The next four days...

The next four days are going to spent in intense prayer. Outreach locations were announced tonight. I have four days to pray about it, and make my decision on Friday. We will know the teams by Tuesday.


There will be three outreach teams. Each team will spend 4 or 5 weeks in......

London!

After that, each team will go to a differnt location for 6 or 7 weeks. The locations are....

Cambodia

India

Nepal

Now comes the part where you and I both get to pray that God would confirm where I am supposed to go. Also, my outreach fees are estimated at $4,500. Therefore, please pray that I am able to raise that money, and also consider joining in with me on this adventure by supporting me financially. 


Stay tuned to find out where God calls me!

My hands are really cold right now....

Well, I have officially been gone for a month! It is seriously crazy to think about. I have made so many new friends, best friends, experienced a new culture, been set free from fears and disbeliefs, had an unhealthy amount of TimTams, but most importantly I have been captivated by the lover of my soul, Jesus. 

The people here in Australia, YWAM in particular, are absolutely beautiful people. The hearts, passions, and desire for relationship in these people has changed me. I am still the same Grace Margaret Eggers that I've always been, but a better version. Transformation, revelation, and reconciliation has taken place. Hallelujah! 

This past weeks lectures were on Worship & Intercession. My views of both of these have changed so much. Our speaker, Chris Adams, was SO good! He kept our attention, challenged us, but ultimately, he encouraged us. We had a great time of intercession on Wednesday morning, and a great time of worship on Friday morning. Worship here is amazing, raw, and passionate! 

Monday night, we had our Monday Music Lectures. This week was on Worship Leading. Oh my gosh! Probably my favorite lecture session in general that I have had. As I am called to be a worship leader, I learned so much from this. God is really speaking to me concerning this calling. I realized that education on worship leading, is what I want more of. I'm hungry for more of it! With that said, I am really praying about God's direction for me after DTS. 

Other than that, I am finally adjusted to the schedule and routine here. Waking up for morning excersize is kicking my butt, but it has really disciplined me and gives me no excuse not to have a quiet time. I love that. I see what you did there, YWAM. Lunch Dishes every day is still not very fun, but I am learning to embrace it because I have to deal with it every day. Thursday nights, we have Evangelism. Something that I was scared of at first but now look forward to. And of course my weekends are lovely. Saturdays I tend to devote to doing my weekly journal, spending downtime with friends, and enjoying the views of Perth. Sundays have become Beach Days! The Indian ocean is BEAUTIFUL! Ah, so awesome!

So here is what I'm most excited to tell you about....

This Monday ( IN TWO DAYS ) We find out our OUTREACH LOCATIONS!!!!!! Ah so so so so so so so so so so exciting. After Monday, we will have a week to pray about it (without talking to anyone else about it) and then we get to tell our leaders where we feel God is calling us to in confidence. Sometime after that, our teams will be announced! AH! God has broken my heart for a few nations already, so we will see how it goes!

Anyways, I just finished up watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics with some of my favorite people in our dining room. Now, dinner.

I'll be updating you on Monday once our outreach locations are announced.

Forgiveness & Repentance

This is going to be long, but you're going to want to read it. Seriously.


Wow, what a week! I wish everyone on this earth could go through what I and the rest of my DTS went through this week. Let's start at the very beginning...a very good place to start.


Monday mornings, we run. Each day we start out with morning excersize at 6 AM. Yeah, you read that right... I am up BEFORE 6 AM every morning here. Good discipline, eh? Anyways... we all showed up to morning excersize like always, except this time, there was a different vibe in the air. All weekend we had been hearing rumors and stories of what this week would bring to us. Forgiveness & Repentance. Let me tell you what, people don't talk it up for no reason.


Yes, this weeks lectures were on Forgiveness & Repentance. We had one of our base leaders, Ari Slooks from Holland speak to us every morning on not just forgiving and repenting, but living a life of forgiveness and repentance. In the first 15 minutes of our lectures on Monday, God was already convicting me of sins in my life all the way back to third grade. Conviction of things in my life that I didn't realize were sin! The best thing about lectures here at YWAM is they are SO Bible based. There is a scripture to reference everything that our speakers say. That makes it all the more convicting. 


