Training Camp has been amazing.
We leave in less than 30 minutes to head to the airport. The thought
that I will be in Africa in less than 24 hours makes me SO excited.
Probably the most excited I have ever been.
Friday we met all the “Real Lifers”
(Adventures In Missions name for College Aged Missionaries) at the
airport. My specific team instantly bonded! From there we were off to a
homeless shelter in downtown Atlanta for the night.
There is 154 of us who are at training
camp. All different teams going to all different places around the
world from India, Israel, Bolivia, Peru, etc etc and of course I can’t
forget to mention my team: Africa Expedition aka “Team X”. There is 9 of
us, 7 girls and 2 boys.
Friday night was an incredible experience. We were given an area
in Atlanta, told to go there and let God lead us. We didn’t know what
that meant. But we decided to set big expectations on God because he is
BIG and he does BIG things. The night was long and exhausting at first.
We came across a homeless man and went over to talk to him. It was his
first night he had ever had to be homeless, and he quickly began to
unfold his story. He said he needed something new. He needed hope. SO we
prayed with him, he saw God in us and wanted that Joy. Wanted that
redemption that could save him even after all he had done wrong.
After we prayed with him, he looked up
and said “I WANT TO BE BAPTIZED!!!” We looked at each other, not
knowing how to respond. Our leader looked at us and said does anyone
have any water? None of us did. There was a bar across the street so we
walked over there and got a cup of water, and right there in downtown
ATL… we baptized a homeless man.
We could of easily walked past this man. We could of
easily done nothing about his situation. But instead, my team of 9…
did something hard. We stepped out of our comfort zone, while people
stared at us like we were crazy. And we changed this mans life. Our
prayers are that he will never be the same.
Since then, training has been
incredible. We have learned so many things about what God has for us in
Africa. The things we are going to encounter, how we handle those
situations, how we listen to the voice of God while we are out there…
I am jumping with excitement for the
people God has surrounded me with to go on this journey. I have no doubt
he is going to use us, challenge us, break our hearts, but then heal
our hearts. He is going to do BIG things.
