joy and pursuit

Wow. I can't believe it's already half-way through February. I'm honestly having the time of my life, and I believe it began with the prompting of a simple question:

What if before each day began, I decided it would be my favourite one yet? 

It's changed how I see life. It has forced me to decide if I will wait for life to fall into my lap, or if I will take hold of every opportunity and open my eyes to gratitude and joy and the pursuit of God's presence.  

I've chosen to see The Lord in every good thing coming my way and to trust Him with every less-than-good thing. To believe that He works all things together for my good as I trust in Him. I've invited Papa-God to journey with me through the bends, twists and turns which are integral to life, and I've chosen that the joy and pursuit of His presence will be my strength. 

When we declare and choose to come into alignment with the Kingdom of Heaven, the earth and everything in it responds. 

this little island of mine

Hey ya'll! It has been a ridiculously long time since I've posted.

Honestly, I have to apologize. I didn't expect that I would have much to write about when I decided to move out here to Vancouver Island. In my mind I was just going to go to school, my life would be in this boring void for about 4 years, and then once I got my degree and visa to my next destination, I would take up blogging again and document my newly-found exciting life.

How ignorant could I be?

Life on this little island is incredible!

Since I moved here, it has felt like the rumblings before an earthquake. Only not the bad kind. The revival kind. The kind when you can feel that there is about to be a huge move of God sweep over this land. And the beautiful thing is that I know that I am going to be a part of it.

Right away I was networked into an incredible church called "Genesis" (funny how Genesis means 'beginnings, start, origin,' etc.) where I have been exposed to a remarkable method of leadership: Release your 'flock' into their callings.
It's really the way leadership ought to operate, and I've been blessed to experience this in many different ways, but somehow this time is different. I think its more to do with me than anyone, or anything else (besides God of course).

When I decided not to go back with YWAM in August 2013, I knew I needed to discover if my relationship with the Lord was corporately and performance driven, or if I genuinely knew him and had relationship with him when no one else was looking. Don't get me wrong, I knew without a doubt that I believed in God, I just needed to know how close I was to him when no one was looking.

For this reason, I was reluctant to get involved in anything 'public' in the church too quickly, as I really needed to walk out a journey of intimacy with the Lord. I'm so glad that I did. I was ecstatic to find that I was more in love with the Lord than I even thought I was beforehand! God is so faithful to us. In the midst of leaving everything I knew behind; YWAM, friends, family, home, home-away-from-home, and moving to a place I'd never been, to a home with people I'd never met before, and to University which I never thought I would go to, God was so faithful to show up and be my best friend and confidante through all the up's and down's and new-ness-es that I have been experiencing over the past 6 months.

So with that said, I am about to leave you on a cliff-hanger (muahahaa) and say that God has been opening SO MANY DOORS. And I am so excited for the process and the outcome of my obedience to him as I have begun, and will continue, to walk through them.
I promise I will try and keep y'all updated better, and I encourage you to stay tuned. God is moving on this island, and I am going to have a front row seat (though lets be honest, there ain't gonna be no sitting involved!).

I am off to Biology homework (that's a new post in itself)
Much love,
Becca

a change in plans...

You know how people say that just when you have your plans made, God comes in and rearranges them? Well, it would appear that God had some rearranging to do in my plans to return to Kona!

I have deeply loved my time with Youth With A Mission over the past 2 years. It has been an incredible time of growth and opportunity to learn more about the Lord and what his calling is on my life. God has truly blessed me by using this summer to reveal to me what my heart desires, what skills God has given me, and how he wants me to use this next season to become even more equipped for his dream.

Having said that, I believe that God has directed me towards going to University to get a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Global Studies with a focus on Human Development and Environmental Sustainability. This program will give me practical training that will prepare me to work on an international level to bring positive change in the developing world. I believe this is a great platform to effect change in a practical way that will show that the love of God meets every need, be it spiritual or physical.

I am currently in the process of applying to Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, B.C. Because I am applying late in the year, it is possible that I won't be able to begin the program until January, but I am praying that I will be accepted for this September. I am also looking into getting off-campus housing and am praying that I will be directed to the right housemate. If you could join me in these prayers, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you so much for you support in prayer and finances over these past 2 years! I really appreciate how you've supported me as I've "taken the road less traveled," and I look forward to continuing to share my journey with y'all!

