Where do I even begin for this post? The last two weeks with these individuals on my squad have already become so memorable. All these people who were once strangers to me have become as close to me as brothers and sisters. We have run through the Appalachian woods in the pouring rain, evangelized in Wal-Mart and Chick-fil-A, played numerous games of spikeball, laughed and cried, worshiped, prayed over, and edified one another. For many of us, this has become the most vulnerable season of our lives, sharing all the pains and heartaches of this world and how a man from two-thousand years ago has brought healing and filled the void in our hearts that this world could never satisfy. As we go forward together, we are going to share the hope that we have with a world that is so broken and corrupted; To bring light into the darkest areas of this world, so that the entire world may know the love and power that comes from the name of Jesus. 

Personal testimony: Being here at training camp has helped reinforce the biblical truths of who I am as a child of the King of heaven. One of our leaders, Bill Swan, gave us a message about our identity in Christ. I think most of us know some of these truths, but we often listen more to what the enemy tells us than what our Father says about us. I encourage you to speak these truths over yourself often to remind you of who God has made you to be:

I am the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13)

I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14)

I am a child of God (John 1:12)

I am a part of the true vine, a channel of Christ’s life (John 15:1,5)

I am a friend of Christ (John 15:15)

I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I am an heir of God since I am a son of God (Galatians 4:6,7)

I am righteous and holy (Ephesians 4:24)

I am not the great “I AM” (Exodus 3:14, John 8:24, 28, 58), but by the grace of God, I am what I am (1 Corinthians 15:10)