Saturday afternoon I joined 15 other missionary candidates at the SIM office in Charlotte for two weeks of training and preparation called SIMGo. It's fun to hang out with others who are at a similar place on their journey toward being missionaries. I love hearing the stories of how God has brought them to this point in their lives. There's one couple God has uniquely passioned to work with an unreached, unengaged people group in a restricted area in Asia. Another family going to do missionary aviation in West Africa. My roommate recently got his doctorate from Cambridge and plans to teach Biblical languages at a seminary in East Africa. It's fascinating seeing how God has so specifically gifted and prepared each of us for the work He has called us to do all over the world.
During the next two weeks we will be inundated with teaching from former missionaries to better prepare us for the journey that lies ahead. We will practice sharing our testimonies and giving support raising presentations. We'll get all shot up with vaccinations. They even have us prepare our will, a reminder of the sobering reality that some who leave for the mission field never return. That makes me think of the missionaries of old who used to ship their belongings to the field in their coffins. I would love your prayers over these next two weeks that God would humble my heart and use this time to help me soak up all the knowledge and wisdom from those around me that I can.
