creeping up on me!

Well, the past few weeks have been craziness. 

From staff training to beautification day, its been an intense 3 weeks!

The Leadership Track ended as of December 7th and Corporate Staff Training began on the 10th. We had one week of hard core training, mostly focused on the core values of Discipleship Training and what it means to be a "Discipler." It was definitely one of those moments when I began to understand "The Fear of the Lord" just a little bit more as I began to realize the responsibility and authority that is being entrusted to me as I become a leader to these students. Its hard even to call them "students" as I was one of them just one year ago, and always will be a student, thank the Lord that He is so meticulous at keeping me humble and teachable. Anyways, it was an incredible time of teaching and a surprising, but welcome wake-up-call.

During this time, we had the incredible joy of finding out our Outreach Locations and co-leaders! Of course, I must still keep it a secret as the students have yet to discover where they will have the joy of going on outreach... but I had to let you know that at least I know where I am going and I am super stoked about it! ;)

We also got to go on a Staff Retreat at the Makapala Base. Its such a joy each time we go there as its both cooler and windier. It means we get to pull out the leggings, sweatshirts, socks and hot chocolate. Us girls were on a crocheting frenzy and enjoyed making socks and scarves even if it will be months before we get to use them! But it was an incredible time of getting to know each other better and spending some family time together. We've realized that card games are a favorite among us and has made for some intense bouts of competitiveness and laughter.

And then there was Christmas... which was basically Makapala times 5. Minus a few of the teammates as they were visiting home, we enjoyed a splendid Christmas at Jo's house and 10 days of rest and relaxation as we did our best to recoup and recharge for the coming 6 months.

Now we are on to the craziness. We've spent this week cleaning, shopping, painting, decorating, and setting up the classroom so that it will be ready for when the students arrive...

...in three days!!!

You would think by now I would have learnt that time flies, but it still manages to creep up on me! 

Meet the Engage DTS Staff of 2013

that's a wrap!

Well, as the New Year is just hours away, I wanted to share with y'all just a few things that I am thankful for...excuse the cheesiness

I am thankful for ...

Family : who have been beside me even if they're an ocean and a continent away.

Friends : both new and old who have kept me sane, even if it looks like hysterical laughter. 

Home : whether its been for 5 years or 3 months... home is where the heart is, right?

Collages : which keep both memories and dreams alive.

Sunshine, Wind, Sunny, Cold and Rainy Days : because they remind me of God's creativity. 

Community : because it keeps my eyes off myself and focused on loving God and those around me. 

My View of the Ocean : because it reminds me of the possibilities and God's deep love for me.

and You : because you've supported me in my wild adventures as I continue to pursue God's will for my life.

thank you, and Happy New Years!

wheelbarrows & cement

I love to be challenged on my faith. Not always, if I realize its not where I wish it were, but it gives me a goal.

Here is an excerpt from Loren Cunningham's, Daring To Live On The Edge about faith and finances, challenging each of us to step out in faith...

Is the life of faith worth it? If you have ever experienced it, it truly ruins you for the ordinary. Living the life of faith is like walking on a tightrope. It is an incredible thrill. 

In the 1800’s, an acrobat named Blondin (Jean-Francois Gravlet) became famous for crossing Niagara Falls by tightrope many times, usually with no safety net. 

One day a crowd gathered at the falls to watch his most dangerous attempt yet. He planned to push a wheelbarrow loaded with a heavy sack of cement across the tightrope. With that extra weight, the slightest miscalculation could tip the wheelbarrow and twist him off the wire, plunging him to death in the raging waters 160 feet below. 

… 

When he made it to the other side, the throng let out its collective breath and cheered. What a feat! After his crossing, Blondin challenged a nearby reporter: “Do you believe I can do anything on a tightrope?” 

“Oh yes, Mr. Blondin,” said the reporter, “After what I’ve seen today, I believe it. You can do anything.” 

“Do you believe, then,” said Blondin, “that instead of a sack of cement, I could put a man in this wheelbarrow – a man who has never been on a tightrope before – and wheel him, without a net, safely over to the other side?” 

“Oh yes sir, Mr. Blondin,” said the reporter, “I believe it.” 

“Good,” said Blondin. “Get in.” 

The reporter paled and quickly disappeared into the crowd. It is one thing to believe something, but quite another to have that kind of faith in someone. 

However, one person that day did have that kind of faith in Blondin. This brave volunteer agreed to get into the wheelbarrow and cross the falls with the master acrobat. 

As Blondin tipped out the bag of cement and placed his passenger in the barrow, men on both sides of the falls quickly placed bets on the outcome. Then as the crowd cheered, Blondin made his way back across the falls, this time pushing a nervous passenger ahead of him. 

