Stacy Povian, a former World Racer and current Adventures staff member, attended training camp for World Race and Passport participants this past week in Toccoa, GA. She got to witness what it looks like when God transforms college students and young adults and mobilizes them to bring heaven to earth all over the world. This is Stacy’s story:

Last week we had about 300 Passport and World Race participants at training camp here in Georgia. All of them are getting ready to go out onto the mission field in September.

For most of us on staff, training camp is our favorite part of our job. It is for me, anyway. This is when I get to meet the people I’ve been talking to and praying for over the phone for months!  

Training camp is great, and it’s hard for our participants. It consists of days in the hot Georgia sun, everyone smelling bad, sleeping in tents and buses, having team formations, and God digging into the deepest parts of the heart and breaking them. Brokenness. Healings. Every moment of training camp is intentional and has purpose.

My very favorite part about training camp, though, is moments like last Monday night. When we started worshipping, the Holy Spirit fell SO THICK in the house; it was unreal. I imagined this enormous blanket of glory over the room. Maybe it was more like the roof being blown off and heaven was open wide. Who knows.

 

I was praying for one of our participants when I hear this guy behind me laughing. I turned to look at him, and he was full of so much joy that I thought he was going to burst. In what words he could gather, he exclaimed, 

“This changes everything!”

I got goose bumps. I cried. There was something so powerful in what he said.

This does change everything. This 18-year-old guy was just met with God’s radical love. Perhaps for the first time in his life, God became real. He came near. God stepped down from the clouds and sat in this guy’s chest. It changes the way he sees God and the way he sees himself. It changes the way he sees the world. It changes the reason he’s signed up to go on the mission field. Suddenly it’s not about a nice little missions trip, but it’s about bringing that “this changes everything” kind of love to a hurting and broken world.

More and more, I’m realizing that this is what I live for. 

Seeing people like this 18-year-old kid be changed by God’s real love. Stepping more into his identity as God’s son. There’s nothing better.

Thankfulness and humility have been heavy on my heart all day today. In some small way, I play a part in what happened last week. I’m overwhelmed that Jesus chooses each of us for things like this.