Todd: July is the month of our annual Training Camp. It's a weekend dedicated to microfinance training, spiritual challenge, learning to become more cross-culturally effective, and good ol' fellowship! This year 25+ gathered at Gordon College on July 24-26 for Training Camp. Our theme for the Camp was "to the ends of the earth" and it was a refreshing time to step back, assess what it is going to take to reach the ends of the earth with the love of Christ, and become better equipped to do so. Highlights of the weekend include the following:
- Pastor Gideon Achi from Nigeria kicked us off by challenging us in whether we are really committed to follow Christ or too comfortable in enjoying a lavish, by the world's standards, lifestyle.
- Scott Sterner got rave reviews for his Christian Micro-Enterprise Development 101 lecture.
- We looked at a case study of one of the most effective Christian MFIs, the Center for Community Transformation in the Philippines, and what we can learn from them in establishing Christ-centered microfinance programs.
- Abraham Thon, originally from the Sudan, and Leslie Engelsen guided us through a discussion on cross-cultural effectiveness after watching the excellent movie "God Grew Tired of Us".
- Val Boudreau led us through an assessment of our priorities in life and whether we are really living our lives by them.
- Dave Leach hosted his ever-popular annual game of Microfinance Jeopardy!
- We played games from Mexico and Nigeria and had a blast!
