What is Training Camp Anyway?

Alright, folks! Here's a quick rundown of Training Camp and all the fun aspects of the experience! Enjoy!

Camping:

Yep! I said it... camping!! Rain or shine we have our tents pitched in little campsites on campus. I can't say for the other squads, but Gap I has our tents pitched all over our slanted site. I can't complain too much about the decline though because, after a nice Georgia rainstorm, our tents and site weren't as flooded as another squad whose site was flat. As you weave through a maze of tents, keep in mind that Gap I is huge on Hammock City. If there weren't enough spots for tents, there surely wasn't for hammocks! With the numerous hammocks and not-so-numerous trees within the site, double-decker hammocks have popped up. Now if your tent and hammock neighbors aren't enough already, some daddy-long-legs are more than ready to share your tent with you! Now if it seems like I'm complaining, I'm really not. The memories of hanging out in hammocks, racing into your tent to avoid it flooding, building friendships over killing spiders are all part of the amazing team bonding experience. I can honestly say that I get to fall asleep to the sounds of nature every night. Whether it's the rain or crickets, I am lulled to sleep by God's creation.

Meals:

Unlike boot camp where we ate "family style" and explored foods from different cultures, we eat fairly normally here. We eat three meals a day and it's typically American dishes. For instance, every Sunday we've been having pizza, that's not bad eating! Plus, I think that I can speak for almost everyone on the squad when I say we've indulged in a treat from the vending machine at least once ;)

Sessions:

Every morning, after breakfast, our squad dives into devotionals. For two weeks the team leaders would lead us in devotionals, but now we are independently spending time with Jesus each morning. After devotionals, all squads dive into some sort of teaching or "session" where we learn anything from the history of missions to various cultural lenses. After free time in the afternoon, Gap I (my squad) either exercises, works on fundraising, blogs, or plays a fun game! We also have a session before dinner, again, with lots of informative topics at hand.

Structure:

Okay, I know I'm throwing out a lot of lingo about the structure of our squad, so I'm going to try and lay it out pretty clearly now. First off is our squad. This is everyone going on my trip with me. We have a lot of names for our squad. We're known as Gap I, I Squad, and Development Route! To watch over our squad we have our amazing Squad Leader, Isabel! She will be going on the trip with us and guiding us through this adventure. Next, we have our teams! These are smaller groups that participate in bible studies and process everything throughout the week together. There are two teams for the men (Teams Boaz and Samsonites) and five teams for the girls (Teams Anav, Eden, Lydia, Rooted, and Olive Branch). I'm on Team Anav (I promise I'll fill you in on that in a later blog!) and I love my girls! Each team also has a team leader who participates in and facilitates "Team Time" as well.

I hope this gives you a bit of a clearer picture of what life is like at training camp! Feel free to comment with any questions you may have about training camp and I'd be glad to answer!