When I imagined World Race Training camp, I imagined a bunch of sermons on mission work to hype us up. I imagined the leaders here as cheerleaders, uplifting us until our day of departure. They are cheerleaders, but I had no idea how life-changing this experience would be.
We are here for 2 weeks, and we are camping the entire time! Which has been fun and challenging. This first week we have had a schedule of morning devotions, breakfast, worship, session, lunch, another session, squad time, dinner, campus clean up, then personal time. The days are long, starting at 7:45am, and ending around 8pm. Our phones are taken at the start of the day, and returned at the end. We get real showers every-other day, and we take bucket showers on the other days (a very new experience for me!). We also hand wash our laundry, which is new to me too!
Our cutie little campsite!
Bucket showers and hand-washing laundry!
The sessions each day are on all kinds of relevant subjects. Just to name a few, we have had sessions on identity, the Holy Spirit, God’s love, forgiveness, repentance, and hearing the voice of God. These sessions have GROWN me. I have learned things about God that are in the Bible, but I’ve never seen them. I have been wrecked. I’ve cried. I’ve rejoiced. I’ve worshipped. I feel like I’ve had 5 years of spiritual growth in the last 5 days. It has been amazing and so stretching.
Although each day I have learned many new things, the biggest revelation the Lord has given to me is how much he LOVES me. I have always heard the term “Jesus loves me!” but it never settled into my heart until this week. The Lord has revealed to me how he is my Father, and I am his child. That he wants to take care of me, protect me, provide for me, and encourage me like a good father does. It feels as though he has been waiting for me to realize this, and come to him completely for so long now. This week, I have submitted my whole heart to him, and let him fill the broken parts with himself. I feel like he is SO excited for this! And I am too 🙂
I have also met and grown with my squad! “Squad” is the term World Race uses to describe a team of people that are signed up for the same trip. We have 15 squad members, 3 leaders, 2 coaches, and 1 mentor for a total of 21 on our squad! The picture above is of all of us! This team is so wonderful. From the moment we stepped on campus, we have been praying for each other, encouraging each other, and genuinely wanting to know each other’s hearts. I have even asked “How are you?” more than 10x a day, and they actually want an update on how I am. These are people I have learned I can lean on and open up to. I thank God for each one of them!
We had a prayer burn one of the first nights we were here, which means we stayed up all night interceding in prayer for whatever the Holy Spirit lead us to. This really bonded us as a squad, and we saw some of the things we prayed for come to fruition in the next few days, which was awesome! The next night at dinner, we were told we had a scenario. The scenario was we were in India staying with a host family that was Hindu for the night. We followed cultural norms, and took off our shoes before walking in. We sat on the floor criss-cross applesauce, and ate the “delicacy” that the host family had cooked for us (dried fish… see the picture below. Yes, I was fighting back my gag reflex while smiling and saying “thank you so much!”) We got to know them a little, and then shared the gospel in a way they could understand. Then we all slept in one big room overnight! It was so fun!
We also did a house-visit scenario yesterday, which was similar to the scenario previously mentioned, but we went in groups of 3. This was very realistic, and I got so much helpful feedback. Yesterday was also cultural day. Our squad had to dress in classic Greek Orthodox attire, and follow any cultural norms. For the girls, we had to dress in a long skirt, keep our shoulders covered, and cover our head during worship. For the guys, they had to wear a button down shirt with dress pants. The culture is pretty conservative, and so guys and girls were not allowed to touch. It was fun!
Dressed in Greek Orthodox attire!
Overall, I am having a wonderful time here, and I am so thankful for the people surrounding me. I am still learning more, and chewing on some stuff I’ve been taught. Sometimes I look around me and I am so thankful that the Lord has found me worthy to be here. Thank you to everyone who has supported me financially, emotionally, or spiritually. This experience has already changed my life, and I can’t wait to head to Guatemala in just one week to pour into the community there.
Praise God, I am 69% funded! If you would like to donate to this mission trip, here’s the link! Anything donated through here is tax-deductible.
Talk soon,
Ressie Mae Owen
A few extra pictures for you all 🙂
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