The final week of training camp has come to an end, and my squad is feeling all kinds of emotions as we prepare for the next season ahead. I expected this week to be slower with less to cover, but looking back, so much has happened! God has been so good. Here’s my recap of the week:
Burnt out!
If I’m being honest, this week started off a little rough for me. Watching three squads head to the field while knowing we’d still be in the States for another three weeks was tough. It was the moment when the “summer camp” feeling faded. I found myself getting irritated with people, and to be honest, I was kinda over it. To top it off, the rain wouldn’t stop. I went to my tent to be alone, but the sound of the rain was driving me crazy. Then, my tent pole broke, causing one of my walls to collapse. So there I was, sitting in my feelings, watching rain slowly seep into my tent.
The next day wasn’t much better. I realized I’d been bottling up a lot of homesickness after calling all my friends and family the day before. That same day, a family moved onto the base. They work with AIM doing long-term relief and had just returned. They also have a dog that looks exactly like my dog, Chewie. When he came running into my lap and covered my face with dog kisses, I just broke down and cried, letting it all out. I’m not usually one to cry, but it was definitely good to release those feelings.
I’m so grateful for my amazing team—they surrounded me with so much love and support. A few days earlier at our squad church, we talked about living out of overflow. That became my prayer for the week: to be filled with God’s peace and joy. That night, as my tent continued to slowly get wetter, I put on my noise-canceling headphones, blasted “You Saved Me” by UPPERROOM, and just laid down with my eyes closed, focusing on God. The next day, I felt so much better. The sun came out, I was able to fix my tent, and God filled me with a fresh wind. I am SO grateful for this season of my life right now. God is working so much and I am so excited to be a part it.
Teachings
This week, we dove deep into teachings on spiritual warfare. We discussed the spiritual world and what it can look like in other countries, and we learned about our authority in Jesus—how we have nothing to fear. I really appreciated these messages because they provided so much practical insight into how we can navigate certain situations in the future.
As a team, we also did a Bible study on James, which was SO GOOD. Over the past few weeks, my appreciation for scripture has grown so much. I no longer want to read it just to “be a good Christian,” but I’m genuinely hungry to understand it. I’m blown away by how everything in the Bible connects and tells one incredible story of how good God is!
Mount Yonah
K squad hiked a mountain! It was so beautiful. We camped on top and hiked down at five am to make it down in time to get chick fil a in the morning.
Beautiful rainbow
TESTIMONY
I couldn’t wear my tennis shoes on the hike because they were wet, so my Chacos had to make the trip instead. They did great on the way up, but the way down was a different story. By the end of the hike, I had huge water blisters all over the side of my foot and toe. I was in SO MUCH pain afterward—it hurt to walk, even to stand. That night, we had a worship night, and I was super frustrated because I could only sit there; it hurt too much to stand.
I felt the Holy Spirit nudging me to ask my friend to pray for me. After she prayed, the pain completely disappeared—it was CRAZY! God is so good! The blisters were still there, and I could feel them, but there was no pain at all. I was overflowing with joy and danced through the rest of the night. It was incredible! The joy of the Lord is so freeing—I couldn’t stop smiling, and I’m even smiling now as I write this!
And it gets even better. This morning, I woke up and the blisters were COMPLETELY gone. I was shocked! There’s only a little redness where they used to be. God is so good, and this could only be from Him. God cares about us so much, even the little things! Praise God!!
What’s next?
On Monday, K squad heads out for North Carolina! We will be doing ministry there for a week before coming back to Gainesville for a week of debrief! Please pray for safe travels, our ministries we will be serving in, and the people we will reach!
With Love,
Ashlyn
