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