Some of you might be wondering... what do you do while your in Kona? I'll give you a summary of what our week looks like.
Monday
Day starts with an hour of corporate worship with all the schools
9am- lecture for 3 hours
12-lunch
1:15- Bible Study
3-5- Work Duty
5- Dinner
6:30- Worship and Intercession
Tuesday-
8- Me and a few others lead worship with the compassion students
9-12- Lecture
12- Lunch
1- Small Group
3-5 Work Duty
Free evening
Wednesday
9-12 Lecture
break till work duty
3-5 Work duty
5- Dinner
6:30- Community outreach
Thurday
8- worship with class
9-12- Lecture
1- outreach teams meet
3-4:30 work duty
6- Corprate worship and speaker
Friday
8- worship with our class
9-12 lecture
12-lunch
3-5 work duty
I just thought maybe some people wondered what all I'm doing while I'm here. Even though this gets moved around from week to week this gives you somewhat of an idea about what we do around here. My work duty is to gather the recycling around the YWAM campus. It is a cool growing experience for me and a good time of processing through that weeks lecture. I have participated in 2 kinds of outreach. I either go to a meet and eat with some kiddos and jsut hang out with them or I do a community outreach. A big group of us will get together and worship and pray. We ask God to speak to us about the people we will meet on the streets thats night and then we disperse in smaller groups to talk and hang out with people on the streets. I have had some really cool conversations this way (and some awkward ones too). Its always neat when God gives you a word for someone!!!
We have an on campus 24-7 prayer room. It is amazing. I love to go in there when I have some free time because the presence of God is extremely thick in there. I just love to go soak it up.
Weekends are often free and spent doing laundry, homework, processing things with God, and trying something new and fun here on the kona island. This coming weekend, hopefuly, a group of us are going hiking to a waterfull and snorkling with some dolphins! (free activities!!! so cool)
I have about a month left here and then I will leave for Turkey. THey bought our plane tickets today!!!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
week 5... relationshipsand hearing from Loren Cunningham about Nigeria!!!
During this week the focus was placed on relationships.
For me the best thing that came from talking about relationships is that it got me to thinking about the dangers and sin involved with emotionally vacuuming from others and obsessing over relationships. I hope to have set some boundries that will bring freedom in my life and protection to those I enter in relationship with (feel free to ask me if you want more specifics).
Our speaker was a super spunky, straight forward woman, Faith Dutton.
Thursday was one of my all time favorite days in Kona. The founder of YWAM Loren Cunningham made it back from a long trip the week before and on Thursday night he shared with us all what God is doing in Nigeria. AMAZING!!! I'll give you a really condensed version of what he talked about.
When Loren and Darleen got to Nigeria they witnessed buldosers digging graves for the thousands of Christians who had been killed bc of their faith. The news wasn't covering it.
On the flip side Loren got to hear testimony from Militants who came to know God through 25 ywamers answering the call of God to share his love. The Militants are killing and stealing all over nigeria. It was an insanely dangerous call for the ywamers to go and love on the militants. WIth great courage they went anyways. As a result 200 militants accepted Christ, and 69 did a Discipleship Training Program. The militant camp ended up giving up all of their weapons and the latest report is that there are 2000 militants who accepted Christ and want to do a DTS. The government in Nigeria is saying, "what all of our arms and resources couldn't do God has done." THis is simply amazing! I love hearing about the miraculous and I love hearing about what God is doing in the nations.
For me the best thing that came from talking about relationships is that it got me to thinking about the dangers and sin involved with emotionally vacuuming from others and obsessing over relationships. I hope to have set some boundries that will bring freedom in my life and protection to those I enter in relationship with (feel free to ask me if you want more specifics).
Our speaker was a super spunky, straight forward woman, Faith Dutton.
Thursday was one of my all time favorite days in Kona. The founder of YWAM Loren Cunningham made it back from a long trip the week before and on Thursday night he shared with us all what God is doing in Nigeria. AMAZING!!! I'll give you a really condensed version of what he talked about.
