It has been
a week or so since we left MTI (Mission Training International). Our brains have had some time to process all
that we have learned and we are more excited than ever to get to Kenya and put
some of it into practice. My last post
explained some of the language training we had the first two weeks at MTI. Our second
two weeks we learned about life in a new culture. They
trained us heavily on reasons why missionaries leave the field early and how we
can best thrive in our new host culture.
The whole
crew! Blessed to spend four weeks with these people!
We spent a
whole day talking about CONFLICT. First, we learned what our own conflict management style
was then grouped up with those like ourselves and as a group went around to
talk with another group about what we like about their conflict management style and what discourages
us. I (Kenzi) am not one to throw my
emotions out for everyone to see so this was hard for me to be open and honest. My style of conflict management is called 'Teddy
Bear'. In my style we seek harmony and
want to make sure the other person is happy, content, and leaves feeling
good. We don’t share much of how we are
feeling and just really want things to be peaceful (for the other person) as
quick as possible, then we handle our own emotions later. Spending a whole morning confronting people
about how they handle conflict was mentally and emotionally exhausting for me because
it is not something I am used to doing. That afternoon we learned about conflict
between spouses, with kids, and in team settings. By the end of the day we
were ready for a nap! Even though it was hard for me to open up at first, I am
glad I was able to embrace this training and I really learned a lot about myself
and how to understand others better in conflicting situations.
My Growth
Group (small group). I love these women! We never had conflict….just chocolate!
A few days
were spent on how we are under STRESS and how we manage it. It was a stress-filled day (hehe J).
We had a few different simulations to help us recognize how we are
under stress. After each one we would
come together and debrief about what we were feeling (again with pulling the
emotions out!). We were asked questions like if we talked with others during
the simulation, if we talked with ourselves, and if we talked with God. We learned whether we
are more task focused or relational in stressful situations. I
learned I am much more relational than my husband in stressful
situations, but this helped us be able to talk about it and recognize how we
need to help support each other when we are in stressful situations. I was so thankful for this! Mark and I kept
joking that because of this training we feel like we jumped ahead 5 years of
marriage because of how much we learned about each other. After learning about
healthy ways to manage stress we feel as though we have a better game plan and know
how to help each other out when these situations arise.
Our little
family at Garden of the Gods. Emma was
dealing with a little stress and didn’t want to be held.
She should
have been in our training…J
One of my
favorite trainings was actually a pretty short one and it was about Third
Culture Kids (TCKs). These are kids who
have grown up for some of their developmental years in another culture that is
not their parents. During this short
training I learned so much about my husband (Mark grew up in Kenya until he was
7 years old). We heard from a TCK who is now on staff at MTI and his
story. He explained why sometimes kids
who grow up overseas or in another country do not feel like they fully belong to
their passport culture or their host culture. They are stuck between two worlds. He helped us understand that when traveling
back to America sometimes even the phrase “Welcome Home!” can be a complicated one
for TCKs to hear because their home isn’t the U.S. Some have never even lived
in the U.S., it is just what their passport says. If you ask a TCK where they
are from it’s often hard for them to answer with just one sentence. Most have lived in multiple places. I noticed this a lot with my husband. He will give a quick answer if he can tell
the individual doesn’t want a long story, but if someone is really interested
and wants to know he loves sharing about growing up in Kenya and Kentucky and
all the trips in between.
Emma with her teacher, Miss Anna. Anna is also a TCK!
Emma loved her and so did we!!
Overall, this
training was amazing! I am SO thankful
we were able to attend! We learned a lot more, but hopefully this helped to give
you a little glimpse. Thank you to everyone who has partnered with us on this
journey. You all are a blessings and we
pray God blesses each of you! I still cannot believe we are finished with all our training!!!! Woohoo!!
