Gateway 2012

 Howdy Texas! I’ve been stateside for 5 weeks now and it’s been so good! I got in June 2^nd and had a week to visit friends and family before heading to the Mercy Ships International base in Garden Valley, Tx. It was a whirlwind of a week, but fun to see so many sweet friends and catch up!

My 2 favorite girls in Arlington: Hailey and Brooke McDougall

I repacked my bags and moved out to the Mercy Ships base on June 9^th where we started a 5 week course called Gateway that will be followed by a 2 ½ week field service in Ghana. There are 36 adults and 9 kids from all over the world that have all committed to serving God long term with Mercy Ships. We've had a lot of fun learning and sharing life together over the last month. 

Week 1 was Basic Safety Training: fire fighting…water safety…first aid and CPR. I am now certified to fight fires and save lives at sea...or something like that;)

Week 2 was all about the foundations of our faith: who is God, why do we serve Him, how do we communicate with God, worship Him, hear from Him…..

When asked how we've felt toward God in our lives this is one end of the spectrum:

Week 3 was spent talking about personal and interpersonal relationships. We did a Spiritual gifts assessment, personality profiles, and lots of role playing about conflict resolution and values. If you've ever done the DISC personality profile, you'll appreciate this picture. All but 5 of us were S's and C's. 

And this last week was all about cross-cultural education and working with those we serve. We talked about world views, communication, the African culture, and so much more! The picture below represents America and what we value being from different areas of the country. I found it interesting to see how different our values are just here in the U.S.

West (Ca and Co), North East, and South (Texas mostly) 

It's been a great adventure so far and we still have one week left. We fly out on Sunday, July 15th and head back to West Africa.  It's been a huge blessing being so close to friends and family during this time in the states and although it's always hard to say goodbye, I'm so excited about serving along side this team for the next year. I'm going to Guinea with 35 new friends all eager to serve God and the West African people in so many different ways! Life is Good!!!

4th of July celebration at Father's Heart