To Training... and Beyond!

Praise be to God who provided all of the funds, paperwork, and accessories needed for this trip! Special thanks to everyone who is supporting me- whether praying for this trip, financially supporting me, or going shopping with me to find last minute things- like this new bluetooth keyboard that makes blogging with an IPad much simpler!

(Praise the Lord that He made a way for me to avoid traveling with my bulky laptop)

On Wednesday I said good-bye to my parentals and drove the incredibly long distance from home to my training... which happened to be held at Christ's Church! (That was sarcasm... that's my home church and it's an 8 minute drive...)

Training was a very refreshing time of meeting with like-minded believers, preparing our hearts and minds, and having genuine conversation about all aspects of life. The training focused heavily on the purpose for our trips- supporting the local missionary and building relationships. We discussed practical cultural-awareness, how to handle conflict, and how to come with a learner's mindset instead of a "fix everything" mentality. We also spent valuable time going through Scripture- we talked about who God is, what the gospel is, and reminded ourselves of the truths we are going into the world to share. I also had the privilege of leading a group devotional on Thursday morning. That was probably the most refreshing weekend I have had all semester.

I'm on the left (I'm going to France, Portugal, England, and Northern Ireland for 10 weeks), and going right is Cassie (Peru- 6 months), Stephanie (Columbia- 6 weeks), Brooke (Philippines- 6 weeks), and Erika (Brazil- 10 weeks)

Training was the perfect way to set my mind on things above (Colossians 3:2) and prepare for 10 weeks abroad.