When Loren and Darleen got to Nigeria they witnessed buldosers digging graves for the thousands of Christians who had been killed bc of their faith. The news wasn't covering it.
On the flip side Loren got to hear testimony from Militants who came to know God through 25 ywamers answering the call of God to share his love. The Militants are killing and stealing all over nigeria. It was an insanely dangerous call for the ywamers to go and love on the militants. WIth great courage they went anyways. As a result 200 militants accepted Christ, and 69 did a Discipleship Training Program. The militant camp ended up giving up all of their weapons and the latest report is that there are 2000 militants who accepted Christ and want to do a DTS. The government in Nigeria is saying, "what all of our arms and resources couldn't do God has done." THis is simply amazing! I love hearing about the miraculous and I love hearing about what God is doing in the nations.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Week 4...THe Kingdom Of God- AKA amazing
10/19-10/23
Ok... So now I will attempt to blog about week 4. Saturday, 10/24 I went surfing with some people in my DTS. The place where we went had rocks in the place of a sand beach. The day that we went there were no waves. Always thought it would be difficult to surf but never realized how physically taxing it would be. By the time I paddled out I was just about spent. I rode one wave laying down and a little bit after paddled back to shore. So glad i went and want to go again when there are more waves. However I think I might just be a bigger fan of boogie boarding! so fun! I don't remember much else about what I did this week but I remember what I learned.
Don Stephens was the speaker during week 4 and he brought a guy Nyk with him. Don talked about different world views and about the Kingdom of God. I learned about Modernism, Post Modernism, Naturalism, Pantheism, Socialism, Communism, Islam, Evangelical Gnosticism (Religious Christianity) and most importantly the Kingdom of God. I love learning about things like this so during class this particular week I was on the edge of my seat furriously taking notes.
I'll list a revelation and some extremely important things I learned:
*Creation is made to reflect the glory of God. Mankind is made to reflect the glory of God. If God created me to reflect His glory than I am truly glorious in Him. I have something in me that draws mankind to observe the glory of God.
THis is significant to me because I always thought I may be pretty to God but I'm still undesirable to mankind. THIS CAN NOT BE TRUE if I am made to reflect God's glory. Also... this brings a whole new significance to my singing Opera. Not many people can reflect God's glory is this art but God has gifted me. I still don't want to seek a full time opera career but I would like to start practicing again. I miss it! I was created with a burning desire to be the best singer I can possibly be. I love practicing and studying voice. I lose passion for singing when I'm not learning more about it. This is the way God created me and I think it is significant.
*Christians often thing of evangelism in terms of a circle. The "saved" christians are inside and we are focusing on the rest making their way into the circle. Problem is... who really knows when others point of conversion is? When was Peters? was it when he confessed Jesus to be the Son of the living God? Not long after that Jesus says to Peter, "get behind me Satan!" Some people inside our circle may have gotten "saved" and not have any interest in knowing or seeking Jesus and then others outside our circle may be seeking after and searching to know Jesus more. What if we erased the circle and just started pointing everyone towards Jesus... no matter where they are at spiritually. It is my hope to be used of God to make disciples of all nations and not just converts.
*God's plan is for a kingdom. Jesus talks more about the Kingdom of God than anything else. It was the first message that Jesus preached (Matt 4:17). THe Kingdom of God is every place where the will of God is being done. It is everything gone wrong in Adam's fall reconciled in Christ. It is God's glory filling all things. It is the dance of the trinity extended to all of Humanity. We live with a mentality of waiting for Heaven. What untill then? I pray that
God's kingdom come in my life.
Thoughts... questions... ?
Blessings!
