Worship amongst us

MTI in Palmer Lake, Colorado.  Missionaries going to many different countries, continents and people groups. Worshiping together, praising the Lord, giving HIM the credit and looking to HIM for direction.  

Here is a video clip of some of our worship ... I hope that you enjoy this as much as I do... 

A New friend diagnosed with cancer

Today a new friend of mine, Kandice (27 yr old) that has been going through training here in Colorado had a biopsy and it looks like she has a form of fast acting Breast Cancer.  

Over these last 3 weeks she has been experiencing pain and was mis-diagnosed at the local urgent care...

I was blessed to accompany her to a Dr apt this week, funny that they were discussing Adversity in class today and yet we were living it out as we traveled south to more tests and new Dr.'s.  

What a very emotional day for us, touched that I could be there for her, ask questions of the Dr.'s and share God's strength in what ever way possible.  

The day was filled with tests and results that looked bad and then worse but Kandice had this never ending smile and confidence in the Lord that seemed to be propelling her from one conversation to the next. 

Many of us new friends passionate about going to the outermost parts of the world on behalf of the Lord have been touched by Kandice and her life in special ways. We will be cheering her on through this battle!  Blessed for the time that we were able to spend with her and looking forward to what God will do in and through this experience.  

Amazing praise to the Lord above was given when I heard that her mother had gotten a flight into Colorado to be with her for all of the difficult decisions ahead.  

We here have been blessed to know Kandice for the brief time that we have been here training for future ministry.  

Please join us in prayer for her and her family...

The BOX - kidnapped!

I don't know exactly how to share this part of my training with you?  I am going to try though so please bear with me.  

The day started like any other day, we all congregated in the classroom on the third floor and were ready for group devotion time.  As soon as class was ready to start our teacher seemed less friendly than the previous days.  He said that he was going to read our names off a list and we were to instantly leave the room without meandering, including leaving cell phones and cameras on the table.  We met at the top of the stairs and were directed to follow him quickly without noise and without meandering.   He led us down two flights of stairs to the basement, around some supplies to a small crudely constructed box with very little ventilation, no light and insisted that the 12 of us file inside. Thus the start of our simulated kidnapping and time in "The BOX".   

As the simulation progressed and we took inventory of what others had brought with them we realized that we had 1/3 of a bottle of water to share amongst the 12 of us, a scarf, a couple of belts, a flashlight and one guy even brought his entire backpack. I don't remember anything of use being in there just that it took up valuable space on the floor of our box of captivity.  

The first scenerio was read to us by our instructor, the life, joy and amusement was gone from his voice, he was serious, quick in his words and curt.  We were told that there was a helicopter landing soon that would be able to take 5 people of our choice to freedom, but we would have only a few sparse minutes to decide whom would get to flee.  Instantly we figured out that there were 5 amongst us that were mothers. So of course they would be the ones to depart.  Well, one of the mothers, Katie said "I am older and have lived a full life, my children are grown and I would slow you all down."  This caused a kink in our decision; instantly we were scrambling to figure out who would fill that last spot. We ended up picking numbers and I was the one that was expected to leave.  We were hurried out of the box, pushed down into a squat like position and told to wait here.  No longer than a minute had passed and our instructor was back telling us the helicopter was not coming and that we were to get back into the box.  We really were pushed back into the box.  I ended up at the back of the box and was trying to stand up straight to get acclimated again for what was ahead.  I must have been standing up straight or something because the next time something was tossed on top of our new living quarters I was smacked on the head by a 2x4 and headache to come.  

As this happened I found myself sinking down to the ground praying that GOD would get me out of this situation... It was an intense time, and you just don't know what you will do and the decisions that you will make until you are in this type of situation.  

This event will be one marked in my memory in which we were challenged to examine ourselves when put under extreme stress and adversity.  What type of character poured out of us when we were under such un-foreseen stresses. 

For about the next hour of the simulation we were bombarded with loud gun and plane sounds and given specific decisions to make concerning our “simulated” situation.  The 12 of us became more and more uncomfortable and the decisions we had to make had become more and more realistic and more and more emotional. From deciding as a group if we would take others into our midst that were possibly refugees, or could be the enemy infiltrating our hideout to which 4 individuals would be volunteered into the hands of our captors to be shot as examples.   

The simulation was a memorable event and lesson bringing out many fears as well as tears concerning the “what if’s” of cross-cultural ministry.  I am so blessed to have this time to learn about myself and the situations that I could face some day, mentally and spiritually preparing my heart the best that the Lord can. 

Finishing up the first week of SPLICE

I took pictures of some of our visual aids as they were so colorful and great to help remind us of what we had been learning.   This has been an incredible time here in Colorado. 




