Engagement and Future

Hello Everyone,

There has been much happening in the past few weeks after outreach in India and have returned to the U.S. I had about a week and a half after the July school was over to take in Australia with my girlfriend Brittany. We rented a car and drove to Noosa Beach, Surfer's Paradise, and Byron Bay within the week and a half period. We also did some hiking and swimming. The rest of our time was spent with friends who I sorely miss already. I left Australia on December 3rd while Brittany left December 4th. Since returning home it has been a whirlwind. I have spent time with family and friends while planning a surprise engagement for Brittany.

The plan was to "fake her out" by taking a trip to the Grand Canyon for a couple days, however, due to weather we decided Sedona, Arizona would be just fine. After talking with her mom and some friends, we were able to organize a little surprise at her house on Saturday the 12th of December. We had a nice time in Sedona and did some hiking as well as sight seeing. Brittany was expecting the proposal the whole time but it would not come until later:) . After the 3 hour drive home, Britt seemed to be accepting the fact that the proposal would come later. She was so shocked and happy that it finally happened. As we entered the house she noticed all the faces in her living room. I got down on a knee and asked her to marry me and she said "YES"! It was a great surprise for her and I am so excited to start a new journey with her.

Thank you to everyone who has faithfully supported me through prayers and finances in YWAM. I would like to let everyone know that I will be having a night where Britt & I can share about this last DTS. I will be postponing that date until January because of the craziness of the holiday season. I look forward to re-connecting with many of you and telling you about what God is doing and has done. One thing I would like to tell everyone is to please stop sending any support to YWAM Tyler. God has provided for my needs so faithfully and I am so thankful to everyone who has been so gracious. Never was I in a position where I had to ask for more from anyone. As a matter of fact I was challenged many times to give more to others who had more needs than myself. Like I have said before, "God has blessed so that we may bless others."

To let everyone know I am currently trying to figure out a plan for this next year. On top of getting married, I also need to find a job and move out. As you can imagine I am nervous, excited, and overwhelmed. Please keep me in your prayers not that everything would work out like a plan, but that I will trust God. I feel like this next season will be a time in which God challenges me to live like I have been teaching students to live the past two years.

I will leave you with a verse that I shared with the July 2009 DTS at their graduation. It comes from Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Back again in Oz

We are officially done with outreach and are back in Australia enjoying a week of debriefing. I am so glad to be back here with the rest of the school and staff. It was a great reunion seeing everyone again. I think the reality that we have only a week left has not really set in for most of us yet.

The last few weeks of outreach were such a blur. One of the high lights of the last week was going to a leper community. We traveled a long ways outside of the city to visit a real community of people with leprosy and their families. Before we went, there was definitely some fear in the air. It's not every day you get the chance to see people suffering from a disease like leprosy. Most of us would avoid having to subject ourselves to that. It is difficult to see people suffering and not feel depressed. What I have learned is that our God is a God who embraces the suffering and the marginalized and He wants people to do the same. This goes against every fiber of our being. No one wants to suffer. But that is exactly what God did for us. It says in Isaiah that the Messiah would be "a man of sorrows acquainted with grief."

Once we were there it was actually not as bad as I thought. The people were very kind and happy to see us and there was actually another team from Washington state there with us which eased the tension. We performed some songs and a drama and presented them with some rice and other food for their community and stayed for a bit before leaving. It was an experience I won't soon forget. I think the team was thankful for the opportunity as well and trying to get past the natural fears.

Thank you to everyone for reading the blogs and keeping up with us. Also thanks for the prayers. We were so blessed to have no major sicknesses or disasters:) For those of you sending financial support thank you. I would ask that you please stop as I am supplied and will be home in a few weeks. Thanks so much for your generosity. I look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Painting & Proselytizing

These past few weeks have flown by. Last week was probably the most intense week we have had during outreach. We literally left by 9am each day and wouldn't return until after 8pm. During the mornings, we worked at a day care center which was actually the home of some Indian Christians. We were asked by our contact Josh to paint it so that it feels like a kindergarten. I was not expecting too much from myself in terms of artistic ability, but I was so happy with the result. We have so many talented painters on this team. Unfortunately not everyone was that great at cleaning brushes:) The paint was oil based and a nightmare to clean up. Nonetheless, I was amazed at the result as was our contact Josh.

At night, we would drive a long ways out to a farming village and share the gospel message using skits, songs, & testimonies. The area was known for having many drunk men. We had so many distractions during our time there including passing vehicles and motorcycles, screaming children, drunk men, and animals! Despite all the distractions, we saw people come forward to ask how they can have a life in relationship with this God we were describing. Many people described never having peace in their life and not knowing why.

