Silence before the storm

A quick word before I begin this blog, a few people commented about our previous blog, and I wanted to clarify what I had said. When I said that it is not our job to determine "right" and "wrong" in Guinea-Bissau, I am saying that in regard to the culture there, and in no way mean to negate the idea of absolute truth.
Back to this blog.

We're just 2.5 weeks from our actual flight to Guinea-Bissau, and in ways, I feel no more prepared than I did a year ago. Our last 2.5 weeks, however, have made a difference in the feeling of emotional, mental and spiritual preparedness.
How have we prepared? Oh....in so many ways.
There was yesterday when we spent time preparing for grief and acknowledging all of the things we're experiencing loss with. We cried and actually felt the feelings we've been suppressing for so long. It struck me that distance from each of you is a great loss where we miss the closeness with you and are grieving the lack of that. We hope that a new kind of relationship can spring up where we are able to enjoy a deepening of our relationships even as we're far away.
We spent time preparing to deal with stress in a way that was beyond anything I expected. We had a real-life simulation of very stressful events that missionaries might face. It was very intense and very unexpected. We experienced a lot of stress and then later examined our reactions and behaviors. I can't even describe to you the many things I learned about myself in that time! It's a lesson that's valuable and challenging on so many levels.
A few days later, we learned about the unsettling, resettling and chaos process of leaving for the field. The staff here had a makeshift "bridge" to simulate the various stages of transition. The bridge involved unstable chairs and a series of yoga balls to walk on. We practiced crossing the bridge and talked about the effect that chaos and unsettling and resettling have on relationships. This made us realize just how flexible and patient and kind you've all been to us as we're now in the middle of the bridge undergoing CHAOS! We know we haven't been as present and gracious at times as we would like to be, and we are thankful for your grace. Thank you for your support that has shown through patience and understanding.
We've spent time learning how to handle cross-cultural encounters with grace and understanding, and now the challenge is to apply the head-knowledge we've obtained. We spent time doing simulations of various cultures so that we could examine our pre-judgements and thus become more aware of how we see the world.
We have one full day of training left and then half a day on Friday and we're done at MTI. We are going to miss the people here so much. Just having a community of people going through the same strange thing we're going through has been so vital.
A week ago, I organized a parents' night out for the parents here. The singles and marrieds-without-kids (often, its easier to just lump in with the singles) were matched up with particular families and were given family-specific instructions. There was dinnertime....a unique experience for all 21 adults and 23 children, and then play time. Many parents confided to us that they hadn't had a date night in so long they couldn't remember the last one. We, of course, played with the kids and had a blast. Jason played the part of the bridge troll for over an hour and I helped put babies to bed.
We've been tremendously blessed by the kids here and are sitting beside the playground now listening to them play before dinner on our second to last night in this unique place. This has been a place of rest and renewal and has also greatly prepared us for what's ahead. As we go forward, we will be glad we did this.
We'll update you again soon. We've sent out a newsletter and hope you've received it by now. The next one will be sent while we're in AFRICA!!!