DTS: Check!

Graduation day. I still do not recall Kevin complaining once
about being the only guy in the DTS...

Last week was our debriefing week. We, as a team, reviewed the negatives and positives of our outreach. Our speaker encouraged us to spend 2/3 of our time meditating on the negatives, as he said these are the gold mines God tends to work most often in and through. We spent time as a group, as well as personal time with God, reviewing the hurts and joys of the past five months. The enemy often gives us temporary amnesia causing us to forget God's previous faithfulness in all we have been through.

Our speaker encouraged us to also drill God on why we fell in love with different foods, countries, peoples and experiences. We cannot simply nebulize the goodness of an experience, God has a reason as to why this thing has left such an impact on our life. While I may be half a country, or world away, from my brothers and sisters, I can still be in prayer for them, write them e-mails and share their stories with others here. God does not give us a second of life for nothing; every moment of life is part of our testimony that will somehow bring glory to God.

More than anything, however, our speaker prepared us to fail as we enter back into the world outside of YWAM. Such encouragement, right? Or maybe he was being realistic. We cannot simply grow, we must go through life with a game plan. Going through life expecting God to move without moving ourselves is like locking ourselves in a room with no windows and praying to see the sun, we must leave the room to see! I am responsible to kick start the engine of my own missional living. And here's the thing, the missionary lifestyle, I can live that wherever I go. We made a game plan for returning home, made commitments to each other for accountability and made a list of people where we lived we could go to who we knew would hold us accountable. For me this game plan includes living a simpler life, dedicating more of my day to being silent before the throne, and plugging myself into opportunities at home where I can love others with the love God has poured out onto me.

Mom, me and Dad on graduation day. I was so ecstatic for
them to have a small glimpse of what DTS is like!

And then we graduated. Friday January 9, I received a diploma of graduation signifying I have successfully joined the YWAM clan. My parents were there to celebrate with me. Our graduation consisted of one last worship time together as DTS students, a time to share about our adventures with the parents and guests who came, and a challenging finale lecture from our base founder. The following couple days consisted of hard goodbyes and laughs over embarrassing stories. We shared fears of going home, and prayed against the enemy of fear. Going home is simply another place God has provided us with where we can radically live for Him, a place not much different than Vegas, Mexico, Nepal or India.

So, what is next for me? Right now, it is processing what God has taken me through and praying for where God would like to take me next. I have spent much time writing in my journal, sharing my experiences with others and catching up with others. For me it is choosing to tell people about our great Healer and praying for healing, even if others think I may be crazy. For me it is going to Smokey Row and not being afraid to talk to the stranger in the next booth over, always obeying the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  Our God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He does not change from India to Nepal to Vegas to Iowa, He is everlasting, with us every moment with the same authority He always has had. While I may not have a plan for my future, my Abba Daddy has a beautiful plan, I just do not understand why He has not shared it with me!

Daddyoh and I am at Hoover Dam. I was able to take them
around town showing them places where we did ministry and
out sight seeing!

While I now type up the last post reviewing my DTS experience, I am reminded of all God has done. He has taken me to Vegas, Mexico, Nepal and India. I have prayed for people who have been healed of back pain and broken shoulders. I have held little girls who will most likely be sold into sex slavery and danced with little girls who will grow up to be world changers. I think of the people who have spoken over me, challenging me to live more intentionally and others who have pushed me outside my comfort zone to pray for strangers. Most importantly, I have grown to see more of who my Creator intended me to be; I was created to live within the freedom of the cross, clothed in grace and love. I have fallen in love with the Alpha and Omega, the one who works not within our language, cultural or skin colored boundaries, but the one who works through any willing person. Now it is my choice to neatly pack all my memories into a YWAM box, shove it into my closet and move on, or daily remember God has given me a taste of what is to come. Jesus himself said we, His disciples, would do far greater things than He did. I believe Him.

I am so thankful for all those who have prayed for me as I have gone through these past five months, I know I could not have done any of this without others interceding for me. I have been blessed beyond belief for those who choose to come along side me, your help has changed me and others around the world who will continue to change the world. I send out great thanks for those who have helped me realize who I am and what I have a passion for, and I invite others to come along side me as I continue to run the race marked out before me, wherever that may lead. I am choosing to live as a revivalist, daughter of the one who breathed gifts, passions and testimonies into dust, calling these new creations very good

The Story of Us

Ringing in the new year on the strip!

New Years Eve is typically full of parties, looking back on the past year and looking forward to the new year. I rang in the new year on the strip here in Vegas, something I never anticipated nor desired. Looking back on the year, I was in awe of the way God moved. He is Jehovah Sneaky, a God who dances with us in mysterious ways. One of the biggest things I learned while in YWAM, especially in Nepal and India, is how stunning every person's story is.

The first full day back in the states, I spent most of the day in the hospital. I was quarantined because I just returned form being out of the states, (they believe my severe abdominal pain was due to parasites, nothing serious, all is good) but my room had cable television. While Kat, who came with me, slept on my bed and snored, I was catching up with CNN. The biggest news was of course of the missing airline in Asia, a concern of ours when flying in Asia. They were showing interviews from families members of those missing at sea. They were sharing the silly memories of their dad's favorite holiday tradition or their son's first steps. Each person was sharing a story, making the tragedy half way around the world, a little more personal.

My lovely hospital getup.

Being back in Vegas, we have focused on community outreaches. My favorite outreach this past week, most likely of all our outreaches here in Vegas, has been at the Rescue Mission up the road
from us. The Rescue Mission offers meals to the homeless, as well as houses people. The residents are part of a 12 step discipleship program focusing on addiction rehabilitation, job readiness, and on faith. The process is a year long total, each step being a month long. To enter into the program, a person must be willing to clean up their lives. I was able to hear much of a staff members story and his personal journey into the drug world and then the beautiful journey into his walk with the Lord.

The thing I loved most about the Rescue Mission, is they see past the current state of each person. The Rescue Mission does not deem the person as an embarrassment, but as a person with a testimony, a purpose, and immense value. Each person at the Rescue Mission is recovering from some form of addiction; their addiction is not what makes their story inspiring, it is their willingness to leave their way of life. What we overcome in life is not to be the focus of our testimony, the Lord's faithfulness and provision of strength and courage to leave behind our comfortable past is the beauty of our lives.

Serving at the Rescue Mission one evening
with Miss Nevada.

Another place we have been able to serve at this past week was a women and children shelter. I was able to chat with a lady who just left prostitution 3 weeks ago. She was telling me how her mother worked in the brothels, so when this gal was released from four years of juvi at the age of 18, she did the only thing she knew, sell herself. She herself said she was a victim of sex trafficking for the past 9 years, something most women are not aware they are apart of, they simply see themselves as worthless prostitutes. This young women realized she had more to offer, and was more. She has a story, passions and dreams. She made me laugh when she said she left everything she had at her pimp's house and was struggling only having one outfit when she came to the shelter. She's a girly girl, she needs her clothes and makeup. Of course, though! She is a young women! Often we overlook things such as that. The label 'prostitute' often overshadows who the person is. She is a living, walking, breathing masterpiece with a story, when matched with the love of the Lord, will bring girls out of prostitution and into the Father's divine plans.

In India, I lived with 67 girls, very few of which knew any English. And I wanted to know about them! I wanted to know their story! I want to know about their families, their testimony, their passions, their dreams. But there was one thing in the way: language. Language kept us from knowing their stories, and I hated it! We were able to love the girls and see their passion for the Lord and each other through their actions. Language enables us to hear the way the Lord moved through others' lives. Love, on the other hand, allows us to be a part of each other's stories without language.