Dear Lord, 

I LOVE what I am doing, but sometimes I don't know WHAT I'm doing. Please help.

Amen.

Soo.. that’s a little imagery of what my heart has been going through these last 4 weeks of being a part of this school. The good news is that God has answered me every time, and has just continued to give me patience, strength, comfort and peace every day.

Every day is so full-on, starting at 5 am and not stopping until about 11 pm on a regular basis. I am finding that the hardest part of the day is choosing to get out of bed. Once I am out, I have fully committed, and I’m ready to roll and just give everything to that existing day. I haven’t completely mastered it yet, but I am getting there. 

So these last few weeks we have been learning as a class SO many different things.

On the second week, our class had teaching on God’s character. I remember sitting there last year as a student not really knowing why this was an important week, but I have realized now that it’s actually SO key in one’s relationship with God to understand WHO He really is--- there is nothing more important for a Christian to know than this very thing. Throughout the week, our speaker Rod, talked about the different misconceptions of God that people let their minds think because it’s what they have been brought up to believe about who God is. This brought such greater understanding to myself as well as the students, and I actually feel to share them here: 

-          Father Christmas ---- God is not our “fluffy toy” or magic genie lamp. He doesn’t just give us whatever we want, but He disciplines us because He love us so that we may bear fruit and greater holiness later on. Hebrews 12:5-11

-          Distant God ---- God is not far away!! He is SO involved, and He wants to be in the details of things.  Ephesians 2:4 -18

Rod told this story about how his little daughter lost her precious plastic ring, and she was really upset about it. So in his efforts to help her find the ring, he sat down with her and prayed and the two of them asked God to show them where the ring was. He said that God told her exactly where it was and he watched her as she went to look in that exact place and find it there. This speaks volumes to me about how much He cares about our smallest problems.

-          Trickster God ----- He doesn’t play games with us and He doesn’t have any evil.

Psalm 145:17

James 1:13 – He never tempts—if something is too hard God has not brought you there and He does not bring evil things upon us.

-          The FORCE ---- God isn’t some “mystical creature or “cloud” – Genesis 1:26-27

God really has given us an idea of what He is like--- What we see in Jesus is what He is like.

It was really great to have those misconceptions cleared up because so many people have been hurt in the past because they have though God was an angry slave driver God, or just indifferent, or that He has inflicted pain into their lives, and to really realize that we do not serve a God like that can bring restoration and healing to ones’ heart.

After He went over who God is NOT, He went over who God IS.

He is:                                                                                                                                                                                                    

1.        Lord

2.        Uncreated & eternal

3.        He is Spirit

4.        He is infinite

5.       Wise

6.       Just

7.       Merciful

8.       Patient

9.       Gentle

10      Good

11      Kind

12   Truth

1     Compassionate

I loved being able to connect one on one with the 6 girls that I am mentoring at the moment about this week. A lot of them were really just loving the idea that God is so for them and has no intentions but the best for their lives, as well as wanting so badly to be in relationship with them.

On our 3^rd week, we had a week about learning what REPENTANCE and FORGIVENESS is.

Our speaker was Ari, who is a highly respected Dutch leader on our base. His testimony is one that really reveals God’s mercy and grace to it’s fullest as He has been through so much rebelliousness until He came to the place of surrendering His life to the Lord, and God has transformed Him leaps and bounds over the past 13 years that He has been a part of YWAM Perth. Throughout the week He talked about the Ten Commandments in a deeper way, and basically covered each type of sin that is possible to commit. He also talked about how sin separates us from relationship with God, and how we can’t be in right relationship with a perfect God as an imperfect being. And then He talked about why God wants us to repent of our sins and consistently turn away from sin so that we may be more like Him. I think this really challenged the students to try to see sin how God sees sin and to seek to make a lifestyle of making their selves right with God. In the bible Jesus teaches a lot about repenting and turning away from sin, yet it seems likes such a foreign message to Christians, even ones brought up in the church. But by the end of the week , I think the students all really understood the impact their own choices have made on their lives, and how they have had an impact on their relationship with God. They were all asked to take some time and ask the Lord about these sins and were challenged to apply this new thing of “repentance” to their daily lives. Another thing that I felt was key is that we don’t actually have to sin. We have a choice, and God has given all of His followers the same authority that Jesus had to walk away from temptation when it faces us.

