A Landmark...

We just hit our first major support-raising landmark: 60%, the level required by UWM before signing up for training!

We're really excited. Yesterday we officially registered with the Center for Intercultural Training, otherwise know as CIT. In early September we'll fit what we can in the 4Runner and make the trek from Tomball, Texas to Union Mills, North Carolina, where we'll be for 11 weeks. From what we've heard, CIT should be great. We'll have the opportunity to go through training with some UWM folks as well as teams from other organizations. We'll be taking six classes during our time there:
-Equipping for Cross-Cultural Life and Ministry
-Language Acquisition (this is learning how to learn a language, not actually learning one - that comes later)
-Effective Teams and Team Leaders
-Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills
-Spiritual Formation
-Facilitating Church Planting Movements

We've also heard that it's an encouraging time to be with lot's of others before they hit the field. It should be cool to see so many different individuals, couples, and families on their way overseas, all likely to have very different gifts, abilities, and interests. It's always exciting to see how God is using the unique qualities in others to make strides for the Kingdom.

And while lot's of exciting things are on the horizon, we're still surprised at how quickly our time here in Austin is coming to a close. We're just a little more than a month away from making our first of 4 upcoming moves (1. Austin to Tomball; 2. Tomball to NC; 3. NC to Tomball; 4. Tomball to BELGIUM!) It's going to be so tough to leave our friends and our church, but we have every intention of keeping in touch with both and we know that God has given us some incredible friendships that will last a lifetime.

Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our support team along the way. We truly can't do this without the team.

Please pray for us during this next month of big transition. We'll need peace, patience, and a lot of physical and emotional energy.

Until next time...