Post DTS Update

I have been home for a little over a week now and it is a little strange. I was back in Australia for a week to debrief and report back to the people in ywam Perth about what we did during outreach. That week back was good. We presented what we did and shared stories and pictures. We had a final one on one with our leader Matty. We also had a class talking about how to share with people from home and how to keep growing with our relationship with Christ even though we are back at home. It was great. On Friday with 14th, I officially graduated. It was laid back and fun with so much cheering. The weekend was filled with time hanging out with friends, buying souvenirs and gifts, taking people to the airport, and hanging out at the beach. With that much free time I hardly knew what to do with myself. I had been so busy for the past 6 months so free time was weird; I didn't know what to do with myself.

I left Monday night and there were tears at the airport, specifically on the first flight. I was excited to go home, but was sad to leave the place that I had been for 6 months and the people who I had grown to love. It was weird. I got home late Tuesday night, after 37 hours of travel and lay overs. It was entirely too long. When I got to the final airport, I ran to my mom and she hugged me so tight. I cried because I was so happy to be back home. It has been interesting and surreal to be home. I have loved being with family and friends, but it has been 6 months so it's almost hard to believe that I'm back to 'normal' life. I visited people at church, shopped with my family, caught up with friends, eaten lots of Mexican food, and have done heaps of laundry. It has been good. One very important thing happened. I went into work and resigned. Yep, I resigned. The reason I did this was because I am planning to go back to Australia for two years of volunteer work. Some of you may have already heard, but surprise to the rest :) I have been praying about it for a while, so it is not a last minute decision. I applied a while back, but nothing official happened till I graduated on the 14th. I also did not want to say anything until I got  a chance to resign and talk to my work. They deserved to know directly and for me to talk to them face to face. They have treated me so well and it has been an honor to work with them.I am hoping to go back to Perth mid February to work with two different ministries and to go on outreach February 25th. One ministry I will be a part of is called Revive. Thy regularly work with indigenous Australian kids doing therapy to help bring about healing holistically. This is so needed because there is so much hurt due to family abuse, sexual abuse, drug abuse, etc. The outreach will kind of launch the second part of the ministry. The vision is to partner with local ministries in third world countries and ultimately teach them how to do the therapy we already do, train them to work with Special Ed kids, basically partner with them to help the kids that most of the world has forgotten or chides to ignore. That is one ministry, the other one I would be helping to pioneer. The woman, who I have been praying for since December 2009, has been commissioned to start a women's half way home. The idea is to help women who are from the detention centers, former prostitutes, or women wanting to come in from indigenous communities and break free of he negative cycles of drug, alcohol, and physical abuse. I am really excited to work with these women and to create this ministry with this woman. I am so excited to go and do these ministries. While I am doing this I will also be taking a class that meets once a week. It is titled certificate IV Christian missions (c4cm). It is a 2 year course about being a missionary and the history of missions. It will be a great class.The had part of only being home till mid-February is raising funds and prayer support. When I was praying about how to do this, I felt led to do it more personally, via face to face, phone, and Skype conversations, as well as group get togethers, and speaking at churches. I have to raise both financial support to go back in addition to monthly support. I am aiming for a total of $8000 to get back/immediate outreach and between $1500-$2000 a month. If you want more information or have questions please feel free to contact me.Prayer points:
-opportunities to share with people about the last 6 months
-continued God honoring communication as I share about the future
-Australian visa for 2 years
-financial support
-thanking God for already blessing me with $1000 for return cost and $450 for monthly
I will keep you all in the loop about the future. It's really exciting.
I will keep you all in the loop about the future. It's really exciting.

-for me family, there are some health problems

Antipolo Base

I just returned from the Philippines and now I am in Perth for report back week, which is sharing what happened during outreach and then debriefing and processing what we did and saw and getting ready for the future.  Antipolo base was the last place we were in the Philippines.  It was a great place to end outreach.  The base is on the side of a hill overlooking Manila and it is beautiful and very much like the jungle.  I did have a run in with a tiny snake the slithered under my foot, but a guy on the team was kind enough to kill it for me.  We were packed with ministry once again, but it was so good.  Here is what we did.

Children’s Ministry:

Every Thursday a group of kids come from the area to the base for a time of Bible study, worship, and games.  The kids range from 4-14.  We would do worship together and tell a Bible story to the younger kids (who I mostly worked with).  Then we would give a brief teaching and play games with them.  The older kids had teaching, testimonies, and small groups.  It was really good.  We built relationships with the kids and encouraged them to pursue Christ. 