Much love,
Becca

salvations and momo's

Currently sitting in the cutest cafe. Its called "Lakuri," and they sell the best Lime Cheesecake and Cappuccino and they have wifi! Unheard of in Nepal. haha. 

This week and next we are with King's Kids doing street kid ministry. We go out into the streets, gather some street kids together and give them some food & tea while we share the gospel with them. In two days of street kid ministry, we saw 22 children give their lives to God and receive the Holy Spirit! So cool. Almost unbelievable really. 

One really cool story, the first day I went, there was a boy whose knee was dislocated and I believe set wrong. I was telling him about how God heals, and we prayed for him. He didn't get healed right away. After all of the boys heard the gospel and decided to give their lives to God, Chris encouraged them (17 in all) to pray for him also. So this one boy and all 17 of his 'brothers' are praying for his knee to be healed. The boy was almost in tears. And then he gave his crutch to his friend and started to walk on it! It wasn't fully healed, so he tried to get his crutch back, but his friends wouldn't let him. As far as I know, he is still not entirely healed, but we encouraged him and his friends to keep praying. 
But it was such a beautiful thing to see his friends rally around him like that! 

Yesterday we went to a prayer meeting and on the way home we stopped for Momo's (dumplings) and one of our guys shared the Gospel with the owners (2 adults, 2 kids) and all four of them gave their lives to God! We have the Nepalese Bible on micro-SIM-cards, and so we gave them the Bible on their phone in their own language! 

Yesterday we went to a prayer meeting and on the way home we stopped for Momo's (dumplings) and one of our guys shared the Gospel with the owners (2 adults, 2 kids) and all four of them gave their lives to God! We have the Nepalese Bible on micro-SIM-cards, and so we gave them the Bible on their phone in their own language! 

Then on the bus ride home, one of our girls shared the Gospel with a Hindi girl and she also gave her life to God, received the Holy Spirit and got a copy of the Bible on her phone! On the same bus ride, I evangelized to another Hindi girl. We had to get off the bus before I could ask her if she wanted to give her life to God, but she sat down beside the girl that Stephanie had just brought to God, so I'm really hoping that she also gave her life to God. 
How cool is that?!

So in total, in just 3 days, we've seen 27 people give their lives to God, 2 of them have the Bible in their own language and we saw a partial healing! So cool!

Please continue to have us in your prayers as we are here!

Next up: a 3-day DTS camp for orphaned children in Kathmandu and the surrounding regions.

Much love,
Becca

to the nations we will go...

I am currently sitting on a plane two hours away from Kathmandu, Nepal. It's been almost 2 years now that I've been wanting to go to Nepal and I am finally on my way! And now I get to go with an incredible team of five other people. I love how God gives us the desires of our heart.

I am so excited. I will be living in sight of the Himalayas soon, working with street kids and prostitutes. Making water filters to provide clean water in rural villages. Trekking to reach the unreached. How amazing is my life!

We are so excited to bring the light to Nepal, "a city on a hill cannot be hidden..."

Thank you so much for your support. We will have very limited Internet access over the next 3 months, but I will try to keep you updated!

Much love,
Becca

week#9 video blog

week#8 video blog

week#7 video blog

week#6 video blog

YWAM Kona in the Community

As part of our weekly schedule, we have been going to Kona's Old Airport Beach and doing landscaping on their walking path.

It's been a great opportunity to pour into the local community in such a practical way and to thank them for welcoming us onto their land.

It's so important to YWAM for the local community to know that we are not here just to use their land as a training facility, but that we also care about the people that live here and the land that they have let us use.

Last month, we were greatly honored by "West Hawaii Today," a local newspaper, that wrote an article on the work that we have been doing at Old A's...

Popular walking path gets some TLC | West Hawaii Today, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Hawaiian culture is so respectful towards their land and their people, and we hope to be able to demonstrate to them that we honor that value as well.

week#5 video blog

week#4 video blog

week#3 video blog

out:reach

As of tomorrow, we will have known our outreach locations/teams for one week! ... sorry for the delayed update here, but better late than never!