Not only did Ari teach on Forgiveness & Repentance, but he also encouraged us to dig into the Bible and think, he had some very challenging things for us to ponder. Monday-Wednesday were on repentance and the cross. Thursday was on sin and forgiveness. On Thursday, Ari gave us a piece of paper that had categories of sins based on the ten commandments, and gave us our homework. Our homework was to go home, and write out two lists; one for sins/repentance, and one for things/people we need to forgive. WHAT?! Seriously!? Yeah, I'd be bold enough to say that it was the hardest assignment I have EVER been given. 


How does one go about writing out sins as far back as we can think that we have never dealt with. First, you have to be humble enough to write out your sins. If you aren't then you're having pride <-- a sin. So you have to write that one too. See what I mean? As I was going through the list of sins and writing out my sins, there was none stop conviction. Then came to the forgiveness. That one was a bit easier, but still scary. 


SO now you're probably wondering why we did that. Well Friday morning was the answer.


Every Friday during DTS is "application day." Therefore, we put into practice what we learned Monday-Thursday. Little did we know (well we had an idea from all the stories), this would be the most monumental days in some of the lives of the MDTS (Music DTS). We were told to dress comfortably for a long day and to bring our lists. We met in a different room than our lecture room, somewhere more secluded, around 8:30 AM. We started with an hour of worship, and then the fun began. At the center of the room were three chairs. One for Ari, one for our Small Group leader, and the center chair for us. One at a time as led (not forced, but everyone participated), we took a lead of faith and sat in the middle chair with our lists. We confessed our sins....every....last...one....of....them in the form of a prayer. Then, we forgave. WHOA. Talk about emotions, talk about boldness, and talk about compassion. It was ABSOLUTELY amazing to see the boldness of EVERYONE (36 people, guys and girls between the ages of 17 and 31) take a step of humility and confess their deepest darkest sins, be forgiven and redeemed, and then release forgiveness to others. Everything from talking back to parents, to forgiving rapists. 


After the prayers by us, Ari prayed redemption and healing into our lives. After being supported by a loud cheer and applause, we each made our way to a cross in the back of the room, nailed our lists to it, and were prayed over by our small group. So much compassion and grace in the room through hugs, encouragement notes, and happy tears. 


WHAT A DAY! Well, I'm sure you're wondering what time we finished up? Well like I said, we started at 8:30 AM..... took 30 minutes for lunch, and 30 minutes for dinner, and finally left at 11:30 PM! YEAH, That's right. We went on for 15 hours! SO totally worth it though!


For me, God brought a lot of breakthrough concerning my dad. I realized this week that yes I have gotten over my angry-at-God stage, but I was harboring anger towards my dad. It was so good to release that and to also release forgiveness to others. I woke up feeling physically lighter and SO free! God is totally at work in my life, and I can't wait to keep telling you guys about it! 


What a testimony to the body of Christ! Can you imagine if people did that everyday? Today, it is so foreign to confess sins because of pride. But it is necessary. One of the biggest things we learned that it is not enough to just confess to God in our spirits and hearts, but there is something about verbal repentance that will bring us closer to the Lord. Ah. So good. I have the best savior ever, and He is faithful, and GOOD! He forgives out of LOVE and is SO approachable! 


Well, if you've made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back! 


Thanks for reading!

Just another update...

G'day mate! How are ya? It's been great! Koala.


I think I am bold enough to say that those set of phrases accurately sums up my DTS. They are lyrics to a fun song writing contest we had here! You can hear them in the video below.


This week has been so amazing. It has been filled with laughter, tears, inside jokes, and LOTS of coffee.  I can't even describe how much I love the people in my DTS. We grow closer and closer which is SUCH a blessing. I have heard a few stories of some bad DTS experiences. God is so good. We officially have 36 people in our DTS. There are so many different instruments and a range of different talents among us.


