Mission training in Colorado

We spent the past three weeks at Mission Training International, just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. It was a wonderful time, not just in terms of training, but also in terms of the relationships we could build in the community of fellow-participants, the beauty of God's creation, and the time away from responsibilities at home. We can only touch on a few things here.

• Small groups allowed us to dig deeply into heart issues and encourage one another in struggles.
• We considered our personal and cultural values, and how these might be challenged in working in a different culture.
• We discussed grief and loss, and shared with the group some of our past and anticipated future losses.
• We looked at the process of transition and compared it to a swaying suspension bridge over a canyon that begins settled, soon becomes unsettled, then develops into chaos, and gradually becomes more settled again - but it's a "new" settled, which has moved on from the original "settled" position.
• We examined how we personally deal with conflict, and we came to appreciate others' conflict management approaches.
• We were put into a simulated (but very realistic!) hostage-taking scenario to see how we deal with stress.

the MTI building

all three of us on top of a nearby mountain (Avigail is hiding in the sling)