Admittedly, it was a little bit of information overload. It is totally impossible to cram in everything that a missionary appointee needs to know into one week of training, but the TEAM staff came pretty close! Our sessions included topics such as "What is the Church?", which opened up a great dialog about how we, as Americans, view the church and how differently other cultures see it.

Of course, there was much instruction about support raising and how best to go about that, as well as the Biblical basis behind it. We also learned a ton about TEAM as an organization and are sure, now more than ever, that this is the organization that God would have us partner with in our call to reach Italy with the gospel.

But it wasn't just us who got all the training! Bryson and Laynie attended their own program with 5 other elementary-age kids. They learned all about Italian culture and even were able to meet a retired missionary couple from Italy who came to share about their experiences. Not only that, but they also met kids going to Taiwan, Austria, Chad, India, and Ireland and got to learn about some of those countries, too!

While the training was great for the whole family, some of the best time was spent over lunch or dinner with other missionaries who are called to various parts of the world; hearing their struggles and their triumphs, their stories and their advice. Some of the missionaries we met have been with TEAM for decades and some are brand new, just like us, but it was soul-refreshing to meet so many people who have the same passion and call to reach a lost world for Christ. We all made friends during that week that will last a lifetime and even got to know another family, the Johnsons (see picture at top), who are also headed to Italy! Thank you for your prayers and support to help get us there! It was an investment that will reap kingdom dividends for years to come!