This week, we have enjoyed some time off from ministry and have been spending time together reflecting on what has gone well on outreach and what has not. It has been a restful time. Monday we enjoyed going to the mall and eating at an American themed restaurant called "Sparky's". The food was great! On Tuesday, we took the team to a theme park and rode on some fun rides and not-so-fun rides. Wednesday, we are giving everyone a day to do whatever they want. We are looking forward to spending the rest of the week working at an adoption agency. We get to take care of some of the babies & children that are in need of a family. Most of them are girls as boys are preferred by families because of the way marriages are arranged. Parents literally have to start saving up for their daughter to get married off. They usually have to pay a dowry to the groom to take the woman as a wife. Sons are preferred because they receive money from the bride and her family. It's sad but here it is a reality that we Westerners have a hard time understanding.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support while I have been outreach. Please pray that the next few weeks go well for our team as we leave November 14th.

The Halfway Point

We have now been in Chennai for about a month of our two month outreach. I can't say it has been easy although we have had many blessings. This past week, we taught english twice a day. In the morning, we would meet up with about 10-15 college age students looking for help with conversational english. Some of them were good english speakers and others struggled. But it was still fun and exciting to interact with them and help them out. Most of them have never been out of India, so to get a chance to speak with people who use English as a first language is rare. In the evening, we went to a girl's hostel where there is an all girls school. Since there were about 60 or so girls, our team split up into pairs to teach different grades. I was fortunate to get the 10th year girls who spoke and understood english well. It was challenging to come up with new lessons each day that were fun and interesting for everyone. Some activities worked well and others did not, but the students gave a good effort. On the last day, we brought snacks for them to eat. I noticed as I handed them out that nearly all 60+ girls made eye contact and said "thank you" as they received the food. It was good to know they really appreciated the gesture.

We have endured much as a team this week. On Friday, we played soccer with the college age students in the morning group. Despite winning the game, we suffered two injuries: a black eye and a injured knee. Then all through Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, a holiday called "Diwali", which is the Hindu festival of lights, is celebrated. To celebrate, firecrackers are set off all through the night and day. I'm not talking about little ones either. It literally sounds like we are in the middle of a war zone. It is annoying to say the least. Our team did not get much sleep, but we will be thankful for its conclusion. As we press on for towards the next half of outreach, please pray that our team will find the energy and motivation to keep going and to continue in unity.

In the thick of it...

I have now been in India for nearly 3 weeks. It had been so incredibly different than anything I have ever done. By now, we have visited numerous orphanages, churches, and participated in other ministries. There is literally so much going on here it is hard to comprehend. I'm amazed at how many people we have met and seen on a daily basis.

Currently, we are working all week at a place that takes in gypsy children during the day. Gypsies are people who live in communities of tents or shacks on the outskirts of villages. They don't actually belong to a caste and they make their living selling beads and jewelry. We literally go into the gypsy camp, pick the kids up, and take them to the house. There we teach them about english, give them baths, help feed them, and play with them. It has been in interesting experience especially since they don't even speak the native language here called "Tamil". They have their own gypsy language. Most of them have lice and don't ever get taught about hygiene. Once again I am reminded that I have no idea what it is like to grow up in their world, but I do know God loves these kids and these people.

Thank you again to everyone who is supporting me and my team in prayer. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on these next few weeks. Outreach seems long at the beginning but them flies by quickly.

Isaiah 55: 10-11 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

Outreach so far...

By now, I have been in India nearly two weeks. The team got here last Sunday and we have begun to do some ministry this past week. Basically, our schedule is pretty erratic at the moment. We have Mondays off to recoup. So far, we have been able to speak at a cell group (a cell group is basically a small group of people who meet in a home and do Bible studies and fellowship) & spend some time with orphanage kids and do things like play games and sing songs. We also have helped our contact Joshua with some labor at his church. Yesterday, we were able to speak at some church services and minister to the people.

Joshua also took our team to a famous landmark here in Chennai known as St. Thomas Mount. It is believed that the Thomas of the Bible (as in "doubting Thomas") was martyred there. We also got a chance to help Joshua out with a local fundraiser on Friday night for a ministry that does a lot of work with the poor and sick here in Chennai.

