Day 10. Yikes!!!! Time is flying by...it seems like only yesterday that we arrived here and were welcomed by the Team who have worked tirelessly at making this time as meaningful as possible for a very diverse group of people...not to mention the amazing amount of time put into making this a memorable experience for the precious children attending with their parents. I think the children will look back on this time spent here with great fondness.
Today we looked at transition...we explored the various stages and identified the skills and tools needed to cope. The kids did a wonderful little skit illustrating what transitioning might look like for a family. Using chairs, blocks, and exercise balls, they created a bridge to represent the different stages of transitioning from settled in the home culture to settled in the host culture with all the chaos in between. It was encouraging for many to know that the chaos is both normal and temporary!
We also looked at the art of listening and how that effected relationships.
Stress and balance was examined from various angles and we identified stressors and symptoms of stress...very important things to be able to recognise early before any damage is done to either the individual, the community, or the church and/or the sending agency. Tough and rough going for just one morning!
FIELD TRIP! After lunch we visited...
This truly was an amazing experience as we heard from two very different individuals on what incarnational ministry meant to them...living with the people God has called them to love, even if that means living in the midst of poverty or crime or promiscuity or whatever.
After dinner, we attended a panel and group discussion on Missionary Kids or, as they called them, Third Culture Kids. This was an emotional evening for some of the parents as they heard first hand accounts of the ups and the downs of growing up as Pastor's or Missionaries' Kids. It think this was such an important part of the training for those who have children. I wish I had learned some of these lessons before going into the ministry myself!
I think what has impressed me the most of Mission PREP: iMPact is the broad nature of the topics they have included. No one, regardless of where they are in their walk with Jesus, or what their particular situation might be, or their destination, can leave here without being touched and taught.
Today we looked at transition...we explored the various stages and identified the skills and tools needed to cope. The kids did a wonderful little skit illustrating what transitioning might look like for a family. Using chairs, blocks, and exercise balls, they created a bridge to represent the different stages of transitioning from settled in the home culture to settled in the host culture with all the chaos in between. It was encouraging for many to know that the chaos is both normal and temporary!
We also looked at the art of listening and how that effected relationships.Stress and balance was examined from various angles and we identified stressors and symptoms of stress...very important things to be able to recognise early before any damage is done to either the individual, the community, or the church and/or the sending agency. Tough and rough going for just one morning!
FIELD TRIP! After lunch we visited...
This truly was an amazing experience as we heard from two very different individuals on what incarnational ministry meant to them...living with the people God has called them to love, even if that means living in the midst of poverty or crime or promiscuity or whatever.
After dinner, we attended a panel and group discussion on Missionary Kids or, as they called them, Third Culture Kids. This was an emotional evening for some of the parents as they heard first hand accounts of the ups and the downs of growing up as Pastor's or Missionaries' Kids. It think this was such an important part of the training for those who have children. I wish I had learned some of these lessons before going into the ministry myself!
I think what has impressed me the most of Mission PREP: iMPact is the broad nature of the topics they have included. No one, regardless of where they are in their walk with Jesus, or what their particular situation might be, or their destination, can leave here without being touched and taught.
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