The A.N.V.I.L. LTE

     A week ago, I was taking part in a brand new LTE that was created at the Honor Academy.  This was called the A.N.V.I.L LTE.  The ANVIL is a four day event that is created to break you, challenge you mentally physically and spiritually, and to unify you as a team.  We were all assigned to teams based upon family cores.  Most teams were made up of two family cores, but my team was just my family.  We have a big family, we are made up of two sister cores and one brother core so we were large enough to make up one team.  In those four days, each team had to run all across campus to different physical and mental elements to complete them as a team.  For example, my second day of the LTE consisted of a 3 hour scavenger hunt all across campus, two obstacle courses, pulling kiddie pools across a soccer field, and a balance beam.  Each of these elements were in different places all over campus and since this LTE is a competition between teams we had to run to every element.  On average we probably ran a good 3 or more miles a day.  This LTE wasn't as much of a  physical challenge for me as it was a mental challenge.  Since my team was only my family core, it provided a lot of grace on my part and a lot of passion to see them succeed.  I am absolutely crazy about my family so God used that to bring out the leader and encouragement in me.  I wanted to let me family step on my back if needed to overcome an element, I would have carried someone on my back if I needed to.

     When the LTE was over and done with, God had shown me how to be selfless.  There were so many elements throughout the weekend that I wanted to run as fast as I could on or I wanted to go off and do my own thing.  But if I had done that, there were people in my family who needed me and they wouldn't have had me to help them.  God showed me how to lay myself down for others and how to become more prayer minded about others.  At the end of the LTE, we had a ceremony banquet where awards were given out to individuals and teams.  I received an individual award of the ANVIL woman of the year (2013).  My team placed 7th out of 8 but we were proud of how we had done because we were by far the most loving and unified team in the entire competition.  We started as one, remained as one, and finished as one!