It has begun to rain a lot here in Chennai and the season is known as the monsoon season. It has also been very hot during the days. Fortunately, we have air conditioning in our rooms which is a huge benefit. The food has been fantastic and we are so thankful to have Joshua's mother Maggie cooking for us with some of her friends. I am told by Joshua that some of the upcoming weeks we will get a chance to work with street kids, gypsies, and more churches & orphanages. Please pray our team stays healthy and grows in unity. Thank you for your continued prayer and support for our team. FYI: One of our students has been updating a daily blog that you can look at if you would like--> http://www.wix.com/scoastdts/IndiaOutreach09

In Chennai, India

I have safely arrived here in Chennai, India. My first realization of the country was coming into the airport where everyone's temperature is checked because if the swine flu epidemic. Afterwards, I was let outside where there are literally hundreds of people waiting. Some of them want you to take their taxi, some are waiting for loved ones, and some I think are just there. It is hot and humid here in India this time of year and I definitely felt it getting off the airplane. Luckily, my contact Josh found me and took me to his place. On the drive I noticed the amount of people in the streets. With a country of over a billion people, it's hard to put into perspective what that looks like. I am told by my contact Josh that there are roughly 8 or 9 million people in Chennai which is located in the state of Tamil Nadu. Here in Chennai, they speak a language known an Tamil. The country of India itself has thousands of different languages amongst which is the national language Hindi. Luckily for me, lots of people speak basic English as it is taught in some schools.

Life is so different in this place. Poverty is much more "in your face". It is heartbreaking to see so many people living on streets, sleeping on sidewalks, and living on the margins. The diversity of this city is astounding as well. The majority of people are Hindu followed by Christians and then Muslims. I have spent the last few days driving around with Josh and getting to observe this massive city which is the fourth largest in India. Because of the caste system, many people have no hope for getting out of poverty. Even amongst Christians, the caste system has influenced the way people marry.

We are fortunate to have an opportunity to spend time with some of the marginalized people of this city. We get to see what Jesus was talking about when He said, "the least of these". It is my prayer that this team and myself have a life changing trip here in Chennai. When you see the suffering of the poor and you help them, somehow they help you even more. The good news of the Kingdom of God is best received by the poor, because in the Kingdom of Heaven the least are the greatest. Please continue in your prayers for our team. The rest of the team gets here tonight.

Last Week Before Outreach

So it is now upon us....outreach is at the door. I will be leaving before my outreach team on the 16th of September because my visa in Australia is ending. Thankfully I will get a few days to get used to India and spend some time with God before the team shows up on September 20th. It has been a blur this past few weeks. Outreach preparations are such a stressful time. It is important to look at the big picture of why we go.

We are not going so that we can do a "good thing" and pat ourselves on the back. We are not going so that we can say, "I did my share." At the end of the day, it is about love. We want to show the world that God is love. We want people in India to see that Jesus is Lord and that it is good news. If Jesus came and said what He said and did what He did, this is the best news ever. And this is why we go. We believe that God's heart is that people know who He really is and He has shown the fullness of Himself in Jesus. So please remember to pray for us while we are in India. We have a lot of challenges ahead of us. Specifically for team unity, opportunities, and safety. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support.

Jewish Roots

We are getting down to the final countdown with fewer than two weeks to go until outreach to India. Please pray for safety for the team and for health as we go into India. Specifically for me, pray for wisdom and grace to lead the team.

This week, we were privileged to have Joel Baker, a pastor from Nambour, speak on our school. Joel has a passion to share Jewish Roots with people after having lived in Israel for 10 years. He also played some Jewish songs on his guitar and taught us to sing "Hava Nagila." He talked about the tragedy of the treatment of Jews by early Christians and how they justified it. He explained the split of the synagogue and the church. One things I thought was interesting was that he showed how Christianity was like the younger brother of Judaism. Even Jewish history shows similarities such as Isaac receiving the blessing over his older brother Ishmael and also Jacob received a blessings over his older brother Esau. In one of Paul's letters, he explains how Christians are "fellow" heirs of the promise (Eph 2:6). Unfortunately, many people believe that the "Church" is the "New Israel" and God is done with them (the Jews). They call this "Replacement theology." It was actually the grounds for a lot of hatred between Jews and Christians that resulted in death ...NOT things Jesus would put His name on. Paul even goes on to explain in Romans 11 how we have benefitted from Jews and their gifts and promises are irrevocable (v.29). God has not forgotten them and neither should we. There are our older brothers who we owe gratitude towards and need to continue to advocate and pray for.

Relationships & Covenants

These last two weeks have been a blur as we have just finished up "Covenants of the Bible" with one of our favorite speakers Neville Strachan from Byron Bay, Australia. Neville is a regular speaker on DTS's here at the Sunshine Coast base. We were blessed to have him come in a basically look at the entire Bible through the lens of covenants that God has made with man. If you go back a ways on my blog list, I wrote about covenants before during the last school that I staffed last year.

