Coming into training camp I didn’t feel like I had too many expectations. I thought it would be a little difficult and maybe I’d learn something about the country I will be doing life in for the next 2 months, I also assumed we would always be sleeping in a cabin all four nights… that expectation was not met. When we first got to our little camp ground out in the woods of Tennessee, we were called into a room and told to get 3 things from our luggage and we wouldn’t have further access to our bags until the next day. Naturally, I did not think we would be sleeping outside so I grabbed the three most useless things ever, I toothbrush, a camera, and a neck rest. In reality we were given 2 tarps and told to make a shelter in the woods. We stuck to just laying the tarp flat and sleeping on top. We did not consider massive spiders or the fact that it would drop like 30 degrees at night. Needless to say we were frozen, creeped out by bugs, and away all night, but it got me thinking about comfort. When God called me to go on this trip He didn’t add a p.s. that said, “this will be super easy and filled with things you are comfortable with including a bed.” He just said, “Go.” He doesn’t care about whether or not we are comfortable. In Luke 9:58 it talks about the cost of following God “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head’” Following the Lord isn’t going to be easy, but it is absolutely going to be worth it. Camp has been hard but it has challenged me and shown me that I have strength inside of me I never know about. It has shown me that no matter how many times saran tries to feed me lies and doubt or fill my heart with a deep hurt for home, that God will take it away as long as I truth Him completely. For all you future Real Lifers, I have two pieces of advice.
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Resist the enemy because if you aren’t standing firm in your faith I can attest to the fact that camp is going to be very challenging.
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When staff tells you to grab 3 things and that you won’t see your bags til the next day…they’re serious and you need a sleeping mat, pillow, and blanket. :]
Love and miss you all so so much, keep praying!!!
Living life in pursuit of Him,
Rach
Just as a ps. We made it to Thailand!! my feet are the size of 4 men and i'm tired but SO happy to be here!! we will be in Bangkok for the next few days, before heading down to Phuket!! <3