Today we finished up our first week of SPLICE classes here in Palmer Lake, Colorado - Mission Training International.  During classes this week we have talked about stress, personalities, expectations, conflict, self awareness, building community, values awareness and other things in-between.  We were put into small groups which meet regularly to share deep and meaningful things that we are processing.  Then we have some breakout sessions wherein we share what we have been talking about in a smaller setting.  We even have a counselor that we get to meet with for personal sessions 3 times when we are here to talk over any key things that might come out and need processing while we are here.  

We have had homework assignments unlike any other I have ever had before, riding in the elevator with others and asking taboo questions, like "what is your weight, how old are you, how many people have you kissed."  We did this to understand what it would be like to get into our host culture and ask questions that we might think are not taboo but in reality need to have cultural sensitivity.  That was a very interesting homework assignment. 

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it...

OK - so one can only take so much snow before they chill to the bone and are just tired of WHITE everything, that was my attitude before I spent the day singing the song with the chorus "white as snow"  It has a new meaning for me now more than ever before.  Anything with color, uniqueness or blemish, when it snows is covered all up.  There is not anything different, everything is covered and white. Cleansed snow, refreshed and saturated with the water that is so necessary to bring change.  

Where the challenge lies is what our attitude will be during the change.  Will we welcome it, embrace it and enjoy it or be stubborn, stay inside and lock the door.  We choose to enjoy it and enjoy the relationships that God has blessed us with for a season.  I hope and pray that you are enjoying the relationships and season that you are in, struggles, blemishes, stretching times and all! 

 

During our free time we have watched it snow, played in the snow, walked in the snow ambushed others

 playing in the snow and did a few things indoors for

 relaxation.  

Yesterday and today we were blessed with lots of snow time and we took advantage, getting out of the building and really playing with each other and getting to know each other through 

this fun and very cold activity...

Sometimes you see many people sitting around a couch area with their electronics out and

 communication with the outside world begins. We all tried to keep up on homework, emails, blogs and much much more... Downloading pictures from all of our experiences took some of the time as well but we are so blessed to have shared in so many experiences. Stressful, exhausting and yet life changing!  

 

This is only 4 of the MAC users that were there, we really out numbered the PC users.  I am a missionary to Madagascar and I am a MAC user. 

SPLICE classes started

This week we are in for some new challenges and most of all promises of growth.  God is so very good.  Some of our previous class stayed over and will have added to it many in number and many in variety, we are so blessed for this change and yet miss the friends that we have just made in the last couple of weeks. 

Today as we really started to dig into this next program and class things were immediately different. We are no longer practicing strange sounds that our mouths have not ever made before but we are talking about our hearts, making lasting friendships with Eternal perspective. 

SPLICE - stands for Spiritual, Personal, Lifestyle, Interpersonal, Cultural, Endurance/Enjoyment

As you can imagine there are many topics in each part of the SPLICE ackrynom.  I hope to do different posts regarding things that we are learning, processing and mulling over. 

Stacey and I felt the need to start this week with prayer for those that will be joining us. That God could use us to welcome and invite the newcomers into the place we are staying.  With the Lord community was built immediately and we were there to greet, welcome and assist those arriving throughout the day.  

The next three weeks promise to be filled with laughter, tears and many deep conversations.  Praise the Lord for this training. 

Friends I have not seen in over 20 years

Saturday and Sunday this weekend I traveled about 35 minutes south to Colorado Springs to visit and stay with a friend, Deanne from my High School youth group, long, long, time ago. 

It was another cold and snowy day here in Colorado but I was so excited to see old friends that I was not gonna allow the weather to stop me.  Actually since I have been here now for almost two weeks there have not been many days of sun and t

he mountains all around us are covered with this white powder that seems to evaporate as soon as it has fallen, and covered the nearest mountain range.  How beautiful this entire process is, and we are so blessed to enjoy it, watch it happen and worship the one that created it. 

Overall it was a wonderful weekend to connect after all these years, encourage

 and be encouraged, share about God at work in my life and hear what God has been doing in their lives.  Great to see my friends but even more awesome to see their children and all the interests that they have, how God made them special.  We were also able to connect with another friend, Greg and his family.  It was a great time of getting reacquainted and then to spend Easter with close friends, attending a new church to me and then the snow again... Yes, it has snowed a bunch since I have arrived.  I like the snow and hav

e learned how to drive through it safely to arrive at each destination. 

I pray that you had a blessed Easter as I did, rejoicing in the Resurection of Jesus!

April 2009 Praise and Prayer

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength... Love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no commandment greater than these."   Mark 12:30 & 31

I love this picture because it looks like a right hand with the index finger pointing up to GOD.   Amazing way to praise the Lord. 