Campus Ministry:

On Tuesdays and Fridays, we would go into two different high schools and teach an English class.  We then would go into different classrooms, who’s teachers invited us, and do ice breakers, skit, share our stories, and give a word for the students.  We often ended the class time answer kids questions and offering prayer.  We had a lot of great conversations with kids and they really opened up.  In one of the high schools about 70% of the students have reported abuse in their home…that is just the opens brave enough to report it.  So there is a lot of hurt to help the kids’ process through and to speak value into them.  On the last Tuesday, we were in we did 4 assemblies, each 1.5 hours.  I was chosen as the main speaker and I talked about value and self-worth.  It was translated and we had skits, testimonies, and a guy from our team rapped for the kids too.  It was an amazing opportunity and it hit a lot of kids.  I spoke a lot about how words affect us and talked about bullying too.  It was an honor to be asked to do this and the students responded well.

Children’s Open Air:

Every Saturday, the Children’s ministry goes into three different communities, when they have enough staff, and does a program and the whole community is invited.  There are games, songs, skits, testimonies, and a teaching.  We did this three Sundays.  It was great to see different groups of kids and really get them excited and share God’s love with them.  We saw a lot of kids come from other communities to see and hear us.  We were a novelty being foreign, but that led to kids hearing about God.  Some adults ended up accepting Christ because of the testimonies they heard.  We saw a lot of people who were hungry for truth.  We also did home visits in the slum community one of these Saturdays to the families who came to the open air.

Mother’s Ministry:

I was not a part of this, but every Wednesday and Thursday three girls from the team went to a Mother’s Bible study.  These mothers were of the children whose school fees are being paid for through YWAM’s child sponsorship program.  This month’s topic was quiet times.  The girls had an amazing time and had deep relationships with the mothers. 

Evangelism:

We did a lot of evangelism in the local community we were in as well as at the local mall.  The people in the Philippines love their malls.  We did this about 2-3 times a week.  The most stand out conversation for me was with an Ace Hardware employee.  He approached us and started to talk to Joy, Nathan, and I.  We asked him questions and he asked us where we are from and why we are in the Philippines.  We shared with him why we were there and what out purpose is.  He was surprised and shared about his own faith.  He was a former Catholic but switched to a ‘church’ to be with his girlfriend.  It turns out that this ‘church’ is actually a cult.  We had heard of it before.  He mentioned that he wants truth…so we asked him if he ever read about any religions.  He said no.  So Joy and I went and bought him a Bible in Tagalog and encouraged him to read it for himself and make up his own mind.  He was surprised that we would give him a gift even though we just met him that day.

Work Duties on Base:

We helped out with base work daily (dishes and food prep), but we also did work duties on base.  The guys cleared out an empty lot with machetes, the girls swept, and I was put in charge of organizing the hospitality closet.  It was very dust, so thank you allergy meds!

Thursday Night Meeting:

Every Thursday night they have a base wide meeting with worship, announcements, skits, testimonies, and speaker.  One Thursday, we were asked to run it.  So our team did worship, the School of Worship did a skit, our leader Ali did a special song she wrote, and I was the speaker.  It was scary for me to prep for that.  I felt very heavy over speaking to adults, but that was ok because it meant I was very specific and careful with my words.  What I said was totally given to me by God because a lot of it was revelation over God’s word that I had not had before.  So thank you God for speaking through me. 

Speaking in Churches:

We went to two different churches and at the second one we were asked to give testimonies and do a skit.  Sarah and Danny shared and the group did a skit.  The church was encouraged by what we shared and was excited to have us. 

Orphanage:

One day we were asked to go to an YWAM orphanage.  It was amazing.  The home has 26 kids.  They take in children that most others don’t, such as undocumented children, street children, foster kids, and kids with disabilities.  The typical orphanage just takes babies that are up for adoption.  I fell in love with a little boy named Anthony.  When we first got there were played catch and we were laughing and having fun and I was hugging and tickling him.  I held him and he got up and ran away.  It was weird.  About 5 minutes later he came back crying.  I tried to talk to him and I took him into my arms.  I said to him “You are beautiful; you are smart; God loves you; and I love you.” After each line he was whisper a yes.  For the rest of the day, he wanted to be held, cuddled, encouraged, read to, and just loved on.  He is amazing and only 4 years old, but has seen many hard things.  He is in the orphanage with 3 other siblings, yet there are 16 of them altogether.  He is an amazing young boy…please pray for him.

