First Week of Training down, 2 weeks to go

I am committed to getting at least one post per week. We are counting down the weeks to our day of departure. We have been in training for our position at a leadership conference at the MCC headquarters in Akron, PA. We are here in a retreat center setting with about 20 other people learning the ins and outs of the job, the mission of MCC, anabaptist theology (and our commitment to pacifism), structure, budgets, and much more. It is a bit daunting.

Oren seems to be adapting well, although we made a brief visit back to Poughkeepsie over the weekend to say goodbye to the youth at our church and he had a chance to see his house empty. He was quite surprised. In one particularly insightful moment, he asked a little girl at our church if she would come to Africa with him, and when she said she couldn't he began sobbing. I told him it would be OK and he said: "No its not, no one is coming with me!" For a 2 year old to grasp the finality of this visit and our move, seemed wise beyond his years.

We are back in Akron now, and Oren will be going to spend a week and a half with his grandparents in Baltimore. If any of you want to find out more about the organization we are working for, you can read about it at http://www.mcc.org

Here is a picture of Oren at the MCC training facility.