Dear Friends and Family,

We had many of your respond on our Germany “church tax” e-mail. We love hearing back from each of you. Thanks.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we leave for Colorado for a month. We will be attending Missions Training International. This is a pre-field orientation class that will address “vital practical skills needed to thrive” on the mission field.
Things like:
- family acculturation
- learning new culture
- team and interpersonal skills
- personal soul care

Sadly, there are a few missionaries that get to where God has called them to and ‘fall apart’. Our mission organization, Greater Europe Mission, sends all of their candidates through this kind of training to help prepare and equip us for our calling.

Check out our updates on our Website while we are there…
www.roesgarden.com

This is taken from the Missions Training International website for our class SPLICE -

1. SPIRITUAL Resources

The goal here is inner stability - strongly anchored to your Lord and prepared for inevitable turmoil and stress.

SPLICE will help you:

Maintain closeness with God amidst the fog of adaptation Apply God’s grace to yourself and others while wrestling with cross-cultural stress Utilize soul-care disciplines and self-feeding during times of external chaos Identify and wrestle with spiritual conflicts

2. PERSONAL Growth

Actions speak louder than words, and the personal life of the messenger determines the volume and clarity of the message.

SPLICE will help you:

Identify the personal values that will likely taint your cross-cultural judgments Get ready for dealing with the specific stressors that will likely affect you Understand your way of relating and its impact on others Develop your strengths and manage your weaknesses

3. LIFESTYLE Adaptation

Surgeon General Warning: Cross-cultural ministry is sacrificial and will turn your world upside-down.

SPLICE will help you:

Navigate the challenges of transitioning to your host culture Make informed lifestyle decisions that honor God and your new culture See the benefit of maintaining behaviors that promote longevity Understand and value your children’s personal, social and educational needs

4. INTERPERSONAL Skills

The hallmark of authentic Christianity is “their love one for another” and so it is no surprise that the most common source of ineffectiveness is the lack of getting along with other missionaries.

SPLICE will help you:

Build and maintain trust on your team
Deal with personal differences on the team Grow in conflict management skills - especially confronting others when necessary Apply forgiveness in healthy, practical ways Guard your heart for moral purity

5. CULTURAL Adjustments

What will people from your host country say about you behind closed doors?
That mostly depends on your attitude and posture as you enter the culture.

SPLICE will help you:

Observe and identify cultural differences that cause personal dissonance Deal with the inevitable negative feelings: alienation, bitterness, pessimism, etc.
Learn listening and questioning skills
Recognize the importance of language acquisition Deepen your commitment to enter and remain as a learner

6. ENDURE/ENJOY Paradox

Paradox = two seemingly contradictory facts that express a truth. Life in missions is full of paradoxes.

SPLICE will help you:

Live with paradoxes while retaining your sanity Manage ambiguity while still taking initiative Define the disciplines that will help your longevity Find enjoyment in your calling despite the hardships

Pray for us this month!

Courtney and Krista Roes