Family and Friends,

I'm here! Last Thursday night I arrived in Gainesville, GA and have now finished my first week of training camp for the World Race! It has truly been one of the most surreal experiences as I step into something I've been heading toward for the past 8 months. There is no longer a countdown on my WR page telling me how many days until I leave for training camp. I'm here and I'm living it! I am so incredibly grateful for all of you who have supported me, lifted me up in prayer, and sent me off well! I would not be where I am right now without you, so THANK YOU!

Days at training camp have consisted of meals, sessions, worship, team prayer, squad discussions, and being pushed far out of our comfort zones. Yesterday specifically, all Gap Squads got to go on a hike where we were physically pushed and spiritually challenged by our mentors to love one another well. Tuesday night consisted of a night of worship and teaching where we were pushed to replace the lies we believe with the truth of God.

The past week is full of so many stories and encounters with God that to sit down and write them all would be impossible. But what I can tell you is the ways God has already been stirring in my own heart. Through sessions, training, and my own time with the Lord I have learned so much about the heart of God and the role of the Holy Spirit in my life as a follower of Christ.

Firstly, God has shown me the surpassing worth of following him. This week God has placed on my heart Philippians 3. Scripture says, "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ- the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ- yes to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead" (NIV, v7-11). Oh, how I long to KNOW Christ, to participate with him in his sufferings! Nothing competes with the incomparable honor that it is to have a relationship with Christ! He is a good God, and we get the privilege of knowing him! How incredible! And isn't he so worthy of us knowing him? Truly knowing him and seeking his face? I can confidently say he is.

Secondly, I am discovering that he is ALL that I need. Absolutely nothing else can satisfy the needs in my life that were only ever meant to be satisfied by God. Here at training camp, we sleep in tents, do our laundry once a week by hand, use porta-potties as our bathrooms, take most of our showers with a bucket of water and a pitcher, and sweat like crazy in the Georgia heat. When you're physically uncomfortable you begin to learn that God is all you will ever need. He not only fulfills the physical needs but the emotional and spiritual needs that no human relationship could ever fulfill. Where a friendship failed me, God fills that role. When my emotions mislead me, God heals. Without him we are incomplete but with him at the center of our lives we are made whole. Nothing is worth pursuing like God is because absolutely nothing can ever fill the needs that only God was meant to fill.

Finally, the Lord is teaching me about the role of the Holy Spirit in my life. For the longest time I've been taught that the Holy Spirit lives inside of me, but all this time I've never understood what it means to live from an overflow of the Spirit in my life. I don't have to do it through my own strength; in fact, I am not supposed to. The Holy Spirit was never meant to be in my back pocket but was ALWAYS meant to change the way I live, pray, worship, think, and speak. There's a difference that occurs inside of you when you understand that the Spirit not only lives inside of you but can completely alter the way you live when you understand its power. Things we cannot do in our own strength, we can do through the power of the Spirit.

The Lord is working here at training camp, moving in each of our hearts. God has blessed me with an incredible team of around 40 other people all hungry for Jesus. He has given us incredible leadership over us and mentors who will be with us all nine months on the field. There is unity and deep friendships already forming amongst us and after seeing what God has done in one week, I cannot fathom what he will do in nine months!

Here are ways you can keep praying for me this next week:

• Pray for our last 2 days of training camp! God has already done so much but there is so much I believe he still wants to do in and through our squad! Please pray that these last few days would prepare each of our hearts for what is to come.

• Pray for our domestic ministry in Adrian, GA. On Sunday we will leave to build another base for Adventures In Missions and partner with them in laying the foundation.

• Pray for our upcoming ministry in Westmoreland, Jamaica where we will do disaster relief.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and for following along with this journey that God is taking me on! Praise the Lord for all that he has done already and all that is to come!

Much Love,

Ruthie Reimer