Wayward: A Memoir of Spiritual Warfare and Sexual Purity by Alice Greczyn

Author:Alice Greczyn [Greczyn, Alice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Personal Memoirs
ISBN: 9781632993540
Google: XzUXEAAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1632993546
Publisher: River Grove Books
Published: 2021-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

Five days later, the eight of us said goodbye to our families and drove to a YWAM base camp in Colorado Springs for three days of missionary training before our flight to New Delhi. Colorado Springs seemed to be the very embodiment of America’s glorification of military power and Christian values. Signs for Army and Air Force bases hung from nearly every church-dotted street we passed. The overwhelming military presence was noticed by my teammates, too.

“Isn’t the base camp right next to NORAD?” asked Zach.

Anthony answered from the front seat. “I think you’re right about that.”

“What’s NORAD?” I asked.

Anthony, who had served in the military, explained that NORAD stood for North American Aerospace Defense Command.

“What do they do?” I asked.

“Well,” Anthony said, “they’re who the government calls if crap hits the fan. There’s a bunker up the mountain and it’s where the president could be flown for hiding if America was ever attacked.” Anthony pointed out a tall barbed wire fence partially hidden by trees as the van made a turn up a windy mountain road. “See that?” he said. “That’s the border of NORAD. Cross that fence and you’ll meet a bunch of guys with machine guns.”

We pulled down a dirt driveway where a blue sign hung between two pine trees. It read, “Welcome to Mission Adventures!”

A petite girl with a heart-shaped face led the girls and me to our cabin. She said her name was Lindsay and that she would be our skit instructor. “We’ll rehearse your skits later today,” she said. “For now, you guys can set yourselves up in the bunks here and then come to the main lodge.”

We met the seven-member Washington team from Spokane during lunch. They seemed friendly and I looked forward to getting to know them better. The first day of our missionary training involved skit rehearsals, a briefing on culture shock, and a sermon based on the importance of teamwork. Sean, the twenty-four-year-old YWAM leader guiding our trip, warned that third-world travel often brought out the worst in people. Jet lag, stress, stomach issues, and the emotional impact of seeing poverty we weren’t used to could take a toll on us, resulting in arguments with each other we might not have under normal circumstances. He said that communication and conflict resolution would be the focus of the next day.

“We have an obstacle course set up in the woods,” he said. “And you’re all gonna have to work as a team to get everyone through each obstacle.”

My team handled the obstacle course like pros. The following afternoon, we deftly overcame every challenge set up for us, from tightrope walking between pine trees to climbing over a twelve-foot wall with no ropes. It felt like we were game contestants who had successfully won the day.

“I have to say,” said Sean as he walked us back to the lodge, “you guys have the best communication and teamwork of any group I’ve seen do this.”

We all gave each other high fives. I couldn’t imagine a

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