Pre-Field Orientation

So... from June 21st - July 2nd, I will be in Southaven, Mississippi (just outside of Memphis) for PFO. We're learning all of the important things that we need to know to be ready for moving overseas. All the soon to be missionaries with NICS are here, around 150 people, who will be going to the 20 different schools all over the world!

I arrived yesterday afternoon, so today was my first full day. I plan on blogging a few times while I'm here, but to get us started, here are a few of my first impressions:

• It's really encouraging to be around like-minded people! Seriously, everyone here has been SO nice and friendly. How easily we forget that there are people all over the US (and the world) that are living for the Lord! In just the short time that I have been here, it has been cool to hear stories of how God has brought people to this place in their lives. I've got one story in particular that I will probably share in a later post. And of course, it's been fun to meet the other new staff members who will be going to Singapore... they all seem super cool!!!

• We are going to be doing a lot of studying in 1 Peter. Here are two verses that were shared this morning that stuck with me. "Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live as strangers here in reverent fear." (1 Peter 1:17) "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." (1 Peter 2:11) The speaker was encouraging us, as we are about to be foreigners, to live a life above reproach; to be holy and fear the Lord. He explained how as we live in another country, our lives will be in the spotlight and many will look at us to see what Christianity is really like. It is challenging, but also exciting to think of the impact we can have!

• We did the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and I am a "INTJ", which stands for Introversion, Intuition, Thinking, and Judging. I was actually pretty surprised at how well the test fits me! I think they hit the nail on the head! So you're probably wondering, "What does INTJ mean?" So glad you asked! haha... Here's a quick summary: Theory Based, Skeptical, "My Way", High Need for Competency, Sees World as a Chessboard, Independent, "Everything has room for improvement". Also, on the results sheet it says: "They have great powers of concentration, and are so determined to see their vision become a reality, they will work with tireless energy to turn out a flawless idea or product." and "Because of their sometimes impossibly high standards, INTJs tend to be perfectionists." So, there's a little insight into me, kinda scary!

Ok, that is all for now... more coming soon!