NavWest

There were many things that excited me about coming out to San Diego to minister:  The weather, the beach, being close to my siblings, going to a brand new place with new people where I would have to trust God immensely, a new and big campus to be a part of, new staff to work with, and many other things.  However, one of the biggest things that really excited me about the Sunland Region and being able to come to San Diego was what they call NavWest.  NavWest is a time of training for all of the EDGE Corps staff and the Staff in Training led by Lee and Deb Maschhoff. 

I love this training for a number of reasons.  It is a great time for all of the young staff to come together and get to know each other.  As I was one of the staffers coming from outside the region, I found this to be extremely beneficial in getting to know others in the region.  The staff in the region have been so incredibly welcoming, I now feel like part of the family.  I also love what we do during the training time.  In the morning we spend an hour discussing a Bible Study we had already prepared before getting there.  This study is called Route 66: A Bible Overview.  The study takes us through the entire Bible in two semesters.   Preparation for the Bible Study every two weeks requires about 2-4 hours of preparation and reading.  After the discussion on the study portion, we have an hour teaching session through the section of readings we had just discussed.  It's a great time of wrapping it all up and getting a clearer, bigger picture as to the character of God, his people, and what it all means for us as children of God.

Then, we all have lunch together, all of the EDGEr's and Staff in Training.  After lunch, one of the Nav Reps speaks for about an hour or so on different topics.  Some of the topics shared in the first quarter have been impossible prayer lists, creating environments of grace, fundraising, and how to lead Investigative Bible Discussions.  After these one hour sessions, the EDGEr's take off for the afternoon as the Staff In Training Bible Study takes place.  We all come back together for dinner and then have a different activity each week put on by Lee and Deb. 

I have loved these times for the relationships, but also for the spiritual growth and development.  It's been amazing to cover big chunks of the Old Testament every few weeks and see the bigger picture, and more and more clearly see the character of God.  One of the things that has been eye opening to me is seeing how, while God is a just God, he is also a very gracious God.  My thoughts about the Old Testament always were very clear cut and dry.  But, after studying the Old Testament closer and having some good teaching on the different books, it's been neat to see God is always following up his justice with grace. He is always giving man a chance.  When he kick Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, he also promises a solution to man being out of relationship with God.  After realizing many of these ideas it makes it more clear of God's love for his people, for his creation.