Last week, we looked at "Relationships" with Tricia Hensser & Catrina Pennington. Both of them are wives and base staff here at the base. It was a great week of really looking at the value of all human beings and also the utmost importance of forgiving people. As we go forward in this DTS into outreach, it will be important to remember these principles. Outreach is a time when our integrity is tested.

Speaking of integrity, I was amazed when I was reading the Bible the other day, at the integrity of Jesus. The way I have come to understand integrity, is the way people act when the pressures of life are really squeezing them. A lot of us can understand integrity and even claim to have a lot of it, but the only way it can be tested is through trial. Jesus, after all He said and did and claimed to be, had His integrity truly tested during His trials and crucifixion. Being beaten, mocked, spit on, whipped half to death, abandoned by His closest friends, and stressed to the point of bleeding sweat, He responds by asking God Hid Father to forgive the people who have done this to Him. To me, that is an amazing example of integrity. He had every right, being who He actually was, to judge everyone who had done this to Him. He chose instead to love them.

So as I reflect on this, I begin to understand that outreach will be a time when the whole team is tested. Through extremely hot temperatures, food borne illnesses, sickness, annoyance with team members, lack of rest, and everything else that comes with outreach, I need to remember the example of Jesus, who endured much worse. Please pray for our team to have unity and love for each other. Thanks for all of your prayers and support.

Week of Prayer

Moving right along, this school is going so fast! After finishing up with Project Affwan last week, we jumped right into Prayer week. At our base particularly, we do something special during prayer week. From Monday to Thursday we put everyone in two hour prayer slots. Since this school is about half the size of a normal DTS, we go from 12 noon to 12 midnight and keep constant prayer going. It allows the students to have a chance to practice the discipline of prayer and waiting on God. Typically prayer week always sees many transformations for people. The students have been really going strong this week and pressing into prayer. God is faithful and has been blessing our prayer times. We have prayed for: family and friends, Outreaches in India and Indonesia, the Church and Islam, & Each other (especially for the future).

I was fortunate enough to be able to teach some this week about prayer. I used the Lord's Prayer among other topics. I had help from some other staff people also who really set the tone for this week and challenged the students. I am really fortunate to have such a solid group of people around this base. Next week, we are talking about relationships so keep us in your prayers. I am so glad to have more time now to focus on other things like outreach which is coming up next month. Thank you all for your constant prayers and support. I look forward to talking to you soon.

Project Affwan

This week, the entire DTS drove down a few hours south to the Gold Coast of Australia for an outreach organized by the YWAM base called, "Project Affwan." The word "Affwan" is Arabic and means, "you're welcome." It is used in the context where someone would say "Shokran" (Thank you) and you would respond, "Affwan" (You're Welcome).

The entire week is centered on meeting Muslim Arabs who come here for a holiday before they return to their home countries for Ramadan. Once we meet them, we try and establish a relationship so that we have an opportunity to evangelize to them. Muslims have a lots of similarities in their beliefs to Christians, but there are some major and important differences between the Koran and the Bible. The very foundation of a biblical worldview is that Jesus was the Son of God and came to earth where He died for all people and was resurrected and ascended back to heaven. Muslims do not believe Jesus was God's Son. Actually, many times in the Koran they say that "Allah" or God cannot be a human being. Their understanding of Jesus being God's son is that Mary was "impregnated" by God in the human sense. They detest this idea as we do. We believe Mary conceived through the "Holy Spirit", which actually raises many other issues with Muslims. They do not believe that God or "Allah" is a triune God. They say, "Allah is one." They do not understand the concept of the trinity. So there are these gaps that we must fill among many others.

I have come to understand that it will do no good to get into a logical argument with any Muslims simply because what they have been taught, they fully believe. The only way for them to understand is to experience God's love through us. That's it. One thing I do admire about Muslims is that they are very devout and have a deep understanding of reverence. We can actually learn from each other, but we can never waver when it comes to our beliefs in who Jesus is. Thank you everyone for reading the blogs. Look forward to hearing from you soon. Please continue in prayer for the DTS.

Law vs. Grace

This week the July DTS is getting a taste of the "Fear of the LORD." It is always interesting to see the different reactions to this week. We have already gone through Father heart of God week and Hearing God's voice week. So the students have a grasp on God's passionate love for them and the ways He communicates it to us. Now we are getting into the love of God that sometimes doesn't feel like love to our western minds. Being disciplined and chastened has never been the most enjoyable part of following God, but it is fully necessary. To get an accurate picture of God we cannot just say He is a God of grace without the law. "The law drives us to His grace" I have heard.

It is a pivotal time in the DTS and these next 3 weeks are going to stretch, challenge, and exhaust all of us including the staff. Please keep all of us in your prayers as we tackle some of the tough issues about ourselves and God.

