TJCII training week in Austria

Back on mainland Europe, I went to Austria for a formation week of TJCII, to which I was invited. It was a formation for the diplomatic work of TJCII, that is, working with leaders within the Body of Christ. There was a very diverse group of us:

• 9 men and 5 women and our 3 teachers

• 4 continents, 11 countries

• Almost all denominational flavours from the Body of Messiah

We had an intensive, rich and groundbreaking week together. I think, above all, I learned to think more broadly. Besides the lessons we had, we also had to do exercises each time. Sometimes these were individual exercises, sometimes they were group exercises. I think we mainly learned to listen to each other and sometimes to keep our own opinions to ourselves (or adjust them). The two exercises that made the most impact on me were the life journey analysis and the privilege analysis. In the life journey analysis, we were asked to introduce ourselves using 4 topics:

• Key events

• Becoming a person of faith

• Traumatic experiences

• Key reconciliation experiences

At this, I was very impressed to hear what intense things actually everyone had been through in their lives and how much victory and recovery had taken place. In the privilege analysis, I was deeply touched as I began to realise what a privileged person I am! I had tears of gratitude running down my cheeks at one point as I realised how much God has taken care of me....