Ok... So now I will attempt to blog about week 4. Saturday, 10/24 I went surfing with some people in my DTS. The place where we went had rocks in the place of a sand beach. The day that we went there were no waves. Always thought it would be difficult to surf but never realized how physically taxing it would be. By the time I paddled out I was just about spent. I rode one wave laying down and a little bit after paddled back to shore. So glad i went and want to go again when there are more waves. However I think I might just be a bigger fan of boogie boarding! so fun! I don't remember much else about what I did this week but I remember what I learned.
Don Stephens was the speaker during week 4 and he brought a guy Nyk with him. Don talked about different world views and about the Kingdom of God. I learned about Modernism, Post Modernism, Naturalism, Pantheism, Socialism, Communism, Islam, Evangelical Gnosticism (Religious Christianity) and most importantly the Kingdom of God. I love learning about things like this so during class this particular week I was on the edge of my seat furriously taking notes.
I'll list a revelation and some extremely important things I learned:
*Creation is made to reflect the glory of God. Mankind is made to reflect the glory of God. If God created me to reflect His glory than I am truly glorious in Him. I have something in me that draws mankind to observe the glory of God.
THis is significant to me because I always thought I may be pretty to God but I'm still undesirable to mankind. THIS CAN NOT BE TRUE if I am made to reflect God's glory. Also... this brings a whole new significance to my singing Opera. Not many people can reflect God's glory is this art but God has gifted me. I still don't want to seek a full time opera career but I would like to start practicing again. I miss it! I was created with a burning desire to be the best singer I can possibly be. I love practicing and studying voice. I lose passion for singing when I'm not learning more about it. This is the way God created me and I think it is significant.
*Christians often thing of evangelism in terms of a circle. The "saved" christians are inside and we are focusing on the rest making their way into the circle. Problem is... who really knows when others point of conversion is? When was Peters? was it when he confessed Jesus to be the Son of the living God? Not long after that Jesus says to Peter, "get behind me Satan!" Some people inside our circle may have gotten "saved" and not have any interest in knowing or seeking Jesus and then others outside our circle may be seeking after and searching to know Jesus more. What if we erased the circle and just started pointing everyone towards Jesus... no matter where they are at spiritually. It is my hope to be used of God to make disciples of all nations and not just converts.
*God's plan is for a kingdom. Jesus talks more about the Kingdom of God than anything else. It was the first message that Jesus preached (Matt 4:17). THe Kingdom of God is every place where the will of God is being done. It is everything gone wrong in Adam's fall reconciled in Christ. It is God's glory filling all things. It is the dance of the trinity extended to all of Humanity. We live with a mentality of waiting for Heaven. What untill then? I pray that
God's kingdom come in my life.
Thoughts... questions... ?
Blessings!
Week 3 Late in coming...
Hey everyone! I am so sorry about my inconsistent blogging. It is now week 7 of my DTS and I havn't blogged since week 2. I'll try to catch you up as much as possible.
Week 3 was an extremely difficult week for me. I got physically ill and was running a fever. I also got extremely home sick.
Typically I function a little slower than others might. It takes me longer to perform task and it takes me longer to adjust to change. Although I am considered an extravert, it takes a great effort for me to interact with a room full of people and especially a room full of strangers. I long for deep relationships and would prefer to opperate with the comfort of having a few close friends. If I'm in a familiar environment meeting some new people can be very enjoyable but I still find it draining. THere are 50 students in my DTS and 400 students at the U of N. It is because of my personality that moving to a new place and being surrounded by strangers has been an on going struggle since I have been here. I often feel like I'm on a roller coaster. I'll be having an amazing time and learning large amounts of things one day and the next I feel overcome with loneliness and my old friend self deprication will come for a visit.
You know what I find amazing?! I have the oppertunity to watch the sunset everyday. In fact I couldn't avoid seeing it if I wanted to (not that I would ever want to not watch the sunset). The amazing thing is... no sunset is ever the same. They are all gloriously different and beautiful!
Every passing week God is bringing new challenges and insights. I am growing in friendships and feeling more like myself constantly. It still doesn't feel like home but I'm glad I'm here!