Next week, we have the opportunity to go to the Gold Coast of Australia about 2.5 hours south of here and stay with the YWAM Gold Coast base. During that week which is called "Project Affwan" we have the opportunity to minister to the Muslims who are there on holiday. Many muslims come for holiday right before Ramadan. Pray that the students and staff are well equipped and prepared for this week as we share the Gospel with these people who have no idea what it is. It's a great opportunity and we are very excited to be a part of that.

India here we come!

The July DTS has been going for almost 3 weeks now and we have revealed the outreach locations to the students. One team will be going to Indonesia and the other will be going to India. I have the privilege of going to India with 9 students and another staff in September. It has been a place on my heart as of late for a few reasons. First, I sat by a man from India on my flight back from the last outreach I went on to Thailand and Cambodia. He was so kind and I really felt like there are millions of people like him back in India who need to be told about the Truth. Also, I went and saw "Slumdog Millionaire" with my girlfriend Brittany when we were both home and we loved it. It had some great imagery of what India is like. So I am very excited to be able to actually go there.

The July DTS finished "Fatherheart of God" last week and we are moving into "Hearing God's Voice." This week, we have a guy from Perth, Australia named Danny Taylor who is speaking. He is married with two kids and has a huge heart from evangelism. As we continue on in this DTS please pray for the students and staff as we live together. It is so important to have unity in the school as we prepare for these outreaches. I look forward to hearing from you.

July 2009 DTS is here and rolling...

So it has finally come and has been here for over a week now.  The July 2009 DTS has commenced and is in full swing.  In total we have 15 students.  11 are girls and 4 are guys.  We have 11 Americans, 2 Europeans, and 2 Canadians.  It never ceases to amaze me how quickly people become friends on the DTS.  At our house, the 4 guy students immediately found common ground and were laughing together from the start.  

The 1st week of DTS was orientation.  We get the students familiar with the base and our culture here.  We talk about how the weeks will go and what to expect.  Nothing can really prepare anyone for what will happen though.  There are few experiences like a DTS where students can set aside 5 months of their lives and spend time focused fully on God.  People's lives are changed and the DTS is seen as the starting point of the rest of their lives.  

This week, we are studying the Fatherheart of God.  Our focus is to get the students to understand the character of God.  So many of us come in with views that God is an angry old man shaking His fist.  Jesus describes God as a Father who has deep compassion and love for His children.  If we can start to comprehend that, it changes us.  I am always very encouraged by this week.  Our speakers are a married couple from Florida who are missionaries in Thailand.  They have a heart for counseling people and especially couples.

Thanks so much for your prayers and support as we continue on with this week.  Please pray for God to reveal His unconditional love to the students and allow it to change them.  

Staff Training

Staff training has begun and since last Monday the 22nd, we have been talking about everything having to do with a Discipleship Training School.  I have been emphasizing that the job of the staff is to create an environment in which the students can experience God.  Everything we do has an effect on the DTS environment and it is important to know that we have one of the largest influences on someone's life for 5 months.  Also, we have talked about how to assess students during the course using a specific criteria made up by YWAM.  Since we are not a school in the typical sense, we do not use these to grade but rather to see where the students are at in their DTS experience.  I can say that it is really amazing to watch as the students change over the course of 5 months because they are knowing God.

We have come to Byron Bay for the weekend which is a few hours south of the Sunshine Coast.  It is known in Australia for being a hippie surf town.  I must say that is an accurate description because we went through town yesterday and spent some time eating snags (hotdogs to us Americans) at the local park.  We are spending the weekend getting to know each other better.  We have brought with us a board with all of the students pictures and names so that we can learn their names and faces before we actually meet them.  We also have a pastor and a the base director from here in Byron Bay talking to us about leadership.  It is an exciting time and we are all thrilled to be here.  If you would like to pray for the students as they start arriving later next week and for the staff that we will be well prepared.  

The countdown begins

These past few weeks have been flying by as I have been looking forward to the DTS starting here in a little over two weeks.  Currently, I am spending time at the YWAM offices trying to keep up on emails, scheduling people to come in, and organizing the first several weeks of staff training and the DTS.  It seems like a lot of work and it has been, but I definitely feel that things have fallen together so nicely for this next season.  

I have also gotten to spend some time with a few of my fellow staff members.  I get to work daily with my friend Ashlee who did a DTS with me in Jan 2007 here on the Sunshine Coast.  Her boyfriend Jeremy just left recently to go to Indonesia for six months where he wants to plant a YWAM base in the future and is living in the culture and learning the language to work towards his goal.  I have also gotten to know a guy named David who flew in to Australia from Nigeria only a few days ago.  His English is better than mine and I have learned so much about Africa from him also.  He plans on working here in the 10/20 ministry which works in the public schools with the chaplains to minister to kids between the ages of 10 and 20 on the Sunshine Coast.  One of the things I love about YWAM is that I have gotten to meet and become friends with people from all over the world.  Never would I have thought I would be getting to know such people.  