It looked like another easy conquest for the daredevil, but when they were halfway across the sixteen-hundred-foot rope, a man with a heavy bet against them crept over and cut one of the guy wires.   

Suddenly the tightrope pitched crazily back and forth, the force of the whipping motion gaining in intensity. As Blondin fought to keep his balance, he knew that they were seconds away from death. When the rim of the wheelbarrow came off the wire, they would both be pitched headlong into the churning waters. 

Blondin spoke, cutting through the terror of his passenger in the wheelbarrow. “Stand up!” he commanded. 

“Stand up and grab my shoulders!” 

The man sat there paralyzed. 

“Let go and stand up! Let go of the wheelbarrow! Do it or die!” 

Somehow the man managed to stand up and step out of the swaying wheelbarrow. 

“Your arms – put them round my neck! Now your legs – round my waist!” said Blondin. 

Again the man obeyed, clinging to Blondin. The empty wheelbarrow fell, disappearing into the frothy turmoil far below. The aerialist stood there, using all his years of experience and every trained muscle to stay on the wire until the pitching subsided a little. Then inch by inch he made his way across, carrying the man like a child. Finally he deposited him on the other side. 

That’s what it means to live the life of faith. You have to have real confidence in the One who is carrying you across. It is fairly easy to say you believe in God. But are you willing to have Him carry you across a tightrope, high above a roar of water? You can have that experience, you know. You can have the thrill of trusting God and seeing Him meet your needs. 

This is what it comes down to, in living by faith. It is faith in God Himself. There is no system or ritual to it. It is faith in a living person, faith that He will help you accomplish the job He has given you to do. 

He has big challenges, planned just for you. He wants you to have a major part in the most exciting race of history – the race to take the Gospel to every creature. He wants to see you be the best you can be – for Him, and for your world around you. Take up the challenge. Step out for Him. Trust Him. Dare to live on the edge. 

irrational hermits?

Have you ever reacted to something completely irrationally, and had no clue why?
I don't know about you, but I've experienced this countless times. There are few things more frustrating than knowing that you're completely frustrated by something, and yet you have no clue why. Shouldn't we know ourselves better?

A few weeks ago, we had Melissa Helser come to speak to the Leadership Track. Among other things, she brought up the issue of "Inner Healing." Its quite the Christianese lingo, but the basic concept is digging to the depths of your soul and past, to try and get healing of anything that would hinder you from the fullness of experiencing God's love. Most people's experience with this, is a one-time session of tears and Kleenex trying to uncover any hidden hurt or anger. While this can be effective, its rare that you will have total "inner healing."
Why?
Well first of all, most of our memories are not that clear, and the really painful ones are locked away in some distant closet in the recesses of our heart, which makes it difficult to access in just one session.
But more importantly, these issues don't tend to manifest (make themselves known) in a big, dramatic fashion. More likely, they come out in the little things: becoming furious with a sister for stealing that one favorite shirt of yours, or, someone dumping out your cup of coffee before your finished. The little things that leave you reeling and wondering, "What could possibly be my issue?"
Well, I have wonderful news for you; it is called, "The Reflective Prayer".
This is an incredible tool, that you can use after those little outbursts, to partner with God in discovering, what exactly is going on. Its your own mini "inner healing session" that you can whip out of your back pocket as those inner recesses of hurt, anger, and wrong beliefs, bubble to the surface.

Here is how it works. Sit down with your journal  and write these things out (if you do not journal already, I highly recommend starting!). Once you get the hang of it and are more comfortable and confident in hearing God on this, you'll be able to do it in your head, on the fly.
**Note: Make sure that you have time to do the whole prayer! If you don't, than it can be easy to dig up a bunch of emotions and not deal with them, which will do more damage than good!

 Reflective Prayer

1. Situation (be specific):
2. ask the Holy Spirit, "What is going on?"
3. Thoughts (actual thoughts you had):
4. Emotions:
5. Behavior (what did you do?):
6. ask the Holy Spirit, "Why is this going on?"
7. What do I believe about myself? (“I am” statements: e.g. “I am a failure” “I am powerless” “I am worthless” “I am rejected” - try to get to the root thought):
8. What do I believe about Love/God? (What do these “I am” statements imply about my image of God? “God is” statements: e.g. “God is unsafe” “God is controlling” “God is powerless” “God is a perfectionist”):
9. Confession (Write out a prayer of repentance of the lies you have believed in you heart about God and yourself, and invite the Father to speak His truth into these places of your heart):
10. God’s Voice (let God speak truth into these places in your heart):
11. New thoughts, emotions, behavior:

This has been an amazing tool for me. You'll begin to see similar beliefs emerge as you go through this more and more. As you work through each individual situation, you get deeper to the root-belief and will experience more freedom.

