Well, my adventure has officially begun. Yesterday (June 27th) I flew into Newark, NJ, and then drove to AIM's headquarters in Pearl River, NY. I absolutely loved the flight, as I sat back and admired the beauty of God's creation as it shrunk away far below me. Lake Michigan looks like a gorgeous blue from the air. Even just being surrounded by the fluffy whiteness of clouds, I felt a sense of awe of God.
I met my other teammates (Rachel, Anna, Marlee, Tanya, and Meghan), as well as the people who work at the mission and other short-termers who are going to different places. We had supper together and my roommates and I (one of whom is a teacher and the other who is an education major) had a fascinating discussion about education. :)
Today we spent the entire day in workshops, learning about everything from culture shock, to travel details, to our Biblical purpose for why we are here, to budgeting, to defining culture. It was quite a full day. At the "farewell luncheon" I was one of those selected to give my testimony: a short less-than-three-minute telling of my name, where I was from, where I am going, when I accepted Christ, a Bible verse that God has used in my life, and prayer requests. It was neat to hear some of the other testimonies given.
Tomorrow we fly out very early in the morning. We will fly into South Africa, and from there to Madagascar. I don't know how often I will have internet access while I'm there, but I'll try to blog about my trip whenever I get the chance. So keep an eye out for updates! Thank you all for your prayers. I have an added prayer request: two days before coming here I got a cold, so I've been trying to deal with that while preparing to leave. It isn't too bad; I've just been coughing a lot, so I would appreciate your prayers.
I want to leave you all with the verse that I shared in my testimony:
Philippians 1:20b- "Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by my life or by my death."
May the Peace of God dwell in you richly,
Renee
