Welcome back to my blog everyone!

Many of you asked me what training camp looked like. To answer quite literally:

Now what in the world have we been up to here in Georgia? Well let me tell you! A typical day starts with a devotional time: often prayer and journaling for me. Then I hand in my phone for the day (so if I don’t respond to your message all day that’s why!). After breakfast there is a worship time and a teaching session. A session could focus on a Bible passage or other spiritual topic. Sometimes a session acts as a training in how to talk with others about faith (which, as it turns out, can be very hard). Sessions could also be a lesson about other cultures. Meals are different from what we are used to. One lunch was cucumber slices, two halves of a tortilla, and a small cup of honey. It is teaching me to be grateful for what I have! In the afternoons we may spend time debriefing with our squad, hearing from mentors, or doing team building activities. We get our phones back at the end of the day and often have free time in the evening. I’ve been playing a lot of ping pong during my free time. I’m pretty bad if I’m being honest, but don’t worry I’m getting better. By the end of my time here in Georgia, I will be a ping pong master, mark my words.

As I mentioned in my last blog, one reason I decided to go on the race was to get to know other cultures. I wasn’t expecting for this part of the experience to start until after I left the country. However during this time at training camp I’ve gotten to see a variety of ways of teaching, thinking, and worship that are different from what I was exposed to at home. But I asked God before coming here to help me know him better. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when he put me in a position where I had to examine my old expectations and ways of thinking. It has begun to force me to dig into Scripture myself, drawing my own conclusions and making my faith my own. So…here’s some news. Even though I have identified myself as a Christian for many years, I had never been baptized. But last week I made the decision to get baptized as a symbol of fully dedicating my life to Christ! Hooray! There is actually a really crazy story about how it happened, but I think I’ll need to write a whole other post about that, so stay tuned!

Those of you who have been praying for me, thank you! I need it!

I know this post was a long one, so if you made it this far, thanks for reading! I love you all so much!

-Sophie