Thursday, August 20, 2009

Intermission....

I have tons of pictures that I hope to be able to upload at some point! But, for now, words will have to do!

As you know, we are still in the middle of our month long training on how to live in a cross-cultural environment. Currently, I am in San Francisco until Sunday. I am in my best friend's wedding on Saturday night. I think I really needed this break....but I'll get to that later!

The training is very good. I did not realize how the training is two-fold. We are being 1) thrown into many situations, simulations and exercises that give us an idea of what stresses we will face when we move over-seas and 2) we are being encouraged to share very personal struggles and life stories. The idea behind this second part is that supposedly when you are under stress, all those things you didn't face before you left the states come out ten-fold. So, as you can imagine, we are being stretched passed our comfort zone in many ways.

I really enjoyed a simulation that we did a couple of days ago. All the instructors pretended to be from the country of IT. We had to get our passport, exchange our money, get our visa and buy our airplane ticket. It was a race, but we soon learned we would be lucky if we finished by next week. I learned how impatient and competitive I really am. But, it was GREAT training that I used immediately.

I was scheduled to fly out of Charlotte at 2:30pm yesterday....so naturally, I arrived two hours early only to find out that my flight had been delayed for two hours. This meant I would miss my connecting flight in Minneapolis (honestly, I didn't even know where that was at the time). Due to tornadoes that actually hit, the airport shut down for some time. Then, every flight I took became delayed. I was patient for 20 hours....and I am really proud of how I handled the whole situation....but let's just say that it is GOOD TO FINALLY BE IN CA.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement. Thank you, also, for understanding that this is a temporary absence from the internet. Luckily when we are in PNG, we will be able to e-mail and blog frequently.

Be on the look-out for pictures! Maybe Caleb will surprise me and post them!

We have...

- A Corn Party
- Pictures with Grammy and Buna
- Pictures of Ben on a Riding Lawn Mower
- Pictures from a baseball game with Crystal
- Pictures from the Needtobreathe Concert
- And More!!!

I miss my blog....and all of you, of course!

2 comments:

The Ward Family said...

Thinking of you guys! Can't wait to get together and hear all about it!It sounds amazing and very intense.

LoveLladro said...

20 hours!!!! wow... that's some quality time with the airport! nice job on the patience though... it's hard to practice but so worth the effort ;)