Keep me in your prayers as I am responsible for a lot that happens here at the base over the next few weeks and am working towards staff training starting on June 22nd.  Also, my girlfriend Brittany will be arriving very soon from the states and I am wanting her first few weeks to be a smooth transition into Australia.  I appreciate all of you and look forward to hearing from you.

Fare Dinkum

For those of you who don't know, "fare dinkum" is an Australian slang term meaning, "seriously" or "no joke".  I've been trying to add it to my vocabulary but it's been difficult.  I also found out some others that you might enjoy:

Bogan: Is the equivalent of a "Red neck" in the states.  Usually they wear short shorts and love their beat up cars.  They also wear a tank top and wear socks with sandals.  More often than not, they also have a mullet.

Esky: Is the name used for a beverage cooler as in "eskimo box".  Kiwis in New Zealand call it a "chilly bin".

Arvo: It is used in place of the word "afternoon", as in "we are going this arvo."

This past week has been a blur.  I have been spending a lot of time at the offices trying to come up with schedules and writing emails.  In a couple weeks on the 22nd of June, we start staff training.  It is a key part of the DTS and helps all the staff get ready for the next 5 months.  As part of our training we will be taking a retreat in Byron Bay a few hours south of here.  We have a couple of great speakers lined up to talk about leadership.  After staff training, is orientation week with the new students of the July DTS.  For the next two weeks I will spending a lot of time in the office working on all of this.  Please pray for wisdom and patience to get it all done.  

Thank you to all of you who continue to pray and support me while I am over here.  Sometimes I have to tell myself, "I am in Australia working as a volunteer and I have more than I need."  I look forward to hearing from you.

Finished in Newcastle...Back to the Sunny Coast

So I have now completed the 1st portion of the Certificate IV Phase 1 course on training and assessment in Australia.  In order to get the certificate, I must complete several more requirement while I am staffing the DTS starting July 6th.  It's "on the job" training.  

One thing I have certainly learned here in this course is that it is very necessary and helpful to have taken the course.  Before it started I was skeptical on why it had to be done and just wanted to be able to staff without any hassle of taking a two week course.  However, the course taught me so much about YWAM and gave me an appreciation for the criteria we have set up for our students.  If we didn't have high standards, then we could easily settle for a mediocre experience.  I think God is teaching me that it is important to push the students and myself for the very best.  Another thing I learned is that assessing students according to the criteria helps us to address one thing at a time instead of trying to help the students figure everything out at once, which is impossible.  This course heavily relies on teaching through experience and that is the very best way.  

So today I am flying back to the Sunshine Coast and will have about 3 weeks to work on everything for the upcoming school.  There is lots and lots to talk about and figure out, but I am looking forward to it.  Also, my girlfriend Brittany will be coming out near the end of June to attend the school as well.  I am very excited about the next season and the new school coming up.  Please keep me in your prayers as I have many responsibilities and only a short time.  Thank you so much also, for all the encouragement when I was home.  I was so glad to hear that there are many who read the blogs and enjoy them.  I will try and update once a week...

Back in Australia

So I have successfully made it back to Australia and have been here for about a week now.  However, I am not back yet on the Sunshine Coast where I live and work.  I am in Newcastle, Australia for a 2 week course called Cert IV.  It is a course for DTS staff in order to offer the best possible training for students doing a DTS in Australia.  For those of you who are still fuzzy on what YWAM is and does I found a mission statement in some of the materials I have familiarizing myself with for this course.  It reads:

"Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an international movement of Christians from many denominations dedicated to presenting Jesus personally to this generation, to mobilizing as many as possible to help in this task, and to the training and equipping of believers for their part in fulfilling the Great Commission.  As citizens of God's kingdom, we are called to love, worship, and obey our Lord, to love and serve His Body, the Church, and to present the whole Gospel for the whole person throughout the whole world."  I thought this was a clear description of what YWAM is and why I am a part of it.  

This week has been very busy with working through this course.  We spend a lot of time practicing what we have been taught in pretend situations.  It has been fun getting to know staff from other bases here in Australia also.  Fortunately, we also have time during the weekend to sightsee.  On Sunday we are going into Sydney which is a few hours drive from here in Newcastle.  We plan on going to a Hillsong church there for an evening service.  This course will last until the 29th of May and then I will be traveling back to the Sunshine Coast to prepare for the school starting in July.

