The last week was the week I have been waiting for… On Sunday night after the Serve 2010 meeting I drove down to Portland, OR. I spent the night visiting with Caroline Watkins before heading to bed on her couch. On Monday morning I had a private orientation at Multnomah Bible School. I wasn’t going to be around for the regular orientation because of my trip to Florida. After getting all of my paperwork taken care of and receiving my books for the first class they took me on a tour of the campus. A couple hours later I was on my way home. This drive from Seattle to Portland and back will be a regular trip for me in the weeks to come as I will be commuting. Most of the weeks I will have class just on Thursday nights from 6:00-10:00 but will most likely stay the night so I don’t fall asleep on the drive home. If I’m lucky someone else might live up North and I’ll be able to carpool but that is to be determined in the next couple weeks. I am really excited to finally be going to Bible School. For those of you who don’t know I will be getting my BS in Leadership and Ministry which will come in handy in the years to come.
I drove home Monday afternoon and briefly checked over my workload while chatting with friends in Argentina. I then headed down to the base-ball fields to watch the guys from my church play ball. I went to de-stress since I was a bit nervous for my trip to Florida and overwhelmed with what my schedule will be like in the next couple weeks. The time on the field and drive did the trick for me. I was able to praise God in the car and just enjoy cheering on the team. I arrived home and FINALLY started packing.
My flight to Florida was early on Tuesday so I only got about 4 hours of sleep. Once again God blessed me on the trip down by bumping me up to First Class. That is one of the privileges of flying back and forth to Argentina. I was given Medallion status with lots of benefits…. Free baggage, priority boarding, seating, lines through security, and even free upgrades upon availability. Of course with the upgrade I was given lunch, which was a blessing. I arrived to the hotel just in time to meet the other candidates and eat dinner.
My roommate in Orlando was Krissy, who just happens to have grown up in Argentina as a missionary kid. Her father also happens to be over all the Latin American Missionaries, so I met both her parents a couple years back in Argentina. We spent a lot of time together during the couple days we were in Florida.
I woke up early once again on Wednesday for my final interview with the Board of Overseers from Converge. The interviews took place on the Wycliffe property where they are renting rooms until the new buildings are completed. I spend an hour and half drinking mate and visiting with the receptionist and anyone who entered the building.
Of course I was nervous as we walked down the hall to enter the room, but once I sat down and introductions were made I calmed right down. The first person I met just happened to be the associate Pastor from Our Saviors Church here in Washington. J After sharing my testimony and call into missions they each asked me a couple questions. I was then sent out of the room as the voted as a team. The five of them approved me as a missionary and were going to recommend me to the whole Board of Overseers. Of course before leaving they took time to pray for me and I was even able to get my first contact information for the support raising process. My first order of business was to inform my families that I had been approved to become a Career Missionary with Converge.
Since the interview was in the morning I had all day to relax and enjoy Florida. I had decided to not bring my homework and just ENJOY my time in the sun. I celebrated the good news by eating lunch out and then taking pictures in my Argentina jersey. Krissy and I then sat outside drinking mate and visiting in the afternoon. I ended the day taking a walk and enjoying the beauty of the area before spending time in the Word.
Celebrating my approval te be a Career Missionary..!
Mate with Krissy... and Biblestudy
Of course I also enjoyed desert..!Thursday morning we headed back out to the Wycliffe site and were able to tour the campus and museum while we waited. We were then presented before the whole Board of Overseers where they took the official vote to appoint us as Missionaries. It was an encouraging time as they prayed for us and took time getting to know us during lunch. As a short-termer I never met anyone from the conference so it has been really nice finally meeting everyone including Jerry and Dee Sheveland, the President of Converge. I left Converge very encouraged and excited. To be honest I still find it unbelievable that I am officially a Career Missionary.
Before heading home I had a couple hours to play around at the airport with Krissy… of course we took pictures as if we had went to Disneyland. The trip home was uneventful and once again I got bumped up to first class.
So to make a LONG story short… this week I became a college student and career missionary. What an exciting adventure I am on..! May God be glorified in my life..!
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