiritual awakening exercise. She told us to close our eyes, to do our best to clear all thoughts in our minds and to ask God to meet us where we were.

**That morning Joy had told the position each part of the trinity of God holds in our lives. God is a father figure. Jesus is our friend and family member figure. and Holy Spirit is our source of comfort/mother figure. I felt that I had never noticed Holy Spirit as a comforter, or supporter but it is so REAL scriptures say that he is our helper! our comforter! (Romans 15:13, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, John 14:16, etc.)**

Now during the exercise, once I let go of all thoughts and focused on who God wanted to meet with me I saw a blur of Jesus & he put his hands on my face telling me that he loves me more, he will never leave me, never reject me, never leave me hanging, he loves me and he wants to be my friend. It just felt so real, Jesus was with me & I sobbed. I held so much expectations for people, I held onto relationships I should’ve let go of as soon as I heard God telling me to let go. God is good. He is here with us now and always. I pray that if you are reading this post that you would go find a quiet place and ask and believe that God will show up for you, because he cares for you.

We Are Literally ALL God’s Favorite!

Another way God showed up last week was that at the beginning of the week we were being told that we are all so deeply loved by God. Initially, when I heard that I took it very lightly. During a debrief of that session our leaders asked us what we thought of the session and I said “I’m sorry but there’s no way God really loves us all that much, there’s no way we are all his favorite. There’s just no way he sees me and knows me and still loves me” — Immediately! Our leaders responded with love and TRUTH. This is so important to me, I need real evidence in order to be convinced of something. I was told so much truth about God’s love that I started crying because it is so real that God truly loves us as a father would — even more than the best father in the world, God is the greatest father ever! He is every good thing. One of the points that stuck with me the most is the fact that God has placed a part of himself into us (Genesis 1:27, Zephaniah 2) (1 John 4:12-14). He delights in our worship to him because it’s like we are giving a piece of himself back to him. Because we as humans, were created to be in relationship with him, we were created in HIS image! He  doesn’t need us but he wants us, the person who can create anything, he can do anything on his own, he wants a real genuine intimate relationship with us individually. This was life changing. I am wanted by the God who created all good things.  And He wants to be in relationship with you!

All in all, God is so so good and he is moving. I am stoked for the rest of this mission trip & I cannot wait to share more.