Training Complete

We survived! Our road trip with three kids through 8 states from Pennsylvania to Colorado and back was quite the journey to say the least. But we knew it was worth it even after the first day of classes at Mission Training International (MTI) in Colorado. For the last month our mouths and ears have had quite the workout as we strove to hear and annunciate the sounds of the phonetic alphabet in preparation for learning a new language. We explored a brand new concept of “pulling language in” rather than having it taught to us. Furthermore, our minds were stretched to consider our own “Americanness” and the hidden values we didn’t know we held: values like timeliness and efficiency that we may have to flex as we move to Bolivia where relationships are prioritized over productivity. We explored how we handle stress, our personal conflict style, responding to grief and loss, and the impact that our move will have on our children. These issues just scratch the surface of all we processed and experienced during our training in Colorado. Returning to Pennsylvania with saturated minds and hopeful hearts, we are simply longing to get the field!

Here are a few pictures from our journey:

Lynnie with Pramila, a language helper from India, who invited our family over to her home for an amazing Indian meal.

Dwight, one of our language experts/intructors, developed a written language for the Jeh people of Viet Nam when he and his family were missionaries there before and during the war. His wife retold a few of their stories and we couldn't get enough of them!

Chris trying out the methodology of language learning in a Russian classroom with his language helper, Henri. 

Canyon exploring some of the beautiful rock formations in Colorado. We loved waking up to a magnificent view of the Rockies each morning. 

Coral all set for her "classes" for at MTI. Coral took her first steps during our time there!

Glace posing with his new friends and MTI teacher. While we were in classes, our kids also learned about language and culture at an age-appropriate level. 

Glacier, Lynnie, and classmates learning about the challenges of cultural transition through an interactive demonstration.

We are thankful for all the teachers, staff, and new community of missionaries that made our experience at MTI so rich. We pray that we will remember the material we learned and have the courage to implement these strategies for God's glory.