Going to [undisclosed location]?

We spent a nice leisurely afternoon today hanging out with some friends at a local park and playground. Interestingly enough, our friends are a GCC family that usually live in [undisclosed location at this time]. They are home for a few months and we hadn't really seen them too much until today. It was a nice afternoon.

They showed us some pictures, told us a bit about life overseas, told us some funny stories. Of course, we just have no idea what kind of reality living in another culture is really like. They have also followed SPACE since its inception and have been big fans of it. They are big enough fans that we spent a lot of time talking about what it would look like for them to host a SPACE team. Their excitement was practically written on their foreheads.

The idea of taking a team to their location scares me. Really scares me. I'm just way unsure of the whole deal. Most of it deals them living in [undisclosed location at this time]. In terms of both distance and culture difference, this would be huge. I think its okay to be scared, to a certain degree. Mission leaders take on huge levels of responsibilities.

On the flip side, I know if we were lead to send a team there, it would be fantastic - absolutely fantastic - because this family:
- lived in Howard County before and is one of GCC's own families
- has hosted multiple teams before, mostly college kids
- has already WELL thought through details dealing with:
* entry/jetlag/culture orientation
* housing with local families/churched/unchurched
* partnership with teams - what can visiting teams do, what do they need help with
* fun things to show visitors
* disaster and evacuation planning
* debriefing details and location

Today also confirmed for me, again, that there are cross cultural workers that would love for their sending churches to visit, encourage, and partner on the field. Not everyone can go, and these families can't host all the time, but if the conditions are right, these families would absolutely love visitors.

God will certainly speak to us about this one. And once He calls, once He paves the way and goes before us, we just go.

Image: Google Earth, where I spent a lot of time this evening, looking at [undisclosed location at this time]. K tried to see how fast she could spin the Earth. (FYI - The Earth spins at about 1083 miles per second.)