Anthony

That is mostly what we did while we were at the Antipolo base.  There are a few other little things, but those are the big ones.  I will be back in the states on the evening of the 18^th…so please pray for safe travels.  See you all soon :)

Balut Base

We just left Balut for another base in the Philippines called Antipolo, so I thought I would take some time to reflect. Our time at the Balut base was amazing.  It was in a part of town called Tondo.  If you watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_Ht_19N8Uw you will get a glimpse of what it is like here.  This is a video called World’s Toughest Place to be a Bus Driver.  It really shows the type of people we are ministering to and what life is like for them.  During out time in Balut, we were so busy.  We spent most of our time in the permanent housing of Smokey Mountain (an old garbage dump that the government has turned into housing) and then the new dump village where people have build homes that they can scavenge for things to sell.  I am going to do a quick run down of the different ministries we were apart of.

Feeding Programs: We did this for children in the dump village and families who had children with TB (Tuberculosis) and their children who have TB.  People from our group would get up at 7am prepare the food and then we would go run a program for the kids: songs, Bible skit, and short Bible teaching.  Then they would get to eat.  It was amazing to have so many people come for obvious reasons, food, but then want to hear so much more after.

Elementary Program: This program was every Saturday morning for kids who are sponsored through YWAM Balut.  The sponsorship provides for all of their school needs.  We would start with games, then do songs (always with hand motions), a Bible skit, and then a teaching.  We would end our time praying for the kids and playing with them.  I did the teaching for the kids the second Saturday and it was really good :) It made me miss elementary education.

TB Bible Study: This was once a week and was for the families of kids with TB, who are getting treatment through YWAM.  It is kind of like a support group, but so much more.  Typical set up is worship, testimony, and teaching.  There is at the end lots of prayer and fellowship where we got to minister and encourage the parents and play with their kids.

High School Ministry: This was a huge part of what we did.  Friday nights were a small group ministry for kids in the permanent housing of Smokey Mountain.  Then there were two different ones on Saturday: one at permanent housing and the other at the dumpsite.  We did two different programs based on the two different groups that planned.  All three had worship and teaching.  The small group ministry was very personal and filled with application.  The other two had games for icebreakers and testimonies.  I taught the first Saturday about grace and mercy and I shared my testimony this past Saturday about how being holy is not the same as pleasing others…that has been a huge lesson for me.  By the end of our time, I had a group of students who want to be teachers asking me to pray for them and their college entrance exam.  They are normally so shy that this is HUGE!

College Ministry: This was on Wednesday nights and we only got to go once, which was a bummer.  We had worship, a skit called the sin chair, two testimonies, a teaching, and then prayer small groups.  All of the girls in my small group were 16 or 17.  They start college very young here and it was great to really connect with them.  I got to hear about their struggles and pray for them.  I also shared about how God can use whatever you do with your future for His glory.  We are called to serve Him and show His love where ever we go and whatever we do.  It was great!

Day Care Program: This is a two parter.  We helped to care for babies that are either level 2 or 3 malnourished.  Their parents drop them off there in the morning and then pick them up at night.  The day care helps to get them better and develop them.  It is partly how YWAM Balut came to be and is therefore one of their oldest ministries.  The other part is a Bible study for the mothers of present and past babies in the day care.  I did the teaching the first week we were there.  I spoke about God’s love.  When I first started to plan I didn’t fully realize that was where God was taking me, but it was perfect because the testimony that Joy and Ali shared matched perfectly.  So good!

Home Visits: We spent a few hours every other day visiting people that have been connected to these programs at one point or another.  The main purpose was to go, pray, and encourage.   We would average 5-10 homes in a day.  It was so good!  On one specific day, we were visiting families of the elementary ed sponsored students.  We went into the home of a boy named Jovani, which made me think of my Italian roots and my students from home.  We started by talking with him and his mother.  At one point, the mother shared about her struggle of being a different faith background from her husband.  She had prayed to statues in her past and had never been told that she could pray and speak to God directly; in fact that is what He so longs for.  I shared more and she asked more questions.  She accepted Christ that day.  When I was praying with her she started to cry and when I asked her why she was crying, she said it was because she was filled with joy. I then started to cry…of course.  SO AMAZING!

Friendship Evangelism: This just means making friends and getting to know them and showing Christ’s love through the way we carry ourselves.  The place we did was at the local hand out…the round about.  There are places to sit and everyone goes there to hang out.  There are people playing badminton, dancing, visiting, playing music, training their dogs, etc.  It was very eye opening to just go and it be normal to just strike up a conversation with a total stranger.  It was refreshing in fact.  The last night we did this I met a woman named Bang and her son Rain.  I prayed for him because he was sick.  I then met her one friend who was drunk and her other friend who was a tricycle driver, Johnson.  He was an interesting guy and very intellectual, it was mentally exhausting, but it was a great opportunity to have God speak through me and give me the words.  Please be praying for them.

