Matthew 10:19-20  "...do not worry about what to say or how to say it.  At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

Romans 8: 1-2 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death."

2 Corinthians 1: 9-11 "Indeed in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.  He has delivered us from such a deadly peril and he will deliver us.  On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us, as you continue to help us with your prayers.  Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many."

Merry Aussie Christmas!

The first thing I heard as I rolled out of bed was the pouring rain on the tile roof. No beach, BBQ or pool party.  It rained all day yesterday too. This is disappointing because we tried to fill this Christmas day with stuff to do outside. We moved on to plan B to do some inside things.  Some came over to our house to bake cookies and brownies.  As the brownies were finishing up, our oven broke.  It started making a noise and smoke started to come out. We opened all our windows and doors, but the smoke kept pouring in.  So our baking was planned short, and our little Christmas dinner plans were cancelled. I'm physically feeling tired and sluggish as well.  It hasn't been the luckiest day.  I'm  still so grateful for Christmas and its meaning. Christmas Eve last night we got together and watched The Passion of the Christ.

Christmas this year has been different.  I have no family, tree, presents or traditions this year.  However, I'm truly content.  I'm glad for the simplicity of this Christmas,  I had to be stripped of everything to actually know the true meaning of Christmas.  It's easy to say "Jesus is the reason for the season" and stuff like that.  At the same time, I'd be stressed about gifts, parties and the like.  God sent Jesus as a baby to grow into a man and take on the sins of the world so we may have eternal life.  I can not think of a better gift. He has been my source of strength and my best friend.  I've had to fully rely on him and he's always provided, and I know he will continue to.

I hope and pray you have a blessed Christmas.  Wherever you are in the world or however you celebrate take some time to reflect on the gift that God gave us.  The true meaning of Christmas is incredibly special and we can't help but be thankful.

Weekend at Bryon Bay

Last weekend was quite possibly the best weekend I've had on YWAM. We got permission to use a van so a few of us went down to the Byron Bay base.  The whole base came to the Gold Coast in November to hear Mark Parker speak.  That week there was a lot of sharing and growing, so we naturally got close to everyone from Byron.  We call them our "base BFF's."  One leader said that although it's typical for bases to come together to hear speakers, she's never seen anyone bond the way we did with them. It was an awesome weekend of catching up with friends and seeing different sights.

The Byron Base is so different from ours.  They only have one house where they all live, and then they drive to a local church to do classes.  Community is strong because they are constantly together. The house is on a horse farm surrounded by beautiful countryside. It was refreshing to see open fields and green pastures again.  Since I've been here, it's been a lot of concrete and suburbs. Everyone was hospitable; constantly asking if we wanted anything.  We were hanging out on the porch and the guys noticed we were cold.  They naturally went inside and brought out sweatshirts and blankets for us.  Simple things like that, they did all weekend.

Byron Bay the town has a lot of back packers and hippies.  We went into town the first day and walked around. Lots of hippies and new age stuff there.  Crystal shops, vegan restaurants and fair trade stores are common.  The DTS has some awesome outreaches in that town.  They have a coffee shop and a host a free BBQ for the town every Friday.  It was neat to see another base's mission field and ways they reach the community.

On Sunday, they invited us to come to their church.  One of the Byron guys describing said "you can honestly do whatever, you can sleep in the back, dance in the front or sit in the middle."  We were greeted by a tall guy in dreads. My friend looked at me and gasped.  It's been her dream to get dread locks since coming here, so she was thrilled when half the congregation had them.  They had candles lit and cushions everywhere.  The atmosphere was so different from any church I've ever been to.  I felt so welcome and included even though I was never there.  Worship was incredible!  Everyone was dancing and praising God however they wanted.  People were just themselves.  Toward the end, they had a ministry time and my friends went up to the front and prayed for each other. We spent an hour sharing our struggles, passions, and how much we cared for each other. We prayed for the Christmas season since we are away from our families. The service lasted five hours, but I could have been there all night.  We had an awesome time at this church.  We want to go back every week now! :)

There were hammocks, a wrap around porch and an open field to do quiet time in the morning.  Some people sang, read their Bible's and  played guitar or drums.  There was something so peaceful and simple about the morning.  Everyone's first priority of the day was to be with Jesus.  I climbed this tree to have my quiet time. It was great to oversee God's beautiful creation and hear other people worshiping God.

The last day the guys from Byron took us to this secluded beach. It's called beach X because they don't want people to find out about it.  It took a while to get to, but it was so worth it. We drove through wilderness up a mountain, to hike this trail down a mountain and behold see the most beautiful beach I have ever seen.  The day was perfect.  Eighty degrees, sunny and not a cloud in the sky. Dolphins were swimming all day and the water was crystal clear.  We all found these rocks and went cliff  jumping, took some pictures, explored a cave and swam in this natural pool with fish.  We all came back and had a BBQ at the base. Right before we left they took us to the Byron Bay lighthouse.  It's the most eastern part of Australia, so that was cool. We hung around for a while and went stargazing.  It was harder to say good-bye a second time.  They are an awesome group.  With our bases combined, we are called "The Golden Bay."  (Gold Coast and Byron Bay combined)

Last week in small group we were praying for each other. It's a time where we can be real about what is going on in our life. A guy in my group said he wasn't really experiencing God and some other things as well. As I was praying for him, I got this message from God I should tell him ( It sounds weird typing it out, but I don't know how else to describe it.) The message was that God wants to reveal to Himself through nature to him in the next week.  He was going to see something in creation and just know it was God showing him He loved him.  This was before we even knew we were going to Byron Bay, and we certainly knew nothing about this beach.  He did experience this moment at the beach on Monday, which was within the week.  God is so amazing!  As iron sharpens iron, my faith was stirred as well as his.

