If you’ve ever been to a Christian summer camp, you might know that God can do amazing things in one short week. What I learned at Training Camp is that God can go way beyond my wildest expectations and totally change my life and my perspective in 10 days.
Training Camp was emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting. By the end, it felt like I had been there for about 3 months, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about coming home. I had just met my new A Squad family, my team (Team Ablaze), and spent some very intentional time with the Lord.
I learned what Biblical community can look like. The Church is a worldwide community of believers, meant to support and encourage one another as well as fulfill the Great Commission together. An aspect of the World Race that I had been a little nervous about was the constant community. But at Training Camp, I got to meet those wonderful people I get to live and serve with for the next year. And as part of a community like this, I have to be open and honest with them, and with God. Sharing my struggles and my vulnerabilities with them is a huge part of growing in the Lord– trusting that no matter how they see me, He always sees me through love, compassion, mercy, and grace. Giving feedback to one another was also new to me. I never was a fan of criticism, but in this context, I see it in a new light. Yes, it can hurt to receive it, and I must humble myself to give it to someone else, but it’s so worth it.
I also saw encouragement like I’ve never seen before. There were 3 squads at Training Camp, yet every day we sat beside and got to know and supported each other. It was amazing. This was especially visible on the day we did the Fitness Hike (hiking 2.2 miles in 38 minutes or less with our fully loaded packs). There were a lot of Racers that finished early, but that didn’t mean that they were done. They went back out and hiked alongside those that hadn’t finished yet. They pulled them up the steep parts and pushed them on the flat parts. That encouragement is what builds up the Church. Each member has different strengths and weaknesses, and this week I got to see that so clearly in action as we spent time together.
It was amazing to see God work through others to touch my heart as well. At the beginning of TC, there was a Squad leader that prayed over me that I would “go outside whatever lines I’ve drawn for myself and follow hard after Him.” I had definitely set boundaries for myself a long time ago out of fear of rejection, and needed to hear those words of encouragement.
And towards the end, someone else felt led to tell me that God is my friend, my comforter, that I can rely on Him, and that I am loved. I definitely needed to hear that as well. God works in awesome ways, y’all. He can and will use you if you fix your eyes on Him and what He is doing, and ask him to work through you.
I was struggling with fear, but God walked me through it. I had kind of ignored this until Training Camp, but for years I’ve had walls up to protect myself from rejection. Yes, I really am quiet and introverted, but often I would use that as an excuse to hold back from things that I really wanted to do, but was too afraid to. I didn’t want to fail, or look dumb, or be seen as “that weird girl” and be left alone. Being pushed and encouraged to open up to my squadmates and intentionally spend time praying about those things helped me tear those walls down, and I experienced a new level of freedom and contentment in who God created me to be.
I’m looking forward to Launch, seeing my new family again and actually stepping into my World Race journey. It’s only one month away, and I can’t wait. Please pray that I would continue to deepen my relationship with the Lord and listen for His voice in this short season of waiting, and pray for more people to come alongside me and provide the financial support that I need to launch with my squad.
Beautiful surrender is where I wanna be
Locked into your arms, for all eternity
Come and take my hand, you can lead me where you please
That beautiful surrender is chasing after me
(- “Beautiful Surrender” by Jonathan David Helser)
Love you Lauren! Can’t wait to see you at Launch! I can’t wait to see what God will do this year!
Aw thank you Kayla! Love you girl, and I’ll see ya soon!
Thank you for the updates Lauren! Super inspiring and so exciting how God is already –
and continuing to – change you and prep you!
Will continue to pray for your growth and perseverance and patience through the next year!
Thank you Esther! I’m so excited to see how God will use this year! Love and miss you!
Dear Lauren, so excited to follow you on your journey. Will be looking forward with anticipation to your blogs. May God bless you on your journey.