Well that is what we did in Balut…hope that sheds some light on the past few weeks.  Write more soon :) About a month left, I can hardly believe it!

  

Kimberley’s Update

The moment you were waiting for is finally here…an update on outreach.  Outreach in the Kimberley’s was amazing!  I was so blessed and my heart will be forever changed.  At first, I was scared and focused on the question, “What if I actually don’t like working with Indigenous Australians?” I have had that calling for years now, but what if as I am doing it I hate it?  Well it turns out I LOVE IT!  Our time went by so fast and I wish we could have stayed longer.  In order to keep this somewhat short, I will give one highlight from each town we were in.

Kununurra: I was asked to speak at a church BBQ.  It was very casual, but I still prayed about it and really asked God what he wanted me to share.  I got to share about the fact that God would call someone from the other side of the world to minister to them.  I really spoke about how this shows the love of Christ to them and how they are not a forgotten people, but one that He wants to lavish with love.

Fitzroy Crossing: We worked with a sporting festival and then did ministry in smaller communities.  The most meaningful time for me was the last day of the sporting festival.  I was helping to run a kids program: games.  On that day a girl named Rowina was stuck on me like glue.  She asked me a million questions.  Part of the sport festival’s request was that we not share about our faith unless the kids ask, so it wasn’t planned, but she asked me about my tattoos and that led into talking about Christ.  It was so good and she asked me a million questions about me, life, my faith, etc.  She just wanted to be loved on and cared for and I was happy to do that.

Noonkanbah: We went to this very, very small town to run the kids program for a church conference.  The best part, besides afternoon swims in the river with the kids, was the last night of the conference.  I was speaking about how God made each of us with care, love, and being an individual.  What I said was so led by God and was amazing.  I shared about my history of being bullied for being different.  I shared Psalm 139 where it talks about being woven together in your mother’s womb.  I showed a bracelet that I had taken a lot of time to create.  I spoke about how much care I had put in and how much more care God put into creating each one of us.  I then had the kids share about one thing that they like about themselves, since being shamed is such a large part of their culture.  We ended the night by dancing to the song “Mean” by Taylor Swift.  The kids loved it!  About 15 of them later chose to be part of God’s family.

Looma: Twice we got to go down to the river, very far away, and play with the kids.  I really loved playing with the kids and just going where they go, jumping where they jump, and playing what they play.  It was always Miss Miss and Watch this Watch me do this.  It was amazing to really give them time and love them the way they deserve.  We spent almost all of our time with these kids…if they could they would have slept in the youth center with us. 

Broome: There were a lot of great ministry times with the church, but my favorite day would have to be my birthday.  I will admit that is me being a tad selfish, but it was a great day.  I started the day out by skyping my parents.  We went to church, we had a prayer meeting after lunch, and then the guys who live next to the church (youth pastor and his two friends), threw a BBQ for our team. This is how my leader Matty and I spent our birthday (same day!).  We had sausages, bits of steak, pork of some sort, CAKE, and other goodies.  I got to run into the ocean with my clothes on (twice), have a moonlight swim, be driven on the sand, have a night birthday drive through Broome with tour, car dance party (safe I promise), and a volleyball game where I got super sandy.  It was a great way to spend a birthday and I had amazing people to spend it with.

Those are the towns we were in and the highlights of my trip.  I have added some photos and have way more on facebook.  So check them out.  More updates to come…we have Internet in the Philippines because we are on YWAM bases.  Thanks for reading. 

I am leaving on an...orange bus!

I am leaving for outreach tomorrow morning.  I can hardly believe that three months has gone by so quickly.  I will be leaving on a big orange bus at 7am tomorrow morning.  I am excited and nervous.  I have a bunch to get done today, so this will be a short post.  I will be out of contact for the next three months, minus a short post here or there when we are in a bigger city with wi-fi.  Here are some prayer points:
-My health, have a spring cold...it is spring here...it's not too bad
-My team unity, constant prayer request
-That I stay concentrated on the hear and not be focused on the future
-The hearts of the people that we serve
-For safety in travel, camping, and service
-The Indigenous Australians cultural understanding, on our end
I will be back from the Kimberley's on October 27th or 28th and then leave for the Philippines the following day.
Thank you so much for all of your support.  I would love all of your prayers!

