Math Teacher on a Ship: Take-Aways from Training

We are finishing up our 4th week of training. Each week we have focused on a different theme:

Faith Foundations (Understanding God's Character, Communicating with God)

Personal/Interpersonal (Understanding Ourselves & Others, Conflict Resolution)

Working with Those We Serve (Cross-Cultural Training, Different Worldviews)

Although the days have been long, the content has been excellent. Here are a few quotes that I particularly liked.

The size of the gap between our hopes and reality will be the measure by which we get to practice our faith.

The way you see your future is important because it determines your thinking today and your thinking today determines your performance today, which is important because your performance today determines your future.
-Tony Campolo

Your time is best spent in the area of your strengths.

Your work is your worship.

If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there. -Lewis Carroll

Conflict is a doorway to intimacy and greater relationship and understanding.

The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today.
- Chinese Proverb

“This is the true joy in life — being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one… being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is sort of a splendid torch which I have a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it over to future generations.”

-George Bernard Shaw

An overall theme of our training has been that God is interested in all parts of life, not just the spiritual aspect. Following His principles will bring health and wholeness to people and communities. Today we watched a video that shows these ideas in action among the garbage collectors of Cairo, Egypt. It was a very powerful video; here is the link if you are interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e01d4OlTi_k. There is a 2nd part to the video which should pop up when you finish this one.

And here's a few pictures...