Leaving home for the third time was very difficult and probably the hardest thing about coming back here.  I miss all of you at home, especially my family.  I am praying for you and think about you daily.  Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support.  I am excited for this next season of DTS.  

Back to Oz

So the time has come to go back again to Australia.  The time here in Arizona has gone by so fast.  I am so glad that I got to see many of you while I have been back and spend some time with you.  It has been such a blessings to be able to come back, have a place to live and work, and spend time with friends and family.  Thank you to everyone who has supported me both through prayer and financially.  It means the world and would not be possible without you.  I am leaving Thursday the 14th and will fly out of L.A. at 11:30 pm.   

When I get back to Australia on the 16th, I will be attending a 2 week certification class in Newcastle, Australia (near Sydney) that helps me to assess students among other things because YWAM is an accredited operation.  After that, I will fly back to Brisbane and drive to the Sunshine Coast!  I will have roughly 3 weeks before we start staff training for the July DTS staff.  During those 3 weeks I will be working on organizing the training as well as working on talks for it.  Also, I will be working on talks for the "week of prayer" which I will be speaking on.  I am nervous about speaking, but I am gaining more appreciation for prayer as I have been reading about it and practicing it.  I hope to be hearing from all of you again as I update the blogs regularly.     

While back in the U.S....

I felt compelled to write about what I have been doing since I've been in the U.S.  There have been lots of opportunities to meet up with family and friends and I have been taking advantage of those times.  I was also blessed to learn that I can pick up shifts at my old job working in the group home with 12-17 year old boys.  Also, I have been working on a video from our outreach that I will be giving to the outreach team and to supporters.  The video has been a long process as I am wanting it to be done well and used in churches for presentations.  

It has been hard to be back in the states again and usually is after a DTS experience.  But I am so glad to have some great support from friends and family.  I am hoping to be able to see everyone at least once while I am back.  

I will be leaving again for Australia on May 14th as I have a training to attend in Newcastle, Australia for 2 weeks.  I am very excited to get to staff another school and I also have a friend here from Tucson who will be doing a DTS.  Her name is Brittany and she is very excited to go and also has grandparents who live in Brisbane.  Part of my job this school will be recruiting staff and I am in need of female staff.  Most of the schools that start in July have a majority of girls and it seems that there is a lack of female staff.  I am hopeful that I will get some soon. 

Thanks for all of your prayers and support and I hope to see all of you during my time back here:)   

Back from Outreach

After two months of traveling from Cambodia to Thailand, our team of twelve is back in Australia.  The last week of DTS here will include debrief where students will get to celebrate and share their outreach experiences.  We also talk in depth about plans for after students get home.  It will be a tough transition going from third world nations back home to the Western world.  This is known better as reverse culture shock.  On top of that, students are wrestling with ideas about what to do next in their lives.  Many students show up at a DTS hoping that it all falls into place (I know I did on my DTS), but it does not.  We have to base our decisions on our will and not on emotions.  Students are challenged throughout the week to continue to look for ways in which they can "continue on" with the same mindset they have here back home.  It is easy to allow the comforts of home and ease of life to distract us from getting out and doing something for God.  Also, students are given information about how they can continue with YWAM if they choose and come back to staff.  

It is without a doubt a very fun and exciting week, but it is also a fork in the road for almost everyone involved.  Please keep the staff and students in your prayers as they think about these things.  

As for the last part of outreach,  we had been helping Pastor Wasan build a pre-school and also teaching English to some Thai people at a local community center.  The guys team was so grateful for their experience with Pastor Wasan.  We all got to see a man who's heart is fully devoted to serving God and people any way possible.  He is inspiring to say the least.  

Thailand is a very unique country in that it has it's own culture apart from Western influence.  Thailand is very closed off to Christianity because they see it as being influenced by the Western Culture.  They don't understand that the Kingdom of God transcends all cultures in all times.  But meeting people like Pastor Wasan left me with some hope that there are Thai people who are making a difference and helping Christ change lives.

 

Pastor Wasan & the Thai Coast

Since February 2, our team has again split into two different ministries and gone to two different areas of Thailand.  All four of the ladies on our team have gone to Phucket to work with “She” ministries”, which helps women in prostitution.  “She ministries” tries to employ women who want out of the prostitution industry.  They make jewelry, sell chocolate, and work in various other trades. 

