You know that warm fuzzy you get when you walk in your front
door for the first time in a long time? That was the feeling of meeting my team
for the first time – like meeting long lost family 🙂 Our first night we stayed
at Safe House smack- dab in the middle of Atlanta. Also smack-dab in the middle
of the Dragoncon craziness! I’d highly encourage you to Google it and learn
about it for yourself if you don’t know what it is. Basically, it’s Sci-Fi fans
gone wild…. Ya. With so many people gathered in one place, lots of whom were
lost and searching for a light, we’d be crazy to stay cooped up in Safe House.
So we split up into our teams and hit the streets to spread some Jesus love. Hearing
people’s stories and being able to share ours with them was such a neat
experience! Such a good reminder of how God sees everyone the same, and how He
looks at our hearts, not our appearances (or costumes).
An hour away, at AIM base, our days have been filled with “super
fun morning time” (crazy dancing), dance-offs (more crazy dancing), incredible
worship, painting team banners, and learning about the different cultures we’re
about to be thrown into at high speeds. From our culture debrief, India sounds
like it will be the brightest, loudest, most crowded place that I will have
ever seen in my life! A few strange customs have me wondering how quickly I’ll
adjust, but at the same time pump me up to try new things, live a completely
different life, and jump right in with both feet!!
Our session times have been amazing! Along with 70 other
college age students, I’ve declared freedom from bondages in my life. I’ve
surrendered things that I had planned on taking to India with me, but that God
told me I needed to get rid of – things like worry or clinging to my comfort zone.
We’ve cancelled out all voices except God’s, completely opening our hearts and
minds to what He will speak to us with words and visions in the months to come.
I feel like training camp is the time when you sit before the thrown, take out
your heart, and hand it up to God. He picks out the lies and replaces them with
His truths. He snips those things you couldn’t let go of and sews up the holes
with His affirmation of love. The words of discouragement that have been spoken
over our lives are blown away by the whispers of His adoration for us. Then He
hands our hearts back and says, “You’re ready, now go.”
So tomorrow morning we’ll do just that. As warriors, sons
and daughters, and ambassadors we’ll take our place in history – to change the
world and declare freedom in the Name of Jesus!
