Arkansas to Africa: FPO week 2

It's been a great week at FPO, lots going on, a bit overwhelming at times, but God is good. We started the week with Dr. Jerry Rankin, IMB President, who presented three days of sessions on spiritual warfare. Jerry and his wife, Bobbye, spent many years on the field and no doubt have countless stories of praise, hardships, and funny moments that only missionaries find themselves in. They are down-to-earth and just great people.

One night this week our regional leaders, Bob & Linda, had all 30 plus CESA members over for dinner. It was such a good night of fellowship with our extended family and I think we were all happy to get off campus to hang out and visit with each other.

Thursday night, I had my first official class meeting for my second seminary course, Principles and Practices of Missions. We had some good discussions but after being in sessions all day and then having class until 8 p.m., it's a bit tiring but good nonetheless.

Today, we had some short sessions and were done by 2 p.m. so it was really nice to have the afternoon off.

So a couple of months ago, I received my travel information to go to South Africa and didn't have any instructions about getting a Visa, other than it would all be taken care of once I arrive on the field. After talking to some other people going to South Africa, I discovered I had not received some additional information regarding some furthur medical documentation and state background checks needed to apply for my Visa. Needless to say, I've had a couple of stressful days sorting that out. I have to get a physical, a chest x-ray for tuberculosis and a criminal background check from the state of Arkansas.

One of the many great things here at ILC is the medical clinic. I stopped in this afternoon and found out what I need to do to get this stuff taken care of and hopefully, Lord willing, I'll be good to go soon. And thanks, Melissa, for helping me out with the background check, all the way back in Bryant! God is so good!

Last Saturday, me and some friends from FPO went to Washington, DC for the day (this was my second trip). My friend, Jeff, has a friend at the White House who gave us a little special treatment. Jeff's friend, Grant, gave us a nice tour on the grounds of the White House and gave us a little history about the place. Grant gives tours inside the White House but he can only take a few people and only had one spot open so Jeff got an awesome tour inside. The coolest part for him though was getting to walk the Bush's dog, Barney. So check out the picture below of Jeff and Barney Bush!

I also posted a picture of my bulletin board, which now has pictures on it thanks to my mom and some artwork by my niece, Beth.