WOW!
Just got back from missions training in Wheaton, IL. It was a ton of info to process but this agency is fantastic. We began each day with a devotional time and prayer for a different area of the world's spiritual needs. TEAM is dedicated to education and life long learning so they kept most of our sessions interesting. We learned so much, I can't even articulate how full my head is. Some of our sessions were cross-cultural studies which Mariah would have loved! One of the concepts that struck me was how Americans seem to naturally assume that other cultures value the same things we do, not so! So interesting.
One of the concepts I loved was the idea to have a "Day of Prayer and Vision" to focus you spiritually in a very specific area. This is an entire day set aside just for you and God. You get away to a hotel or cabin or place to hike away from TV, media, kids, spouses and spend the day in prayer, reflection, meditation, journaling etc., with the goal of just listening to God. Afterward you come up with a plan to work on something specific spiritually or in your personal life. The goal actually has to be achievable...go figure. What a refreshing concept, need it, love it! It makes me feel good that we wont be sent out to flail around. We will have lots of support and accountability from TEAM, our close friends and our sending church.
Quinn did surprisingly well on this long trip. He adapted well to the time change. Most of the other families we were in training with had kids. Quinn preferred to observe the activity, but he enjoyed the kids. He wasn't even the one taking off his clothes and streaking through the room! I am sure that little guy was just preparing to be a missionary in the bush! Too cute! It was a fun group to train with. There were missionaries being sent to India, Chad, Italy, Austria, Taiwan. Philippines and Ireland. Erin Go Bragh!
Now we continue support raising, sell our house and figure out where to live before we go to Ireland. We have several books to read, classes to take, and some spiritual areas to focus on. When we get closer to our financial fund raising goal, we will have another training session. What a wild ride this is! Keep praying for us!
