Training to Go with GO

The Global Outreach International (GO) office

Well, I have had two days of missions training - full days. Yesterday's topics included Global Outreach's (GO) core values, its history, missions finances and communication.

In the foreground is where we have gathered for the training sessions, with meals shared at the round tables in the background.

Today was another packed day, with presentations on purity, spiritual warfare, insurance, creating a budget, hosting teams and volunteers and taking care of such legal matters as writing a will, etc. I didn't realize there were so many details and preparations to be done in planning to be a missionary. It is not as simple as packing your bags, catching a plane and taking off overseas. Yet, I know these are important details that will help us be more effective on the field. And, I know the Lord and the Global staff will help me sort out everything I need to do in the coming weeks.

"Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance." - Psalm 2:8

(Sign in the Global Outreach lobby.)

My favorite part of the training so far is becoming acquainted with my fellow trainees and the Global staff, especially in between sessions and during meals. There are 10 of us attending the training and we have been or are planning to serve in the following countries: Uganda, Kenya, Haiti, China, Ethopia and France. Some have made multiple trips to where they intend to return after the training. Others are already established in the country. Some of us are pretty "green" to missions - like me. We are learning from people who have spent from several weeks and months to 10-27 years on the field. Their testimonies and stories are such a blessing to hear.

Tonight at dinner, one of the longtime Haitian missionaries shared how her husband was one time wrongfully imprisoned. Someone had been caught stealing on their compound, but the missionary husband opted to show mercy and let the man go. The thief, however, turned the missionary in - wrongly accusing him of mistreatment. In Haiti, where you are guilty until proven innocent, the missionary was taken into custody. He was nearly put into solitary confinement cell, but a guard stepped in and placed him instead between two other guards, promising he would not be hurt. That same guard then heard the Gospel and accepted the Lord. The missionary was released the next day, but invited the guard and his friends to dinner at the mission compound. As they later sat around the missionaries' dinner table, a fellow woman policeman (who was not a Christian) identified the newly-saved guard as a believer - he was already shining his light.

Some time later, the same woman policeman was hurt (in an accident, I believe) and required extensive surgery. However, she refused to receive the anesthetic for the surgery until the missionaries came so she could accept Christ as her Savior. The woman policeman came through the surgery fine and as she recovered in the hospital, was discipled for three weeks by a nearby pastor. I wish I could remember all of the details of the story, but I know multiple lives were touched from that missionary's one night in prison. As his wife pointed out tonight, her husband would not likely have intentionally gone to that prison to share the Gospel, yet God orchestrated the whole series of events. And, souls were touched for eternity.

I know each of the missionaries could recount story after story of God's provision, miracles and evidences of power. After many years of service, they continue to be enthusiastic about missions. They are truly an example and a blessing. I look forward to "soaking" up more during the rest of the week. :)

Carving in Global Outreach lobby

P.S. Before I close, I just have to share something humorous. Since I am in Mississippi and a number of the people I am with are from the south, I have been hearing a lot of southern accents. However, after only a few days, I am beginning to "think" in a southern accent and almost feel like I am starting to talk with one, too. I was born in Texas and spent all of about two years of my young life there, but didn't realize an accent would come back so easy. ; ) Ah, y'all, perhaps it's all in my imagination.

Howdy y'all!

Me in the comfy Global apartment.

Greetings from the Magnolia State - Mississippi! After leaving Portland shortly before noon today, I arrived at the Tupelo Regional Airport (the smallest airport I have ever flown into) around 9 p.m. (7 p.m. west coast time) and am now at a Global apartment.

All of the traveling went really well today - aside from picking a seat near the engine on my last flight and vibrating the last hour of my travels. ;) Oh, well, it kept me awake.

I am the first one to have arrived for the training and am looking forward to meeting the others hopefully tomorrow. One of the Global staff members is taking me to their church tomorrow, so I am looking forward to that.

The apartment does have wireless Internet, so I will try and update this week. But, for now, I am going to head to bed.

Thank you for your prayers!


P.S. The answer to the poll is...

"For God and My Country" is the Ugandan motto. Good job for the person who voted for it!

A Plane, A Plan, A Seed and A Young Man

I can hardly believe it, but my missions orientation training (MOT) is almost here. In a little more than 36 hours, I will board a plane and head southeast to Tupelo, Mississippi. The training is from Monday, Oct. 5, through Friday, Oct. 9. I have the incredible blessing of being able to stay in lodging provided by Global Outreach International and will be sharing an apartment with a couple who is also bound for Africa.

I look forward to visiting a part of the country I have never before been to. I am excited about meeting the other missionaries at the training (there will be 10 of us) and hearing their stories. I am also anxious to meet the folks who have been so kind and helpful over the last couple of months - the staff at Global. I am not sure what all the training will entail, but am trusting God to help me soak in all that I need to. I would certainly appreciate your prayers in the days ahead.

I am kind of a mix of emotions right now - excitement, nervousness, uncertainty, some timidity, yet boldness, and a measure of inadequacy. Yet, I believe God knows what is ahead and am confident He will be with me each step of the journey.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I read a missions book yesterday, I was reminded of the tiny mustard seed. It is one of the smallest of all seeds, yet as Jesus said in Matthew 13:31-32, "it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree." This illustration shows me that God delights in using the insignificant, the obscure, the weak, the handicapped, because His power is all the more evident in these lives. So, I may find myself lacking in courage or skills or experience, but in the big scheme of things, that does not really matter, because the all-powerful, loving God overshadows all of those deficiences with His all-sufficiency.

If He can take a tiny seed and grow it into a tree, or use the cowardly to lead a nation or win a battle (the examples of Moses and Gideon), then He can certainly use you and I. May you rest in His all-sufficiency today.

Before I close this post, I thought I would share some photos of a cute young man I met today...

Meet David Andrew Smith!















For those of you who don't know, David is the three-and-a-half-month-old son of Andy and Karina Smith, whom I will be working with in Uganda. I was excited to finally meet this little guy after only seeing pictures for the last few months. I can attest that he is even cuter in person!

I am not sure if I will have Internet access during the training, but will try and update before I return home on Oct. 18. Oh, and after the training, I will be spending about a week with my sister, Leah, in Pennsylvania. Yay! I am so looking forward to seeing her.

Thank you for your prayers and support! : )