Hello!

WOW It‘s hard to believe I’m sitting here at World Race base in Gainesville, Georgia writing my FIRST BLOG on the race! My mom and I arrived in Atlanta last Friday night for the parent launch. It was a sweet time for my mom to see what the World Race is all about and get plugged in to the parent community. Before I knew it, it was time to say bye and my squad drove to Gainesville. When we got there it was time to set up camp. I carried my 45 pound pack on my back and my HEAVY day pack on my chest as I hiked up the hill to our camp spot. The hardest part of the race so far was setting up my tent because of the heat! Once I got to up I was able to get organized and make my space home. Its been storming the past couple of days, but my tent has stayed dry and I praise the Lord for that!

Here‘s what a day in my life looks like at training camp:

7:15am—time with the Lord

8:00am—breakfast! As a squad (there’s 22 of us!) we eat all our meals together! We put all our tables together to build a mega table so we could have fellowship together each meal!

9:00am—worship. I have loved starting my day with worship. It prepares my heart to receive what God has for me each day and reminds me that my strength comes from Him alone!

10:00am—session 1. 

11:30am—squad discussion time

12:30pm—lunch. Mealtimes here always keep you guessing! Friday was India day and we got to experience eating Indian food with only our hands. A big thing I‘ve been surrendering to Gold is my desire for good nutrition on the race. I simply am not in control of what I eat because there’s a budget and over a hundred people here! Surrendering this to the Lord has brought me immense joy in every meal I am served. 

2:30pm—session 2

4:00pm—team time/squad time. Our squad is organized into 3 teams: team Revel, team Wanderer, and team Eden. I’m on team Revel with 7 other girls: Bailey, Ryann, Hannah, Karoline, Madilyn, Kate, and Rachel. Our team leader is Milly! We chose the name Revel because, as a team, we get to revel in what God is doing in each one of us!

5:00pm—dinner

Let’s talk about BUCKET SHOWERS!! You may be asking, “but Jan do you get to shower?!” Yes, we take bucket showers which is exactly what it sounds like. You fill a 5-gallon bucket with a hose and dump cups of water on yourself to take a shower. The water is COLD but man, does it feel good in the heat. I love bucket showers and its been a hilarious way to bound with my girl squad mates! We also wash our laundry in buckets, but I haven‘t experienced that yet because of all the rain! 

It‘s only week 1 and God has taught me so many things. I’m going to share one of them here! If you are curious about the rest, shoot me a text or give me a call. I’d love to talk and I have WiFi for now! My view of missions has radically shifted from what I can do for people to what God can do through me and his love. God‘s love shapes everything we do as followers. If I do not understand the weight of Jesus’ sacrifice and walk that love out first, ministry means nothing. 

Matthew 22:36-38

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

1 Corinthians 13:1, 13 

“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal […] And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Its currently dumping rain as I write this which is awesome. A sweet habit I have started is going on walks alone with Jesus to process what He’s putting on my heart. Recently these walks have been in the rain. I’m convinced there’s something so beautiful about how God created rain. It pours down all over the earth and covers everything it comes into contact with. Saturating the land, rain collects in streams and brings forth new life. Yet we pull out rain jackets and the umbrellas to shield us from getting wet. Rain is a perfect illustration for God’s love! Just like the clouds never run out of moisture, God‘s love never fails, it never gives up, and it never runs out on his children. Once we first stop to understand the Lord’s love, we respond in worship by loving Him. That love then drives us to the 2nd Great commandment: love your neighbor as yourself.

We give ourselves permission as Christ followers to have an “on/off” switch in ministry. Do not allow our dismissive culture or societal norms to dictate when you love others. Stop and talk to that homeless person, invite that family over, sacrifice your time to simply love on someone. All around you the world is hurting and growing for hope and love that lasts. So ask yourselves, do you leave places and people better than you found them?

John 13:34-35 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I am right there with you if you feel convicted reading this. We have our whole lives to soak up and grow in love so that our walk stands out of the darkness! Do you want to love people better? Start by loving God, that’s it! 

PRAYER REQUESTS:

-My whole squad is being deployed to Kentucky in a couple of weeks to help out with flood relief there. It’s supposedly one of the hardest deployments. Pray for our spiritual, physical, and mental strength as well as unity in the squad!  

-That I could walk in step with the Holy Spirit and walk out the things He’s teaching me 

-good sleep! :)

Ephesians 3:20-21 sums up my heart: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Have a blessed week!

-Julianne