Week 10 Summary

Wow! It's amazing that we've finished week 10 already and only have 11 days until we leave for outreach! It's been hard to connect with the reality that we are actually going to Africa this month! But, since Thursday, I have a new excitement and readiness for the next part of our adventure with Jesus!

Week 10 was a full week, with joys and challenges. Our speaker for the week was Jonathon Almanzer, a church planter and missionary from Colorado, who spoke on Identity in Christ. I got a few things out of the week, but not as much as I had hoped. He spoke on a number of things but I didn't have a clear picture by the end of the week about the topic.

My favorite lecture days were Monday and Thursday. Monday, he touched on the Potter and how God is forming us. I could identify with that and the feeling on the wheel when all the molding and shaping is taking place. It's not always so comfortable but it's comforting believing that I'm in the Potter's hand. Thursday was the best day because we had an "unplug" morning at the beach! We went for 1.5 hours to have quiet time with the Lord. No cell phones or ipods allowed! Woo! Hoo! It was glorious! The only other time we've done this exercise was on my birthday in October when we did an exercise on hearing the voice of God. Those two days have been such a blessing in this lecture phase!

Some of my favorite lines from the week are:
- The Potter has complete control. The spinning is for a purpose. He's shaping it and making it into what He wants it to be. (Jonathon)
- There is no dishonorable vessel that the Potter makes. They all have purpose. (Jonathon)
- Jesus' blood purchased the Potter's Field (the place behind the potter's house with all the broken pots). (Jonathon)
- Jesus' death and resurrection are no the Gospel but they are what makes the Gospel possible. (Jonathon)
- "Live in the now. Not in the then, maybe when". (Jonathon)
- Wake up each day saying, "This is Your day God. What do you want me to do today?". (Athol, our school leader)
- "Because we are in a position of dependence on others for finances, we are in the position to share the stories of God's provision. Money forces us to share these stories. " (Sean, a staff member here, leading the leadership meeting I sat in on.)
- "If we lead with character and integrity, people can trust us" (Garth, leads a DTS in Asia, spoke in the leadership meeting)
- "God equips those who He calls and calls those whom He has equipped". (Jonathon)
- We often grow the most when we are placed in a group that isn't like us. (Jonathon)
- "Prayer is a very important part of the Great Commission". (Loren Cunningham, introducing the speaker during Thursday night Ohana Gathering)

Some other things that happened this week:
- Lots of outreach related meetings - how to incorporate the 7 themes of Call2All in outreach, dramas, finance meeting, prayer meeting Tuesdays at 7am (I got to lead it this week), Children's ministry/games workshop, South Africa team meeting, worship practice with South Africa team and we got to see the slide show of the last South Africa team's outreach. It's neat to see some of the places we'll be going to!
- Ohana Gathering - this week the speaker was from Africa and talked about the great turning of the militants in Nigeria! It's awesome what the Lord is doing in Nigeria!
- School of Biblical Studies class on Jonah - always a good time and only 1 week left =(
- A visit to our class from Mark Anderson (the speaker from Week 1 and the leader of Call2All) - discussing opportunities for the future with Call2All

This week was also hard emotionally at times. We continue to deal with Shane's foot. We were pretty sure we were dealing with a broken toe, but a little nervous if it could possibly be a broken foot and wanted to be wise. We had an Occupational Therapist look at it and check it out and called our wonderful medical friend, Roman, back at home for some advice. We started to look into our travel health policy and to make a long story short, they have deemed our policy invalid because of a clause in the small print. Bummer! So, with the favor of the Lord, we got an xray requisition sent for free from a clinic, got an xray with a 65% discount and got the results over the phone for free without having to see a doctor! Woo! Hoo! Indeed, Shane has a broken toe but not a broken foot!

Please pray for the healing of his toe. Right now, he can't walk on it and uses crutches to get around, which is really limiting him. It's a bummer for us in our last few weeks in Hawaii. We have been sitting in the room a lot and not getting off base which makes the weeks on campus long. We need some speedy healing for our upcoming outreach so please pray for healing!

The other aspect that made this week hard was Grandpa's funeral and trying to grieve far away from home. We wrote something for the funeral that was read on our behalf. It was emotional writing it and we cried and smiled when thinking of memories of Grandpa. We were able to read it to our class on the day of the funeral and they gathered around us, prayed for us and hugged us. Please pray for us and our family as we grieve the loss of Grandpa.