Together with my co-leader Chelsea, I will be leading a team of four students to ...

Chelsea and I are so excited about the opportunity to lead a team to Nepal! We have been praying about this location over the past month-and-a-half and feel that we are just beginning to understand the love that God has for this nation.

We are still in the beginning phases of planning the outreach and getting in touch with local ministries operating in Nepal, but we hope that in our time there, we will be able to work with victims and people at risk of trafficking along with a variety of opportunities to work with children. We will also have our team be trained in Justice Water which is a ministry that provides and trains locals in clean-water technologies and hygiene, which can reduce water-related deaths by 45%...

Another possibility, which we are all very excited about, is the chance that we may be able to hike into remote villages and discover unreached people groups. There we will help both presently and eternally, by providing clean water while sharing our stories of how God has been faithful in our lives.

Chelsea, myself and the team are all so excited about what God is going to do in and through us during our time in Nepal!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support as we continue to prayerfully plan this outreach!

week#2 video blog

who am I ?

"Who am I" is a question I believe we all ask ourselves at one point, or another. And we don't always seem to find the answer.
Last week we had David Gava speak in our school about "The Nature and Character of God" and who He says we are.

According to scripture, here is who I am. And who God says, You are...
p.s. I encourage you to read these aloud over yourself. It is incredible how powerful words are; and how much more powerful the truth is.

