Orientation Week

So I finished Orientation! It was been a very busy week, full of meeting other interns, challenging myself, cultural training, and introspection. I have spent the last week in Colorado Springs with 26 other interns. It has been neat to get to learn about how God has been working in each of their lives as we shared our testimonies and talked in small groups. I was able to challenge myself by voluntarily trying out a high ropes course one day and rock climbing another day. Heights and I don’t get along so well, so climbing the ropes and the rocks were both big victories for me. It turns out both wound up being pretty fun too.

(That's me rock climbing!!)

Cultural training has been great. I have been learning about different construction practices and methods in different countries. During the week there were skits that showed some common mistakes when traveling and living cross-culturally. All the interns also had a scenario where half of the interns were the East and half were the West. We were given different traits representing our side and we had to figure out how to deal with the other side. It was pretty challenging trying to figure out how to not offend the other side, but it was fun to see how creative all the interns were as they really took on their roles.

One of the big focuses of the week was on self-discovery. Before coming to Colorado, I took spiritual gifts and strengths tests. Once I got here, I also took a personality test. We spent a lot of time talking about the results and seeing how our unique strengths can be used in the body of Christ. It was particularly neat as I got to know the other Costa Rica interns. I think their strengths go very well with mine, and I am excited to see how we work together over the next few months. My results are posted in the tab on the right, under “More About Me.”

I would really appreciate your prayers as I head to Costa Rica. I will be spending the next 2 weeks in language training and living with a host family in San Jose. I am still nervous about my Spanish abilities, but I know God has called me there for a reason and He will take care of everything. Thanks for the prayers!