So, each week has it's own joys and challenges. We pray that there would be no more death, sickness or injury! Week 11 is all about evangelism which should be a fun time just before outreach!

Here's some pictures of week 10 to enjoy!

Monday morning worship with the Compassion DTS and a worship leader from South Africa. Fun dancing!

Some of the guys from our DTS in the prayer room. It all just happened spontaneously that morning!

Deanna and I joined the guys on the stage

"Unplug" morning at the beach - my adorable husband enjoying God's creation

Such great time with Jesus!

Shane connecting with the Lord

My spot for the morning, under the palm tree

The view of the harbor and volcano on the way back to the vans!

The two guys (Shane and Joe) with crutches giving one another a hug!

Today is a team building day with our South Africa team! We're off to the City of Refuge!

The Official Announcement!

Well, dear friends and family, we have the news that you have been waiting for! As of today, all of the money for our outreach funds has official arrived! Every cent and an extra $4.81 to boot!

Praise the Lord for His wonderful works and the amazing ways He provides! It's been an incredible journey so far and His abundant way of providing for us has blessed us and built our faith! We hope it has built yours up too! So many of you are a part of this incredible story!

At the beginning of all of this, Shane felt the Lord say that He would provide all the school and outreach fees we needed. We didn't know how He was going to do it, especially with the thousands needed the week before the due date in both October and November!

It was amazing how the Lord sent two $1000 partners to cover the $2000 we needed the days before our October due date. And then November was a hoot as God brought in over $4000 in 10 days! $2500 was in a day!

When we found out we were going to YWAM on the last day of July, it was crazy to think we were leaving in 8 weeks and wondering how God was going to provide tens of thousands of dollars in a matter of weeks! Well, in His perfect timing and perfect amount, He did the impossible in our lives again.

God has provided through 62 individuals/couples and 1 anonymous person and we dearly appreciate our partners in the Kingdom of God. Our partners range in age from 12-90 years old and in denominations of $5 - $2000+. Every cent counts and the eternal value really matters!

One afternoon, we were meeting for outreach and Shane and I were the two students that still needed finances to come in for outreach. I was asking the Lord about it and felt Him say "maybe this isn't about you...". It dawned on me that maybe the Lord wanted to work out the details in His specific way for the benefit of more than just us. Maybe His reasoning was for someone else that would be part of this story. Just after this came to mind, our team prayed for us and our finances. One of the girls prayed an incredibly sweet and honest prayer asking that God would do an incredible miracle to build her faith through watching what He would do in our situation. Wow! It's not just about our faith and it would be a detriment to try and do this on our own, when there are so many different people the Lord wants to weave together in this story. We definitely can't do this on our own and really need the team alongside us! So, thank-you!

We are so happy to be able to share the good news of God's incredible provision with you all! Be blessed!

Week 9 Summary

Week 9 was the 50th Anniversary of YWAM so all our lectures were corporate sessions in the mornings and evenings with optional break-out type sessions in the afternoon and work duty. It was a full and busy week and many things happened, both good and not-so-good.

As for the good stuff, it was such an honor to be here during a very special time for YWAM. I don't understand the full significance of this event for YWAM because I'm new to the YWAM scene, but it was so meaningful to so many people that have served all over the world in missions over the last 50 years. I know it was a historic moment in YWAM's history and so I'm blessed to have been a part of it. It's interesting that we were called here at this specific time!

The week kicked off Monday evening with a grand opening ceremony! The nations of the world, specifically the Pacific islands, sure know how to have a good time! There were cultural dances, fire dancing, singing, and much more and it made for a fun night to kick off the week! There was the presentation of all the flags of course! 209 countries were represented by students and staff for all the countries that have come to Kona to do a DTS! Wow! I cheered extra hard for Canada, Hawaii, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Mexico, Haiti, North and South Korea and Israel! I cheered hard for these ones because I've been to them, have a loved one in them or know their prophetic significance!

