the beginning

Way back in November, I got an email from Carey Theological College about a scholarship opportunity. It was available to MPM (Masters of Pastoral Ministries) students which I am (in the middle of my 7th class, and #8 is starting this weekend), and was offered in conjunction with Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM). This is the third year they've offered this Praxis program, which sends the selected applicants to various parts of the world to do a practical study program. This year the area of study is Kenya, and the subject is Integral Mission. It will look at the African Brotherhood Church and how they do Evangelism and Community Development.

It took a bit of deciding to know whether I should apply or not; it's a month long, and runs mid-May to mid-June, so Madeline (my 8 year old daughter) would still be in school, and I had a couple of other commitments during that time. Plans for Madeline fell into place, and my boss said it sounded like a great opportunity and would support the idea, so I applied.

I've not thought about it too much since, mostly on purpose so I didn't get my hopes up. But last Thursday I looked at the calendar and saw that January 31st was a week away, and January 31st was the date we would know by. Then I started checking my email a little more intentionally. I didn't have to wait long - that Friday morning I got the email. I almost deleted it, because it was from a name I didn't recognize and had nothing in the subject line... Glad I didn't!

More tomorrow!