We were
blessed to spend the last five weeks at The Center for Intercultural Training (CIT)
in Union Mills, North Carolina. We were there along with several other
missionaries, learning from each other and from the facilitators who are all
seasoned missionaries! Below are some of the highlights of our time.
Spiritual Growth
Our time at
CIT was one of incredible spiritual growth! The first week we were there, we
had the Engage Retreat, which focused on spiritual formation—allowing God to
work in us and change us so that we can be more effective as His servants. A
key concept we looked at was examining our desires, and how God ultimately
satisfies our desires more fully than anything on earth can. It was truly a
transformational week for us, and God continued working in us throughout the
rest of our time there as well. We have both experienced new depths in our
personal relationship with God.
New Friendships
Another
blessing from God was the formation of some new friendships. One of our prayers
heading into CIT was that God would help us connect with some of the other
missionaries there. God answered our prayers and helped us develop friendships
with other missionaries as well as some staff there.
Working as a Team
As we shared
in a short update while we were at CIT, one of the topics we covered were
working together in a team, both with other missionaries and with nationals. We
learned about how we each bring not only our unique personality to the team,
but also our family and cultural background. Having all of these differences in
a team is a great asset to ministry, because each team member can complement
each other with their gifts and abilities. However, we must be intentional to
value the differences and not let them cause unhealthy conflict.
Other CIT Topics
Some of the
other topics we covered in class were:
-Cultural
differences and the importance of cultural awareness
-Folk
religion and spiritual warfare
-Ethnocentrism
(Believing that your culture of origin is superior to any other)
-Third
culture kids (TCKs) and how to help your family thrive in a new culture
-Worldview
and how to most effectively share the gospel in different cultures based on
their cultural worldview (cultures view the world through either the lens of
guilt, shame, or fear)
We still have a lot to learn!
Probably one
of the most important things we learned in our classes was that we still have a
lot to learn. One of our prayers heading into CIT was that God would help us to
be teachable so we could learn a lot. We are thankful for how He answered this
prayer and how He continues to teach us.
Thank you
for your prayers for us during this training. This was an extremely helpful and
valuable time for us as we prepare to serve the Lord in Mexico!
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