Highlights this week:
- Beautiful Polynesian dancing - it's amazing how they move their hips so fast! Even the children!
- The calling out for a double portion of love during the fire dancing!
- Welcoming the Middle Eastern countries gave me the shivers in the Spirit!
- Finding out on Monday (29th) that Honolulu legislated "YWAM Day" in Hawaii!
- Getting to know more of the heart and character of God through the various cultures
- Envisioning session with Mark Anderson
- Big birthday party on Friday night with an even more incredible show than Monday, a cupcake food fight and a torrential downpour of rain
- Got to play the piano and sing to the Lord in the early morning hours in the prayer room twice this week! It was good to be back playing and singing in the prayer room context!
- Being a part of the unveiling of so many innovations going forward! My favorite was the uniscript of the gospel of John that came out for the first time in Hawaiian and Mandarin! It's incredible that people that haven't been able to read the Bible will have an easy way to learn and will be able to read the Word of God for themselves! Very emotional presentation!

Favorite lines from the week:
- "Go means changing locations" - Loren Cunningham
- "All the individual acts of obedience have brought us all to this place" - Loren Cunningham
- "God is telling all of us to pioneer" - Darlene Cunningham
- "In the Kingdom of God, efficiency isn't the highest value" - John Dawson
- "We, as missionaries, can't be sustained by the vision" - John Dawson
- "Multiplication has to include discipleship. Discipleship includes teaching." - Loren Cunningham
- "Prepare on the last word until God gives you the next word. If you don't prepare, you are not a good leader"
- "Stop calling the prayer movement and the missions movement two separate things. They are one and they are mine" - What the Lord said to Mark Anderson in a dream
- "We are being prepared for a different day" - Mark Anderson
- "Young people are ruined for His presence. They would rather spend their days in a prayer room and not eat (fasting) than build a ministry" - Mark Anderson

On a sad note, we had a hard week at the same time. On December 1, a wonderful man who is so special to Shane and I, Grandpa Ross, died back home in Manitoba. We have been expecting this for some time, but it is still hard, especially to grieve far from family and home. We checked flights to see if it would work to come home for the funeral, but it is just too expensive to do that. We are sad to be missing the funeral next Friday, the 10th, but we will be writing something for the family to read on our behalf. I really loved Shane's grandpa and it's so sad to lose him but even sadder to know the eternal choice He made (unless there was a significant encounter that nobody knew about in the final days and hours). The reality of hell is the part that makes mourning for Grandpa the hardest. Please continue to pray for us and our family as we mourn the loss of someone we loved and process through the pain of the reality of eternity and our free will in deciding our eternal destinies.

Also, in the midst of the cupcake food fight, my dear husband's food collided with another classmate's heel, resulting in what we believe is possibly 2 broken toes. So, my husband is out of commission and having a tough time getting around campus because there are lots of steps, hills and distances to walk here. Thankfully we got a hold of crutches from the Primary Health Care school but they don't fit right. But, they sure are better than nothing! Please pray for healing for Shane.

Here are quite a few pictures from this week's celebration!

The opening ceremonies! A good amount of fire involved!

The view of the stage for the week

Matt (fellow South Africa teammate) carrying a flag as part of the procession of the flags

Shane, Cam and myself praying on the 4K map for South Africa, and specifically the western Cape

The view of the prayer room and 4K map from above

Shane praying on the 4K map

Me praying on the 4K map with Stephen, another South Africa teammate

The unveiling of the Mandarin uniscript on the table and the gifts from China

Call2All helping serve at a moment's notice to put the birthday cakes together before the session started as the band practiced behind us

YWAM's 50th birthday cake after completion!

Full of icing after helping prepare the birthday cakes!

My happy husband after a food fight! The girls did his hair using the "mousse" of the icing!

The happy couple after getting soaked in the rain and Shane getting caked in the food fight!

My beautiful friend, SoJung, dressed in a beautiful Korean dress

Shane getting crutches from the Primary Health Care team and first aid tent

The Jubilee Covenant we signed

Jadon and Joshie (sons of classmates and school leaders) playing with Shane's crutches

A beautiful painting about Jesus on the white horse and the nations gathering to Him!

The final morning celebration in the Plaza of the Nation with all the flags of the nations that have been here!

What a full, fun and hard week all in one. Happy 50th Birthday YWAM!

Happy 50th Anniversary YWAM!