It was very cool to learn about.. even a second time around, I felt like I gained a ton more from the teaching.

Which brings me to our 4^th week. This past week, our classes had teaching on prayer and worship--- another thing that we don’t normally think about too deeply. But there is so much that God shows us about both of these things. First of all Prayer.. have you ever wondered why God wants us to pray for things if He could just make them happen Himself?

-          This brings up such an interesting perspective. Our speaker, Cliff said this about that very question and it will forever remain in my mind because it makes sense: “From the beginning of time, God has wanted to use us to make things happen on this earth”.. not only physically by doing things, but also by praying. And when you think about it, it seems so logical because if that were not true, then there would be no point to us praying in the first place at all. 

The main point of the week was that our prayers actually matter. Things HAPPEN when we pray, and when we are in tune to what the Holy Spirit is leading us into praying for, MAN that can be so powerful. And He told an incredible story about this very thing. There was a team that was on outreach in the nations and they were praying and spent some time waiting for God to lead them in what to specifically pray for. They felt like they were supposed to pray for a man named Emmanuel De Costo (who they had never met before and had no idea if he was even a person) but they felt they were supposed to pray that He would discover Jesus, and receive salvation and turn away from drugs. Not long after they prayed, the next nation that they went to serve in they met a man named Emmanuel De Costo who had just recently became a Christian and had turned away from drugs. If that doesn’t send chills up your spine I’m not sure what does. OUR PRAYERS MATTER. And it’s an incredible thing to be able to partner with God in the place of prayer and actually enter into a “battle” for the world. Thid week really inspired me to keep being a fighter on behalf of the nations and my own friends and family because there are things that God does that are because we pray. And I even have a quick example of that today. We had a sausage sizzle over in the city with our class and we sold hot dogs outside this hardware store to raise money for our outreach. We were doing alright, but then it started down pouring and blowing a lot of our stuff away. And it was getting pretty frustrating, but then I just looked at my group and I said “guys, we should pray”. So we grouped together and just asked God that the rain would stop and that He would bring more people in to buy hot dogs. Not even 30 seconds later I looked up and the rain had completely lifted and a group of people walked up to our stand to purchase some dogs. How cool is that? It such a testimony to everything we had talked about this last week, and that God really does care about the little things.

And now my final thing… I found out this last week that I am going to be leading an outreach team with my dear friend Kate into the nations of Burma, Thailand, and Southwest Australia.

This thought literally makes me want to throw up, and jump for excitement at the same time. Never in my life would I have thought at age 19 I would be leading a group of young people across the world with the mission of sharing the gospel. I am so excited, but I think it is still sinking in my mind that it is all happening. I have confidence in the fact that God has appointed me to do this, but it is going to take some massive preparation and perseverance to be able to carry this task out.  

You can pray for me for that! =)

I remember praying for a word from the Lord before this Discipleship Training School started and I saw this passage in my head "Philippians 2:3" and so I looked it up and it read "Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves." What a perfect scripture to go back to when I need help doing this because that is the only way I can make it through each day.It's such an incredible way to serve others.

But even in writing this, I am just reminded of how incredible of a blessing it is to be a part of these people’s lives in such an influential way, and be able to care for them, counsel them, love them, and walk alongside them and cheer them on as they discover God for themselves. I couldn’t think of a better job at the moment, and I am so thankful once again to be able to do what I am doing.

This is a little idea of what has been going on here in Perth, Australia lately. I am exhausted constantly, but somehow there is always grace provided to be able to counsel, sit in lectures, and carry out tasks I am asked to do as an overseer of the students. I am being so stretched and challenged in so many areas, and it is incredible to be able to have an opportunity like this to rise up and go for it and grow in the process.  And I think that one thing I have found is that not only is there the grace to be able to do all of these things, but to actually do them all with joy is another key thing and I feel that is something God has been showing me lately. And I have learned that God is always faithful in giving that when we ask for it.

Dear Lord,

I thank you for the fact that you are who you say you are. That you don’t give us more than we can’t handle. Thank you for the joy that comes from serving you. And even in times where it seems we are in over our heads, you ALWAYS provide a way to persevere. And I also thank you that we are so not the point. It really puts things into perspective when I really remember that. I pray that in all things I may give You that glory, the honor and the praise, because you’re the only one worthy of it. I love You.

Amen.