The Latest from George & Kathy Schultz
Submitted by adionne on Tue, 05/29/2012 - 8:31am
On May 3 I was test-riding a bicycle from a local shop thoroughly enjoying myself until I inadvertently ran off the edge of the road crashing into a ditch. To make a long and painful story short I ended up in the hospital with a broken right humerus/shoulder and a flesh wound requiring 10 stitches. Unfortunately, the wound got infected requiring two surgeries to clean it out along with copious doses of anti-biotics. I am doing much better now wearing an arm/shoulder immobilizer but still dealing with some pain. This will be a four-six week experience. Physical therapy starts next week. Not looking forward to that. (I am typing this left-handed one key at a time!)
I later learned this was a $10,000 bike, which ended up only with a broken chain! I must admit it was a pretty sweet bike! I didn't fare as well. Yet Psalm 91:11 reminds me of God's care. "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." It could easily have been much worse!
We are very encouraged to report that both our summer and fall enrollments are looking good. Please continue to pray with us that God would fill our classroom and other modules.
Training Window
At CIT we want to give the course participants opportunities to grow and learn through experience. One way we seek to accomplish this is through providing experiential learning activities (from simple to complex) in the curriculum. An example of a moderate activity from the Equipping class this last term was where the participants had to work together to get everyone across the “hot lava” by building bridges from “island to island” (aka wooden platforms out in the CIT parking lot!). It was a challenging task for the team, but much was learned in the process. In the debrief, we discussed how well they employed elements of an effective team like trust, clear communication, effective processes, accepted leadership, courageous followership, etc. We also had the opportunity to experience “failure” at meeting our goal (i.e. burning up a teammate in lava when the bridge collapsed) and discuss the importance of grace and forgiveness on a team when things don’t go as planned.
Student Comments from Spring Classes
“The training received at CIT has been an invaluable part of my adjustment to life and ministry in Central Asia.”
“Every missionary needs to take Equipping for Cross-cultural Life & Ministry at CIT. Don’t let your anxiousness to get to the field rob you of this valuable course. You won’t regret it. The facilitators at CIT care so much for God, the world, and your effectiveness with both. Just when you thought you were ready to go, you’re not…not without CIT.”
“The military have their boot camp to prepare them for battle. CIT is ours. I’m ready! Are you?”
“When my wife and I came here, we were very worried about learning a new language. We left knowing we can and we will. How do you put a price on that?”
“Before leaving, I’ve already referred a friend to this course. It’s energetic yet academic. It made language-learning fun but pushed me to evaluate myself in my strengths and weaknesses. CIT is highly motivated, sensitive, and the facilitators care about the students’ needs. CIT is informative and true “real life” language learning—no holds barred.”
“I entered this course wondering how there could be two weeks’ worth of information about language learning. But now I am leaving with a large tool box of effective language learning techniques, and a realistic understanding of the process and myself as a learner. I am so thankful I came to CIT before overseas.”
“The SLA training at CIT was top-notch preparation for thriving in a cross-cultural setting. They really emphasize the heart and attitude as key components to the SLA experience. I was afraid of the prospect of learning a new language, having failed at it in the past. This course gave me the confidence that in Christ, I can learn the language. It also gave me some excellent tools I can use on the ground.”