Perth People

While many of you may think that being on a YWAM base that I would only be friends with YWAM people...for the most part you would be right.  However, there are a couple of people that I have gotten the amazing opportunity to hang out with and get to know through YWAM that are not YWAMers themselves.  There are a couple of brothers (Joel and Jesse) from a church that a staff member attends that have been attending Friday Night Meeting (FNM).  I first met them one night after the FNM out in Northbridge when some of us were out for bubble tea (a common YWAM occurrence).  The following week, I got to know them better after that FNM.  That Sunday was the Music DTS concert.  They came and brought two of their friends also from church.  I instantly feel in love and bonded with their friend Beth.  She is so much fun and has so many questions about DTS, she is hoping to do a DTS next summer (possibly music). She is just so sweet and personable.  I also met their friend Jake.  I have seen them on occasion since then.  Beth came to the April DTS' graduation and we got to chat when I was on break from my lectures.  On Friday night, after the meeting, we went out as a large group for late night coffee and played random games in the cafe.  It was really a great opportunity to bond.  I am kind of sad though because I am leaving on outreach and she is moving 45 minutes away for a nanny job.  However, this Sunday because the family that drives me to church with is on a weekend holiday, I went to church with them.  It was so great to sit by Beth and pray with her.  Also after church, we were treated to lunch by Jesse.  He has really displayed a servant and giving heart.  He is so willing to give of his time, his money, and his car for transportation.  Before lunch, we were invited into the brothers' family home for a bit.  Their dad actually picked us up from the train station before church.  Their family is so loving and inviting and kind.  Getting to know them has been such a great reminder to me about how God is displayed through people in all different ways and places.  Doing evangelism every week, I have meet some people who are not kind or caring and it has been wearing on me.  However, God has really used these four to show me His love through the local church body in Perth.  It was so God's timing after a long hard week to be loved on by fellow believers who are not from YWAM and who I do not know well or see everyday.  Thank you God for using your body of believers to encourage me and love on me.

PS I will be doing one more post before I leave for outreach next Sunday morning.  After that they might be few and far between due to lack of Internet when I am in the Kimberley's and the Philippines.  I will write an update when I have a three day break back at base between the two and another one for sure when we are here for report back week.  Thanks for reading :)

Things that Paul Hawkins Says

This week we had a speaker named Paul Hawkins.  He has been in YWAM forever and is amazing.  Here is a link to a blurb on him: http://www.christianrenewalcenter.org/phawkins.htm (please ignore the outdated camp registration).  Paul is known for his amazing one liners...they are gems.
-We need to be intolerant of what God is intolerant of.
-What you believe about God will determine what you believe about everything else.
-God holds back blessings at times because He wants us to grow in faith and spiritual muscles.
-Christians never have financial problems, they are financial opportunities to receive from God.
-We know we win the war, but we need to fight to win the battles in the mean time.
-We need to use the equipment God gave us to learn to be in communication with Him.
-I'm praying this stuff and I'm thinking this is crazy.
-What was God doing? He was rubbing satan's face in it.
-If your theology leads you to question God's goodness, then change your theology.
-The greater the test of faith, the greater the possibility for lasting fruit.
-God has control over all things, but He doesn't control everything because he wants to be relationship with us.
-If your not going to do what God says, don't ask Him. It's worse.
-My potential is in my will and God's will is my potential.
-Whatever you obey is your god.
-Sometimes the warfare is just getting out there, pushing through, stepping out in faith.
-The devil doesn't want to population to grow because it decreases his influence.
-Your feelings are real, but they are not always truth.
-We need to ask, "God what are you saying that I'm not getting?" NOT "What are you trying to say?"
-Man doesn't live on bread alone, but on every spoken word of God.
-It pays to hear God's voice....literally.
-Money is not the issue, the will of God is the issue.
-Those who pray for the nations, God will send them to the nations.
-When the pressure is on the cream comes to the top.
-Judging is coming to a conclusion before having all the information.
-Just because you see something that needs to be done doesn't mean you're the one who needs to do it.
-You must not underestimate the significance that God can do through you through prayer and intercession.
-God is just looking for people who are available.
-It is globalism that wants us to say we all believe in the same god.
-All the enemies of God are found in scripture.
-Satan wants to destroy our intimate relationship with God.

There were so many more, but these were the ones I felt called to add. I was so blessed this week in so many ways: spiritually, emotionally, in friendships, and by words.  Thank you again for all of your support, love, prayer, and encouragement.