It's YWAM's 50th Anniversary and the celebration on the Kona campus starts tonight! Tonight is the opening ceremonies and it's going to be quite the party tonight and all week long!

We have corporate sessions in the Jubilee venue mornings and evenings all week. The afternoon has many optional activities that we can choose from. We want to check out a number of them!

There is an expected 2000 people at this event and it should be a fun celebration! Check out the website here!

The last minute details are coming together all over campus this morning. You can feel the buzz in the air! It's getting me excited and making me feel very blessed to be here at this moment in time!

Also, the prayer room is going to be 24/7 this week! I'm doing a devo on Friday morning from 5-6am! It's been a while but it's going to be fun!

Happy 50th Anniversary YWAM!

God is so good!

It has been quite the week!

I updated last on Monday with the awesome provision of the Lord over the weekend. Well, the Lord continued to show us His faithfulness through you awesome partners this week!

Monday morning hit and we were feeling the intensity of needing $3800 in 2 days. 8am Monday mornings is worship for the campus in the Ohana court. The focus was on God's faithfulness and our thankfulness and the worship leader even addressed those who were feeling the intensity of the financial needs this week. As we are worshiping, a gift was given through paypal! Amen! The timing was very encouraging! Thank-you Lord!

Tuesday was a crazy awesome day in this department! When we started the day, we needed $3600 or so by Wednesday afternoon. God told us when we started this process that He would provide the costs of the lecture and outreach phases and so we were holding tight to His promise but had no clue how He was going to work this one out!

Messages from paypal and facebook came in steadily throughout the day Tuesday.

Tuesday at lunch, we got a message from a new $1000 partner as we were on route to class! So, we get to class and as I'm testifying and telling the story of the provision from the morning and the recent large donation, we get notified that another $1000 is on its way! Our class gets to find out as we do! How awesome is that!

Tuesday was a big adrenalin rush. Around $2500 came in in one day! Wednesday another $800 or so came in...the day our fees were due!

We are so blessed. God has been so faithful to us. Thank-you to all of you who gave and partnered! We couldn't do this without you!

We still need about $350 to finish off the outreach fees. If you were hoping to still be a part of this provision, there still is room for you! Click here for paypal, give directly to Shaun Reimer, Helen Reimer or Jim Farrow if you live near them or leave a comment for our contact info!

Thank-you Jesus and thank-you partners! We love you!

Week 8 Summary

The summaries have been a little delayed this week. Week 7 was just posted today (November 27th) but I back-dated it for last Sunday (November 21). So, just scroll down to check out week 7's summary!

Week 8 has been a great week! A short one too because of American Thanksgiving and all the preparations for the big 50th Anniversary of YWAM!

Week 8's focus was "Relationships" with Faith Dutton for two days and her husband Andrew Dutton for one day. Faith spoke about God's standards for relationships, loving the way that God intended, unity and integrity. Andrew spoke to us about submission. The lectures were bold, challenging and very practical to live out!

My favorite lines from my notes for week 8 are (be aware...there are lots of them this week!):
- "Know that you are doing something that is the word of the Lord not just a good idea!"
- "There is no better or safer place to be than in the middle of the Will of the Lord."
- "Relationships encompass who God is."
- "Your relationship with God will impact your relationships with others."
- "Does your life reflect the love of God?"
- "If we have fear we are not abiding in perfect love."
- "We suck from others emotionally to fill our tanks. Who fulfills you?"
- "If you are constantly needing affirmation, you are living in selfishness because it is all about you."
- "I am responsible for my response to others' actions."
- "Your lack of communication is communicating for you."
- "Relationships have to be fostered. They don't just happen."
- "When your barrel is kicked, what flows out? Acid or honey? The battle is won or lost in your heart."
- "Your relationships are the #1 area where you will be tested."
- "Have things in your life that protect you from compromise. What safeguards do you have for yourself?"
- "Holding on to rights brings death. My rights need to be laid at the cross."
- "It's really easy to say the right things. Does your life reflect the things that come out of your mouth when the pressure is on?"
- "Are you being all those things you ask someone else to be towards you?"
- "If God convicts you of something than it's a big deal to Him!"
- "Submission is not obedience. It's a heart posture."
- "As leaders, never quench the Spirit of God."
- "Leadership is not positional. It is influence."
- "Pride is like body odor. It has to be washed off every day!"

