day in the life !

it’s the third (almost fourth!) week of living in georgia and we are finally getting into a routine ! slowly but surely, i’m finding some normalcy in this life, so i thought i’d share a lil schedule with yall! (ps things are always subject to change and we constantly have to be flexible for something new !

6 AM – wake up ! roll out of the sleeping bag (sometimes the eno) and usually wear the same thing as the day before, or throw on a sweatshirt and boots.

6:40 AM – catch the sunrise ! if it’s not raining or super cloudy i can walk to the front of the base (sometimes with some of my squadmates if they are up early) and read, journal, worship, or just sit in the grass. this is my favorite way to start the day and wake up 

     + also will find some time to brush my teeth and wash my face before breakfast !

     + quiet time ! our squad has devos every day but i like to sit and have some personal time with the Lord ! currently reading through the book of exodus !

8 AM – breakfast ! every day it looks a little different – eggs and sausage, oatmeal, cereal, breakfast burritos, etc. – we love the AIM kitchen staff !

9 AM – squad devos ! for an hour or so one of our team/squad leaders (or someone from another squad – shoutout to gap c!!) will guide us in time with the Lord. sometimes it looks like reading a passage and journaling, spending time in worship, silence, etc. 

10 AM – session ! we have been learning A LOT each and every day. this week we have covered healthy grief, the miracles of God, holy spirit, fundraising, and how to structure a story. it’s been so cool to dive deep, hear from different speakers/leaders, and ask questions/process with my team. even though we often take on very deep and heavy topics, i can see the Lord morphing everyone around me (including myself) with each day. 

     + some sessions are longer than others but we always meet together with our teams afterwards to debrief, talk about what stuck out, and just take time to gather our thoughts. love my ladies !

12:10 PM – temperature checks ! we are still living amidst a pandemic! racers and leaders all live on campus and we aren’t able to leave at this time, but there are other staff and speakers who live off base and come every day! even with social distancing and mask wearing we want to be super careful about our health and making sure everyone is feeling well !

12:30 PM – lunch ! we all meet together again on the pavilion and our amazing team leaders serve us our meal ! looks different every day !

1:30 PM – squad rotations ! always something different ! sometimes we have squad time (bonding and playing games as a group), laundry (every thursday we hand wash our clothes in buckets and on clothes lines!!), workout/exercise (our squad loves running and yoga !), and showers (most the time its in the evenings, but every once and a while we have them early in the morning or at night). 

     + after our rotation we have free time and this can be so many things ! sometimes you need a nap, play spike ball, spend time with the Lord (we love sabbath !), etc. 

     + for the first two weeks we had bucket showers ! and it was just that — a bucket, hose water, and a stall — we recently switched over to showers built for us during those first few weeks. grateful for the warm water ! 

5:30 PM – we love to eat ! dinner ! we eat lots of chicken, rice, pasta, vegetables, sandwiches, etc. YAY!! conversations around the table are for sure my favorite, we love squad BONDING ! 

6:30 PM – team time ! every weekday team shathal gathers together ! monday: bible project ! we get to sit, watch a video, answer questions, and dive deep into scripture. tuesday: fun day ! really just a sweet time of hanging out, playing card games, painting, etc. wednesday: gratitude ! we really just take time to write thank you notes, give glory back to God, and remember some places of gratitude. thursday: feedback ! we spend time during the day and week building/praying about affirming and constructive feedback for each teammate. this was super nerve wracking at first, but i’ve come to really love and appreciate it! friday: debrief the week ! we sit with one another and reflect on everything that has happened ! 

    + the first week we spent time each night sharing our testimonies ! we have grown so much closer because of it and team time has become a favorite ! 

SOMETIMES: 7:30-8:30 PM – once or twice a week we have squad worship ! i love worship with gap d, they are PASSIONATE ! fun fact: me and my gal kaylin got to lead this past wednesday ! we had the theme of gratitude and giving glory back to God. it was such a fun experience ! 

7:30/8:30-9:40 PM – more free time ! this is a space where we transition from our team time to hanging out with others, working on blogs, playing (even more) spike ball, practicing for worship, etc. this has been a great space to just sit with the other squadmates and have so many conversations !

10 PM – lights out ! climb back into the sleeping bag and get rest before the next day !

* weekends ! these are mainly more free, but we do have a bit of structure:

     + 2-3 hours of solitude – on saturdays between breakfast and lunch everyone is given time to sit with the Lord in silence to do whatever he is leading you to!

     + squad church on sundays ! each week a team is given the responsibility of organizing a church service ! last week my team put together worship, a message, and fellowship ! 

     + sabbath ! the weekends are really just dedicated to sitting with the Lord, processing the weekend, and listening to what our bodies, minds, and relationships with the Father need. 

day in the life ! i hope this gives you a glimpse into what i’m up to in gainesville, georgia. of course each day looks a little different, is filled with many stories, and it all couldn’t fit into this blog but i really just wanted to open up the space ! attaching some pictures below from the past few weeks !

two of my sweet teammates during breakfast !

catching the sunrise ! 

our first squad church was led by all the team leaders ! got dressed up and drank hot chocolate !

love my friends ! got to celebrate chloe’s birthday and danced in the rain with kailey !

breakfast with my people ! the whole team (and carter haha) are starting up a weekly breakfast ! LOVE THEM !!!!!

a few snippets from church ! the team woke up early to pick flowers and decorated the whole squad meeting point !

<3, gretchen !

ps: some of my squad mates are still fundraising ! if you are currently looking for a place to give or tithe in this season, feel free to reach out ! i would love to connect you with someone !