We did it! We graduated! And we met some amazing people in the process, which really did make it hard to say goodbyes and pack up. 
Whether it was our small group (elinc) or just working at the front desk for three semesters, I got to spend a lot of time with all sorts of people. Even now, it’s strange to realize I’m not going to see some of their faces in 3D for quite a while. I keep thinking Melanie or Cassy will stop by and visit me in the afternoons, but then I realize they’re far away! Those of us going to Asia Pacific region kept promising to meet for vacations in Bali just to make us feel better about parting. It sure made me feel better. 😉
And what in the world am I going to do without Ronda?! Who will be my no bling, no glam, no frills, dark-chocolate eating buddy? Who will help us find delicious food like Wok n Roll and this amazing little taco shop? I learned so much from her–besides getting addicted to Ghirardelli’s 72% dark chocolate. She taught me so much about a living, vibrant relationship with God!
And, of course, there was elinc–this is us eating Connie’s incredible Indonesian food. Talk about feeling loved. This was like being adopted into a whole new family.
I’ll never be the same because of these guys! I think we’re all bonded for life whether we like it or not.
One of the other highlights in this last semester was volunteering in childcare. I got to work every other week, sometimes with the little babies and sometimes with the munchkins. Kids are awesome. Having a toddler as friend is good for the soul. 
Plus, Addie and I were special buddies because I taught her how to dip food back when she was littler. Here Sonya had just given her a Christmas present of hummus and pretzel chips.To which she responded, “I dip? I dip?!” and then started clapping…a few minutes later she ditched the crackers and started using her whole hand, which was not my fault. What a kid after my own heart–hummus by the handful!
Funny thing about these guys (Cameron and Katy Pryor–and Gracia who was probably running around somewhere) is that we keep trying to get them to come to Asia Pacific and they keep trying to get us to go to West Africa with them! Who knows what will happen in the end. 😉 We’ll miss them for sure!
Jim and Connie put a lot of time and energy into our lives during our time at the MTC! We love them and thank God for their servant’s hearts.
This was our Green Gables team, minus Robert and Joel (staff guys). I think I can safely speak for both Payton and I when I say that our ministry team was probably the most powerful tool in training us for our future of ministry. Teamwork is hard and reveals so much about our motives and weaknesses. Both of us were transformed because of these people and what we walked through together as we ministered out at Green Gables!
We spent one of our last meals with the Walkers, which was only fitting since God used them to get us into this whole thing in the first place! But as you can see, it wasn’t just one or two people, God used a whole slew of teachers and even kids to impact us as we went through training. Praise God for the training program He had for us while we were at MTC!
Bali 🙂 #april2015
Congratulations on a job well done, I’m so proud of you two!
Awe!! I miss you! Love that picture of us four. Hugs! By the way, Cameron got his family to play Space Alert with him. One night they even convinced me to play…it’s still as boring as I remember lol! But we also got a new game called Pandemic, it’s pretty fun, you play as a team like Space Alert, but we haven’t won yet.