Other highlights:
- Learning about 4K mapping from a cartographer missionary! An awesome tool to complete the Great Commission!
- Learning more details about South Africa during outreach prep and got to see the places we're going on Google Earth!
- The best community outreach night so far on Tuesday! I got a hug from one of the girls I've been going to talk to weekly! And we got to pray for a woman with an infection on her feet/limping in pain and she got healed! Not only that but we got to share the love of Jesus. She was touched and crying and it was awesome to speak into her life and tell her about Jesus!
- We had our first American Thanksgiving! It was great! Good food, our Hawaiian Ohana (family) and quality time with games for hours!
- We have a sweet schedule from Thursday until Monday because we don't have work duty this weekend. We're the teardown crew for after the 50th next weekend! It has been sooooo refreshing to sleep, rest and get caught up on emails and phone calls!

Here are some pictures from week 8!

Life of a missionary kid...nap time in the classroom on a mat!

3 out of 5 of our South Africa guys! Shane, Matt (from Germany) and Stephen (from Canada).

3 out of 5 of our South Africa girls! Me, Allison (from South Korea) and Sueji (from South Korea).

Out for team building at Bubba Gumps....Mud Pie!

The other 2 South Africa guys in front of Bubba Gumps. Cam and Andrew (both from the USA). I love the goofy expressions!

Shane and I at our Thanksgiving Meal!

Nancy (my one-on-one) and myself at the party!

Allison, myself and Ashley (from New York). All on the South Africa team!

Our table for Thanksgiving (left to right: Val (USA), Samantha (USA/South Korea), Aric (USA), David (Brazil), Shane, myself and Sueji (South Korea) ).

LOVING the pumpkin pie!

We're going into week 9 and it's going to be intense with the 50th Anniversary! Time to par-tay!

Where we're at!

I just got to raise the thermometer! Praise the Lord!

We received $730 over the weekend and we are so grateful! Thank-you to each partner who gave! Paypal has been busy =) Only $3800 more to go!

Keep on praying! God works in mysterious ways! We'll keep you posted!

Week 7 Summary

I'm behind in my summaries as things have been very busy and the communicating focus has been on the amazing provision of the Lord this week!

Week 7's focus was "The person and ministry of the Holy Spirit" and the lectures were done by a woman named Maureen Menard, who presently lives in South Africa. The neat thing is we will probably get to have dessert at her house one night when we're there! For this week, we combined classes with another school (Community Transformation DTS) which made our size grow from 35 to about 100! There was lots of grace for the week, even when the electricity was off for construction and we had lecture in a small classroom with no a/c, no fans and 100 people!

I really enjoyed Maureen's thorough understanding of the Bible. She had tons of Scripture to show us the truth about the Holy Spirit. I really love the topic of the Holy Spirit because it discusses a subject I care a lot about....my friend! The indwelling Holy Spirit who lives inside me! I love Him! I also enjoyed the teaching on the incarnation of Jesus. Not many people out there preach the incarnation of Jesus past His ascension. I loved hearing another speaker boldly say that yes, Jesus is a Man forever! Amen!

My favorite lines from week 7 are:
- "We need to cooperate with and keep getting filled with the Spirit. It is a process and the fruit is that we will look like Jesus and increase in intimacy!"
- "The Holy Spirit dwells in believers and is involved in both the salvation and sanctification process."
- A good question to ask Him is "Holy Spirit, is there anyway that I've grieved You?"
- "He wants a relationship. He is a personal being."
- "We have all of the Holy Spirit, not just part of Him! But He doesn't necessarily have all of us."
- "You can live as though He's not there."
- "The Father, Son and Spirit have their own thoughts, emotions and will and they talk to each other. They honor and respect one another."
- "You can't get any closer to God than you are right now. You can only become more aware."
- "God intended us to be human. God did not intend for us to be sinful."
- "You have to cooperate with the call of God on your life and include the Holy Spirit."
- "Despite individual calling, I am called to extend the ministry of Jesus."

Other highlights:
- The beginning of the corporate fast (details here)
- More in-depth study on Jonah during our School of Biblical Studies Bible Study
- Learning more details about South Africa from our school leader who used to live there during our outreach prep....there are lots of needs there!

