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!

Week 4 Summary

Week 4 was a really good one....painfully good. My favorite weeks here so far have been week 1 and week 4, hands down.

This week's speaker was Ben Nanoa on the topic of the Father heart of God. Whew! I loved the way Ben allowed the Holy Spirit to lead this week. He taught some but the Holy Spirit had an agenda for healing and breakthrough that went beyond a good sermon from the speaker at the front of the room.

It all started with the question "What does the love of the Father look like to you now?" and as we shared, the Lord broke in. I cried each day in class and wanted all that the Lord may have for me. Tuesday was a big day for me and the Lord had an appointment with me when it was my turn to share with the class. It was so good to be vulnerable, bawl and be prayed over, while being ministered on the inside by the Holy Spirit like only He can do!

I need fresh revelation all the time about who God is, what He thinks of me and how He feels about me. I "know" the right answers in my head sure, but does it transcend to my heart? That is where it matters. It is humbling to say how you feel the Father looks when you just want to disclaimer that you know it isn't true and instead share what you've learnt over the years and what you know in your head to be true. But, where's the breakthrough in that?

The Lord worked on my heart in the area of how I feel about myself, the way I treat myself because I want to be perfect, the way I view Him and opened up some room for me to grieve over things that grieve His heart. There were many hard things shared by our class and the last two days of the week the focus turned to confession and repentance. It was so hard to hear the stories but it was powerful what the Lord was doing.

We aren't our pain. Our pain doesn't have to define us. Sometimes it's hard not to label people their sins in a society where diagnosis is key. Instead of seeing a banner over peoples' heads with the name of their sin hanging over, I choose to see the truth. The banner over us is love and the writing on that banner is "FORGIVEN". Doesn't matter what it is....FORGIVEN.

Some of my favorite lines of the week were:
- "We have to come to God in the truth of who we are. If we allow Him, He will always hit the bull's eye. When the truth hits, the healing begins".
- "YWAM is not just about gaining knowledge but about applying it".
- "God wants to woo us".
- "The capacity to receive all that God the Father has for us costs us in two ways. First in vulnerability and second in boldness."
- "If you are going to be called to all than it's going to start with us" - If you are called to give away what you've received, you got to face the stuff and get healed first!
- "God ministers to you the way you understand".
- "Is the knowledge you have of God connecting with your heart? If not yet, let's continue praying".
- "Let God change your point of reference that you see from".
- "There is nothing you could ever do to make me love you less".
- "If there is pain here, then I want to walk it through".

This week held a number of other things too. My first trip to Target while we've been here and my first taste of Starbuck's since home! It was so comforting because it reminded me of home! The completion and submission of my audit for my nursing license (sadly, I get audited for the first time the year I'm out of the country). An afternoon lecture by Andy Bryd who heads up the prayer room here on campus. Another wonderful bible study by our School of Biblical Studies friends! We're learning tools for studying the Word of God and learning together through the book of Jonah! And the major praise report I blogged about earlier about the outreach deposit coming in in full this week! It was paid a day early! Amen!

Here's pictures from week 4 in Kona!

Ben Nanoa speaking on the Father's heart and demonstrating a picture of God's love while giving a girl in our class a piggyback ride

A time of healing and repentance for the men

My little friend Sven from Holland, the son of one of the couples in our DTS. He is SOOO cute!

My friend Val and I enjoying an ice cream party after an emotionally exhausting week. How kind of our leaders to cancel class time and instead do something fun after such a week!

My southern friend Deanna and I!

Shane and I celebrating a week of healing

It's amazing it's been over a month since we got here! What a ride!

Week 3 Posted

I posted week 3 a little late but it's back 3 posts! So check out last week's summary if you'd like!

Provision!

God is so taking care of us. He always said He would, why would I doubt it?

I have a huge praise report from today! We got word from one of our partners that the other $1000 we need for Friday is on the way! Praise the Lord!

Friday's outreach deposit is paid! God is good!

Praise Report!

So...about the $2000 we need for Friday...

$1000 just came in! God is so good! Now praying in the rest! $1000 more for Friday needed!

YWAM Update 1

Here's our first update letter from Kona for you all to enjoy! Tuesday marks 1 month since we landed and lots has been happening from week to week!

We have urgent financial needs related to our outreach fees. We need $2000 by Friday for our outreach deposit to cover our plane tickets to South Africa. The remaining $5500 that we need is due by November 25th. Please join us in praying in the remaining $7500 and prayerfully consider if you are part of the equation!

