and then it all went down....

this afternoon got super real.

we watched a video last night about Corrie Ten Boom. She and her family housed Jews during the Nazi occupation in Holland, and they were sent to prison and then a concentration camp for it. One of the questions that we were asked was what the movie showed us about ourselves. my friend Ashley responded that it made her feel like she had to go through that kind of suffering to be made holy and righteous before God.

so that opened that can of worms.

what about those families who are going to closed countries? persecution for them is a real possibility. the men - THE MEN! cried to us about their fear for their wives and families.

it is sanctifying, and holy, to be called to more. to our fears. and to answer that and say, yes God. it doesn't make us more holy....but it makes our callings so special to know that they're from God and that He's calling us to trust him.



this week. it's been emotionally exhausting, overwhelming. we've dived into depths with people we've only known for two weeks. we've dealt with spiritual vitality, transitioning into our new environments, conflict styles (for 8 hours), we've learned how to not make assumptions about foreigners through a simulation that was intentionally confusing. we've worshiped together, met together in small groups to go deeper, eaten every meal together, watched each other's kids, gone shopping together, cried together, gone sledding together, shared our fears and anxieties about moving and support raising.

We got to experience this double rainbow together...and both ends of both
rainbows were on our grounds!

The same day as the double rainbow

A role play to experience other cultures - we all formed different cultures
according to some guidelines and interacted with each other

...and then we wrote down what we thought of each other

today we talked about transition. here we see a "family" and a team all tied together

they had to go over the "bridge," and we observed the individual
and team dynamics of transition

Hashtag: Crocorado

In the news: I'm at a month-long training in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We're learning language-learning techniques and strategies with living cross-culturally. Today we finished day 3...

I came here Monday - a complete rush of emotions and tiredness. For the first time ever, I rented a car  - which just so happened to be a compact. Most of the drive to Colorado Springs is UP hill, so the poor little car was huffing and puffing to make it here. Much like me when I climb a flight of steps.

So what am I doing here for a whole month? I've already lived overseas and experienced Czech culture... Why do I need to go through training?

I'm staying here, at this conference center called Missions Training International. There are just over 30 other missionaries (plus a ton of kids) who are all in the same stage of life of getting ready to take the big step and trust God as they move overseas to share the Good News. It's been so good for me to connect with them - about anything and everything. 

Along with that, a majority of the training for this week has been about language learning.

How sounds are made in our mouths

- which has been helpful to me so that I can differentiate sounds. Sometimes when I speak Czech, I'm told that I pronounce it wrong, but I can't hear the difference. Now I can determine how sounds are made by watching lips and looking inside mouths :)

I'm also part of a growth group, and I meet with 3 other girls a few times a week. We've already been able to go pretty deep as we all share the same stages in our lives.

I could go on and on about what we're doing and how it's been encouraging and helpful. Thanks for your prayers as I'm here and making new relationships and preparing for the future!