Following The Journey: March 2008

Hello!
This is random, but I just wanted to mention it because I am so excited! I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but before I left for a tour of the West Coast with 8 people in my School of Worship (SOW) in YWAM Denver, I was blessed by someone giving me a guitar. I had been praying for about a year for God to give me a guitar or provide me with enough money to buy a guitar and here I was given a Gibson electric guitar. It was made in 1997 and is in good condition. Even though I didn't know how to play it, I took it with me on tour and it was played many times by the guys in the band.

Trillium: Waiting For Summer Tour

I am so sorry for not writing an update sooner. I am back home in Illinois now and I am done with my tour of the West Coast. I had an incredible time and God was evident in our lives and especially in our praise and worship. We did have some road blocks that appeared as we prepared for this outreach/tour as well as throughout the outreach. One really big one was the shooting that happened at the beginning of December. We all had the choice to go home or keep going with the outreach. We chose to go on. Then 2 weeks into our outreach our leader (and only staff person from YWAM Denver) fell off of a horse and fractured her skull (she ended up with 24 fractures in the base of her skull) and ruptured her ear drum. Once again we were faced with the question - were we going to continue on? We as a team were not going to give up. But it was up to the staff at YWAM Denver. They had never allowed an outreach team to go on without a staff person. After much prayer they decided that God had a reason for us to go on and it was evident that obstacles were coming in our path to hinder us. So they appointed Bart, our bass player, to be our leader and for him to be accountable to the staff back in Denver. During this time we grew as a team and also as individuals. For myself going on this outreach was not easy... I was still struggling with the tragic incident of the shooting, I was struggling with insecurities, and I was wanting to be with my dad as he was going through heart procedures. However, even through this time God was destroying the fear I had from the shooting, He was with me as I was learning and working on my insecurities, and He was comforting me as I was wanting to be with my dad. Like I said I had an incredible time and I had an amazing time with the people on my team. I got to know them really well. At times when I was really stressed out, someone would be there making me laugh. We all were definitely a fun group and laughed a lot.

Home Again

After the outreach/tour was over I decided to go visit my relatives in Albuquerque, New Mexico for 10 days and then take a train home. But once I got to New Mexico I found out that I had developed bronchitis. I got an antibiotic and got better really fast. Therefore, I rested and once I started feeling better I went horse back riding and just hung out with my cousin. Even though I had bronchitis I had a really good time in New Mexico. Then I took a 24 hour train ride back home - which was also relaxing and gave me time to process the last 5 months in YWAM Denver and to prepare myself for coming home. But I was not prepared for what was about to happen.
My mom picked me up at the train station and about 10 minutes later she got a phone call from my dad saying that my grandma was going to go to the hospital. She had a bleeding ulcer and was bleeding internally. Basically she almost died. My grandpa (her husband) was not in good condition either. A few days later he was admitted to the same hospital for bronchitis and not taking his medicine. My grandparents were in the hospital for about a week before being transfered to the same nursing home to go through physical therapy. They are doing well and I am not sure how long they will be there. Therefore, since I've been home I've been trying to help my parents out in any way possible as well as trying to get myself adjusted to being home again.

What now?

Many people have been asking me, "What are you going to do now?" and so far what I know that I am going to do is get a job to save up for the next thing that God wants me to do in YWAM. I believe that God wants me to do another school and I feel most led to do a leadership school. I feel like God wants to strengthen my weaknesses and show me my specific strengths and how to use them effectively. One thing that I am considering is... YWAM Denver has a school called Phase 2 which is a program designed to equip individuals who plan to serve God in full-time ministry. I believe that God has a specific ministry for me He just hasn't revealed that to me yet. Also after I have 12 weeks of training I will be ready to take my place in ministry (whatever that may be) just about anywhere in YWAM or a local church ministry. Also, completion of Phase 2 is required for people who want to join staff at YWAM Denver (which is also something I am thinking about). However, my next step in YWAM will not begin until 2009.
Also, while I am home I am learning how to play guitar as well as continuing to write music. I believe that if I continue to pursue music that God is going to open many doors and give me opportunities to bless others as well as it could also be something that could be used for my future ministry.