The End of Another Week

(***For those of you who were praying for DeLaynie's assessment, all went pretty well. No miraculous healing or anything... yet, but she did fine. Thank you so much for your prayer!)

So, maybe you're wondering, "What does one actually do at missionary training?" Ah, good question. We go to classes and training sessions for the most part. Here are a few highlights from training thus far:

• We had several hours of training on spiritual warfare, and what we're going to be up against in cross-cultural ministry. Satan uses different methods in different people and cultures, so it's important to know how attacks may look. Here's a hint, though: Satan tends to be pretty subtle in our culture, using things like doubt, worry, and temptation into "little sins".
• We've been hitting the highlights of how to plant churches. This is a long, exhausting, and delicate task, so many of the lessons are learned on the field. What we did learn about, though, were various models and general principles that are absolutely necessary. The most important aspect we've heard deals with finding a person of peace, who provides safety and an inlet into the people you are trying to reach.
• We've also learned about staying healthy on the field, and the various diseases that we may face, like malaria. That was a really fun meeting, let me tell you. But it was important to hear. Beyond that, I refuse to share any more in fear of grandparents confiscating their grandchildren.

Those are just a few things that we've been doing. In addition to these, we're also working on learning Bible study methods that are easy for new believers to replicate. Above all else, we are encouraged to seek after the One who called us to this mission. We are taught that to neglect our personal walks in favor of doing tasks is to neglect the very task we have been hired to complete.