Praises: 

1.) Safe travel through an amzingly long drive, over 18 hours of drive time to get from CA to CO.  At times I drove through ICE and SNOW, GOD was driving and got me through it all. 

2.) Reconnecting with people whom have impacted me greatly in and during my High School Youth group years!  Encouraging them as they encouraged me was such a HUGE blessing. 

3.) Details have been worked out for travel to a Women's retreat in Tuolumne, CA in May.

4.) I have been blessed beyond measure with a new monthly supporters and amazing one time gifts.  Now the need is about $342 monthly!  Praise the Lord as the GAP continues to close! 

5.) Recently acquiring tools, ideas and concepts through a training class here in Colorado at MTI that will help me learn the Malagasy language in the future. This class also gave me a great amount of confidence to face language learning from many entry points.  

Prayers:

1.) While I have been away my niece, Samantha broke her wrist, step-Dad Steve suffered a massive seizure and my mother was hit in the eye with a 2 x 4.  They are all well and could use your prayers for a speedy and painless recovery. 

2.) The second class of training has started and it is very culturally, spiritually and emotionally based. Please pray that God would open my mind and help me to see things from HIS perspective, allowing healing, understanding, forgiveness and love. 

3.) I will be needing to stay in Colorado longer than expected for a speaking engagement and a couple of other things, please pray for safe travel, accomodations and great connections that only the Lord can provide. 

4.) Lift up the government officials of Madagascar, that they would be able to make good choices for all of the people there not just a few, pray for jobs for the Malagasy and their economy as a whole during this uncertain time. 

5.) Finally, please pray that the final financial needs of $342 monthly would come in. This journey has been long, challenging, sharpening and ultimately just what GOD has ordered.  I am excited to see what is ahead in the coming months, and years, changes and transitions - so very blessed to have GOD in the drivers seat and fully in charge of every step, one step at a time. 

I have included some pictures from a place here called "Garden of the Gods" - It is amazing to walk through these amazing areas and thinking and praying to the God of the universe. Knowing that he took such great care in everything and person that HE has created, big and small and HE loves us all.  

Enjoy! 

PILAT class drills

This video is an edited version of many of my classmates over these last two weeks practicing the sounds and putting our tongues in new places so that we will be able to work more effectively on picking up our new host language.   What mouth do you sound like?  

Enjoy! 

One week down in Language learning skills

Ok - I have to admit this was a really tough week for me!   By Thursday I tried but I could not put any more new information in my brain.  The brain or for this week the sponge was over saturated and could not accept anything else.  

Friday was a tough day as I did not retain much from Thursday after lunch so I really needed to lean on the others in my group to get through the tutor time and all of the labs, just for that day. The other days were were all more on the ball.   Praise the Lord for how all of this transpired and for the team that was with me. 

Our language learner, Martha was amazing! 

 She really helped us learn the significance of the labs, our instructors were such a great balance for each other and brought so much to the training and the class dynamics were wonderful!  Friendships that I will be praying last a lifetime because of our unique likeness and bonds both here and in our Heavenly Father above.   

Learned parts of 3 languages so far

This time in Colorado at Mission Training International in the PILAT program has been more than I thought it ever would be!  

In about 3 days we have learned a small amount of words from 3 languages just so that we can learn tools for our "tool box" for language learning.  Incredible the tools that they have helped us with and incredible are the intricacies within the languages themselves. 

Did you know that our English language has 44 sounds?  Many other languages have many more sounds, some in the 100's.  This week we have listened to commands in the Jeh language from the area above Vietnam, understood a conversation in Piegon, and have a tutor coming two days this week and one day next week to help my group with the German language. 

Really what we are doing is practicing drills or tools that they have given us to help us think outside of the box, move our mouths in ways that we never imagined and make sounds that have not ever come out of our mouths in the past but need to in the future. 

Overall, for 3 days of class here in Colorado, I feel much more confident than ever before about learning Malagasy even at my age...    More to report in the coming days. 

MISSION TRAINING INTERNATIONAL

Training and Debriefing that Make a Difference for cross-cultural effectiveness & longevity in missions - MISSION TRAINING INTERNATIONAL

This is where I will be staying, training, learning, growing, absorbing and many other ing's until May 1st. 

Most of us arrived yesterday... We came from all over and will be going all over doing different things with very different gifts, talents and focuses.  In the next two weeks we will be going through the PILAT program, Program In Language Acquisition Techniques.  This class is meant to help us in Phonetics, Orientation to Language Learning, Language Learning Techniques and build that confidence that we will all need in order to not only learn language in our new host culture but to adjust and understand to our new culture. 

Looking forward to learning all that God needs me to know, meeting new people, and getting my mind and mouth ready to learn the Malagasy language correctly and fluently. 

Let the classes begin!!