Enjoy the read!

YWAM Update #1

Week 3 Summary

Week 3 was a hard and good week all in one. There are many things the Lord is working on in me and I'm seeing good fruit in the midst of the tilling of the soil in my heart. In the midst of hard moments, I'm feeling the nearness of the Holy Spirit and an increase in comfort, joy and freedom. I'm hoping for more and more growth and breakthrough!

This week, two brothers were our speakers who have a heart for restoration and have influence in the college sphere and mainstream music industry. This week was corporate week where all the DTS classes were together, bringing about 400 students together. To be honest, the lectures were really tough for me to get through this week.

I felt really grieved, especially during the first 2-3 days of the week. We opened our bibles very minimally for the first number of days and it felt like a waste of valuable learning time to hear stories and motivational speaking. I was a frustrated and asked the Lord to turn my frustration into intercession.

On Tuesday, as the morning was drawing to an end, I was hit with a burden of intercession. As the speaker was winding down and playing a pop music song, I was bawling in my seat, being touched by the Holy Spirit in the area of intercession. It grieves the Lord's heart and therefore grieves mine when we fill this generation with social justice speeches that don't first point them to the One that is first and foremost who we are to be fascinated by. It grieved me that we weren't using His Word for hours of time together and that we were hearing far more stories and radio songs than the powerful Word of God. It grieved me that this generation wasn't being pointed to stare at a beautiful, fascinating God as the first priority. It was sad because it felt that the commandments weren't in the right order.

I skipped lunch that day because I was feeling so wrecked. I went to the room and just bawled and prayed for our generation. This generation is hungry and famished, but they just might not even know it. How often are we feeding them cardboard instead of the meat of the Word that can transform them and point them to Jesus?

It was a tough week for us. There is a bunch of stuff happening back home with our friends and family that is hard to hear about and it's hard not be present to support our loved ones. Shane's grandpa is not doing well and they anticipate he will die soon. We continue to pray that he will turn, repent and make Jesus Lord of his life before he dies. Please pray with us!

Some lines from my notes this week are:
- "It's time for you to learn how to feed yourself".
- "Revival starts when renewal spills out of the church into the street".
- "There is a greater point in creating us than saving us. He has created us for something".
- "The most attractive thing is the life bursting from within you, not the package it comes in".

This week we had some teaching in the afternoon on support raising and we met as an outreach team for the first time! We had a great time in the prayer room on Tuesday as a class praying for our outreach locations. Wednesdays Worship With the Word set from 7-9am was really good for me too!

Here's some pictures of Week 3 to enjoy!

What a special time for our marriage!

Our friendly neighbors

Magic Sands Beach...the closest "real" beach to campus

Oh how we love the weekends! Much needed rest and clear our brains from the week!

One of our classmates, Matt, turned forty on Sunday the 24th! We had a fun little party to celebrate. This picture was taken during corporate week class. The guys in front of him reminded him throughout class of his upcoming birthday!

That's week 3! A little late in posting it but better late than never!

Outreach Location!

Our outreach locations have been decided and announced as of yesterday.....and.......SHANE AND I ARE GOING TO SOUTH AFRICA!!!!

I'm excited about our outreach location! It is awesome how the Lord spoke to us about where we were to go. We've known the options for the past 10 weeks, since we got the call telling us that we were accepted for this DTS. All along we haven't felt one location over another and had no idea where the Lord wanted us to go. Even on Friday morning.

Friday during class, the outreach locations were officially announced and we were given 15 minutes to pray about where God wanted us, coming on the back end of a week on hearing God's voice. It was a good exercise right away!

Shane and I put our heads together, prayed for the Lord to speak and before 15 minutes we're even up, the Lord spoke to both of us and we got the same order of the locations to circle. 1. South Africa, 2. Brazil and 3. The Philippines.

My heart was burning over South Africa during these 15 minutes in a way that it hadn't felt in the last 10 weeks when thinking of any of these countries! I'm so glad He led us faithfully and in unity as a couple!

So, we are heading to South Africa! We are going to need a TON of prayer! Please even now start praying for our flights as it is going to be a 2-3 days journey with A LOT of time in the air. Jesus, help me!

Also, we have been asked to be student leaders and come alongside our team leader for our outreach. We would love your prayers as we help lead our team to South Africa!

It's great to share our news with you all! Blessings from us to you! God is doing good things in the earth right now!

