My school leader asked me on Wednesday to prepare a 3 minute speech for the Graduation/Commissioning on Friday. My first thought was ‘God, are you kidding me? I have SO many things to do this week!’ Not only was this the last week of classes, with all the obligatory final assignments, I had the opportunity to lead base worship on Monday morning, I had a work-duty project that needed to be wrapped up, worship lyric and chord books to finish and print for our team to take on outreach, a few of our travel arrangements to finalize, as well as packing all of my things and cleaning my part of our bedroom. All of this was running through my mind as I sent the brief and somewhat irreverent prayer I just shared with you up to God. He graciously responded by almost immediately giving me direction on the speech, as well as several of what would later become my main points. By the end of the day, when the seeds God planted in my mind had had time to germinate, I sat down to write the speech and finished it in record time. Not only did it come quickly, but in another unprecedented blessing, it was actually 15 seconds short of the allotted time. Usually, I not only wrestle for far too long with writing the speech (or article, email, text message…whatever : )), but end up with way too much material and have to spend an inordinate amount of time whittling it down before it is ready for public consumption. The point here is that, once again, God gave me what I needed to do what He was asking me to do. He is good!
Here’s part of what I shared with my fellow students, teachers, staff and guests on Friday:
“When people asked me about DTS before I came here, I told them that I’d be spending 12 weeks learning in a classroom before going on outreach. Now that we’re at the end of those 12 weeks, I have to say that I was not completely right about that—though we did learn a lot in the classroom over the last few months, some of our most memorable lessons were learned outside the classroom.
Our first lesson began before we ever went to class. As we settled in to our rooms, we began to learn about living in community. Over the months that followed, we learned that though community living can be a challenge, it is also a blessing—it teaches us to both give and receive grace and mercy. On Niko, we learned to give up our rights, to persevere, and to depend on God. Our seed project taught us about unity-what it is, what it isn’t, and how God uses it to affect those around us before we even say a word. And as we have waited on God for the funds to go on outreach, we have learned patience and trust in Him as we watched Him slowly but surely bring our team debt down from $39,000 to under $2000.
…Bertha Swarr told us the other day that we, as DTS, are here to learn and then live the YWAM motto: ‘To know God and make Him known.’ If this is the case (and I believe it is), then our DTS has been a success.
God has used these twelve weeks to bring us to know Him—to deepen and sometimes challenge and correct our understanding of Him. Some of us have learned to see Him as gentle, loving and accepting where we once saw Him as angry and vengeful. Some of us have rejoiced to learn that He cannot be manipulated. Some have discovered that He is always in control. We’ve all seen Him as our provider. We’ve seen Him in and through our circumstances as well as in each other.
God has also used these twelve weeks to teach us how to ‘make Him known’-both by reaching out to the lost and by living our lives in a way that will draw others to Him.
So as we go our separate ways over the next few days, please pray for the DTS team as we follow God to Amsterdam, seeking ‘To Know God and Make Him Known’ and to put what He has taught us into practice.”
So I’ll wrap this up, my last pre-Amsterdam post (I hope to post once or twice while we’re gone, but the base we’ll be staying at, from what we’ve heard, has 2 student computers and multiple schools going on while we’ll be there (hence more competition for said computers), so I’m not going to hold my breath : )), by asking you to do the same. Please pray for us. I’ve listed what I perceive to be our needs below, but please pray as God leads. Thank you for being faithful on this first leg of my new journey with God to support me in prayer, encouragement, and by being my witnesses (by reading these crazy updates of mine : )). I’m so thankful for each one of you!
Praise God with me:
+That he has brought our team balance down from $39,000 to less than $2,000
+For Jesse and Macy (two of our teammates, who will not go with us to Amsterdam)’s marriage on graduation day (picture above-they're the ones in white, go figure ; )). It was beautiful and went off without a hitch. So cool to see God send them out to their own ‘outreach’ (aka married life) on the same day He sent us out on ours.+For all He’s taught us and done in our lives during DTS, and for all He will continue to do in Amsterdam
Please pray with me:
+For safe travel to Amsterdam (we fly out Monday 6/30 at 11:00 am)
+For adjustment to Amsterdam-jet lag, new surroundings, new food, and new principalities and powers which will not be pleased that we’ve come (Eph 6:12)
+That God will equip and help me to fulfill my roles as outreach co-leader and worship leader, as well as outreach team member, in a manner worthy of Him.
+ That God will equip and bless my teammates (Christiane (Brazil), Tamika (Chicago), Raphael (Germany), Teniqua (Kansas), our staff leader (Kyunghee (Korea) pictured above, with Raphael and me in the back row, Tamika, Christiane and Teniqua in the front, and Kyunghee, unfortunately, behind the camera) and me as we minister in Amsterdam. Here’s what we’ll be doing:
--Relationship ministry & evangelism with the window prostitutes in the Red Light District (girls only)
--Relationship ministry & evangelism with the homeless men living in the Red Light district (Raphael only)
--Relationship ministry & evangelism in the night clubs
--Evangelistic Drama
--Prayer Team ministry (we’ll go out into the city and ask residents and tourists if we can pray for/with them)
--Unplanned ministry-once or twice a week, we’ll spend the morning in prayer, seeking God for what He would have us do that day. Then, we’ll go and do it!
In all of this, but especially the last, please pray that we will hear God clearly and obey Him, that He will grow us and draw us to Him, and that He will use us to further His kingdom in Amsterdam.
--Relationship ministry & evangelism with the window prostitutes in the Red Light District (girls only)
--Relationship ministry & evangelism with the homeless men living in the Red Light district (Raphael only)
--Relationship ministry & evangelism in the night clubs
--Evangelistic Drama
--Prayer Team ministry (we’ll go out into the city and ask residents and tourists if we can pray for/with them)
--Unplanned ministry-once or twice a week, we’ll spend the morning in prayer, seeking God for what He would have us do that day. Then, we’ll go and do it!
In all of this, but especially the last, please pray that we will hear God clearly and obey Him, that He will grow us and draw us to Him, and that He will use us to further His kingdom in Amsterdam.