Here are some pictures of week 7. We didn't do a lot of picture-taking in week 7 and we spent the weekend working on our support letter so we didn't get out much =) But, here's some pictures of our walk to Walmart for cold meds and our first Starbuck's date since September and Winnipeg! It was a taste of home and buy one get one free to boot!

Our first sit down and connect date with my honey off campus!

My good-looking husband!

The view from the sidewalk on the walk back to campus

The sun and the ocean were beautiful on our walk back, but pictures just don't do justice!

YWAM Update - November

It's about that time again! Our November Update Newsletter is on the link below if you did not receive it by email. If you are someone who comes by this blog and wants to be on our email list, please leave a comment! We'd love to hear from you!

Below is a letter written by our school leaders which give more detail about our upcoming outreach to South Africa. Please read through it.

We have an urgent financial need that you will find mentioned in both the letter from our school leaders and in our newsletter. This Wednesday, November 24th, we have our last fee deadline for our DTS. We need $5000 by Wednesday and so far have $650 towards it! $200 which has come in in the past 2 days...Praise the Lord! It is for the remainder of our fees for our outreach to South Africa. Please pray about partnering with us at this time whether you have done so in the past or not. Perhaps you are part of God's provision for this need at this time!

Last month's provision for the first deadline was incredible! God writes the best stories of provision! So please pray with us about this one. We have been blessed by His faithfulness time and time again and are so grateful. Please pray that we continue to set our eyes of Jesus and not stress over the next few days.

Happy Reading!




Dear friend,

Shane and Kristi are currently our students at the Call2all Discipleship Training School in Kona, Hawaii. They are undergoing a 12 week lecture and training phase in preparation for a 10 week Mission Outreach to South Africa. Shane, Kristi and a team of 8 other students will be leaving Kona just before Christmas, and staying at three different locations in South Africa.

It has been such a pleasure getting to know them over the last few months. Although they are two of 35 students from 13 different nations, they stand out for their passion and dedication to serve the Lord. They are leaders in motivating our class towards prayer and intercession, for which we are very appreciative.

Shane, Kristi and the team of 8 will be focusing on the 7 themes of Call2All during outreach. Below is a brief outline of what this entails:

Evangelism: This theme overlaps and continues throughout outreach as we train our students to look for opportunities to share the gospel in every situation and environment.
Prayer: Although we saturate every day in prayer, we also set aside one week of the outreach just for prayer. During this week, we hold a 72 hour prayer watch, during which each student prays for a total of 12 hours or more per day.
Compassion: Although this is another theme that tends to overlap and continue throughout outreach, we spend a week working with local compassion ministries, such as orphanages, HIV/AIDS centers, rehab centers etc.
Church planting: We encourage our outreach teams to plant a simple church or to be a part of a new church plant. This is best done by participating with a local church in order to ensure follow up and growth. But a simple church/bible study is an easy way to expose the students to the basic idea of church planting.
4K Mapping: Our students map the local area, interview church pastors, business owners and local community ministries, and post this information on Google earth. This is to specifically map local ministries and partners we have worked with. This allows future teams to follow-up and continue supporting and encouraging these ministries and community leaders.
Orality: During the lecture phase, we prepare our students to be able to present Gospel stories using drama and story telling. This way Orality becomes integral to every evangelism presentation to a group.
UUPG's: (Unengaged unreached People Groups) This theme is a little more difficult in locations where the gospel is already being preached. However, we have found sub-sections of communities that have immigrants who don't speak the local language and have never heard the gospel - it is surprising how the Lord leads the teams to these people.

We have used this format when leading teams, and have seen tremendous fruit as a result. During our last outreach, we were able to share the gospel with over 2,144 people. We prayed the prayer of salvation with just over 480 people, almost half of them children, and saw another 420 people recommit their lives to the Lord. What a privilege to see hundreds of people come to know the Lord, be healed and set free by the love of Christ!

Please would you pray about becoming one of their financial partners in ministry. All our students are responsible for covering their outreach fees, and at the moment they still need about $4500 to pay for the travel and lodging expenses for their 10 weeks in South Africa. Your partnership in both prayer and finances will go a long way towards our common goal of completing the Great Commission.

