Hey everyone, it has been 2 weeks into training camp here in Gainesville, Georgia and it has been a journey. Unfortunately, I left my computer at the Salt Lake City airport during my layover and could not retrieve it. Bare with me as I figure out how to do these blog posts over my phone.

My team:

I’m very thankful I’m in the squad with only 27 people because other squads have about 50-60. They both have pros and cons but I love having a close knit group of people because I get to know everyone very well.

Our squad of 27 is split up into teams for when we go onto the missions field because not all of us are going to be needed at all times. My team is made up of all 8 guys and they are all amazing. We have named our team “The Wanderers” with Stevie Wonder as our team mascot. ;) 

The Holy Spirit:

Everyone is very spiritually mature which is a bit intimidating at times. I am learning all about different spiritual backgrounds and seeing how the Holy Spirit moves in all different kinds of ways. Having people speaking in tongues, having visions, claiming to have supernatural healing, and having spirits being casted out is not what I’m used to for sure. Having an open mind and discernment is important. 

I love what my uncle David had to say about this, “Stepping out of one’s comfort zone is not necessarily adopting other faith practices as much as being open to seeing God’s work through the different faith practices of others.” 

“Necessities”

So far, this experience has helped me understand how much we think we “need”. I’ve never thought I would have to take a freezing cold bucket shower in my life but it’s the only thing we have had available to us so far. It is just a bunch of cold water in a bucket and you use a cup to get it out and pour it on yourself. You get used to it after a couple cups. 

Sometimes there is not enough food to fill the stomach. The first few days, we had classic food everyone loves, however they started to try to get us used to not having the best food in different countries.

For example, we had India Day where we could only eat with our hands because that’s what they do in India. They explained that in India, they only eat with their right bare hand because they use their left one for the restroom… 

As a picky eater, I have to say this has been pretty difficult but I need to learn to love more foods somehow. 

Not using electronics is so refreshing. 

I say all of this to bring it back to my main point: we think we need way more than we really do. At the end of the day, we don’t need fancy showers, fancy food, and most of the time we don’t need to be on our phones. Being fully present with one another in community and diving into Jesus’ word brings an undeniably deeper happiness to life than people realize. 

Thank you to all of you for your love and support! If you have any questions, please drop them in the comments down below and I will answer them ASAP. 

Love and miss you all <3

-Gabe 

P.S. this is my Squad :)