Week 2 Summary

Week 2 is now complete and tomorrow bright and early begins week 3 at YWAM in Kona. Shane and I have been here for almost 3 weeks and are adjusting. Shane adjusted super fast and is loving it out here from the moment we arrived. I am a slower adjuster and require a bit more processing and emotions =)

This week the speaker was Allison Johnston, a young woman from Kentucky who spoke on hearing the voice of God. It was great to be reminded that hearing the Lord speak and allowing Him to speak through us prophetically is simple and for every believer. It was great to see so many of our classmates begin to hear the Lord and speak it forth in ways they hadn't done before. We are also in the process of reading through Is That Really You, God? by Loren Cunningham which is along the same theme of hearing the voice of God. It is interesting to read about the prophetic history of YWAM and to learn about all the miraculous ways that the Lord has lead and built this place.

Some of the parts of my notes that I liked this week were:
- "We have a choice every day. What are we going to think about?"
- "Never let the awareness of a problem become bigger than your awareness of God" - such wise advice especially in the area of intercession!
- "God's always talking. We're just not always tuned in!".

The lectures were tough for me this week. It was a very different flavor of teaching than last week and it was a hard adjustment from the teaching we got from Mark Anderson the week before. It was so good for our class as a whole though and so I know it was important. It also revealed some things in my heart that need a lot more work =) So to sum it up, this week was a tough one but I am learning and God is working on me!

On Thursdays we have a service in the evening with all of the DTSs here and all the staff making up a few hundred people in the Ohana court for worship and speaking. The speaker this week was Loren Cunningham (the founder of YWAM) and I heard him speak for the first time in my life. It was good to hear his heart even though I was exhausted by this point in the week and day.

My favorite lines from Loren's message were:
- "When you pray, you give God just reason to go beyond the ordinary"
- "Saul of Taursus was a terrorist" - I never thought of it that way but so true!
- "When God says go, you go! You don't ask your wallet or bank account! You obey God!"

We had some workshops on God and culture which were interesting, we had time in the prayer room and we did our work duties. I washed windows for 5.5 hours this week! That's more than I've possibly ever done at home!

My favorite part of class (beside my birthday which I will have to blog about separately) was the hour with the people from the School of Biblical Studies on Friday. They are going to be joining our class every week to teach us on studying the Scripture! I am soooo hungry and excited! I think this is going to be a highlight of my week!

Last but not least, the outreach locations were officially announced and we were given 15 minutes to go and pray about where the Lord was leading each of us personally. It's a blog in itself but I don't know if I'll get to share it with the limited amount of blogging time I have here! But, regardless, in the next day or two we will have news on where we are going in December on outreach! It's going to be good and God was SO faithful to speak to us in those 15 minutes and unify us in what we heard Him say!

I have so much more to share but that will do!
Here's some pictures of the week to enjoy (minus the birthday just in case I get around to blogging about it!):

The view from the grass where we were sitting for small group. I am so blessed to be here!

The beautiful ladies in my small group for the past 2 weeks

The beautiful view at the beach

Writing in the sand at the beach

Shane and I at the beach!

Good-Bye 27...

Today was my last day of 27. Tomorrow I turn 28!

To be honest, I've been sad the last 3 days, with today being the saddest. It started when I found out Saturday that my extended family was having a Thanksgiving gathering. Also, the usual celebrations of my birthday won't be happening and that's tough because I love the traditions me and my loved ones have made.

So, I was sad today. I realized I was missing pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin scones and pumpkin spice lattes. Silly and trivial but just what I needed to start crying and feel better. I had a cry about missing pumpkin and my sister (who is leaving for outreach this week), hugged my husband and called my mom which was good for my heart.

Shane had his one-on-one this evening. We have a staff to connect with once a week and Shane started his today. So, I went to the cafe on campus here for the first time. It's a very few steps from our room but we haven't gone there yet in the last two weeks. So, I spent part of the evening journalling and enjoying a frappuccino to celebrate Thanksgiving. It was a strange Thanksgiving this year.

The view to my right (above) and the view to my left (below), as I sit on the patio. Shane is in the distance having his one-on-one (below).

Another thing that was good for my heart this evening was that while I was sitting and having my alone time, my school leader came by and sat and talked with me. I haven't had a lot of time to connect with her and it was so good to share and be encouraged this evening. I needed that =) God gave me what I needed for today. I'm thankful.

While checking out the cafe, some of my classmates were inside and pointed out a thing that looked like a turkey. So, here's my Happy Thanksgiving from Kona!