Last weekend (January 26-27), our team came together in Lueders, Texas (the stompin’ grounds of Stanley Shipp) as we participated in a missionary assessment weekend hosted by the Halbert Institute of Missions (ACU). Can I say that every time this team gathers together that I become more and more excited about our dream to participate in God’s mission (missio Dei – for the advanced intellectual types) in the city of Lima? (Of course I can say…because I just did). Can I also say that the children on this team are cuter and cuter every time I see them? They add an incredible dimension to this team and bring our families such joy.

What was the purpose of the weekend? To be completely honest, we did not know what to expect and what we each as families did expect was not really what happened (sort of). Let me explain. Before we left for the weekend we all (as individuals) completed the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (comparable to the Myer-Briggs test), which is a “personality instrument.” Through these types of tests, we really were able to see and, in some ways, better understand each other. Ultimately, we were able to see where each of us stood in relation to the other, and the test in many ways helped us appreciate even more the diversity that makes this team truly special. We could easily say that the team without one of our families lacks something and we would not be as complete a team without each other. On a different note, we did not get to participate in every event during the weekend as a team (since there were several other teams and individuals that participated in the weekend). It made these times more about personal development and inward reflections on our abilities to function as missionaries throughout the world. Whereas these times, in their own sort of way were helpful, we did not all find these activities to be of equal personal value.

All-in-all, any time this team comes together we have fun. This weekend was full of laughter, great food (we ate very well), chilly temperatures, and helpful times of team discovery and growth. It is exciting to think that in just over six months our year of intense training will begin. In that time, our team will have grown by three, and we will all be settled in one location (hurray). As a team, we covet your prayers. We are upon exciting times with there still being so much up in the air in our search of support. We are confident in God’s faithfulness.

I smile when I think about these words of Paul to the Colossians. “All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth” (1:6). It is amazing to think that we, as Christians, carry a gospel with such power that is bearing fruit throughout the world.