Debrief has Begun!

Our four Discoverers arrived back in Cotonou late Saturday evening; on Sunday they gathered with their leaders for a short debrief session and Volleyball on the beach.   Why debrief in in office when you can do it by the ocean, right? Well....at least to start: Monday they were back in the office for more discussions...then on Tuesday and Wednesday they switched gears to help with a computer training session (similar to what they had been doing in several villages the past few weeks) at a church near Cotonou.  

Thursday the team will again move into Debrief mode: on Friday they plan to travel to a beach resort in Grand Popo where they will remain through Tuesday as they continue to process their experiences and prepare for their re-entries. On Wednesday the participants will say their goodbyes to their host families and colleagues and begin their travels home, and Discover Benin will be over; well almost! The leaders will have their analysis and wrap up of how things went on Thursday, and on Friday Kate and John will (hopefully) begin their journeys home as well.  

One of the things we ask our Discoverers to do each year is to come up with three words that describe some of their experiences during their trip: I will let their thoughts be the final words in this posting:

Christoph:  1.       Eye-opening  2.       Delicious  3.       Fantastique

Gedeon:  1.       Formative  2.       Beneficial  3.       Interesting/fantistique

Matt:  1.       Stretching  2.       Eye-opening  3.       Surprising

Hypocrate:  1.       Participative  2.       Encouraging  3.       Fraternal

Kate put her three words together into this sentence: This experience was definitely challenging, but that was a good thing, because the challenges taught me about grace and obedience."