God bless you

Athol and Debbie Barnes
Team Leaders, Call2all Kona
www.untilallarereached.com

YWAM Update Letter #2

Week 6 Summary

Week 6 was a really good week and I've already posted a little bit about it earlier in the week. This week's topic was Freedom and our speaker was Pete Mahoney from Japan (presently) and before than Tacoma, Washington. He was great and it was easy to connect with him and his lectures. There is a Freedom course and manual that has come out of Tacoma and it is used widely on the Kona campus. So, we learned about original design, breaking strongholds and walking in freedom this week! Always good stuff!

My favorite lines in my notes from the week are:
- "Original design - what God put in us before the creation of the world."
- "Step into the fire and let it burn off the dullness."
- "When we give in to sin and don't repent of it, we give a stronghold to the enemy."
- "Preach the cross! It is offensive."
- " My personality is chosen by God."
- " Positive thinking isn't going to work! The power of God will!"
- " We often attack the fruit but we need to get deeper to the roots. Otherwise it's just behavior modification".
- " Repentance is a gift from God."
- " Tears are your heart coming out through your eyes."
- " Deal with the sin and move on!"
- " Confess, turn and do the opposite."
- " A spiritual transaction is taking place when we lay hands on people."
- " If He asks you to do something, He has given you the power to do it."
- " The greatest way to love someone is to share the Gospel with them."
- " Offense is the bait of Satan."
- " At the inception of an injustice is the best time to forgive."
- " My feelings need to submit to the truth of God."
- " Faith says whatever God wants to do, He can!"

Other highlights from week 6 were:
- Community outreach on Tuesday was the most enjoyable one yet! We got to have some good conversations with a number of people!
- Hearing the testimony of one of the staff on campus who died in a bombing, saw Jesus in heaven and was raised from the dead by her sister!
- I got to go to a baby shower on Wednesday. Shane and I have work duties with 5 Korean friends and 1 from China. One of our Korean friends became an auntie 1 month ago and I was invited to the baby shower!
- Thursday night's Ohana Gathering was pretty powerful as Andy Bryd put out a call for 2 months of prayer and fasting into 2011 for the release of laborers and revival! Check it out here.

Here are some pictures from week 6:

Shane playing some volleyball at last weekend's class BBQ and Beach Day!

Mmmmmm...the best food we've had since coming to YWAM! Korean BBQ!!

A little time with my buddy, Sven, during worship

Prayer time for Athol, our school leader

African worship is fun!

Week 7 is all on the Holy Spirit! I think it's going to be a good week!

Call2All Partnership Thermometer

God has been so faithful over the last 3 and a half months since we found out we were coming to YWAM in the area of finances. So many incredible partners have come alongside us in the Kingdom! I am so grateful!

I am learning more and more all the time that He is in control and will always take care of us. It's been quite the road to travel down and it surprises me how tied I've been to money. It's sad but you don't quite realize how tied until the usual comforts are taken away. Then what?

I've given the Lord permission to shake the things that need to be shaken in my life. Money has been a stronghold in my family lines for generations I'm sure. So, it has been something that I've really had to wrestle with and give to the Lord to get freedom! The shaking sure has gone to a whole other level with the removal of a consistent pay cheque every 2 weeks. But that leads me to wonder what I've been putting my trust in then.

In the natural it could look a little scary right now. Here at YWAM. No income coming in. Awaiting the remainder of our outreach fees ($4650) that are due in 12 days.

Yet, I feel very peaceful. What breakthrough! I know that we are in the right place and that we will be going to South Africa next month. God calls and He always provides. And He's going to use finances to wow us and many others as He has done before!

He is so faithful and tonight, I am so thankful for His peace in this area.

I've changed the thermometer to the target amount that is needed for November 24th. God is going to bless us and those around us as we watch it grow over the next 12 days! Amen!

November 11, 2010

Today represents a number of things that are on my mind.

1. Remembrance Day - I think of Shane's grandpa whom I have come to love deeply and his service to the country of Canada in World War 2. I think of him now, 90 years old, close to eternity and in the hospital tonight. Lord, cause his heart to turn tonight.

2. The last day of lecture for the freedom week - I think it's a little interesting that Remembrance Day landed during our week on freedom. That's not coincidence! They sure go together!

