SIMco in Charlotte, NC

I spent a wonderful 2 1/2 weeks at my mission headquarters going through orientation and training. SIM (Serving In Mission) has a simple yet powerful motto: By Prayer. Each weekday our group gathered for a morning prayer and worship time to lift up different countries and missionaries to our heavenly Father. I came away from this training with a very valuable reminder - to constantly pray!

When facing the unknown - pray!
When in need - pray!
When in trouble - pray!
When celebrating - pray!
When thankful - pray!

No matter what life throws at us or what situation we find ourselves in, our first move should always be to run to our loving Savior!!!

Another highlight for me was getting to know the amazing group of people going through SIMco training with me who are from all over the states headed to all over the world! Hearing their stories about how God drew them to himself and brought them to this place of preparing to head into missions was amazing! God is so creative and diverse!! I love how everyone's story is so unique yet share the same themes of God's faithfulness, guidance, and loving care!

Here are some of my adorable new friends!

Casey, Rahem, Sarah, Me

Our daily sessions were packed with Bible, missions, and evangelism training. We learned in detail about the differing worldviews of the West versus the East, received excellent training on ministering to Muslims, and gleaned practical tips on living with limited resources. I can't wait to put it all into practice in Ethiopia!!!

So now all the training is completed and I'm one step closer to going overseas. I'm back home in Oregon now working on my RDM (Resource Development Ministry) and looking forward with great anticipation to the day I will arrive in Ethiopia!! Currently, I'm aiming for the end of December... we'll see what timing God has in mind!