it's a small world, afterall.

the world really is small, i'm coming to realize. these past few days i've made a new friend visiting from south africa. the other day, i took a friend from czech through the grand city of philadelphia. and then in just under three weeks, i, myself, will travel across the ocean to the far-away-land of poland. yet a point was made at my brother's high school graduation, that as time goes by, the world become smaller and we are presented with more opportunities. with the internet, i can now communicate with friends overseas in the matter of minutes, even seconds. now, if only traveling was less expensive...

in any case, i last reported that i needed 100% of my support by june 25th. WELL that was the *goal* but i NEEDED at least 75%. and now, on june 26th, i report to you that i have a little over 78%!!! true, it's not all of it, but God is faithful in providing me with what i need, when i need it. i have also had many people tell me recently that they would like to give! hooray! the official number for what i need is currently: $635

i'll update more early next week - in under a half hour i'll be on a train bound for the shore to visit some friends!

training recap!

there were about twenty of us. at first we didn't know each others' age, denomination, background, family history, college, etc...all we knew was that we had the same passion and the same goal. that alone brought us together like nothing else could, and within HOURS, we were a family. i would imagine that it was a small taste of what heaven will be like, and with that in mind... i cannot WAIT until the Lord calls us home. it took me a day or so before i realized that i didn't have to be anything with my family here but myself. the love and acceptance was indescribable.

the sessions themselves were extremely informative and useful. i feel so much more prepared now than before. we learned about culture shock and how to deal with it, spiritual warfare, fundraising, emotional health, conflict resolution (boy did i learn a lot here!), writing, public speaking, language learning, and so much more. our days were jam-packed with different sessions and though our evenings were free, we packed them with games of ultimate frisbee, rounds of volleyball, and travels to the city. i even learned how to swing dance, which i'm told i am VERY good at and have an "amazing sense of internal rhythm."

three of our team are already out on the field (two in the philippines and one in japan) and others leave for places such as russia, kosovo, far east asia, poland, prague, spain, and taiwan over the next few months...and no matter where and when we go, we'll always be the STT SUMMER CLASS OF JUNE 2007!

still in michigan!

greetings all, from the lovely state of michigan! training week has been AMAZING, and i would say it's been my favorite week of the summer...so far! i'm still here in michigan, after my flight got cancelled today - what an adventure. i'll fly back tomorrow morning and probably get some good sleep! i'm so excited to go to trinity church on sunday, i haven't been since EASTER.

once i get back to connecticut, i'll give you all a longer update on training (i learned SO much!).

but i will update you on the exciting fact that I NOW HAVE MY PLANE TICKET TO POLAND!!!! i even get to adventure a layover in munich!

please pray for some of my training classmates who leave tomorrow!
brian - to the philippines
maureen -also to the philippines
david (who left today) - to japan

goodnight! =)