Adios Colorado

Well, my three weeks of training have come to an end. I arrived back in the ATL on Friday but I have to say that I had mixed emotions about leaving. It is good to be home but I really felt like I was finally getting settled in by week three and I was excited about some of the friends that I was making. They had a ping-pong table in the basement of the conference center and we had some epic battles. It was a lot of fun. I was enjoying making friends but I knew that I had to leave in order to keep this whole process moving forward. Life continues on I guess.

It was a very small taste of where my life is headed.

I mean I came to the realization that once I move to La Paz and get the whole missionary thing going my life is going to be a series of goodbyes. I will say goodbye to my family and friends here when I leave but when I leave La Paz and visit Georgia I will say goodbye to my friends in Bolivia. It is going to be a life of constantly learning how to say goodbye well.

My last week at MTI was just filled with emotion. We talked about grief and loss, hellos & goodbyes. It was crazy. I admit that I have cried more in the last three weeks than I have in a long time. And it feels good. I knew we were in trouble when there was a box of Kleenex on every table in the training room. We had the opportunity this last week to individually say goodbye to everyone who attended the training and say a blessing over their life as they leave to serve God in different parts of the world.

Here is a photo of our group...


I had so many great revelations during my time in Colorado but I will just leave you with a few…

God really does LOVE me.
(We hear this so much that I think we really have a hard time letting this concept sink in. Well it’s starting to sink in for me. I am starting to realize that God is not going to love me any more or any less because I am going to Bolivia. I am not getting extra credit or a gold star. God’s love for me is constant no matter where I am. I am not going to Bolivia so that I can earn God’s love. I go because He called me.)

God’s strength is good enough for me.
(I went to the training really struggling with self-reliance. I felt myself trying to make too many things in my life happen with my own strength. God totally broke that down during my time in Colorado and now I believe more than ever before that God’s strength is sufficient for me.)

Different is not necessarily wrong. Wrong is wrong.
(Just because things in my new culture in Bolivia are different it doesn’t mean that they are wrong. It’s all about finding out what is right and wrong according to God’s word.)

My success in Bolivia is not up to me.
(This kinda goes with the comment about God’s strength above. It is a huge weight off my shoulders to know that I am not in control of the results in Bolivia. This is not to say that I will not work hard. It is just a comment about how I deal with the outcomes.)

A few formulas…
Be Still = Knowing God
Quiet + Rest = Strength

Three foundational truths that I am wrestling with…
God is God (He doesn’t owe me an explanation)
God is not safe, but He is faithful
God is good (No matter what happens)

God really spoke to my heart during my time in Colorado. And I am so glad that I was able to experience the MTI training. I know that I already have a better chance of enduring and enjoying my time in Bolivia because of all of the truths that I learned over these three weeks.

I created an online photo album for the trip so check it out.

Next Steps: Buying my plane ticket to La Paz & getting my Visa from the Bolivian Consulate