This week brought many new things. It was our first full week of a normal schedule. We also began band practice, small group, one-on-one's, and prayer chain. In my band, we are performing the songs "With or Without You" by U2 and "1, 2, 3, 4" by Feist for a fundraiser for outreach in week 9. Also, we have to write a song which should be interesting considering I have never written a song in a group. My one-on-one is Eden. She did her Music DTS last july and is now staffing my DTS. Because she is new, Arielle (another girl staffing my DTS) sits in with us, so technically it is a two-on-one. We meet together for about an hour a week just to chat and see what I'm learning and how I am. Arielle and Eden combine their one-on-ones together and we have small group on Tuesday nights. There are seven of us girls plus Eden and Arielle. One of the things I love about YWAM is the different levels of intimacy we have with different people. It really gives you a chance to become close to so many people. On thursday nights here, we have evangelism. Evangelism is something that YWAM Perth is known for. The whole base gets together and goes on in small groups to evangelize in Perth. Then of course on friday nights we have Friday Night Meeting (YWAM church). 


Something that started for us this week is Prayer Chain. For the last 14 years, there has been constant 24 hour prayer at YWAM Perth. My DTS has a shift from midnight-7 AM on saturdays. So our DTS splits up into smaller groups and we all take an hour. Of course, my shift is at 3 AM. Yeah 3 AM people. So there are four of us that gather at the wee hour and intercede together for a variety of things. Whatever God puts on our hearts.


Week Two's lectures were on the Nature and Character of God. And wow was it amazing. Initially I was not super pumped about this week, not that I was dreading it, but I was looking forward to other weeks more. But that changed. I learned so much. there were so many things that God revealed to me. Mainly about his goodness. I always have known things about God's nature and character, but it wasn't until this week that I really began to BELIEVE it. Fridays here are "Application Day". For week two, we had an intense time of worship. Our speaker Josh, challenged us to really focus on who God is and worship Him for that. Another thing Josh had us do was picture a time in our life that we had trouble and to look at it like a photograph and imagine WHERE God was during that time that we may not have seen before. He also encouraged us to journal during the time of worship. Again, God really revealed Himself to me. There was such a sense of freedom and direction during the morning. Many people got words for others and there were many chains broken and walls smashed. God is so good.


We have had other great times of corporate worship too!


PRAYER REQUEST:
Please pray that God will reveal himself to me and give me direction for after DTS. Please pray that God will begin to break my heart for the nation He wants me to outreach to. And please pray for a continued smooth transition into my new home!


Week three, this week, is on Forgiveness & Repentance. Every YWAM-er I know says this is the most pivotal week during DTS. Hard during the week, but such a sense of breakthrough and closeness with the other DTS-ers after. So get ready! I'm sure I'll have a lot to say next week,


Until then,
I'm Grace.... 
and this is "Grace Talks"




hehe.

Limestone, Fish 'n' Chips, and Caffissimo

Well my first full week has come to a close. I have been here for nine days, and I seriously cannot explain to you how much I love this place. It's Sunday night here, and I am anticipating a long week ahead. But before I get ahead of myself, let me fill you in on what this past week brought me.


This past Monday, and Tuesday were full of orientation and registration. Mainly, we learned about the base, Australian lingo and culture, and the history of YWAM Perth. EVERY-single-thing on my base happens because someone on base leadership heard from the Lord. Everything from why we have a coffee shop, why we do family chores, and why our building is mostly glass and windows has God's hand in it. It is so awesome. During these two days, we had a base wide barby, school worship, and many times devoted to fellowship.


