will we see animals? and other important questions

I had lunch today with Dennis Shierman, who is CBM's Western Canada Rep. He was in town and spoke at a missions night at our church Sunday night. That was informative in itself - hearing how global discipleship and integral mission are so important to them, and seeing other ways that CBM lives that out.

Things I learned (in no particular order):

*what to wear - as representatives of CBM and Carey, to be modest and conservative, and have skirts, especially for any formal stuff, or Sunday mornings, or if we're doing a presentation or anything like that. I guess I need to check my closet and see if there are any skirts in there!

*animals - because of the strictness against combining missions work and tourism (from the auditors point of view) we won't be "going on safari," but we will have opportunities while we're there to see giraffes, elephants, zebras and the rest. One place we'll be staying at has a balcony where you can sit for an early morning coffee and watch them going by. I am really looking forward to that.

*responsibilities - I had asked about our roles on CBM's behalf once we are back, and what they might expect of us, and the answer was nothing really. They are content to educate us, and let God do the work of changing us, our perceptions, and how we live and minister in light of what we've learned and experienced.

*observation / participation - we'll be doing some of both.

Our syllabus and itinerary are still to come, so I still have things to learn before I go, but talking to Dennis was a good chance to make a more direct connection with CBM. We talked about a lot more that - I'll let you know if I think of anything else to pass on.