Refresher Course

Have you ever bumped into someone you haven’t seen for over twenty years?  That has been the experience for many of us here at ‘Refresher Course’ these past few days here in Camdenton, Missouri. 

Refresher Course is held once a year geared to refresh and update NTM missionaries home on furlough.  Bible teaching, seminars, workshops are intended to refresh and equip missionaries some of whom have been serving with NTM for more that thirty years. 

However, while the organized sessions have been wonderful, there is something about renewing acquaintances with friends we haven’t seen for many years.  We met a couple, Dave and Kathy Lanham, we haven’t seen since we were in training in Camdenton in 1984.  In fact, Dave was single when we were in training. 

An added bonus for us was to meet up with some dear friends from Papua New Guinea.  One couple, Brian and Susan Shortmeier, we actually met on the road on the way to Refresher Course.  Not only that, we get to meet face to face with missionaries whose names we have heard of on the mission grapevine over the years.

Volunteers have come to work in the kitchen that has provided over 500 meals three times a day for the week long course, others have provided the child care program for over 200 children while others have worked on missionaries’ cars, charging only for parts donating their time freely.

All in all, Refresher Course has certainly lived up to its name!