All eight of our guys have been working with a man named Pastor Wasan.  Pastor Wasan is an example of what Paul was talking about when he mentions doing good whenever we have opportunity.  Wasan has been helping out here on the Thai Coast ever since the Tsunami of 2004.  He has helped to build dozens of homes for people.  He is a liaison for churches and other groups who want to come and help out.  Currently he is working on a project to build a new preschool for some local children.  He also is a full time pastor, windshield repairman, and father.  He is possibly the most humble man I have ever met in my life.  Never does he consider himself before other people.  He has really had an influence on the guys of this team and myself.  We are constantly amazed at what he does for us and for others.  People stop by all the time that he has helped in the past to give him some fresh seafood or some other gift.  He always accepts them but usually finds a way to pass the blessing on to someone else.  He always says, “Praise God that He always provides for me”.  The man literally lives to serve others and loves to do it.  The people he helped after the Tsunami wanted to name a pier after him and he refused.  He is an example of a godly man for all of us guys who strive to be the same. 

We have been helping Pastor Wasan at the preschool and also with his Saturday and Sunday children’s programs.  Every day after work, Wasan takes our team to the beach for a quick swim.  It is just one of many things he does to thank us for helping him.   

Phang Nga, Thailand

Our team is now in Southern Thailand where we will spend the rest of outreach phase.  Some things have changed for us since we have been here.  My co-leader and I both agreed that our team was hard to manage because we were 12 people.  We found it overwhelming to try and disciple everyone with our different leadership styles.  Fortunately, a staff person from YWAM Sunshine Coast came out to visit for a few days.  I mentioned Merv in last week's blog.  He suggested that it might be more effective to split our team up.  This allows us to put more responsibility on the students and allows us to challenge them to step up.  We also can give more attention to each student on the team.  

So far, it has been much better.  The students had mixed feelings about leaving one another but I know this was the best decision for our team.  I have already witnessed people stepping up and taking more initiative. 

So far, my team has been working with a church here in Phang Nga.  Of a town of 50,000, there are mostly Buddhists and Muslims here.  We have had a chance to go into a couple of schools and teach English.  We are also helping out with a community center this week that is building a fence and a coffee shop.  The challenges here in Thailand are new, but the work is very similar.  I'm hoping to see the students gain an understanding of how much people need to hear the the Truth here.  We have been so blessed with this opportunity and have already seen so much here.  Compared to Cambodia, the quality of life is much higher here.  The food is phenomenal, but we have had a lot of sicknesses over the past week.  Please pray that our team gets healthy and that we seize any opportunity we have to share with people here.  

Remembering Cambodia

It is our last day here in Cambodia.  We leave tonight for Bangkok, Thailand for the 2nd half of our outreach.  Our last days in Sihanoukville were really amazing.  We were able to finish both the inside and outside walls of both the school and the orphanage.  We also developed so many relationships with the orphan children and with the school faculty.  On Wednesday, the school surprised us by having a traditional dance presentation as well as a fruit basket gift for our team.  Also, all of the children from the orphanage were giving gifts to us before we left on Thursday.  One thing I have come to realize from being on two separate outreaches is that it seems as if the most poor people in the world are able to give more of what they have than we can.  They love to give gifts.  Part of me wants them to keep what they have because they don't know how much I already have.  But it would break their heart not to take it so we do.  We accept their gifts gratefully and it is most humbling.  I am reminded of the story in Luke 21 when Jesus comments on the gifts given by the widow versus the rich.  The widow gave out of her poverty and the rich gave out of their surplus.  It truly is much better to give than to receive.  

Once we are in Bangkok, we are spending a few days there for orientation and to have a break.  We have a man named Merv from our base who is coming out to encourage and see how things are going.  We are excited to have him. He is the former base director of the Sunshine Coast YWAM base.  Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support.     

Painting and Teaching

We have now been in Cambodia for nearly 3 weeks.  As you know we have been working with a school  and orphanage set up by Assemblies of God Church.  We are nearly finished with painting the walls and teaching English to the Khmer children.  We have also had opportunities to host all of the school's chapels as well as join in the Sunday services at a local church.  The pastor of the church is probably the most kind person I have ever met.  He is so excited for us to be in fellowship with his church.  One things that has been challenging on this outreach is team unity.  We have 12 people from 5 different countries trying to serve beside one another.  We have been so blessed to have all these opportunities mentioned above.  Please keep us all in your prayers as we learn to serve beside each other and truly understand what missions are.  I don't know if I have shared this before, but I heard the best way to know if you have a servant's heart is to see how you react when someone treats you like one.  I think I have a long way to go.  

We have had a few people get sick including myself but I am feeling great now and most of our team is now in good health.  We leave here on Thursday the 15th and go to Thailand on the 17th.  We have another opportunity on the 16th in Phnom Penh to go to the city dump where children pick through the trash for food.  We are going to bring them food and hopefully play with them as well.  It should be a humbling experience.