Training Update

It has now been a little over a week since we left GA and headed north for our last missions training. It's hard to believe that it has been that long, as it seems like we just pulled out of the driveway! But we've had a great time so far and have crammed much into the last 8 days!

 

Most of the day last Friday was spent on the road, but we stopped off in Terre Haute, IN to spend the weekend with our friends, the Johnsons. They are TEAM missionaries headed to Italy too and it was so nice to spend time with their family! On Saturday, they drove us over to Plainfield, IN (near Indianapolis) where we were able to meet another TEAM missionary family going to Italy, the Cetolas! We had met the Johnsons at a training in February 2010, but this was our first time meeting the Cetola family. It was great to get to know them a little better!

We had the opportunity on Sunday to tag along with the Johnsons to one of their supporting churches and after lunch with them, we piled back in the car to drive the rest of the way to the TEAM home office in Carol Stream, IL (west of Chicago). For dinner we were able to meet our friends, the Kohlers, who are TEAM missionaries going to Ireland. They actually live in Wyoming, but were in the area so it was a treat to see them!

Since our training didn't start until Wednesday, we had a couple of free days, one of which was July 4th. On that day, we rode the train into downtown Chicago and had deep-dish pizza for lunch before walking through Millennium Park to see "the bean" on our way to the Navy Pier. We looked in the shops, ate ice cream, rode the Ferris wheel (well, Laynie and I did) and enjoyed the gorgeous view of Lake Michigan before settling in for the fireworks display.  

The next day we drove down to Lincoln Park to see the zoo and then spend the afternoon at the beach. It is amazing to me that Lake Michigan actually looks and feels like the ocean! The only thing missing is the salt! The kids played in the sand and surf and we ate dinner at a outdoor restaurant overlooking the water.

Then it was time to get down to business! Wednesday was the first of our 7 days of training. The group that Stephen and I are in has 4 other couples, all going to different places - Brazil, Zimbabwe, China, and Mexico. With us going to Italy, we have 5 continents represented!

Classes have been pretty intense since we are in training from 8 am to 5 pm every day. So far we've talked about things like spiritual warfare, accountability, intercultural competency, crisis preparedness, etc. We're starting to feel a little information overload! The weekend will not bring much of a reprieve as we are in classes most of today and also tomorrow afternoon, but we do have a break this evening and then tomorrow morning we will be able to attend church with a TEAM staff member. We are trying to get plenty of rest, but would appreciate your prayers for renewed energy!

There are still 4 more days of training before we head home so stay tuned for more updates!