PS I love comments :)

Gardener

This week I did my chapel talk for my DTS.  This is basically like a mini-sermon where I focus on an attribute of God.  I chose to talk about God as a gardener...the ultimate gardener.  I gave everyone paper and a marker (they could take more then one if they wanted) and told them I was going to read a Bible passage twice: John 15-17.  The first time I asked them to just listen and the second time I would read a different version and asked them to draw what God was showing them.  I also played some Jon Foreman solo music after that.  This is the passage:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. ⁷ If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. ⁸ This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰ If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹² My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. ¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

Then I started to share how God has been my Gardener.  I talked about an experience where I was hurt deeply by a few friends and how through that God showed me that those friendships were not bearing fruit or if they were that it was bitter tasting fruit.  Also that He wanted to prune that branch away so that new fruit may grow and be abundant.  I also shared how for almost the entire time of me being here, God has given people pictures involving nature and plants related to me: a North American Willow about to bud, a field of flowers being cut away and regrowing so they covered the whole ground after, being the apple of God's eye, and God breaking up hard soil so that a new seedling and break through (to just name a few).  As I was speaking God gave me words about how if we are to be God's branches we need to flexible.  When a vine is growing it needs to be flexible so that is can be weaved through the lattice.  It was really cool.  I encouraged everyone to be flexible so that God can totally guide us and so that we can do whatever He calls us to.  

The really cool thing about God leading me to share about how we all need to be flexible is that the next day Matty (my leader) asked us all to be flexible.  Our first outreach location changed!  We will be sending the first 5 1/2 weeks in the Kimberleys in Australia.  We will be working in the Indigenous Australian population.  I am soooo excited.  I might have shed a tear or two when Matty told us.  I am praising God for this opportunity.  It will be such a blessing.  We will no longer be going to East Timor, but will still go to the Philippines.  We will also be pairing up with the Sport DTS for our time in the Kimberleys.  It is so exciting.  Keep us all in your prayers.

Time Sensitive/Urgent

We NEED YOUR HELP!

We need to have all of our outreach fees in by next Wednesday (less then a week). Our school as a whole needs just shy of $21,000. That is a lot! I want to encourage you guys to pray and seek if God is calling you to donate ANY AMOUNT! Any little bit will help! If does need to be a credit payment because of the time constraint.

If you are going to do this:
#1 Thank you so much!
#2 Here is how:

-Under money details chose donation/gift
-Chose a student
-Chose Discipleship Training School-July
-Click someone else
-Type my name (It will end up in the whole school outreach account)

THANK YOU SO MUCH, AGAIN!

https://www.ywamperth.org.au/007/payonline.asp

Lordship Rocked My World

I originally thought that repentance and forgiveness was going to be my hardest week and for one reason I was right...I was reluctant and scared that week.  However, this past week was Lordship and that was difficult for a whole other group of reasons.  This week was really in your face and challenging, in the best way possible.  The part that really hit home was the fact that if we truly choose to follow Christ we have no rights because He is the Lord of our life.  These are the list of rights that we were challenged to submit.

1. The right to a certain career or future plan.
2. The right to a good reputation.
3. The right to possessions and money.
4. The right to family and friends.
5. The right to protection and safety.
6. The right to health.
7. The right to be right.
8. The right to time or your timing.
9.The right to be angry.
10. The right to my preferred lifestyle/world standards.
11. The right to your country, culture, and home.
12. The right to be in control.
13. The right to get married or not get married.
*the ones in bold are the ones I struggled with.

I felt very challenged by the letting go of these rights, but due to all the great things that have happened over the past 7 weeks, I was willing to lay them down at Christ's feet and trust Him.  Once I laid these rights down and tore up a marriage book to represent all of them, I felt so free and light.  It is really hard to explain this, but it was as is there had been a constant buzzing and weight on my shoulder that i had just gotten use to and then once I chose to give them over to God, I realized how I should have been feeling the whole time.  It was amazing and I am so thankful for not having to carry these around with me.  

