Training Camp and Colombia Week 1 Recap

Hi everyone! These last 3 weeks have been filled with so many exciting and challenging moments that I want to share with you!

Training camp was the most fun, challenging, and overwhelming 12 days. What I had been praying and looking forward to about that time was the Christian community and people who were just as excited to share about the Lord as I was. Those 12 days were such an answered prayer, and I met people who I now get the privilege to call family. An overarching theme of training camp was living in complete abandonment. My thought was “Okay, that can’t be that difficult” but the Lord was sure to convict me real fast. Something I typically find comfort in is organization of my things whether that’s where I put my toiletries, how my clothes are folded, or the space I sleep in. The first few days that was a difficult adjustment because there is none of that at training camp, you sleep on the floor with 75 other racers in sleeping bags, then put all your stuff in big backpacks in a room and shower in trailers while it’s also 15° outside. When I was talking to God about that, I felt Him say, “Are you finding your comfort and peace in things and organization or in Me?” but in a kind, gracious, pointing-me-back-to-Him way. The Lord also showed me how kind He has been in my life. There has been plenty of times when I chose my way over His because I thought I knew better, but each time when I finally chose His way, He was so gracious with me and still loved me even when I missed it. God is such a good Father and He has made that evident in so many different ways.

We left for Colombia early on Thursday morning which was such a bittersweet feeling, we’re done with training and we get to go out to the nations but now I’m leaving most of the new friends I just made. Our travel day went smoothly and we got to the foundation around 1:30am that night. As we went into a week of ministry, I had high expectations of what was going to happen because we had all been anticipating this moment for months. Ministry looked different than I thought but it’s still such a sweet privilege that we get to partner with the people of Medellín and Ciudad Refugio. God’s hand on this foundation is so prevalent and it’s an honor we get to be a small part of what He’s doing here. Even in the brokenness and hardships that life has brought the people in the program, they still have the joy of the Lord in them and are a testament to God’s faithfulness in so many different ways.

This last Wednesday, we had the opportunity to go into a community where individuals who struggle with drug use and homelessness live. Honestly, with the way that it was described to us, I was scared. It was something I hadn’t experienced in such a large magnitude and I was afraid of what would happen. God so sweetly brought to mind the line in So Will I that says, “If you gave Your life to love them so will I.” Being the hands and feet of Jesus shouldn’t stop when you get scared, it’s an opportunity for greater trust in Him. So we went out and we got to be what could possibly be the only Jesus they will ever see. We got to meet them in their brokenness just like Jesus did for us, and we got to see them as more than a number in a statistic but as humans who Jesus also gave His life for. What a privilege it is that God chose to use us for that purpose. Romans 1:5 says, “Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them…”

Thank you for taking time to read what God is doing here, I can’t wait to share more!