hello chicago

I am in Elgin, Illinois at ITeams this week for my missionary training....I'm officially a "MIT"! It's been a productive week learning about some things to expect in the field, how to deal with team conflict, and basics like how we get our paychecks, etc.

I'm humbled by the brave young people that I'm at the table with this week. I'm the only one committing to just one little, wimpy year....the rest have signed on for the long haul! Two girls are headed to Uganda, one as a nurse and the other as a social worker to do discipleship and abstinence training. Two couples are going back to Quito, Ecuador where they all happened to grow up as missionary kids. And then there's one very fearless new friend headed to the Middle East to a country I can't even mention for security reasons! ... Indefinitely!

Wow. Really? The Middle East. That's amazing.

Praise God for their willingness and obedience! And thank Him for casting His vision their way! They caught it and now want to share His love with the whole world...even the most difficult areas!

Here are some crummy facts relevant to my post in Athens we've discussed...
- 1 million kids a year become involved in prostitution
- 200 million kids are child laborers

But we're not always in the classroom....we did manage to find the DQ...priorities! ;)

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth." Ps 115

parties & packing

Thank you to each of you that came to the Farewell Fundraiser at Jim's last week! It was such a GIANT encouragement to have old and new friends come along side me with cheers, prayer and support! What a blessing to have the body of Christ rally behind the things God is up to! And it was nice to see people one more time before I drove East in the Uhaul...I will really miss you Seattle!



Thanks to your generous gifts I'm very close to my $1950/mo goal. I can almost say "Athens, here I come!" But meanwhile, I'm unpacking in Idaho and doing homework for the training that starts Sept. 12 in Elgin, Illinois. Task #1 is to find the book "Foreign to Familiar" about cross-cultural living, read it, and write a paper on it. If only I could remember which box it's in...

Thank you for visiting my new blog! This site is under construction...stay tuned for my latest updates about my journey to Athens!