I am Redeemed (Rev 5:9)
I am bought with a price (1 Cor 6:20)
I am Blood bought (1 Pet 1:19, Rev 5:9)
I am valuable to God (Mt 10:31)
I am one in which God has an inheritance (Eph. 1:18)
I am reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:18)
I am made clean (Jn 13:10)
I am saved by the Gospel (1 Cor 15:2)
I am born again of incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23)
I am a new creation (2 Cor 5:17)
I am in Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30)
I am complete in Him (Col 2:10)
I am free from the control of man (1 Cor 9:19)
I am free from sin (Romans 6:18,22)
I am free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
I am free from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13)
I am free indeed (John 8:32-36)
I am called according to His purpose (Rom 8:30)
I am called into the fellowship of His Son (1 Cor 1:9)
I am called to peace (1 Cor 7:15)
I am called to liberty (Gal 5:13)
I am called to His eternal glory (1 Peter 5:10)
I am God's field (1 Cor 3:9)
I am God's building (1 Cor 3:9)
I am a branch connected into the Vine Jesus Christ and His life flows through me (John 15:5)
I am healed from every infirmity (1 Peter 2;24, Isaiah 53:5)
I am immune from every sickness and disease (Ex 23:25, Deut 7:15)
I am an epistle of Christ, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God (2 Cor 3:3)
I am Christ's (1 Cor 3:23)
I am the Friend of God (Jn 15:15)
I am a servant of God (1 Cor 9:19)
I am a part of the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am one of the saints in Christ Jesus. (Romans 1:6, Galatians 3:28)
I am a fellow citizen with all the saints in the Kingdom of God (Eph 2:19)
I am the temple of the Lord and the Holy Spirit dwells within me (1 Cor 3:16, 6:19, 2 Cor 6:16, John 14:7)
I am Abraham's seed (Galatians 3:29)
I am an heir according to the promises made to Abraham. (Galatians 3:29)
I am part of a chosen generation (1 Peter 2:9)
I am a member of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9)
I am a citizen of a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9)
I am one of His own special people (1 Peter 2:9)
I am an heir of God a joint heir with Jesus Christ (Gal 4:7)
I am member of the household of God (Eph 2:19)
I am a child of the most high God (Rom 8:16, Gal 3:26, Gal 4:7)
I am a child of light (Ephesians 5:8, 1 Thess 5:8)
I am a child of the day (1 Thess 5:8)
I am a proclaimer of the praises of Him who called me out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)
I am light in the Lord. (Eph 5:8)
I am the light of the world (Matt 5:14)
I am the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13)
I am blessed in the city and in the country (Deut 28:3)
I am the Father/Mother of blessed children (Deut 28:4)
I am blessed in all I lay my hands to (Deut 28:4-5,8)
I am blessed when I come in and when I go out (Deut 28:6)
I am invincible before my enemies (Deut 28:7)
I am the head and not the tail (Deut 28:13)
I am above and not beneath (Deut 28:13)
I am a lender not a borrower (Deut 15:6, 28:12)
I am strong in the Lord (1 John 2:14)
I am one in whom the word of God abides (1 John 2:14)
I am one who has overcome the wicked one (1 John 2:14)
I am rich in Him (Romans 8:32, Rev 2:9)
I am gifted with powerful gifts from the Holy Ghost (1 Cor 12:4-11)
I am a believer in Jesus Christ therefore I am one who casts out demons in His Name (Mark 16:17)
I am one who speaks with new tongues (Mark 16:17)
I am one who has power over serpents (Mark 16:18)
I am one who cannot be poisoned (Mark 16:18)
I am one who lays hands on the sick, so that they will recover (Mark 16:18)
I am one who loves (Gal 5:22, 1 John 4:16)
I am one who has joy (Gal 5:22, John 15:11)
I am one who has peace (Gal 5:22, John 14:27)
I am one who has patience (Gal 5:22)
I am one who has kindness (Gal 5:22)
I am one who has goodness (Gal 5:22)
I am one who has faith (Gal 5:22)
I am one who has gentleness (Gal 5:23)
I am one who has self-control (Gal 5:23)
I am one who has all the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22,23)
I am one who has the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)
I am led by the Spirit of God (Gal 5:18)
I am chosen (1 Cor 1:27,28, James 2:5)
I am a disciple (John 8:31)
I am a priest (1 Peter 2:9, Rev 1:6)
I am a king (Rev 1:6)
I am an ambassador for Christ (1 Cor 5:20)
I am an intercessor who stands in the gap (Ezek 22:30)
I am a watchman on the wall (Ezek 3:17)
I am baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4)
I am endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49)
I am one who has overcome (1 Jn 4:4)
I am one who has been freely given all things through Christ (Rom 8:32, 1 Cor 3:21)
I am one who can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13)
I am one God always leads in triumph in Christ (2 Cor 2:14)
I am one God gives the victory to through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:57)
I am one who has within him the One who is greater than he that is in the world. (1 Jn 4:4)
I am one who treads upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent I trample underfoot (Ps 91:13)
I am one who can run through a troop and leaps over a wall (Ps 18:29)
I am a soldier of Christ (2 Tim 2:3-4)
I am a royal horse in the day of battle (Zech 10:3)
I am fully armed with weapons that are mighty through God (2 Cor 10:5)
I am more than a conqueror (Rom 8:37)
I am able to pull down strongholds (2 Cor 10:5)
I am able to cast down imaginations and every high lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (2 Cor 10:5)
I am able to bring into captivity every thought (2 Cor 10:5)
I am a stranger to this world, a pilgrim just passing through (Heb 11:13)
I am a witness (1 Thess 2:10)
I am bold (2 Cor 11:21)
I am the Bride of Jesus Christ (Rev 21:2-10)
I am jealous for the saints with a godly jealousy. (2 Corinthians 11:2)
I am a minister of the Gospel of Christ (2 Cor 11:23, Romans 1:16)
I am not my own (1 Cor 6:19)
I am not of this world (John 15:9)
I am not under the law (Gal 5:18)
I am not a slave (Gal 4:7)
I am not inferior (Job 13:2)
I am not alone (John 8:16, 16:32)
I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ (Rom 1:16)
I am not ashamed of who I am (2 Tim 1:12)

This is profound truth and this removes every lie about what the devil says about you because the truth sets you free from every lie.
Imagine reading this aloud over yourself every morning, do you think it could change how you see yourself?
I think so...

week#1 video blog

journey

This week we had David Gava speaking on the Nature & Character of God.

One thing that has really stood out to me was how he broke down our Journey with God. It's based off of the story of Elisha and his apprenticeship to Elijah...

Step 1: Gilgal (1 Kings 19:19-21 & 2 Kings 2:1)
~ Being taken out of a place of bondage ~ Surrendering the things of this world, for the calling of God.

~ A place of salvation & making God Lord of your life.
~ Giving your heart to the Lord. 

~ Repentance. 

"What you are hungry for is what you will pursue... 

So, what are you hungry for?"

Step 2: Bethel (2 Kings 2:2-3)

~ A place of making decisions.

