We are two weeks into our training at MTI. It's been a fantastically stretching, challenging, growing, inspiring, learning time. Hard to believe we only have 4 days left of classes. It will be heart-breaking to leave the friends we've made. Hard to imagine we could grow this close to folks we've only known for 14 days.....but we have.
Sitting here in the lobby, watching Amanda, Kristen and Jessica talking and laughing together.....I realize these people feel like a family to me. And very, very soon, we will all be heading to the four corners of the earth - almost literally! Matt will coach basketball and run an after school program for kids in Lebanon, Amanda #1 is going to Laos, Amanda #2 is going to work with children in Kenya, and Lauren is headed to the Dominican Republic. The Masters family is going to Mali to work with a tribe with no written language. The Cropseys will be in our neighboring country, Burundi, teaching and practicing opthamology. It goes on and on. We will miss them all.
Last week, we looked intensely at accepted parts of our culture which we consider important, but, when REALLY considered, aren't necessarily essential. So many things seem tied to Christianity which are really just part of American (especially Southern American) culture. We talked about how willing we need to be to let go of traditions and habits we hold very dear in order to not alienate our new friends.
We also got to practice being in a crisis situation, and to learn how we would most likely respond in such an ordeal. Our teachers actually donned masks and costumes and took us all *hostage*, pretending to be terrorists who had invaded our building. It was pretty realistic, and a big surprise. We had no idea this was coming. One girl who was near me whispered, "Not a good morning to skip breakfast", as we rushed into hiding in the basement for who-knew-how-long. It was interesting to observe my reactions and the thoughts running through my head while we waited for escape and dialogued with our captors after we were discovered.
It actually really reassured me - I wasn't sure how I'd do in even a simulation of such an event, yet it turned out I felt very calm.
We miss our friends back home, probably more than usual, just because we know how long it will be until we see everyone again. Please don't lose touch with us, and please keep praying for us! We leave this Friday for the first leg of our trip. We will only get as far as Washington, D.C., where we will spend two nights with Tim's brother, Bobby, before leaving Sunday morning for the flight to Belgium and then on to Rwanda. We look forward to seeing most of Tim's nuclear family on Saturday during our extended layover in Washington.
Stay tuned! Soon these blog posts will be from across the world!
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