Today has been a day of reflection and preparation.
[Reflection] Today, I officially completed lecture phase of DTS. This may seem very small to some, but to me it is a milestone. What was supposed to be a three month journey of lecture phase for me, became six months. I failed my first lecture phase by one week. A choice I made had the potential of marking the course of the rest of my life. But of course, God in his goodness stood on my behalf and I was given a second chance.
It was a hard second chance none the less. Every morning, I had to wake up and make the conscious decision to not be prideful. Just because I had already done all of the lectures, did not make me any better, wiser, or more spiritual than anyone else. In fact, I probably learned more the second time around than the first. I had to make the decision to not compare my new DTS with my old. This was the hardest thing for me, and I did not do a great job at it always. Also, I had to decide to apply what I was learning this time, not to just learn it. There was a time when we were learning that humility was the most beautiful thing to God. I so badly wanted to be beautiful. But that meant walking in humility. That meant exposing something hidden in the dark. But I had to apply if i wanted to see progress. So I brought things into the light realizing that any consequence is worth it if it means I get to go deeper with God.
I also reflected today on just how thankful I am to God for the last six months of my life. The majority of my 2012 was spent here in Perth. I have had some amazing experiences, and met some incredible people here. I think relationships is the thing I am the most thankful for. Besides God showing me what it means to have a real relationship with him, He has shown me how to value others, and how to let others affirm and value me. The people I have met here are so amazing. They challenge me, love me, hold me accountable, pray for me, hug me, laugh with me, and demonstrate God's character to me. I have never met another group of people like this in my life. Talk about life-long friendships.
I am thankful for getting to be here in Perth an extra 3 months. God has confirmed my calling through this time. He has shown me His heart for the lost and the broken. But most importantly, he has shown me where I fit in his plan for the world. He has called me into missions. For how long? I am not sure. But I have committed my life to missions until He says move. I won't wait for him to tell me how long. I'll be in missions/ministry until I hear to do something else. With that said, I have turned down my enrollment to Berklee in September, and will be moving here to Perth, Australia for a bit of time to be apart of YWAM Perth staff. I will be able to use worship, music/performance, my heart for this generation, discipleship, and my love of Jesus to change the world. I am a world changer. Get ready.
God is so good. He is so faithful. He is so worth it. He is so gracious.
[Preparation] Tomorrow starts the next phase of my journey. Outreach. In less than 24 hours, I'll be on an airplane, almost five hours into a flight to Dubai with a final destination Mozambique, Africa. God has put me on a team of 11 others to go to Mozambique for six weeks. We haven't a ton of information on what we will be doing, but it will be a bit of orphanage ministry, evangelism, HIV/Aids help, diagnosing sight issues/giving out glasses, sports ministry, and simply loving on the people.
On February 11, we will journey back to Perth for a short day and then head down south four hours to a town called Busselton for five weeks where we will be going into high schools to teach seminars on peer abuse, substance abuse, value, families, etc.
I am so excited to see God move in these two different areas in the world. I am also excited to see how he stretches me and grows me as a leader during this time. For the whole three months I will be sleeping in a sleeping bag in a tent. Talk about intense [no pun intended.. but actually there was]. I also have the honor of being the worship leader for my team. I am so glad to have the opportunity to get back into my element there.
Please keep my team in your prayers as we head out. As you can imagine, this will be a physically, emotionally, and mentally challenging outreach. But God is good, hey?
Upon returning, my mom will arrive in Perth for two weeks where she will get to experience all that I have experienced in my nine months of training with YWAM. I am so so excited for this.
Seriously... I love God. He is so cool.
For now, I must finish packing.
Friday, December 28, 2012
Monday, December 24, 2012
The Reason for the Season
Twas the night before Christmas and I am left speechless....
Generous. God is so generous.
This morning, my DTS met for prayer at 6:00 AM, like we do each Monday to pray for finances. I was hit with God's generosity. For instance, my DTS was able to raise over $40,000 for our outreaches to Asia and Africa. That's incredible! If you think about it, YWAM raises a lot of money per year. With about 12 different DTS's running each year, there is a need for a lot of finance. But the teams, always go on outreach. God always provides. He is so generous. He doesn't owe us anything, but instead, chooses to give to us.
And then it hit me, Christmas. -- The most generous thing God ever did was give up his only son for us. He let his son become not just a baby, but a fetus for me. That may seem a bit strange, but think about it. Atleast babies can cry and communicate to the world that they are hungry or something, but a fetus....? That's so hard for me to wrap my mind around. But he did it for me. He did it for you. He did it for us. The greatest part about it is that if I was the only person in the world with sin, he still would have sent Jesus.
There are a lot of lessons to be learned from that. God's goodness, his provision, his father-heart, and the fact that we are important to him. So good!
But now my lids are heavy... it's been such an eventful day. Taking in Aussie Christmas has been a bit of culture shock. From this week ranging from 94-104 degrees F, to having an Aussie Barby for christmas eve dinner, to stuffing stockings and watching others stuff the 300+ stockings hanging in one room, to having to Skype my mom just to say "merry christmas" -- things are just a bit different.
As I think back on Christmas at home, and what it would be like if I were there. Things would have been different then what I grew up with anyways. It is the second year without my dad for Christmas, so that changes things regardless. My brother Daniel has an almost-two-year-old daughter [the love of my life], and my other brother Philip lives in NYC. So things are a bit different anyways. But that's life. Seasons, changes, reasons to begin new traditions. Also, with change brings the need to press into God for strength, growth, and endurance. After all, He is the reason for the season right?
And that's exactly what it boils down to. It's not about traditions, it's not even about spending time with family. It's about Jesus and the gift that He is to us.
Generous. God is so generous.
This morning, my DTS met for prayer at 6:00 AM, like we do each Monday to pray for finances. I was hit with God's generosity. For instance, my DTS was able to raise over $40,000 for our outreaches to Asia and Africa. That's incredible! If you think about it, YWAM raises a lot of money per year. With about 12 different DTS's running each year, there is a need for a lot of finance. But the teams, always go on outreach. God always provides. He is so generous. He doesn't owe us anything, but instead, chooses to give to us.
And then it hit me, Christmas. -- The most generous thing God ever did was give up his only son for us. He let his son become not just a baby, but a fetus for me. That may seem a bit strange, but think about it. Atleast babies can cry and communicate to the world that they are hungry or something, but a fetus....? That's so hard for me to wrap my mind around. But he did it for me. He did it for you. He did it for us. The greatest part about it is that if I was the only person in the world with sin, he still would have sent Jesus.
There are a lot of lessons to be learned from that. God's goodness, his provision, his father-heart, and the fact that we are important to him. So good!
But now my lids are heavy... it's been such an eventful day. Taking in Aussie Christmas has been a bit of culture shock. From this week ranging from 94-104 degrees F, to having an Aussie Barby for christmas eve dinner, to stuffing stockings and watching others stuff the 300+ stockings hanging in one room, to having to Skype my mom just to say "merry christmas" -- things are just a bit different.
As I think back on Christmas at home, and what it would be like if I were there. Things would have been different then what I grew up with anyways. It is the second year without my dad for Christmas, so that changes things regardless. My brother Daniel has an almost-two-year-old daughter [the love of my life], and my other brother Philip lives in NYC. So things are a bit different anyways. But that's life. Seasons, changes, reasons to begin new traditions. Also, with change brings the need to press into God for strength, growth, and endurance. After all, He is the reason for the season right?
And that's exactly what it boils down to. It's not about traditions, it's not even about spending time with family. It's about Jesus and the gift that He is to us.
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