Last weekend was the annual memorial day retreat for our church, which we thoroughly enjoyed. The girls all enjoyed the zipline and giant swing (i.e. in a harness and dropped from about 55 feet), and it was great to connect with folks there. Sunday morning I left early to fly to Chicago and then drive to Dubuque, IA. I’m at the International Training Consultation which includes about fifty folks from training programmes and institutions from all over (Britain, western Europe, eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia, Far East, SouthEast Asia, Australia, NZ, South America . . . ) We’re being very graciously hosted by Emmaus Bible College, where Melanie attended for the two years before we met.
It has been a great few days. Although the schedule has been packed, the discussions have been helpful and encouraging. It is great to get a better awareness of some of the things happening around the world. It is also very encouraging, in one sense, to hear that some of the things that seem to be a challenge everywhere are actually central features of the Cor Deo design – for instance the need to get across quality content, to facilitate genuine mentoring relationships, integrating study with ministry, connecting instructors relationally to students, etc. I look forward to attending this at some point in the future with some experience of Cor Deo to share with the folks.
Tomorrow I leave after lunch to drive back to Chicago and fly back to Portland. Friday we “move house” from Melanie’s parents to some good friends of ours. Please pray for Melanie, she is still struggling with far more frequent headaches than she was experiencing back home in the UK before we left.
