Week 12 of DTS - Anticipations

Well, I think this is going to be the last email for awhile. This was the last full week of the lecture phase of DTS. This week we watched Dean Sherman videos on Spiritual Warfare. The videos were good, but after 3 hours I would become restless. We watched about 3 hours of the videos a day. I would write more about this, but I don't have my notebook with me.

This week my mind has been full of anticipations. Anticipations for Christmas, spending time with family, giving gifts, and even receiving gifts for my outreach in about 2 1/2 weeks, and many other things like - sleeping in my own bed, taking showers in a private bathroom, having my own room, and my own privacy. :o) Oh, the things that we take for granted and then once we don't have it - we realize how much we missed it. I am wondering how I am going to do in another country for almost 3 months. I know I can do it, but as I said in my 1st email... I am spoiled. I have so many things - that so many don't. I believe that God is going to do many things while I am away in the Caribbean on outreach and that is another thing that I am anticipating. I am so excited for outreach for many reasons. But the #1 reason why I am excited about outreach is because of what God is going to to through me for other people. I just pray that I will not be shy or afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone.

God has really been working in my life this week. I am learning how to humble myself and also I am seeing how God is answering even my littlest prayers. Also, I am learning just how faithful God really is, and how to obey him when He speaks to me. This week I have felt really close to God and I love that feeling. God is so AWESOME! I love God! :o) God is also telling me that I need to use the gift that he has blessed me with - my voice. So now I am just asking God what He wants me to do and how He wants me to use my voice for Him.

Well, I think that is about it. I know this is short, but I really don't have much else to say. I am really excited about going home for a week and also for outreach.

Merry Christmas and I hope you have a Happy New Year.

May God bless you this Holiday season and keep you all safe and healthy.

P.S. I will be home on December 20th - December 27th. Then on the 27th I will be going back to Wisconsin until January 1, 2007 where I will be then flying to the Caribbean.

Week 10 & 11 of DTS - Relationships & Destiny

I apologize for being late on week 10. Last week we learned about Relationships with Gayle Keeproth (one of the directors in YWAM). And this week (week 11) we learned about Destiny by D.E.S.I.G.N with Gwen Berquist.

Before I start talking about the things I've learned within the last 2 weeks, let me just say that I had a great time at home for Thanksgiving. When I 1st got home I spoke in my church about the things that God has been doing in my life. I was surprised to find out that my pastor had highlighted points in my emails that I send out. And so, he took things that I wrote and gave me like a "pop quiz". It was funny. :o) Then on Thanksgiving Day - I went over to my brothers to see my new niece, Faith. She is so beautiful and precious. Then on Saturday I celebrated Thanksgiving at my parents house. Then on Sunday I went to church, then out to eat and then back to Wisconsin. I was one of the 1st people back. Also Sunday morning my aunt and uncle from New Mexico took the horses (Sunny and Little Joe) to go live with them in Albuquerque. On Friday my mom and I rode the horses for the last time in Illinois. It was kinda a bitter sweet moment for me. But I know that things will be good for them in New Mexico and I am also glad that I know who they are going to and the next time that I go to visit my relatives then I can ride the horses again. I had a busy time while I was home and I wasn't able to see all of the people that I wanted to see, so I cannot wait until I come home for Christmas to be able to see those people.

OK, now back to what I've recently learned. Well the week of Relationships, I basically learned more about myself and about other people. We took a couple personality tests which showed that I am easily influenced. Some things that I do are things that I was trained to do as a child - which shows that I am a "good team player", says Gayle. But those things that I was trained to do are not natural for me to do. For example: I like to plan things out because it gives other people time to prepare, but naturally I like to do things spontaneously. It was also good to learn more about other people in the class and see the similarities and differences in each other.

Over the weekend I went to Acquire the Fire in Madison as a volunteers. It was a good experience and I was able to give time to God to help serve other Christians and also to see teens lives changed. One thing I almost forgot to mention was that on Sunday a lady, Jan, who did a DTS in the summer came here to the Training Center. Jan and her 3 children are coming with us on outreach. She has 2 daughters and one son: Amanda is 15, Shelby is 14, and Jake is 13. They bring so much life to our little group. Also after Christmas we will be getting one more girl, Tisha, that did her DTS in the summer.

Then this week (week 11) our guest speaker was Gwen Berquist who taught us on her own material called, Destiny by D.E.S.I.G.N. - each letter in the word design meant something. ( D - Dream, E - Experiences, S - Soul print, I - Identity, G - Gifts, N - Network.) Her teachings were really good. I learned more about what I would like to do after DTS. I also learned about more about my gifts which I found very interesting. On Thursday Gwen encouraged me to pick out a worship song that I felt God was laying on my heart. Then she told me to sing it in front of everyone. I was apprehensive at first, but I knew that she wasn't going to let me get away with not singing. So I sang and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Then on Friday during worship I did the same thing without Gwen telling/encouraging me to do it. It was cool how she encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and sing more ... not for other people, but for God. :o)

We only have 1 more full week of teachings left. I cannot believe that so much time has passed. I leave for Christmas on December 20th and then come back on the 27th. Then on January 1st we leave for ... are you ready ... Trinidad, Dominican Republic, and Haiti. We will be in both of those places for about 3 weeks. We will be ministering to prostitutes, orphanages, and street kids. We will be coming back to Wisconsin on February 27, 2007 and we will be going to local places sharing our testimonies and about our outreach. Then I will be home in the beginning of March of 2007. I do not yet know if I will have access to the Internet and I also do not know if I will have time.