Greetings from Denver, Colorado!!
It's been 3 months since my last update (ok! 4) and a LOT has happened.
Christmas
First, I got to spend Christmas with my WHOLE family! My sister and her fam was back from out of country and we were all together!!! This hasn't happened in 4 years and won't happen again for another few years.....so I consider that my greatest Christmas gift.
My sister and I revived an old tradition we started when teenagers......risking our lives for celebration of lights for Christmas!! One day, we WILL be like Clark Griswald!!!
Things that happened
During this busy time of my life, I got to celebrate another birthday. My siblings surprised with the most beautiful set of flowers!!!! Thank you Andrea, Tim, and Rebecca!!!
Also during this lecture phase, I got to experience an actual winter!!! Apparently people don't consider this walking weather.....I beg to differ
DTS
Lecture phase
Upon returning to YWAM Denver, I hit the ground running and haven't stopped.
Since January, I have been staffing the DTS (Discipleship Training School). This program is for anyone who wants to spend 5 months diving into the Bible and getting intimate with God. It's 3 months of lecture phase, 2 months of outreach. On top of staffing the school, I am also leading one of the outreaches (see below)
Lecture phase (11 different topics, 11 different teachers)
Every YWAM base has different focuses of DTS (to cater to different types of people). This base, being in Colorado, has both a music-focused and a snow boarders-focus DTS. Our school was about 20 students....half of them being boarders (which, may I say, is an interesting bunch of kids; interesting but awesome!)
Testimonies
Boring to fun
He grew up in a very conservative church that didn't have much worship and the reading of the Bible was quite boring. We took the class to a Heidi Baker conference. The worship looked like a rock concert where people were dancing and jumping and well, just having a LOT of fun. Upon leaving the conference, in the van, this student said "I never knew worshiping God could be so much fun". At this, another student commented "yeah, I always thought Christians were boring.....I don't any more".
Tongues
If you don't believe in speaking in tongues, this might make you "ugh?"
Most of our students were never taught about the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and spiritual warfare. Therefore, most of our students have never spoken in tongues. 2 weeks ago, the week's topic was "Holy Spirit". Often, several of the students would go to the prayer chapel on their own and worship God together. During this week, one by one, 8 of the students received the gift of tongues. Talk about breakthrough! Us staff weren't even there! The students who had the gift just prayed for those who didn't have it and BOOM! God moved. This is one of our main goals in DTS. Not speaking in tongues, but to teach the students to take initiative in their relationship with God.
Self hatred
I was given 3 of the girl students to mentor throughout this lecture phase. That means I meet with them once a week, help them process through their questions, and intercede for them. One of those girls was so bound by self hatred, it was impossible for her to receive truth about herself. Most of her life, things like "you're evil" and "you're stupid" was spoken over her. However, she was hungry for God and did what she could to pursue Him. It didn't happen all at once but little by little God began to give her revelations about His character and her identity. Through her pursuit, prayers, and God's revelations, she is now beginning to realize the lies that have bound her for so long and little by little, she is beginning to walk in freedom from the self-hatred that has bound her mind for so long.
Outreach
It's now the last week of lecture phase. The 20 students have been divided into 2 groups. 1 group will be going to Mexico and Jamaica to work with communities to get clean water and the other group (my group) will be going to Germany to work with the refugee crisis and
Indonesia (my old home) to work with the unreached and poor.
Here's my team. The assistant is the girl at the far right.
Here is a look at the changes ahead of us
Food
from this
to this
 |
| Arabic food |
 |
| German food |
To this
 |
| Indonesian food |
Leg room
from this
to this
People/dress
from this
to this
to this
Places of worship
from this
to this
to this
Outreach
Most of these students have never been to a third world country, let alone, working with Muslim and Hindu communities.
The whole purpose of this outreach is to give the students a chance to put all they have learned about God's character into practice. Also, to show that God is in every culture and can be known by every nation.
DTS outreaches are never easy. You see things that wreck your worldview and challenge your faith. But, by the end, you have God's heart for the lost and understand that it's not about the right theology, or the right form of worship. It's about God's heart for people. His heart to see all nations having a relationship with Him. It about God's call for HIS people to bring the kingdom of God to earth. Why do so many not know the God of the universe? It's because we don't tell them. We don't show them. We don't live it.
First it starts with a friendship with God. To understand His character behind His commands.....not JUST the commands. To understand what it means to "Love God with all your heart" and to "Love your neighbor as yourself". Also to "seek FIRST the kingdom of heaven, then all these things will be added to you".
It's all about God first, then others.
Church, let's pick up our cross once again and follow Him the way HE wants, not the way WE want.
End of sermon, now it's time for the offering
:)
If you would like to meet my team, follow this link to the video.
Fun stuff
My roommate had this "star bucks" cup from Palestine.
Imitation is a form of flattery, right?
Wise words from the insurance office.
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