half-way

Well we have completed our first week of missionary candidate orientation at Biblical Ministries Worldwide (BMW). Our time has been both enjoyable and profitable. We came to BMW not knowing if we would be a good fit here. There were several large questions that Laurel and I had in our minds that could have potentially keep us from joining BMW. All of these questions have been answered in a reassuring way. We have been surprised to find how much we agree with the mission. From what we know so far, we would encourage any Fundamental Christian missionary hopeful to take a look at BMW.

Complete acceptance into BMW will not come until the end of next week. We are only half-way. So far, we have gone through five days of introduction and training classes. And we have had meetings and/or interviews with eight different people (not counting casual explanations) to explain our beliefs, values, goals, and testimony. These meetings have taken different forms. The most intense of these was on Tuesday. There were three separate hour sessions in which several different people asked us to explain and/or defend our positions on different doctrinal issues such as the Bible, the trinity, Christ, salvation, and the Holy Spirit. I have never had to do this verbally before. It is quite different from circling letters on an answer sheet. I only blanked out once. Laurel had a migraine during the sessions but managed to answer the questions quite thoughtfully in spite of it. She managed to avoid blanking out at all.

On Thursday we got the results of the DISC test that we took a month or so ago. I tested as a high C (for conscientious [translation: pedantic or OCD]) at work. This was not a total surprise to me. I was surprised, however, to see how overwhelmingly high my C category was. I am consoling myself by thinking that I am a high C only while teaching. We took a shorter DISC test during the class session. That test was not based on work and put me as a high S with a second place C. That seems more palatable some how.

Next week will bring more training sessions and more interviews. Perhaps the most intimidating of these is the board interview. We do not really know what to expect, but if the godly character and kind spirit of the administration, staff, missionary appointees, and other missionary candidates is any indication, the board probably doesn't have it out for us. In any case, at the end of next week, Laurel and I will either be missionary appointees with BMW, or we will be back to the beginning of our efforts to determine how we should go about getting to the field.