Tomorrow is the big day

It is now the end of orientation in Chicago. What a marathon it has been! My world this week has been a combination of sitting, listening to speakers, eating, and sleeping....oh and some exploring of Chicago too. Even though there has been a lot of frustration with sitting, I still have appreciated the long list of information. I would rather have more information than less. It also has been kinda wierd as a lot of topics such as saftey or gender issues are vastly different between various countrys. I think it can be agreed upon that saftey issues I have to worry about in the UK are not the same issues that my roomate has to think about in Kenya. Still, a lot of the presentations clump us together. Oh well, I still feel like I am prepared as much as I can be. What orientation has been essential for is building community among other people who are going to our countries. There are so many cool people going to the UK! One girl is even working about 10 block from where I am at. I would never have known that if I hadn't spent a week here and gotten to know others. God has truly blessed all of us here and it has been a gift to share our thoughts and fears of international living with each other. Prayer has been somthing I have really worked on this week and I have found it really grounding. I really feel God's presence right now and am excited to see the challenges and joys of London. The bottom line is that I am here to learn this year-probably the most vital part of the ministry. I have slowly realized that my going to do this ministry is almost more for me that it is for the people I will be there with. What an incredible amount of love, patience and faith I feel I have the chance to develop abroad! Mission work DOES NOT mean (at least to me) going to go and "christianize" this world. Instead, I will be there in the ministry of presence and partnership. It will be a "give and take" every day. All of us are really excited to embark on this journey. It is time to get out of this LIMBO of orientation and get on that flight to London! It is time for the learning and partnership to begin!