Church Ministry

The days have been going by much faster since the DTS has started! We are required to have 6 hours of lectures and 2 hours of work duty a day, plus much more. Our class has split up into two groups who rotate doing church ministry on the weekends. This last weekend my group went to a small church called Shalom that is about a 40 minute walk from the base. On Saturday night before church we prepared a drama, worship, testimony and sermon for our ministry.  I have been to this church several times before, but never took part in the service. 

We walked to the church and caught a ride on the way back. The final count of people that rode in this little 5 passenger truck was 20. 

Rachel shared her testimony about how she was blind and was healed two years ago. 

There are several offerings throughout the church service. This one was food for the pastor and his family. 

This is where I stay, the view out my window of a lovey water tank. 

Somehow I managed to be the only DTSer who scored two closets 

The place of rest! Wash basen and all under my bed. 

Sweet little Grace. She is the children of one of the students in the Family Ministry School (FMS) here on the YWAM base. I'm considering adoption. 

So far we have had two weeks of lectures. The first week there was a speaker from Kenya who who spoke about sin and redemption. This Last week there was a speaker from Uganda who was very outspoken. The topic was hearing the voice of God and God's character and the nature of God. 

The lectures have been very interesting, especially the theological part of them. 

Thank you everyone for all your encouragement and prayers! Please continue to pray for safety and health. 

Mzungus and Joe

Name: Joe Anderson 

Height: 5'8"

Eye Color: Brown 

Nationality: South African 

Relationship Status: Kinda single. Not accepting applications 

Favorite food: Char-grilled rump, medium rare  

Random Fact: Joe has a british accent and is more westernized then Rachel. 

Name: Lois Hanna Van Oostende

Height: 5'5" 

Eye Color: Hazel 

Nationality: Netherlandish 

Relationship Status: Single. Not accepting applications

Favorite Food: Mc Donalds  

Random Fact: Her second toe is bigger then her first toe. 

Name: Sara Johanna Mattson Luukkanan 

Hight: 5'4" 

Eye Color: Blue 

Nationality: Sweden 

Relationship Status: Single. Not accepting applications 

Favorite Food: Swedish Chocolate (Marbou) and Chips 

Random Fact: Her real personality is when she is super hyperactive. 

Name: Christina Tanner

Height: 5'9" 

Eye Color: Green

Nationality: Swiss 

Relationship Status: Single. Not accepting applications 

Favorite Food: Veggies and Cheese 

Random Fact: Does not have a middle name. 

Name: Megan Lea Nicole Carswell 

Height: 5'4"

Eye Color: Hazel 

Nationality: US, North Carolina 

Relationship Status: Single. Accepting applications 

Favorite Food: Any chocolate 

Random Fact: She hates having pictures taken of her and she has two middle names 

Name: Rachel Meredith Franks 

Height: 5'1"

Eye Color: Blue 

Nationality: US Pensilvania (The farm) 

Relationship Status: Unsure. Not accepting applications

Favorite Food: Ice cream, fresh from the farm 

Random Fact: Lives in a town that has one gas station with one gas pump. 

Name: Saskia (or Sosuke like in Ponyo) Lemmer

Height: 5'4''

Eye Color: Hazel

Nationality: German

Relationship Status: Single. Not accepting applications.

Favorite Food: Something German

Random Fact: She's an only child, and that isn't her real hair.

Name: Jonathan Andrew Gentry the First 

Height: 6'1" 

Eye Color: Brown

Nationality: Texan 

Relationship Status: Taken. Not accepting applications 

Favorite Food: Chicken 

Random Fact: Has eaten in africa for the first time ever: bananas, almonds, beans, horseradish. Also loves Chaco shoes. 

Name: Charles Elliot Fast 

Height: 5'11 1/2" 

Eye Color: Blue 

Nationality: US, Washington

Relationship Status: Taken. Not accepting applications 

Favorite Food: Cheese Burgers 

Random Fact: Has an obsession with cell phones 

Letting Go

For the last couple of days I have been hearing God tell me that I am to die to self.  

Which has got me thinking…

Obviously being a Christian we are supposed to put God first and have faith in Him and He will use us.  Although I think that God asks more of us then that, I think that we are just to scared to lose control because we know that God is going to ask us to do something crazy.

 I honestly believe that God has sent me across the world so that I can learn that I am not my own, but that I was bought at a price and belong to nobody else but my heavenly father.  He will use me as long as I surrender to Him. I know people say all the time that we are to have less of self and more of God. What would it look like though if we were to completely die to self? Would you do ANYTHING for God if He asked you?

God told a man in the bible to give everything you have to the poor and follow Him. If God asked you to do that, do you have enough faith in God that He knows what He is doing to trust Him and obey? “Oh but I spent so much time and money on this, how could “God possibly want me to lose ‘my’ stuff. He gave it to me.” That is the culture we come from, letting go of the American dream is not easy.

I don’t know what surrendering to God would look like for you. It might not be moving across the country or world, but no matter what it is God will bless you because of it. He will use you in ways you probably thought were not even imaginable.

 I am learning very quickly that stepping back from the wheel and letting God have control is not easy, in fact, it is probably one of the hardest things to do. God never said that following Him is easy. I find myself saying “God use me” then He asks me to do something and my response is “oh, but please not that!” Letting go of comfort is hard, but just like my dad always says “stretch and grow” however annoying he is when he says that, it’s true. Once we get uncomfortable and let go, we see things a way we have never seen them before and grow.

In worship the other day we sang the song, This is My Desire. Some of the lyrics say Lord I give you my life, I give you my all, Lord have your way in me, every breath that I take, every moment I’m awake, Lord have your way in me.  When this becomes our prayer, God will do it if we honestly believe He will use us, He will. Mama Miracle said later on that if we are negative and expect bad things to happen, they will. If we expect God to do something amazing and put our hope in Him, He will do something amazing.  Simply put, you get what you expect. It is hard to see the things that God is doing if we aren’t looking for them.

The gate into Youth With A Mission Arusha

So this is what God has been saying to me. That we are let go of control, give it to God and then expect Him to do something amazing.  I know that this has been God’s challenge to me, but I believe that this is also God’s challenge to all Believers. Will you surrender to God; is He worth it to you?