~ Are you going to decide to really go for God? 

~ A place of separation from hindrances.

~ Will you go back, or will you go forwards?

Your calling will cost you EVERYTHING.

"Whatever will hold you back from entering into God's plan for you,
is an IDOL in your life."

KNOW THE TRUTH . KNOW THE WORD . KNOW GOD .

Step 3: Jericho (2 Kings 2:4-5)

~ A place of warfare.

~ Being trained for battle and knowing that your victory is won through Christ.

~ Knowing who you are in Christ!

~ there is NO turning back.

Testimonies require testing.

Step 4: Jordan (2 Kings 2:6)

~ A place of the supernatural.

~ We don't run after the supernatural, it runs after us. Seek first His kingdom.

"If you want God to move in your life,

you have to give Him permission."

Mohician worship

Well, it is official. Week #1 of Engage DTS has come to a close!

This week we had Donna Jordan speaking on "Hearing the Voice of God."
It's been an intense week. We've had students recognizing Jesus as Lord of their lives, hearing/recognizing the voice of the Lord for the first time, and a time of repentance at the cross to confess any sin that would try to hinder our walk with the Lord any longer. Like I said; it's been intense and it's been fast.

My highlight of the week was having a surprise worship-turned-ministry session with Jonathan Maracle. He's a Mohawk Indian who has been using his unique music style to remind Native American's of their heritage and that as God's creations, they can use their traditions and music to glorify and worship the Lord.

As a Canadian, I grew up hearing about the Natives and the ways they have been mistreated. It broke my heart, and left me curious about all their traditions and  fascinated with what I did learn (thank you Mum!). So it was a really special experience for me to be able to praise God through Native worship music.
I also learned so much more about the specific ways that the Natives have been mistreated. It truly broke my heart to hear the reality of the effects of their mistreatment. But through this brokenness, God has begun to speak to me about the importance of recognizing myself and everyone around me as the precious creation He has made them to be.

"White man's religion" (sadly, Christianity) has way too often, been used as a means for control and manipulation over honest and trusting people. In regards to the Native Americans; we told them that to serve God; they would no longer be Natives and would have to forego their identity as Natives and their traditions in order to worship God.

But the reality is, that God made each of us, both as individuals and people groups, unique and in His image. So to ask one person or group to conform to look like "us," is really idolizing ourselves and saying that "we" are the one true representation of God and are the only ones capable of pleasing Him through our worship.

Thankfully, God doesn't allow our arrogance to last too long. I believe that He is stirring up the nations, people groups and individuals to once again recognize that they are made in Christs image, and as His beautiful creations, each one of their expressions of worship are dear to the Father.

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!" - Revelation 7:9-10

Much love,
Becca

P.S. Please be praying for Jonathan Maracle and his group "Broken Walls" as they are on the forefront of bringing this revelation to Native tribes all around the world, through their fusion of Native-style worship music.  

powerful love

The students of Engage DTS 2013 arrived on Thursday and we are now on Day 2 of the actual DTS.

One of our Scavenger Hunt Photos...
We weren't in the mood to plank, so we got some wood to step in for us!

We've had an amazing weekend getting the bonding process underway with a Photo Scavenger Hunt and Sunset BBQ. A success in everyone's eyes I'm sure.

One of our Scavenger Hunt photos:
Question: "What do you surf with? Take a pic!"

Yesterday we began the week with morning worship and then joined forces with the All Nations, All Generations DTS for a week on "Hearing the Voice of God" with Donna Jordan, our lovely Canadian speaker! Day 1 we already saw students come forward and recognize Jesus, not just as their savior, but as Lord of their lives.

First Monday Morning Worship of the quarter!
Photo Credit: Erin T.

Then last night, we had Ministry Night (a time of worship and spontaneously following where the Holy Spirit leads us) and after a time of prayer for healing we saw over 30 students from DTS be healed of various illnesses!!!
It is so amazing to see how quickly God is moving throughout the school. He really isn't wasting anytime, but jumping right into the hearts of the students and moving in their lives, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

The question on many of the staff's heart is:
If God is already moving in such powerful ways in the first week; What will he do over these next 6 months? and How great must the calling on the lives of our students be?