training wrap-up: weeks 8 & 9

training is officially over & i'm spending the next 12 days or so in SC before i fly out april 9th! i'm a little behind on the updates so i wanted to hit a few highlights from the last few weeks in VA:

- AWESOME WEATHER!! even though it snowed 3 times & rained constantly during training, the last few weeks were incredible. if you know me at all, you know i was outside EVERY chance i got soaking up the sun!! :) sitting in sessions all day long was torture! so even though there was a ton of work to be done in the afternoons, we made do with what we had!

yes, we got in trouble for doing this...totally worth it!

- 24-HOURS OF PRAYER!! our prayer team decided to challenge our group to have 4 "watchmen" praying continually for 24-hours. so my good friend & i signed up for the 3:30-4:30AM time slot along with two other guys. we stayed up until 2:30AM talking, slept for an hour, went to pray for our allotted hour & didn't leave until almost 6AM. by then, we were so jacked up over the incredible time of prayer that we stayed up another hour "de-briefing" the experience. many of us were skeptical about being able to pray for an hour...especially in the middle of the night. BUT, most agreed afterwards that the hour flew by & was not long enough. what a much-needed time of refreshment after a LONG few months!

most of the ladies who lived in our building ready for african worship

- AFRICAN CULTURAL WORSHIP!! every sunday night, we sought to worship in a similar fashion to that of those from various cultures. the last cultural worship experience was for sub-saharan africa.

we met outside & worshipped in the grass with a ton of music & drums...& even more dancing. it was such a fun time that excited us even more for the journey ahead!

teaching about discipleship in the xhosa language

- WASHINGTON, DC TRIP!! during our last week we all split into small teams (all 57 kids included!) & ventured out into DC. we had a list of "tasks" to complete (i.e., ride the metro, prayer walk, take note of various languages, observe international parenting, eat an authentic/international meal, help move at least one individual closer to Christ) but the ultimate goal was to join the work of the Holy Spirit there in the city. the stories are endless!

our group of 8 (w/ 2 kiddos tagging along) ate at  the habesha market - a tiny ethiopian restaurant that was INCREDIBLE! the locals (all obviously ethiopian as we were in an ethiopian district) stared in amazement as all the white people took over the place & dug in with our hands!

best lamb i've ever had! :)

that day i found myself quite frustated. our team had made great plans (or so it seemed) but they continually fell through. we kept re-routing...& i felt like we were spending more time on the metro than we were talking with people. eventually, though, i felt led to walk into a tiny bookstore. little did i know, i'd spend the next hour & a half talking with a lady & experiencing some of the most intense spiritual warfare i've ever experienced!

pray for "J" who works here in DC

the whole story is far too much to recount here, but be in prayer for "J" - an 81 year old protester who does not believe in the existence of "a god"...who believes that, "when this life is over, it's over" but who was willing to listen to me share a little of my story & about Scripture. it was evident that God was at work because as i spoke with her & sarah (my on-field partner) sat nearby praying, a man walked in & randomly began railing on the church & christianity. like i said - serious spiritual warfare going on!
pray that the information that was left behind would be used to soften her heart towards the Truth of the gospel.

all in all, the DC trip was an incredible day :)

- FINISHED MY QUILT!! i have to admit, i wanted to give up. &, for a time, i did. but thanks to a few faithful friends (one in particular...you know who you are), it's done!! who would've thought!?

never doing that again...:)

- END OF TRAINING & COMMISSIONING!! on march 23, training officially ended & our group of nearly 200 was commissioned to be sent to the field in a few weeks. it was a sweet time of reflection, worship & challenge that we were blessed to share with one another - as well as with family & friends! mom & dad drove up (8 hours one-way!!) as did a few friends who lived close-by!

mom & dad's traditional pose

my friends think they're funny!

whew!! it's been a whirlwind - that is FOR SURE! but it's time to pack up & start the "see ya laters!" this time next month i'll be in south africa ya'll!!!!!!!!!!!