Growth In The Lord

Training camp is finally over, and it is a bit hard to believe. I have lived here for four weeks in a tent (or hammock). It simply just feels like my life, like I have always lived and always will live in a tent on the AIM campus. It has been absolutely crazy. 

During the week our days were packed with sessions and trainings with very little time for rest. Saturday usually had more rest and Sunday was Sabbath. It was definitely a challenging month but oh so good.

I don’t have a big God moment or revelation to share with you all, but that does not mean God was not moving. He was absolutely working in me and everyone around me. 

As I said, training camp was not easy. The entire time we lived in our tents which got very hot and stuffy when you were trying to sleep. It rained for a week straight in the beginning, flooding many tents, including mine. Mold was everywhere, many things were thrown out. The only bathrooms we got were porta potties. We washed our laundry in buckets and hung them on a clothesline. The first week we were only allowed to use the bucket showers, after that we got to shower in shipping containers. The food was portioned for everyone, so you did not always get as much as you would like. Oatmeal, cereal, beans, and rice were always expected. Of course that’s just the physical stuff. We had to learn how to live in a community where you are spending every single second with the people around you. Spiritual warfare was a real thing everyone experienced. The mental exhaustion of so many sessions with a lot of information and little time to digest was felt throughout all squads. I personally struggled with learning to be served, trying to get to know my squad mates, and learning that it is okay to not do everything with everyone. I had trouble discerning what God was trying to say, reading my Bible, and sharing what the Lord was doing. Yet, despite these things, God still was changing hearts.

God never left my side, even in my struggles I could feel God holding my hand. Many mornings I would wake up at 4:30 to pray and sit with the Lord. Looking at the stars in the clearing and listening to worship was oh so beautiful. Without fail I would always feel the Lord. Watching my squad mates love each other and laugh together filled me with so much joy knowing that I would be spending the next season of my life with them serving God’s people. Worship was always so Spirit-filled. You could look around and always see people face down on the ground worshiping, others praying over each other, and more singing with their hands in the air or dancing. It was one of my favorite times of the day. And of course I learned so much from all of the sessions. Just knowing what God had already done in training made me so excited for what He would do in the field.

What stuck with me the most during this time was the fact that I am not here because of my own doing. I am here because God chose me to be, and I said yes to His invitation. Also, the fact that the Message I have to share will never change or go away. Despite what I have or do not have, I will always be able to share God’s Word.

Training camp was a beautiful time for us to grow in our own walks with the Lord and with each other in community. Our last day we had one last Revival Night and a commissioning. We even completed a cinnamon roll hug with nearly one hundred people. Once it was all over there was so much excitement. Everyone was running around hugging. I had to take a step back and take it all in. Looking around at the people that were to become my family and that I was to serve the Lord with, I began to get teary-eyed. I was so overjoyed with the goodness of God.

This is where God wants me, and I cannot wait to see what He does with my obedience. Thank You, Jesus for this sweet time of growth.

With love,

Ali Goolsby