week #3

this past week was spent studying worldviews, anthropology, and doctrines.
i also celebrated my birthday. our quad actually has already celebrated several folks' birthdays, and yet we have several more before our time is up here...lots of treats. another treat that i get is some ceebu jenn. tonight one of the families is cooking it for our small group...looking forward to that.

for those of you wondering about the weather here, it has not been nearly as cold as i had thought it would be. it has not snowed one bit. not one snow flake. i would actually like it to snow...it wouldn't interfere with our daily activities since we walk everywhere we go. yeah, some snow could be a lot of fun. just my personal opinion.

for you past jmen, i went on a birthday adventure and discovered "it"

i am now officially departing for niger on March 9. that will give me one week at home after orientation...to say my goodbyes and to pack. please pray for the goodbyes that i must say and all the preparations that are involved in leaving the states. also, yesterday i sent in my visa application...so pray that that goes smoothly and that i am granted the visa.

week #2

week two of orientation is coming to a close and it has been a great one. lots of learning involved, along with lots of fun. much of the week was spent discussing spiritual warfare with Dr. Rankin. Satan is indeed devilish, yet my God is so much more powerful than him. It is so comforting to know that no matter what, God is on my side, fighting my battles with me. There are certain "things" that always remind me of His power and glory. This picture below is one example:

















I have seen You in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power & glory.

I mean look at the beautiful colors in the sky, only the most awesome artist in all of creation could put together something like this. (of course the picture does not do it any justice)

Here at MLC it really is like living on a farm. In my backyard there is a barn, cows, fields, etc. I've never lived on a farm, so I guess this is a taste of what it is like, minus milking the cows and tending the fields....okay so its really NOT like living on a farm.

This afternoon is the first of three days that is set aside for shots. That's right, today began shot day. And since I am a "B" I got the honors of being in the first group of shot-getters. Today I received 4 shots, and in the days to come I will get a total of 5 more. Out of approximately 300 adults and kids, I was the only individual to receive the chickenpox vaccine. Nope, I have never had the chicken pox and I don't think that I want them anytime in the future. So hopefully after all of the shot days, I will be vaccinated against all the uncertainties that are to come. Rabies, polio, meningitis,....too bad there isn't a simple shot to prevent malaria, d, parasites, and such.

I hope all of you have a great weekend.

week #1

orientation has been great so far. all of my fellow servants are awesome, along with the staff. such a blessing to get to spend so much time with them in fellowship. we have already begun a number of different things. i am serving on the prayer ministry team throughout the duration of orienation. the West Africa regional office has us future West African folks doing all sorts of homework. a lot of reading and research. also one requirement was for us to cook from scratch for an entire weekend. well the six of us journeymen going to WA decided to go for it this weekend, since we had Saturday free. only one meal to go. it has all turned out rather well and i have actually learned a lot from Melissa about baking/cooking from scratch. don't get me wrong, i love to cook, yet it has never been from scratch. also, this morning we had our first house church. our church consists of six journeymen, and two families. it was a great time as we worshipped in several different languages and heard from God. i look foward to what is to come this week, as Dr. Rankin will be speaking to us about spiritual warfare.

off to MLC

tomorrow morning i leave for orientation in virginia. i am excited about getting to MLC, hanging out with the folks i met there in october, and learning. more though, i am excited about the end of orientation and actually getting to niger. pray that i will be able to soak in all that i am suppose to and that it will be a time of great preparation.