PFO days 1 and 2

The boys right before leaving Orlando...(this picture has nothing to do with this post, just didn't want to have a pictureless day :)



So...we are busy here in Southhaven, Mississippi at Pre-Field Orientation (PFO).  It is a twelve day program to help prepare us (and almost 200 others) for going overseas.  NICS, the organization that we are with, runs ore than 20 schools around the world.  All of the newly hired teachers along with some "seasoned" staff are together to talk about issues such as cultural transitions, personality types, third culture kids, and other similar topics.  We spend more of our day in classes and small groups.  Our kids have their own age-appropriate classes that involve lots of playing and some of their own getting-ready-to-transition type activities. 

It has been really goo so far.  I wish I weren't so tired so that I could take in more of it, but I don't think that there is any way around that.  It might just have to do with the fact that when I am at home I don't get to sit down for more than about three minutes at at time and so my body thinks that if my three minutes are up it MUST be nighttime :)

I won't delve too much into what we are going through (for fear of totally boring you).  But I might highlight certain things every few days.

Today we spent quite a bit of time on the Myers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI).  I am sure that many of you have done it.  I haven't taken it since college...I was fascinated with it then and I am equally fascinated now.  My scores changed a bit, but I am still pretty true to my INFJ self (me and the rest of the 2.58% of the population who share this type):

INFJ: Seek meaning and connection in ideas, relationships, and material possessions. Want to understand what motivates people and are insightful about others. Conscientious and committed to their firm values. Develop a clear vision about how best to serve the common good. Organized and decisive in implementing their vision.

I love looking at and trying to understand the differences in people.  When we stop looking at people with a "right" and "wrong" outlook, we start to grasp how God truly made us all unique and all dependent on one another.  We can't all be the same....that was not God's design.  1 Corinthians 12 is so clear:

 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

What really struck me today is how much time Christians spend trying to get others to be like we are...to do things like we do...to think and see like we do.  I felt that very keenly this past year in Orlando -- we had staff that couldn't embrace or appreciate anyone who was different.  They wanted it all done JUST LIKE THEY WOULD DO. They didn't see differences as something beautiful that could be a blessing.  Instead, they saw it as a reason to complain, rebuke, and condescend.  Christian ministries can't work like that -- God will place different people gifted in different areas.  No one person (or couple) can do it all on their own...we need other people.  God created the Body for a reason -- He had no intention of the "hands" and "feet" to do it all.  It takes every person, working to the best of THEIR ability in the role that God gave THEM for there to be harmony. 

Such a good reminder.  I'm a tiny part of the Body but I have my role.  If I don't funtion the way I am supposed to then the whole Body suffers.  You have a part too...are you functioning as you shoud?  Do you see yourself as vital to God's plan?  Do you see others as important and necessary and beneficial.  Are you trying to do it all on your own?  Do you condem those with different methods?  Are you seeking your own glory or the glory of God?  Big questions on my heart tonight...

Comments

[Heather]

We just moved from Memphis. If you have a spare morning or afternoon, you should go to Mud Island. http://www.mudisland.com/

It's a lazy fun place for the kids to wade through the mini Mississippi.

[Sondie]

Sweetie....that last paragraph is just what I needed. God has really been speaking to me today through many different outlets. Thank you for your post!

[sally]

Ha - I was wrong! I guessed for a long time you were an INTJ!

Signed, ENFP sister!

[Rona]

that is such a precious pic of the boys, lol! They look pooped! :)

[Hollie]

I have to say--that Myers Briggs thing has always driven me crazy. I can't answer the questions b/c almost every one of them, I think to myself--well, it depends! LOL! So there I sit, trying to determine which is *most* like me, and I'm just never sure. So I finally just quit the test and let it be. But that's really fascinating that your type is so uncommon. I wonder what the most common type is? Or is it all split about the same?

Love seeing the pics and I am so excited for you going to live your dreams serving in Indonesia. I pray this is a wonderful experience and the Lord is glorified in your work. Don't forget to let me know how to support you. {HUGS}
--Hollie