Make a Joyful Noise

Every Thursday evening, our whole base does city wide evangelism.  We get into groups of 6-8 people and pray about where and what God would like us to do.  We meet at 4:30pm and we head back to base at around 7pm.  This is how I met Anthony and sang with him on the street.  I also was invited to join a group from a burger joint at their BBQ.  Two weeks ago, I went into a frame shop, an Asian grocer, and a book store.  I had two good conversations about religion in general and what I (an American) am doing in Australia.  Every time I was not the one to lead the conversation, my partner was, and I was really down on myself about this.  What am I afraid of? These people I will most likely never see them again, so why not be bold?  They don't know me, so what does it matter what they think of me? This week my group prayed and we felt called to go into the city and sing worship songs in front of a coffee shop (Gloria Jeans actually).  We had two guitar players in our group, a few great singers, some cheesy dance moves, and a joyous spirit.  As we were performing, I saw one guy sitting on the bench playing close attention to us.  I felt like I should go talk with him, but once again I got nervous.  My friend Arielle gave me a kick that I needed and just told me to go talk to him.  So I grabbed my buddy Walker and we went over and introduced ourselves.  His name is Fransisco and he is from Colombia.  This was at 5 something and we ended up talking with him until well after 7.  He was really drawn to us because of our guitars, he is looking for a teacher.  He also said that we had a joy about us that many of the other street performers did not have.  A girl from a second level school named Addie and I talked to him that whole time (Walker went to sing to other people on the street).  We got into a pretty deep conversation about world religions and why Addie and I chose to follow Christ.  He has chosen to have a view where he takes the best of all different religions and make them into what he believes.  It was also so clear that God is pursuing him.  He even said that anytime he is runs into difficulties, there are a group of Christians there to either help or pray for him. I asked him if he thought that that could be God reaching out to him.  He said God wouldn't do that.  I then got to share about how God wants to have a personal relationship with us through Christ and talk about my own faith.  There was never a moment where I did not feel a leading of what to do or what to say.  It was amazing.  I even used the tattoo on my wrist to talk about my dedication to the Lord, see Dad God has a plan for my tattoos :)  He exchanged numbers with a Music DTS student to get guitar lessons and he had a lot of questions.  Afterwards I was filled with energy and excitement.  It was great to be bold about my faith and ask him questions about why he believed what he believes.  It was really exciting.  I am really looking forward to next Thursday!

Relationship and a weekend get away

This week's topic was relationships.  Our speaker was Ben McClure, who is from New York, but has been on staff at YWAM Perth for a long while.  He was really great at weaving scripture with stories with application.  It was wonderful to have him as our speaker.  He first talked about what our relationship with God needs to look like.  He really made us think about the qualities of a good friend and that those are the qualities that God already possesses and we need to work on our end of the friendship.  He then spoke a lot about what our unity and friendships in a body of believers needs to look like.  That was very convicting and I realized that I really need to work on my own end of friendships and as a believer in a fellowship.   I really felt conviction with what Ben had to say about being committed to leadership and a vision.  He said "If God has called us to a vision, it is the WHOLE vision".  Often in the past, I have been known to question the direction of a team, or the choices of the leader.  I realized that I need to either get on board, because God has appointed that leader, or pray about if that is the vision I am suppose to be committed to.  The last two days he spoke about guy/girl romantic relationships.  At the start of the DTS, another student had given me this sermon to listen to and think about:
http://www.gccweb.org/podcasts/episode-505/Swerver-Reloaded_Bill-Young-and-Steele-Croswhite.mp3/download

I thought it was good.  What Ben had to say was for the most part aligned with that.  However, Ben made the realize that it doesn't have to be so serious in our expectations...just because we are praying about dating someone does not mean we should assume that that person will be our spouse. God wants us to really get to know that person with healthy boundaries before we start praying about marriage.  It was good to hear...it also took a lot of pressure off from hearing from God about my future husband.

My weekend was a weekend with God...hence the getaway.  I spent from Friday night 10pm to Sunday 10am with God...alone.  He had called me to this last Friday and I spoke with my leaders and they approved.  I knew it had to be God asking me to do this because I would never want to spend so much time by myself without other people (if you really know me you know that this is true).  The weekend was really great.  God was so faithful in speaking to me and showing me why He called me away.  Here are somethings that I got out of the weekend:

There are a few other things but I am still processing through those.  Miss you guys.  Let me know what you think...aka leave comments.  

-God wants my full attention and wants to come first in how I spend my time

-Even if I am away from people I should not feel lonely because God is my comfort and wants to talk with me

-That being where God has called me to be (in His will) is what gives me peace about being here...not the people I am in fellowship with


That is all for right now...I am still prcessing through a couple of things that God spoke to me.  Thanks so much for taking the time to read this blog post.  Miss you guys.

Top 10 Reasons I Love Being Here

I thought I would mix it up with a totally random post about the fun/amazing things that I love about being here (not saying that I don't miss people or things about home).  Some of them are funny, some of them are spiritual, and some are very random.

