Well, it's officially the end of my first week at GSP, and man has it been an amazing week. I kinda don't know where to start!
As you know, I arrived safe and sound and the first few days were just about settling in and getting to know everyone. Glen Eyrie is just a beautiful place and you just can't go to somewhere like this without seeing something big at work. It is just such a blessing to wake up in the morning and see deep red and orange mountains right outside your window against a brilliant blue sky.
I've had the opportunity to get to know everyone on the GSP now, and there are people here from all over the world: England, Scotland, USA, Ghana, the Philippines, Mongolia, Kenya, the Netherlands, Japan, South Africa and Brazil! It such a huge merging of cultures here - it's great, especially as a psycholgist, to see how everyone interacts with one another and the difference and similarities between the different cultures and countries. And other than a minor tiff between England and Scotland (England is obviously better... you don't see Scotland in the world cup) everyone is getting along wonderfully.
Earlier this week we had the priviledge of going to the US International Navigator Headquarters that is located here at Glen Eyrie and we got to meet a wealth of amazing Navs who had some fantastic experiences and stories to share. We also had a seminar on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator personality test to identify not only differences in our cultures, but our personalities too. Surprisingly, all the team leaders came out as introverts, and only 8 out of the 34 people here are 'thinkers' compared to 'feelers'. Again, my inner psychologist was having a field day. For those who are interested, I came out as an INTJ - which is an Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Judging personality - a trait only found in 0.8% of women. For those of you who always thought I was especially weird, here is your proof.
We have also had out first week of work. So, as part of the GSP programme we help out at Glen Eyrie to cover some of our accommodation and food expenses - the GSP students all work 20 hours a week over 5 days, and team leaders work 12 hours over 3 days. I've been allocated to the kitchen, which means I'm helping prepare the food being served at the Glen and doing washing up duty. Anyone who has lived with me will find this wonderfully appropriate. For me, the kitchen is just an awesome place to work - I'm having a great time working there. It a really fast paced environment and there is always something to do, so the four hour shifts fly by. Oh, and there is an added bonus of being able to sample the food. For quality control of course.
So, for the Navs reading this, I'll let you in on our guest speaker list this summer:
*drum roll*
David Lyons
Donald Mcgilchrist
Esther Waruiru
Ian McIntosh
Mark Stebbins
Jim and Beth Luebe
Ruth Knutson
Jerry Bridges
Nabeel Jabbour
Jerry White
Randy Raysbrook
Eddie Broussard
Doug and Pam Nuenke
Tom and Dana Yeakley
Roger and Lynn Hamilton
Jim Peterson
Vic Black
Mike Jordahl
Paul Stanley
Mike Treneer
I mean, just look at that list of amazing people! I am so excited that I get to meet these world-famous Navs and reap some of their wisdom!
Oooh, I also found out that just before the end of the GSP they're holding a banquet for us... and it falls on my birthday! How cool is that?!
I'll leave you with some pictures taken this last week. And also with my apologies. I think this blog will have to be a weekly thing, because it's just so busy here I'm not having the time to blog that often. So, I hope you're all good with weekly updates!
Prayers: Please pray for the people suffering altitude sickness and home sickness, that God comforts and heals them here. Please pray that God moves powerfully and answers prayers here - for emotional, spiritual and financial needs for all the GSP crew.
Thank you, and much love.
xxxxx
P.S. - The photos are all taken at Glen Eyrie. The mountains photo is the view from my room, and the rest of the photos are taken all around the Glen. The red building is the Glern Eyrie Carriage House, where they kept the original horse and carriages!
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A leader is for the people. Absolutely introverts can be successful leaders. Introversion is a problem characteristic when introverts try to be something they are not i.e. extroverts - the painful equivalent of fitting a square peg into a round hole. Ouch!
ReplyDeleteHugs and prayers x