Whether you are a fan of spoken word, or have never heard of the genre before, I hope you enjoy it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0mgG_u-Spc
The following link is a spoken word piece that I have been working on. It is a response to a Challenge that was issued by one of my favorite artists, Propaganda. The challenge was to create somewhat of a photo album through words. To acknowledge the people/places/things from your past (whether positive or negative) which have effected you and helped shape you into who you are today. Whether you are a fan of spoken word, or have never heard of the genre before, I hope you enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0mgG_u-Spc
2 Comments
While sitting on bloodstained pavement under a dark overpass that carried a sad spirit and the strong smell of urine, I watched one of my students lead someone to Christ for the first time and the hope that filled the homeless mans face and the joy that filled my students face was almost enough to bring me to tears. I continued to watch in awe throughout the rest of our mini-outreach in Portland as the same student humbly led 2 more people to Christ. As I saw these situations unfold I was reminded of a passage that has really been speaking to me lately:
"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:14-15 I think what really hit me this week was how real this passage became to me as I saw it being walked out and lived out right before my eyes. As I saw my student (who has been continually in an environment of being built up and taught timeless truths) sent out to the broken city of Portland to share (preach) the good news of Jesus with those who had yet to accept it. It truly was amazing to see this scripture lived out before my eyes and to be honest stirred up even more of a fire within me to daily walk out what God might have for me. Hello Everybody
As Fall quarter grows closer I'm excited to share some exciting news with all of you. This fall DTS I will be pioneering and running a Motocross Ministries Focus Track. Now, despite what you might be thinking what this doesn't mean is that I will be running an actual motocross track to ride on. What this does mean is that " Focus Tracks" are offered to students to focus on and receive further training on something they are passionate about. Within the MX Ministires Focus track we will be spending time working on bikes, riding, helping out at tracks and helping out at shops. My vision and goals for this track are to not only have fun ridding but to also use MX as a open door to reach out to others and to speak into their lives and have opportunities to share Jesus with people we come in contact with. I am beyond excited for this and can not wait to see what God is going to do through us. I have included a link to a gofundme page below to help raise support to fund this; If motocross is something you also feel passionate about and/or would like to partner with me as I pioneer this please click the link below. If you would like more information on what this is going to look like please send me an email and I would love to send some more info your way! Thanks everyone!!!! http://www.gofundme.com/dib3wc When I came to YWAM over a year ago I was ready for a break from the church. I had been burned by multiple churches, I was at a place where I was tired and weary from the problems that come with a church full of human people and I saw YWAM as a way to experience the upsides of church without walking through the negative aspects.
During my first year on staff I indulged myself into worship events on base but never really connected myself to a local church here. The amount of time that was spent engaging within churchlike activities on base and the lingering thought that what I did and what I knew made me too good for the un-perfect local church, kept me away from calling a church home. As I look back over my first year here though, this mindset that I arrived here with has been completely replaced with a mindset that has opened my eyes to the beauty of the local church. What really opened my eyes to this was time overseas on outreach. For those of you who don’t know, outreaches are always chaotic; despite how many hours of prep go into outreach, plans often change and there is often very little structure. Through all this chaos, the one thing that I realized was always there and was always steady, was the local church. Yes, it was in a language that we couldn’t understand, and yes, we were surrounded by people of a different race, but we were all there under one roof worshiping the same God. Despite being continually surrounded by chaotic circumstances we had no control over, the local church was always there as a steady, calm and strong anchor for us. As soon as I got back from Haiti and the DR, I started connecting myself to a small local church and it has been such a blessing. On a good weekend 60'ish people will be in attendance (most of who are over 50 and your typical Montana/mountain people), but I have developed such a great sense of gratefulness and belonging among them (as they are some of the kindest / most caring people I have ever met). I am on the worship team and also help run the middleschool youth group/bible study. Through all of this and being a part of my church, God really has opened my eyes to the beauty of the local church and has rekindled my love for his bride, for his church. Today marked our last day of ministry here in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. As I looked back and though about the past 2 months I felt God asking me what I learned, after thinking for a moment I responded with "Well God, what did you want me to learn"..........The following is the outcome of his response