But a word to the wise. Don't allow this to make you introspective, or self-focused, all the time. Still be social, still seek accountability and guidance from people you trust. This isn't an excuse to become an emotional hermit whose trying to self-improve before experiencing life and relationship. 

Use this to teach you how to go to God first, and seek your identity and affirmation in Him.

It still takes believing in the truth that God has spoken over you, and walking in the new thoughts, emotions, and behavior He gives you. But its incredible to begin noticing how your thought patterns change, and your reactions become more... friendly. 

Trust God to move in your life. Trust in the power of His word. Believe that this is really who He has made you to be. 

leadership training

The Awaken Leadership Track has officially begun!
There is so much that is being incorporated into this time, it feels similar to my DTS in the sense that I am being challenged to grow and take ownership of my walk with God. But it is also much more challenging, as this time isn't a time to receive but a time to pour out and to learn what it means to be a servant-leader. Its amazing to walk into this next level of discipleship as I am being called to a higher standard and learning to walk in the fullness of who God has created me to be. A little bit scary, and a lot-a-bit hard, but mostly exciting!

To give you a better idea of what my weeks look like, I wanted to share some of the elements of my week that create the structure for this time of Leadership Training!

Moravian Prayer Hours
The Leadership Track is covering the Prayer Room in 24/7 prayer for the nations and for revival to break out on the campus. The Moravian movement began back in the 1700's when a group of refugees living in Hernhut Germany began to pray for revival. For 100 yrs they prayed 24/7 before the cycle was broken. During and following that century, major movements happened in Europe, including the abolishing of slavery.

Worship
We have worship every morning, bringing our perspective into focus that everything we do is to glorify the Lord and to give Him praise. These are some of my favorite times in the week.

Practical Service
Everyone does practical service 4x a week for 3-4hrs. My service is on the Natural Farm, which is a practical way to research all-natural, organic, and sustainable methods for farming in developing nations. I am doing research and administrative work to document the research that is being done, and research new methods of farming and companion planting.

Contending Prayer, Intercession, Prayer Room, Ministry Night
We have Prayer-Room sessions 4 times a week, we alternate on different types, and focuses of prayer. Ultimately, we are seeking the heart of God and wanting to respond to what is on His heart. Some of the subjects we focus on weekly are:
Revival in America, Arts and Entertainment  and Unreached People Groups via the Joshua Project (see sidebar for today's people group).

Community Outreach
Once a week we go out into the community to show the practical side of God's love. We have multiple outreach teams that will go back to the same 'venue' each week. Outreaches include:
More Than Sport: using sport to talk about God and teach leadership to youth.
Salvation Army: feeding and hanging-out with Marshalese teens (a native group that is often rejected by society).
Hope Services: a transition home for homeless people being re-integrated into society.
Regency Elder Home: working with ICU patients suffering from severe cases of Alzheimer's and other similar conditions. Drawing, painting, and doing other therapeutic activities with them.
I am working in the Elderly Home starting next week, so more  I will be getting more in-depth about that particular outreach soon!

Leadership Training
Once a week we have leadership training, so far we've learned about the importance and power of prayer, what it means to live in God-centered community, and Spiritual disciplines.

Engage Staff Training
Our Engage Family meets once a week for training. So far we've been sharing testimonies and have heard about the power of walking in unity. Training will become more DTS-specific as the track continues, and will also become a time to discuss, pray for and plan for the upcoming Engage DTS.

Small Groups
Once a week we meet in small groups that will be our time to process the week and be a prayer support to each other.

Track Social & Engage Family Socials &Vision Meeting
Tuesday nights we alternate between Track Socials and Engage Family nights where we all get together for some fun, a meal, and some family-bonding-time. Or we get together for a Vision Meeting which is among the Staff and Leadership Track groups, where our leaders share their vision for the quarter and what God is doing in the nations etc.

Its a packed schedule, and its tough. But I am loving it. Its so comforting and safe to know that I am in a place, surrounded by people who all want to see me grow and become all that God intends me to be and to walk in what His plan is for my life.

Thank you for your continued support. I am so grateful for your continued prayers and support!
Much love,
Becca
    

tax receipt anyone?

Radical Life: How To Donate: Officially have my MISSIONS ACCOUNT!!! Please check out my page to see how you can donate and receive a tax receipt! I am so grateful to all of you who have already contributed financially to my time with Youth With A Mission and look forward to your continued support!