Finished

In less than one year I have completed all of my ReachGlobal pre-field training!!! My last two weeks at PILAT (Language Acquisition Training)in Colorado was an incredible help. I learned all sorts of tools to help me grasp the Italian Language and have already begun using some of them with my Language Helper here in Felton. I also got the opportunity to learn and practice phonics and have seen a marked improvement in my listening ability and pronunciation as I use Rosetta Stone.




Now with PILAT behind me I am set to get to Rome as soon as possible. All that is left is to finish raising support and to obtain my visa! My goal is to be in Rome by the end of January. Please join me in praying for new supporters and for the visa application process.

Room with a view 2

Limits

There are over 7000 languages.
My mouth is capable of make over a million sounds and I normally only make 44.
My how we limit ourselves.
God created all these (some of you may say we, mankind did, but He gave us the ability and capacity to do so)and speaks fluently to all people everywhere all at the same time.
I always picture God speaking English.
Oh how I limit Him.
These are just some of the things that I have words for, there is so much more happening in my mind that even with all these new sounds I am not able to express yet. Which in itself is a crazy thought.
I listened to and spoke in Russian and Jeh, and English and Phonetics, and a few other languages today.
I know much more of languages than I am capable of expressing vocally at this point.
My mouth and throat hurt, because they are being given a workout like never before.
Just when I think I have reached my limit we learn more.
All of this information just makes me want to learn more...
More language, more sounds, more ways of learning, more about God, more about people and why we talk the way we do and why we use one word instead of another.
Somehow by pushing the limits I have created new ones, which seem to be moving and changing constantly.

A Room With a View

This is the view from my room that I do not have to share with anyone here at the Mission Training Institute in Palmer Lake, Colorado. It is not the view I expected when I left California. I came here thinking that my two weeks here would be covered in snow, not so. I not being a huge fan of the white powdery substance am thankful for the lack there of. I am also thankful for the absence of a roomie. Thank you to those of you who were praying for that along with me. God was good and provided once again!

Many of you have asked what it is that I am supposed to gain from this time at MTI. Until last night I was not really able to give you a good idea. Now that I have been through orientation I can tell you that we will be spending a lot of time listening and speaking, though not in ways that I am accustom to. Mostly in phonics or in languages that are unfamiliar to those of us in attendance so that we will retrain our ears to hear more than the 44 sounds in the English language and our mouths to make these new tones and shapes needed to produce the sounds found in other languages around the world.

It is almost like we are learning a language in order to learn other languages.


It is all very interesting and if nothing else so far I have learned how to laugh at myself and others while learning to make new noises. A skill that I am sure will come in handy in my first few years in Italy.

You can continue to pray with me in these things:

1. Heath - I am getting a cold, which makes language learning a bit more challenging. As well as adjusting to the higher elevation of CO. Don't worry I have drank more water in the past two days than I had in the past two weeks.

2. Boldness - both in my language learning as well as in meeting all of the new people. I know most of you think of me as an extrovert, and while it is true that I love people, I have a hard time making new acquaintances in large groups. So I am forcing myself to go bowling tonight with some of my classmates.

3. Understanding - I long to be good at communicating in Italian with Italians, so you can pray that I will truly grasp the skills and tools being presented here these two weeks so that I can be as effective as possible as soon as possible in Italy.

Language Aquisistion Day 1

Your prayers would be much appreciated today, as I woke up with a cold and feel like I am going to be sounding very much like Miss Eliza Doolittle in this clip.

Lovely Surprise

Isn't it lovely to be surprised by God?! I am finding myself in that state more and more. Each day or so I open up my Support Report and almost everyday this week I have had a new Supporter!!! I should not be shocked, I asked God to provide and He is!

It is just that the support continues to come from people I barely know, or only briefly met...as well as from people I have know in my past and people I know now, and everyday it is a joy to watch God move His people into action!

Like I said in my last post, I am just so thankful for each member of my Support Team and their role in building God's Kingdom in Italy! It is such an honor to have God and His People provide for all my needs!

So THANKS!!!

A Heart That Is Full

It has been my hearts desire through this whole process that as God prepares me to go to the mission field He will also invite others to join me in the process. Not everyone is called or even able to pick up and head to Rome, but God has equipped His people to be involved in His Kingdom Building around the world in other important ways like supporting missionaries through prayer and financial even sometimes sacrificial giving.

Today was one of my happiest days thus far in my support raising!(Thanks to all of you who were praying today, God answered your prayer!!!) Today was a crazy day...it should have been a super smooth day, but nothing timing wise seemed to be working the way I thought it should. However when I finally got to sit down spend sometime with Jesus and rest in Him things seemed to get less stressful. (go figure) Then I turned on my computer and found I had a Facebook message from one of my High School Students letting me know that they would like to support me monthly! I almost cried, joyfully, but still tears! (I am my mother's daughter)I have longed for people from my church, my community, my past of all generations and church backgrounds to join my support team. Not because I want their money, but because I really want them to be involved in the work that I will get to be a part of in Rome, I want them to feel connected to God's Kingdom work around the world! More than any other people group I had prayed for was that my students past and present would one day join my support team, and that we would get to join in ministry together! God started to answer that prayer today! And I was truly blesses by it. It was such an affirmation and joy to have them join my team!

On top of that I also got a lot more new supporters this week and a few the week before. I also get to go to Felton Presbyterian on Sunday and invite even more people to catch the vision God has laid on my heart for the people of Rome.

I go to bed tonight with a heart that is full of joy and a life that is blessed to be on this amazing adventure with God! I am struck again and again just how cool it is to live the life God created me to live, and that He desires for me to be part of His plan to redeem His creation. Friends God IS GOOD!