3. A birthday! - My dear friend Bonnie's birthday is today and I pray that she would be blessed incredibly this year! I sure love my dear friend!

4. Last year at this time - We take our annual trip to Kansas City around this time each year. Back in March when I had to pick vacation days for work, we planned our KC trip for the beginning of November. So, generally we're in KC around this time.

5. The first halfway mark - Today is the halfway mark for our lecture phase in Kona. Wow! It's hard to believe it is only halfway with all the weeks of learning and growth that we've been through. On the other hand, it's strange to think it's halfway over already! It's going to be time to leave for outreach in a snap! We leave in 42 days!

Just some thoughts to share on my way to bed! Nite!

Prayer Request

It's the middle of week 6 and the week is going well so far! The first two days of lecture have been good!

We have a few prayer requests this week. Would you please remember us in prayer?
1. Shane has a sore throat, runny nose and the body aches. Please join me in praying for his healing and for protection from further physical issues!
2. Please pray for our class that we would receive all that God has for us this week! This week is all about freedom, our original design and breaking strongholds!
3. Please pray for Shane's family as yesterday his uncle died and he did not know the Lord.
4. Please pray for Shane's grandpa who is getting close to dying and still needing to turn to Jesus. Pray with us for his salvation and healing.
5. Please pray for provision of our outreach fees. We are still in need of the next $5000 by November 24th.

Thanks for your prayers! God is good ALL THE TIME!

Week 5 Summary

Wow! 5 weeks of our lecture phase are already done and only 6 and a half to go before we are flying to South Africa! It's hard to believe that by next month we'll be on the ground in another country serving and loving on God's people in a part of the world we've never been before.

Week 5 has held some challenges and some joys. I have been missing my close girlfriends incredibly much this week. I cried a lot on Wednesday and Thursday missing my sister, Christina and Bonnie. These are relationships that I value so much I don't have words to say how much and though I knew before leaving how much I love them, I didn't quite know how much. Deep friendships that stand the test of time are like gold.

My poor hubbie had a migraine this week that was pretty awful. His head started hurting on Saturday and the pain finally went away on Thursday! It was pretty challenging and hard to deal with, as I hate when he's sick. This is the second migraine since we've been here =( Please pray that there would be no more headaches for either of us!

Some interesting parts of this week were:
- driving a 15 passenger van for the first time, passing my campus driver's orientation and having to back the van into a narrow parking stall! Stressful!
- getting to use a labeller for the first time at work duty....that little gadget is fun! That could get addicting for an organizer like me!
- having a lecture on the specifics of Call2All and what that means for outreach
- starting a 60 day overview of the Bible and a Proverb a day
- learning a bit more about the documentary Sex and Money. It's about human trafficking..check it out this link.

Our speaker this week was Don Gillman and the topic was on the Word and our foundation. I was challenged on a number of areas, specifically what I based my foundation on. I was really motivated to dig into the Word and have it be the one thing I stand on. It was beneficial to be encouraged to dive into the Word and is something I've been feeling for a long time. I need more time in the Word and I need to make more time for studying it in depth! I'm hungry for it!

Some of my favorite lines in my notes this week are:

- Is the life I'm living worth Jesus dying for?
- God asks us to do stuff that doesn't make sense.
- We've got to die to some of our emotions. If they don't line up with the Word, get rid of them.
- How much is 1 soul worth to us? How much are we willing to give up (dreams, hopes, family, money, etc) to reach 1 soul?
- God doesn't give us the guarantee in entirety because He wants us to live in faith. Stop living for the 100% guarantee.
- Do I follow my culture or the Word of God?
- It takes 27 hours to read the New Testament out loud and at a normal pace. Why wouldn't you devour this book if you believe your God wrote it?

Here's pictures from week 5 at YWAM Kona!

A date with my hubbie for shave ice!

Having a few times at the piano, singing to Jesus has been my saving grace over the past week. My surroundings for doing a devo look a little different these days =)

Catching the sunset as we walked downtown to do community outreach. So beautiful!

I've greatly appreciated seeing our leaders pray together before the day starts!

Tired much? We get a little tired around here!

Thankfully, the weekend is here and tomorrow we're going to the beach as a class outing! Woo! Hoo!