Week 3 was an extremely difficult week for me. I got physically ill and was running a fever. I also got extremely home sick.
Typically I function a little slower than others might. It takes me longer to perform task and it takes me longer to adjust to change. Although I am considered an extravert, it takes a great effort for me to interact with a room full of people and especially a room full of strangers. I long for deep relationships and would prefer to opperate with the comfort of having a few close friends. If I'm in a familiar environment meeting some new people can be very enjoyable but I still find it draining. THere are 50 students in my DTS and 400 students at the U of N. It is because of my personality that moving to a new place and being surrounded by strangers has been an on going struggle since I have been here. I often feel like I'm on a roller coaster. I'll be having an amazing time and learning large amounts of things one day and the next I feel overcome with loneliness and my old friend self deprication will come for a visit.
You know what I find amazing?! I have the oppertunity to watch the sunset everyday. In fact I couldn't avoid seeing it if I wanted to (not that I would ever want to not watch the sunset). The amazing thing is... no sunset is ever the same. They are all gloriously different and beautiful!
Every passing week God is bringing new challenges and insights. I am growing in friendships and feeling more like myself constantly. It still doesn't feel like home but I'm glad I'm here!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Fun stuff...
I've been trying really hard to update everyone today. Seems to be slow in happening. I don't have much time left because in 45 minutes my group is leaving to work security for one of the biggest sporting eventsin the world... the Iron Man. 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 miles of biking and 26 miles of running. Holy cow! Champs from around the world raced today. We are working the night shift and I will get to cheer on the "amateurs" as they cross the finish line. So amazing!
I can see the ocean from anywhere on campus. I can watch the sunset over the ocean daily. Been to the beach a couple of times. Joined a dance class that one of my fellow classmates has started. Get to worship with others every single day and never stop learning about God and His love. Can't wait for more growth and more adventures!
I can see the ocean from anywhere on campus. I can watch the sunset over the ocean daily. Been to the beach a couple of times. Joined a dance class that one of my fellow classmates has started. Get to worship with others every single day and never stop learning about God and His love. Can't wait for more growth and more adventures!
Week 2
So this week in my class lecutre we had a guest speaker named Gwen. We focused on our own specific designs. We talked about our different personalities, dreams, experiences, identities, spiritual gifts and other gifts.
The area that hit home the most for me was my identity in Christ. Too often I look to others love for me or to my gifts to find worth and value. During the class at Cross Timbers, Foundations of Freedom, we talked a lot about this issue of identity. How the only way for your heart to really recieve the truth it needed was to ask God questions about your identity and have him speak directly to your heart. I have spent much of these past 2 weeks asking God to speak to me about who I am and who He is.
God spoke the word "Beloved" over me and said, "I didn't set you a part from the very beginning of creation so that you could run to other lovers." I long for intimacy with God and to know His love and His character more. I want to know in my heart who I am in Him.
There is a battle going on. One minute I am hungering for God and knowing that only he can satisfy and then next I am turning to others to give me value. One minute I am enjoying reading the Bible and the next it seems like the most boring and difficult of task. I feel so fickle. It's in your hands God. I surrender it all to you God.
The area that hit home the most for me was my identity in Christ. Too often I look to others love for me or to my gifts to find worth and value. During the class at Cross Timbers, Foundations of Freedom, we talked a lot about this issue of identity. How the only way for your heart to really recieve the truth it needed was to ask God questions about your identity and have him speak directly to your heart. I have spent much of these past 2 weeks asking God to speak to me about who I am and who He is.
God spoke the word "Beloved" over me and said, "I didn't set you a part from the very beginning of creation so that you could run to other lovers." I long for intimacy with God and to know His love and His character more. I want to know in my heart who I am in Him.
There is a battle going on. One minute I am hungering for God and knowing that only he can satisfy and then next I am turning to others to give me value. One minute I am enjoying reading the Bible and the next it seems like the most boring and difficult of task. I feel so fickle. It's in your hands God. I surrender it all to you God.
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