SO......What is it that God wanted me to learn over these past two months in Haiti and the Dominican Republic? I mean, yes, I know that God sent us here as a team to bring Hope, Discipleship, and Restoration to these two countries. and I know that as a leader I was here to walk along the students and help them reach personal/team goals and grow into Men/Women of God. But what is it that God had for me here and how did he want me to grow/learn?? Could it be that he wanted me to come to the realization that despite my age I can be the leader that he tells me I am? Could it be that he wanted me to learn that his plan is better then mine? Could it be that he wanted to remind me that he is always in control? Could it be that he wanted me to learn that walking out in obedience is the best example of walking out effective ministry? YES.....I fully believe that these are all things he wanted me to learn, but I also believe that the number one thing that he wanted me to learn was to simply trust in him....... Simple enough right? Yes.....But.......I can promise you that it gets a whole lot harder to trust in him when all the pre-planned ministry that was set up falls through in the first week of outreach; or when Co-leaders and students are extremely sick and you have to make the decision to leave Haiti (despite being where God has so clearly called you too) to head back to the DR early for everyone's safety and heath.... Oh yes, trust me, it is one thing to tell God that you trust in him, but it is a whole lot harder to still trust in him when everything is falling apart.. This being said, over the past 2 months I have had so many chances to trust him in the good and the bad. To trust him when everything is going great and when everything is falling apart. To trust that what we are doing here will have a lasting effect. To trust him that my mess ups won't effect what the students receive from outreach. To trust him with possible future plans. To trust him with finances. To trust him with problems back him. Or simply put, to trust him with everything within every situation despite the outcome Was it easy????? NO Was it worth it????? MORE THEN WORDS CAN SAY!!! WOW! It seems like just yesterday that I was arriving home from my DTS and yet, the whole summer has come and gone and here I am again back in Montana ready for another Adventure with Jesus. For those of you who don't know I have come back on staff at YWAM Lakeside Mt and will be staffing the Fall DTS. I am beyond stoked for this school and can't wait to see what God has in store not only for the students but also for me!
I heard a story the other day about a christian camp that a friend worked at where just before the campers arrived the leader of the camp would run around the camp and proclaim to all the staff "The Reasons are coming, the Reasons are coming" Her motive behind this was to remind all the staff that these kids were the reasons for everything they were about sacrifice, devote and do while the campers were at camp. When I heard this story it make me so excited for this Fall DTS because this same concept applies to the DTS students. They are the reason....... Thankyou SOOOO much to all of you who have either agreed to support me or who gave me work over the summer, you have no idea how much it means to me and honestly, I would not be here if it wasn't for you, so THANKYOU I would love prayer over the next 3 weeks as we continue to prepare for our upcoming DTS, we have alot of decisions to make and things to get done, but it will all be worth it........... ......... The reasons are coming!!!! Enjoy the following video, taking a look at my first year here and looking forward on my next year. First of all, I hope that you are doing well. Second of all, I am sorry that it has taken me so long to send an update out. Third of all, let meupdate you on what life has been like here on base over the past few months!
So this spring quarter for me is my Nehemiah (a time where all new staff serve in a practical area on base) So for the past 6 weeks I have been working in Facilities where we basically fix anything that needs fixing and have a different list of things to complete every single day! I have done demo, I have stained about 2000 pieces of trim, I have done lots of yard work/landscaping and I have helped with framing, roofing, drywalling and much much more. I have so enjoyed this because it has been very nice to get out of the classroom for a season and serve the base with some good hard work. It has also been such a blessing because I have got to work along side some amazing older Godly men and have gotten to learn so many amazing life skills. As I look into the future I will be serving in Facilities until the end of June when I will then become a student in a 6 week school called DTS EQUIP (A school to equip DTS staff with leadership/discipleship skills) and then after that I will be staffing the fall DTS again. So thats where I'm at, just taking it one day at a time and soaking up everything that God has for me daily. God Bless, WOW! Can't believe how quickly those two months went! Simply put they were some of the hardest yet best two months of my life! Thankyou all SO much as tit means so much to know that you are all standing with me and covering me in prayer. SO.... Over the past 2 months we saw: - God move in and change each and every one of team HDR - over 85 people come to Christ - over 20 people healed/set free physically and/or spiritually - over 10 people baptized PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!! It truly was amazing to see God work through each and every one of us and use 20 simple young people to further his kingdom Thankyou all again SOOO much for your support and prayer, could not be doing what I am doing without you! (Enjoy our outreach video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ywSVsENPEw&feature=youtu.be |
AuthorI have faithfully dedicated two years of my life to seeing lives changed as a DTS staff at YWAM Montana, Lakeside. I am blessed with the privilege to disciple youth and young adults and lead outreach teams overseas to share the wonderful new of Jesus Christ with others and be his hands and feet to the lost. Archives
August 2015
Categories |