My First Week of Training

Hello Team!
As of yesterday I completed the first week of training. So much has happened that it is hard to believe I have only been here and known these people for seven days. This week has been mainly focused on giving us lots of opportunities to bond with fellow trekkers. Monday through Thursday we attended seminars that went into more detail about the program and introduced us to all the MBMSI staff we will be working with. On Friday we headed out in rental vans to spend the weekend in Whistler. The idea behind that was to give us a change of environment and a chance to get to know one another better. We had a photo scavenger hunt in the village on Friday and on Saturday six of us went on a 16km hike! The hike was beautiful. We crossed many waterfalls and streams throughout the whole thing. In the evenings we spent time sharing our testimonies and the stories of how we came to the TREK program. The first few days were a little awkward getting to know everyone, but after this weekend I feel much more comfortable.
The upcoming week.
I am super excited for the week that is coming up as the theme is “Hearing God's Voice”. Hearing God's voice is not something that I am too familiar with so I'm excited to hear what the Bible says on the subject and how other people think and feel about it. Please pray this week that as people share and I learn from their experiences and the Biblical truths they present, that I will be able to grasp what I am learning and apply it to my life. I don't want to hear each message and just understand it without allowing it to change my thoughts and actions. I've also been feeling extra tired lately (I've been taking evening naps!), so please pray that I will be able to sleep and feel rested when I wake up. Thanks Guys!
Carmen

Ps: I also discovered I have the skills to attach pictures, so here's one of my small group (LtoR: Me, Cheryl, Nathan, David) during the photo scavenger hunt in Whistler.

Hello Friends and Family!

As many of you already know I am currently in Abbotsford, BC and will be spending the next 10 months doing a short term missons program with the Mennonite Brethren Mission Service International (MBMSI), called TREK (www.mbmsi.org/trek/overview). I've decided to start a blog to keep everyone updated on what I'm doing and how they can be a part of my ministry.

Getting to TREK
In August of 2008 I went with a team of 10 from Westwood Church on a short term mission to Thailand. It was my first time out of North America and quite an eye-opening experience for me. While we were there we had a chance to work in both an urban church plant and an even newer church plant in a rural area (near lots of rice and fish farms!). I had never experienced third world conditions or seen missionaries work in a country where Christians are persecuted. I loved getting to know some of the people there and being a part of the ministry that was happening. While I was there I heard from one of the MBMSI missionaries we were working with about a program called TREK. That was the first time that the idea of doing a longer mission occured to me. Over the next year as I attended school at UNBC, TREK was in the back of my mind as something I would like to do in the future. This summer, as I was working as a volunteer at Ness Lake Bible Camp, I revisted the idea of doing the TREK program and tackled my reservations about going. I decided that it was something I wanted to do, and my reasons for not applying were insignificant. I applied midway though August and received an acception letter a few days later. As I started making my plans known and talking it over with people I trust, I began to realize that I was being called by God to go on this TREK mission.

In Abbotsford
So here I am, in Abbotsford, starting the 8 week training phase of TREK. I'm currently living in the Mark Centre (www.markcentre.org) with thirteen other TREKkers. We will all be training here together until November 6, and then we will be split into teams of four or five and sent to Thailand, Mexico or Ukraine for 7.5 months. (We find out our team members and assignment locations just over a week from now.) After our assignment phase we will return to the Mark Centre for a two week debrief. The training portion is geared towards strengthening our personal relationship with God, our relationship with other believers, and our relationship with other people groups in the world. We participate in all sorts of activites like group bible studies, bible memorization, personal quiet times and silent retreats, work duties, worship times, book studies and guest lectures and will cover topics like hearing God's voice, personal holiness, team/church building, evangelism, spiritual authority, cross-cultural training, and other practical mission-field preparation. The MBMSI mission is to see “holistic church planting that transforms communities among the least reached”, and while we are on TREK we will adopt this mission as well as the TREK mission of becoming “disciples who make disciples”. On the assignment portion of our program we will come alongside full-time MBMSI missionaries and help with church planting, teaching English, running kids programs, serving in orphanges etc. We also have reflection papers that we are required to write and send in to TREK leadership throughout the assignment phase.

Want to Join Me?
I would love it if you became a part of my journey through TREK and the ministry that I will be involved in. There are a few ways you can do this. First, there is no doubting the fact that I will need prayer support throughout my time in training and on assignment. I will be faced with many challenges in the field and in training and continual prayer that I will trust God with my life and actions, listen and obey his commands in my life and overcome obstacles would be greatly appreciated. Also, you can support this ministry throught the giving of your resources. The cost of TREK is $9500 for the ten months. I'm looking for about 20 people who will pledge $50 a month from September to June. If you are finacially able and willing to contribute you can send me an email with your mailing address and I will mail you a support form, or you can visit the MBMSI website at www.mbmsi.org and donate online. (My participant ID is 997539 and my project code is C7731). If you'd like to make a one time contribution you can phone the MBMSI office or just send a cheque in the mail to the MBMSI office with my name, project code, and participant ID on a separate sheet of paper. (All donations are tax deductible.) Finally, your words of encouragment and updates on what is going on in your life while I am on assignment will mean all the difference to me. Send me a message via facebook, email, or simply by post, on what you are doing and how I can pray for you! If you would like to receive newsletter updates in the mail, again send me an email with your address and I will see to it that that happens!

Thank you for being a part of my life and this new ministry opportunity! Feel free to email me any questions you may have.

Sincerely,
Carmen Ricard
cricard@pgonline.com

MBMS International
302-32025 George Ferguson Way
Abbotsford, BC V2T 2K7
CANADA