Calm before the storm

This last week, myself and all the other staff have been in training to prepare us for the DTS that starts here Oct 6th.  I'm beginning to understand how chaotic it's going to be once it starts.  A speaker came up from YWAM Melbourne and has been with YWAM for over 30 years.  He really stressed the importance of having a servant's heart as a staff person.  One thing he said that really stuck with me is that an acid test to see if you have a servant's heart is: How do you react when someone treats you like a servant?  I used to think I had a servant's heart but I recently found out that I need some work done:)  To give you a good idea of what the students and staff participate in, I will give you an overview of the DTS.

Each staff person is assigned a group of students for both small groups and one on one times which both generally meet once a week.  So if a staff person has four one on ones, it could take up a lot of time every week.  In those times we ask the students questions about everything from lectures to life back home to whatever they want to chat about.  We really try to build relationships with the students and get them thinking about their future.  Particularly in the one on one times is when most of the deep conversing is done.  During small group time, we usually just meet to fellowship together and talk about certain issues in life.  The time is more to get the students talking amongst themselves and relating to each other.  Small groups happen once a week at a variety of places.  So these events happen outside of the lecture time.

Lectures are every Monday through Thursday from 8 am to noon.  Students are required to participate in lectures and encouraged to take notes.  It is also during these times when we discuss which countries to go to on Outreach.  Please pray that God would prepare the hearts of both the staff and the students here.  It is very important to make the students feel at home and part of YWAM from the time they get to the Sunny Coast.  

I actually met the first two students to show up.  They are Kristian and Ingrid from Norway.  They were very friendly and also very excited to be here.  As a matter of fact, we have several students coming from Scandinavia.  Many of them are from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.  We also have two British students and a few Americans and Canadians.  It will be great getting to know people who grew up on the other side of the world!  

Greetings from the Sunny Coast!!!!

Greetings from the Sunshine Coast of Australia!

As I have been getting used to being back here, I have noticed a few changes.  The base has grown exponentially over the past year.  We now have more vehicles, houses, and people staffing than ever before.  I am very fortunate that I know many of the staff already.  There are actually several people who were students with me during my school who are now staff.  My fellow Arizonian Sean Marin has been on staff ever since 2007 and has pioneered the media ministry here on the Sunny Coast.  Justin Tierney from Indiana and Kelly Tierney from Oregon were married in June and will be staffing.  Ashlee Rohrer from Pennsylvania has been on staff for nearly a year and has also been on several outreaches to Asia.  

I am very excited to start working with these great people and serving the community and each other.  For those of you who aren't familiar with how the base works, I will try and explain it.  The base acts as a platform for all the ministries that YWAM is involved in.  The Discipleship Training School, which is what I will be working with, is only one part of the base.  There are several people who work at the base, but are not directly involved with the DTS.  There is a skate ministry which works with a lot of the youth around the Sunshine Coast.  We also have a surfer's ministry that attracts people who live the surf lifestyle.  As mentioned before, we now have a media ministry which works with the DTS, the skate ministry, and the surfer's ministry.  And last there is a coffee shop at a wake boarding cable park.  For those of you who don't know what a wake boarding cable park is, its exactly like wake boarding, only you are pulled by giant cables that surround the park and not a boat.   

The Discipleship Training School starts on October 6.  For the first three months, the students will be in a classroom setting every morning Monday through Thursday until lunch time.  Each week offers an exciting new topic and speaker.  Students are expected to keep a journal, report on several books, and meet with their one on one which is assigned at the start of the program.  After the three months are over,students will have already split into teams which will go to other countries to do outreach.  Generally, we have teams gong into Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific.  

This particular school starting October 6th will have 20 male students out of 29 total students.  This translates into me being very busy and learning a lot along the way!  If you could please keep me in your prayers as well as these students, it would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you everyone for your prayers and support.  I look forward to hearing from you and sharing my experiences.

Grace and Peace,

Matt Brown