Training Camp

I’m finally getting a free moment to write about what my first few weeks of the World Race have been like. Today is Sunday, September 10, 2022, and we just wrapped up training camp! Our squad of 27 will be flying down to Guatemala together in the early hours of Monday morning. Once in country, we will then be splitting up into smaller teams of 4-6 people to partner with different ministries around the country for the next 6 weeks!

My team – Whale Team 6* – will be travelling to Sumpango (about 3 hours north of Antigua). Our ministry work will largely comprise of school programs, food programs, in-home visits, sports ministry and BVS (part of which is now online).

*We’re called Whale Team 6 because our leaders had us figure out who our teams were by having each team find each other – while blindfolded – by making a particular noise. And, as you may have guessed, we were making whale noises.

What was training like? When we arrived, we went to our squad campsite and set up what’s been our home for the two weeks of training camp. Strung among our tent village are hammocks and clothing lines. Our facilities include porta-potties and bucket showers (essentially you get a bucket full of water and use a cup to pour water over yourself), which we got to use every 3 days. In the second week, we were also able to use indoor showers once every 3 days. We also had limited phone time. The idea behind all of this was to prepare us for various conditions that we could be living in over the next year. Our squad does everything together, and it has really helped to bond us into a family. We eat, clean, do laundry, sit in training sessions, do team-building activities, worship and pray together. We’ve bonded over difficulties in leaving family and friends, and dying to ourselves and our own comforts; and we’ve also bonded in sharing our hearts for missions, in our desire to know God more deeply, and to more fully step into the calling He has placed on our lives.

What did I learn? To be quite frank, I have taken 47 ¼ pages of notes over the past two weeks on things I’ve learned from sessions and in my own quiet times, so this is hardly comprehensive. So below are just a few:

• I was really convicted about my prayers. Not that I don’t pray, but that my prayers were a monologue, and I didn’t often give the Holy Spirit space to talk back to me. Even in this short period of time, I’ve felt my relationship with God deepen so much. Even in reading scripture, I’ve been reading more slowly, and praying over each verse asking God what He’s saying to me or revealing about Himself (usually with psalms).
• Even leading up to training camp, God has been starting to teach me to walk with open hands. What I mean by this is not grasping for control of everything (whether job, or finances, or future, or friends/family). Not that these aren’t good, and not that God doesn’t want us to have these. God loves to give good gifts to His children. But they may become idols in our lives. Or He may be calling us to lay these things down to step into what He has for us. And the questions we have to ask ourselves is: Do we trust God? And is He most precious to us? – Laying all in His hands has been something I’ve struggled with. Relationships are important to me, and more recently, God has revealed that deep-seated fear I have is fear of loss/rejection/abandonment, so leaving everyone behind gave me a lot of fear and sorrow. But as I’ve continued to bring this to God, He’s given me so much peace and comfort in this transition. I’ve never felt so sure about anything in my whole life, and that’s because I’ve invited God in to walk with me through the entire process. He’s proven Himself good, and kind, and faithful; and I know that I can lay it all in His hands. So as change happens, and I separate from many of my new squad friends to do ministry in small teams, or as I say goodbye to ministry partners and communities, I can trust Him to give comfort, and also for Him to take care of them, because He loves them more than I do.
• I got asked to be a Beauty for Ashes coordinator as we go out. I got to receive training to be able to facilitate events for women, to give them a safe space to share hurt or trauma. These sessions will be able to help them learn about God’s love for them, as well as identity, worth, and forgiveness.

I am so grateful for the training, and this season of preparation, and I am eager now to step into the ministry! The other night, I had a vision of Jesus leaning down and holding out His hand to me. And he asked, “are you ready?” Yes I am!

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Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions (Kirsten.j.hankins@gmail). Please bear with me in responding, as we will have limited time and wifi accessibility. Also, feel free to share this with others!

¡Dios te bendiga! God bless you!