Halfway There!
We have just reached 50% of our monthly fundraising Goal.
Thanks so much to all who have signed up to support us in the last few months!
Dear Friends and Family,
This summer we have some exciting training opportunities that we’d like to share about which are helping to prepare us for the refugee ministry. We’re also getting closer to our departure date for going to Greece, and have just a few weeks left to meet with all of you.
Halfway there!
We have just reached 50% of our monthly fundraising goal. Thanks so much to all who have signed up to support us in the last few months! In order to be able to move to Athens in September, we need to reach 100% of our goal. Please consider partnering with us to make this possible.
Reaching out with English - TEFL Course
Earlier in June, Henk followed a ‘Reach Out with English’ course about teaching English as a foreign language. The course is offered at Wheaton and geared towards anyone that wants to use teaching English as a way of reaching out with Jesus. It's amazing how much was packed in such a short time: not only the technical aspects like pronunciation, grammar and setting up a lesson plan, but also the philosophy of how we teach - considering the culture and needs of the learners - and how to be effective witnesses for Christ.
While Henk was finishing up in Wheaton, Allie was on her way to Seattle for the "First Aid Arts" training! This training equips professional and volunteer care providers with resources and arts-based interventions that help survivors of trauma, tragedy and abuse begin the process of recovery.
Learning alongside licensed clinical psychologists and therapists was a little intimidating at first, but in the end it was affirming and inspiring. Allie loved learning from the experience of everyone in the training. It also gave her confidence that she has been on the right track and reinforced in her concepts about dealing with trauma that she already had a sense of.
In the second part of the training, she got to practice leading different activities and collaborate with the other trainees on customizing the concepts and practices to each context and culture. Allie now has the knowledge and ongoing access to resources and tools to adapt and implement art-based trauma care in our context.
Access training
Next week, we'll be starting a two-week pre-field training at the International Teams headquarters in Elgin. This will be an intense time of learning and preparation, and we are excited about meeting our fellow workers going to different parts of the world and diving headfirst into soul care, strategy and cross-cultural training!
How and when will we get to the Athens Refugee Center?
We will be flying to the Netherlands in the first week of August, where we'll spend time connecting with our family, friends and churches before moving to Athens by the beginning of September - Lord willing!
Praises and Prayer Requests:
- We are really excited about the different trainings we've been able to follow. Pray that these things would come in useful in the ministry, and that God would continue to prepare us for His work.
- Pray that we'd be able to reach our fundraising goal in time to move to Greece by the beginning of September!
- Pray that we would keep our eyes on Jesus and hold on to the vision He has given us through all the details and logistics