It wouldn't surprise me if you were wondering how the heck it could take WEC 12 weeks to orientate their candidates! It does - and now I know a few reasons why....
1. Our group of 11 candidates + 2 directors (not all are in this photo) is full of extroverts. ie, we have a lot of fun, & can take a very long time coming back from our coffee breaks.
2. There is a lot to learn about WEC! The mission was established nearly 100 years ago, and looking at some of its history helps us to understand why things are done the way they're done. It's about me getting to know WEC, & them getting to know me. What do they mean by the core values of faith, sacrifice, holiness, & fellowship?? (Now I realise that long coffee breaks don't pass for developing fellowship. But could it pass for pastoral care of my fellow candidate??)
3. WEC is committed to doing all they possibly can to ensure that their attrition rate is low.
3. WEC is committed to doing all they possibly can to ensure that their attrition rate is low.
So apart from that, I'm still involved in helping out the 7-10 year olds on a Sunday morning. That's a lot of fun whether we have 2 or 15 children who turn up. (The picture on the left is part of a mural they've made about Gladys Awylward, a British missionary to China a long time ago.)
I'm still enjoying seeing my Somalian friends, and we catch up most weeks. Unfortunately I can't take any photos of them - I think that Muslims believe that if their photo was taken their soul would be stolen. Anyway - I'm always impressed by how much English they've learned since we last caught up. They often ask me to read a list of words to them, which they repeat - even the 2 year old had a go yesterday! The 7 year old girl has improved her reading even in the past week! Plus they have Arabic lessons and speak in their mother tongue at home - tri-lingual from knee-high to a grasshopper.
So that's much what's been occupying my time lately. This week I'm hoping to meet up with Eileen Summerville, WEC's field leader in Burkina Faso, who's from 1 of the Auckland ACTS churches. I've got a bunch of questions for her - including dress code, & what's the accomodation like in Banfora (the city I'm going to).
I'll keep you posted!