Wednesday we officially started our lectures. This past week our lectures were on Hearing the Voice of the Lord and Quiet Times. Our speaker was one of the base leaders from South Africa. She was so good, and the things she said really hit home for me. On Thursday, she made us practice hearing from the Lord and it was so great. We all went to a quiet place on base and asked God two things: "What do you think of me, Lord?" and "What would you have for me in these six months?" One of the things we learned about was deciphering between hearing our own voice, and the Lord's voice. So the first thing I did was ask God to let me only hear His voice. Immediately I couldn't hear my own thoughts. The very first thing that came to my mind was the word "Limestone." I knew it was God for sure because there is nothing in me that would make me think of limestone on my own. So I used my handy-dandy iPhone and looked up limestone. The very first words that came up were "elegant in appearance", "pure", and "strong." That was EXACTLY what I needed to hear God say that he thinks of me. That was such a cool experience.


During this week, we also got our Family Chores, Work Duties, and Bands. Family chores is something that YWAM Perth feels very strongly about. YWAM Perth feels called to be as much of a family as it can, therefore we don't have a separate cleaning crew, but instead we all pitch in. For the next three weeks, I am on lunch set up every morning from 8:00-8:25. In three weeks, it will change, so that we all experience other areas of base. My work duty however, is lunch dishes. For the next three MONTHS from 1:30-3:30, I will be scrubbing pots and pans and then begin dinner preparations. God has such a sense of humor considering dishes was the LAST thing I wanted to do. HAHA. 


Yesterday, we found our band assignments. Our DTS of 37 people was split into 7 bands. We each have 2 hours a week to practice. Our assignment is to cover 2 songs and write an original. I am so excited about becoming close with my band and blending each of our styles. In 8 weeks we will be holding a fundraiser and performing these songs for an outreach fundraiser. 


This weekend has been so fun. Our DTS went to Fremantle (a local beach) yesterday and had the best fish 'n' chips ever. Other than that, this weekend has been full of heart-to-hearts with my fellow dts-ers, mile long walks to a caffissimo for coffee and internet usage (Facebook is currently down on base), and many laughs. I am so in love with these people, the city, and the iced coffee. 


Next weeks post will be pretty great considering tomorrow we start morning workouts at SIX AM! 


I applaud you if you have read this whole post. 
See you next week mates!

Settling in the Land Down Under!

G'day mates! 


Well after nine long months of waiting, it's hard to believe I'm finally here. Not sure that it completely hit me yet, but I am so excited to be here!


For those of you who don't know, two days before I began this incredible adventure, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis. I was so so bummed to find this out. What an awful time to get it. So far, I don't feel as bad as probably could, but I'm definitely not feeling myself. Mainly, my ears throat and nose are bothering me. This means.... my singing voice is not all there. So we will see how it goes. Please pray for continued healing in my body. I am believing that God is already healing me and am praising him in the midst of it, even though it is hard.


Jet lag, what a strange, strange thing. I got a lot of sleep on my 15 hour flight from LA to Sydney, so that was an answer to prayer for sure. Because of that, I probably haven't experienced the extreme jet lag, as some of my fellow ywam-ers have. I have had two nights here so far, and both nights have gone pretty well. However, my mono has caused me to be in a lot of pain (throat and ears) in the middle of the night. Plus I'm not sure that my body is liking me very much. The mono mixed with jet lag is not a good combination. Like I said, please continue to pray for me.


So far, I am love with my new city. Perth is beautiful. Luckily, base is very close to the city so I have gone on several adventures in the city with some of my DTS mates. One of my biggest adventures however has been trying to fit six months of my life onto two shelves that I am allowed! Hehe. Anywho, Speaking of DTS mates, there are 35 of us in Music DTS, and that is a fairly large DTS. 31 of us are already here, and 4 others arrive today. 


Tonight we start orientation, and I am so so excited for DTS to officially begin. The next two days are orientation and then we have registration. I can't wait to see what God does with those of us in Music DTS. I like everyone a whole whole lot. And I'm pretty sure, I found my long-lost-twin here! Anyways, God has already been so faithful to me and has already taught me so much in my two short days here. 


Well, I will have much more to update with as soon as I get into the regular schedule of DTS! Thank you everyone for being faithful in praying for me! 

My two shelves!

Perth is so beautiful. 

The main strip that we have shopped at

Kings Park view of Perth

A view of Perth from Kings Park