10: BEACHES. Yes Dad I have been to the beaches, however, I have only gone in ankle deep, so safe from the sharks.  The beaches are beautiful and peaceful (might be because it is winter here).  I love the sand, the smell, and the waves. 

9: Random people I meet.  I have had so many opportunities to meet random people.  This is either through staff friends, evangelism night, and going out into the city.  They have been friendly and welcoming.  It has made me feel at home.

8: Wednesday night bake nights. Wednesday evenings are our free night or study night.  A few of us have turned it into a baking evening where there may be random dancing, singing Disney songs, and/or watching movies.  I have been so excited for these nights.  It is at the sport dts student and staff house and the boys have loved the cookies. 

7: Working in the Café.  I have been so blessed by getting the work duty of the café.  Yes I have to clean the bathrooms, but I am so lucky with the fact that I get to combine things that I love: coffee and people.  I LOVE making coffees and chatting with people as I make it.  Even on days that are totally crazy I still love it.

6: Finding out where outreach will be.  We found out on that we are going to East Timor and Philippines.  I had never heard of East Timor before, but from what I have heard and read, it will be an amazing country to visit and serve in.

5: My fellow 228ers and 228 itself.  So in the past I have thought that I would enjoy living communally.  Well I was right.  I love living with 47 other people.  We have about 23 guys and 24 girls in one house…camp style.  I have a top bunk that I really like and I enjoy always having someone to hang out with. 

4: My ‘brothers’.  Three guys have adopted me as their big sister.  They have been so amazing and have made me feel so loved and special in a totally brother/sister way.  It has been encouraging and brought me so much joy.

3: My team. I have an amazing team with great leaders and I feel so fortunate.  They are all so different and have been encouraged and blessed by many of them.  My leaders have been encouraging and challenging (in the sense that they want me to grow).

2: Eagle Creek Community Church.  That is the church I have been attending since I have gotten here.  It is mostly Aboriginal families, but there are also families from New Zealand and Papa New Guinea.  There are some students I have already connected with and I have been asked to help out there already.

1: Realizing that God is revealing Himself to me.  This one is a little strange and complicated, so if you want more details email me, but basically it was on Wednesday and way amazing.

I NEED BLOG POST IDEAS SO PLEASE POST SUGGESTIONS!

*Disclaimer...most of the list is not in actual order of like so do not be offended by the order*

Wait, what did that email say?

On Friday morning, I woke up not feeling well.  There are a bunch of people on base and at 228 that have had colds, the flu, and various other viruses.  I have tried to be good like my mom and dad asked me.  I have been attempting to go to bed early, drinking enough liquid for my whole DTS, and bundling up (since it is winter here). But alas, I have not been feeling well.  So I text my leaders and let them know I was going to sleep through morning exercise (6am) and attempt to make it to family chores at 8am.  I have had a rough week with feeling physically drained and generally exhausted.  I have had high spirits and been so blessed emotionally and spiritually, so that has been such a blessing.  However, on Friday morning, I was getting discouraged with not feeling well (it really started on Sunday).  When I got to base for family chores, I had sometime to check my email.  I finished an email to my pal Sam Pollock (shout out!) and then looked at what was in my inbox.  There was some junk from Walgreen's, a couple sweet emails from family and friends, and something from my loan company.  I read the one from the loan company very carefully.  I literally shouted "PRAISE GOD!" when I get done.  I might have scared some fellow DTSers who were not quite awake.  The email was a reply to my question if my loan forgiveness had gone through...the answer was YES!  My loan from my undergrad and master's program for $17,500 was forgiven because I had taught as a special ed teacher for 5 years.  How amazing is that!  I had put in for the loan forgiveness back in May and was basically waiting in anticipation for the government's answer.  I feel so blessed! I had been praying for it to go through without any issues and God answered those prayers.  
This week God has really been faithful to show that He is the God who keeps His promises and provides all we need.  God did that with the loan forgiveness.  This week our topic was Intercession and Worship.  For those of you who don't know Intercession is a fancy way of saying praying on behalf of others.  Also Worship not just in a musical senses.  It was amazing! We were told by our instructor time after time how God would call him and/or his family members to step out in faith and God would provide when they did step out in faith.  It was great to hear and encouraging.  I have been slightly stressed and concerned as to why the loan forgiveness had not gone through yet, it was suppose to have gone through at the end of June, then the middle of July, but it has gone through so praise God.  I am so thankful for God pouring out His blessings on me, especially during my time here while I am stepping out in faith to see what His will for my life is.