Mission Training.....Unpacked

Well I’m back and feeling very refreshed after my three weeks away at Mission Training International (MTI) in Colorado. I made some AMAZING friends, learned a ton, and after the three weeks was pretty sad to leave my MTI family. There were a total of 42 adults and 12 children in training with me and we are going to serve in 23 different countries.

So, how would I describe MTI? Very fun, challenging and well…slightly unpredictable. One day we’d all be sitting in class discussing conflict resolution styles and the next day we’d be stumbling through a simulation which forced us to face the challenges we will be presented with while living on the mission field in a totally new culture.

One of the last assignments we were asked to do was take a rock and write on it all the blessings and things we are thankful for at MTI. Here’s a picture of my rock. Some of the highlights?...well, I’d say that one of the things I am most thankful for is having the opportunity to see the world through a child’s eyes. There were kids of all ages at the training and I was blessed to have them in my life for those three weeks. Naomi (5) and I had so much fun spinning in circles during breaks and eating breakfast together. One evening Jacob (5), Alyson (3), Abigail (6) and Naomi made a fun night out of doing laundry with me. Laundry is so much more fun with little helpers who think it’s the coolest thing ever!! And then there’s little Evangeline (18 months). Summer, my roommate, and I got to take care of her quite a bit while Mom and Dad were preparing for their trip to Belize. What a blessing. While Mel and John were preparing for their mission in Belize…Allison, Jacob and Abigail’s parents were preparing for their mission in Mozambique, and Naomi’s parents were preparing with the rest of her family of seven to serve in East Asia. Wow!

What I love about seeing the world through a child’s eyes is they live in the here and now. What happened yesterday….well that was yesterday, and forgotten. And what will happen tomorrow?...why focus on that now? They’d rather be turning over every rock in the playground to see what’s under it and going down the slide over and over again never getting the least bit bored. (Does going down the slide with one of the kids invalidate the playground age rule, “THIS PLAYGROUND IS DESIGNED FOR CHILDREN 5-12 YEARS OF AGE”?...haha, I think so). Anyways, the kids didn’t know that MTI and the time with their friends would only last for three short weeks. And isn’t that beautiful?…living in the moment and embracing it for all it’s worth. What a great reminder. The Lord has given us what we have right now, RIGHT NOW and He does not ask us to be concerned about what lies ahead or to be controlled by what happened in the past.

Support Update!

Thank you so much to all of you who have committed to praying and financially supporting me. As many of you know, just 3 ½ weeks ago before heading off to MTI I had $1,000 left to raise of monthly support. I am so excited to report that as of today I only have $450 per month left to go! My leave date has been set for the middle of November but I can not finalize my plane ticket until I’ve reached 100% of my support. If you haven’t already responded, would you please consider making a monthly commitment to this mission? One time gifts are also very much appreciated and will be divided up into my monthly budget.

If you’d like to find out more please email me at caitlin.vida@gmail.com

I’m looking forward to seeing how the Lord works over the next few weeks!!