I was so blessed this weekend! It was refreshing to see other people who are going through the same things.  
God showed us his glory through all we did.

Thankfulness comes from the heart

There is not a day that goes by where I don't thank God for these people, places and things in my life.  I am so blessed to be here.  These are the things I miss, love and am blessed with everyday. 

My Mom:  She is such an amazing woman!  Through thick and thin, her undying dedication to Christ has been my inspiration my whole life.  To be told I resemble in any way is the most sincere compliment.  This summer, I worked for her cleaning houses.  Believe me, she is a hard worker! She cares for her clients and friends so much.  She never talks bad about anyone and is always lifting others up, even when they're not around.  If you know her, consider yourself blessed.  I call her once a week here, and it's so great to talk to her.  I love her!

Grandma and Grandpa Mylin:  I love them so much.  They have been my backbone and super supportive of me being here. It makes my day when  receive an email from them.  I admire their relationship with God, it is so sincere.  They are always looking out for the needs of others.  I hope to be like them someday.

Grandma and Grandpa Sadler:  I have felt so much love and support from them.  I love and miss them a lot. Some of my favorite memories are going to their house after school.  They have a special place in my heart. I know I can count on them.  They are awesome!

My extended family: They too, are so supportive.  I could go on and on about the impact they made on my life.  For Thanksgiving my cousins made me a poster that said "We miss you, Emily!" and my Aunt Andrea took a picture and put it on Facebook.  That made my day.  Some people on base saw the picture and said "you have a great family." and I couldn't help but agree.  I have always felt so much love and support from them.

Mount Joy Mennonite Church:  I'm so grateful to have grown up in such a supportive, loving, Christian environment. From going to Sunday school in the old church to attending the young adult class, I  have been so blessed.  Coming to YWAM, I felt prepared in a sense for the challenging material.  I credit this to what I learned at MJMC.  When I decided to do YWAM, they wholeheartedly supported me prayerfully and financially. I am forever grateful for this. My church is a true representation of what the body of Christ should be.  I love them all!

Friends back home:  Although what I'm doing is different, my friends have included me and have been understanding and supportive.  I have a message thread with a few and it's so great to read to keep in touch with how everyone is doing.  It has been hard not being able to talk to them.  I love them so much!

Families I babysat for: Each family in their own unique way has been such a blessing to me!  I love kids and have been privileged to take care of them for years.  I'm so thankful for the friendships I have with the families.  I think about the children I sat for whenever I see kids here.  I have truly missed them.  I'm so thankful to have such an incredible opportunity to get to know different families and learn from them.  I love each one so much.

YWAM friends:  I couldn't imagine it any other way.  We are truly a community here.  Everyone sincerely loves one another. I have so much fun with everyone here!  The guys are so chivalrous, always opening the doors for us and making sure the girls are okay.  The girls all get along and we're always laughing or there for someone if they need to talk.  I have felt so loved and accepted here.  Everyone came from all over the world with different backgrounds.  Despite that, we can all live amongst each other in community and get along.  I believe that is a true resemblance of the body of Christ. 

Instant coffee:  It never fails!  Every morning, I turn on the kettle, have some God time and enjoy the sun.  I love coffee (plain black), and have perfected the art of making a fine cup of instant. And I never thought I would say that. 

A computer:  Has allowed me to keep in touch with everyone from home. Thank you, Grandpa for the free laptop!

A car, phone and ipod dock:  Being without these for 2+ months, I will never take them for granted!

"We don't fight for victory, we fight from victory."

This week has been amazing as we learn about spiritual warfare.  Our speaker is Leal Pittaeu all the way from Melborne.  She has so much insight and knowledge.  We are learning about our authority in Christ and how to pray with the dominion God gave us since the beginning of time.  She is guiding us through the book of Ephesians and basing the topic on Genesis.  When we're dissecting the Bible word for word, it's amazing the revelation I receive.  The most significant things I'm learning are my authority in Christ, that I am FREE, and I am righteous in Christ. There is so much to learn! I love lectures and am continuing to grow in God.  

God has been teaching me a lot in and out of the lecture hall.  On Saturday, YWAM usually has beach sports outreach in Surfers Paradise.  Unfortunately, the rain prevented us from going, so we went to the mall to evangelize.  Each student paired off with a staff member.  Then we asked God to lead us to someone to talk to. Malls aren't my favorite place to do this because everyone is on a mission and not in a talking mood. So Rochelle and I went to the food court.  She suggested buying something and praying about who to give it to.  I bought a sundae at McDonald's (purposely something that would melt, so I couldn't chicken out) I prayed that God would give me direction on who to give it to.  God showed me who, so I mustered up some courage and I walked straight out of my comfort zone and toward the girl with the ice cream in hand.  I can't remember what I said, but something to the affect that I'm a Christian and I wanted to bless her with this ice cream.  She looked at me obviously surprised.  Then she smiled and said "Oh, wow that's so cool.  Thank you!  I'm a Christian too."  It turned out to be such a blessing.  Here she was thinking about going to America for missions.  I was able to encourage her to try it out.  She asked me so many questions about missions, and I was happy to be able to encourage her to go for it.  I was so glad I got to help her out, and it wasn't an accident I was supposed to talk to her.

Yesterday, I had some time off.  Going through some personal things, I was pretty frustrated.  I could sense God was saying something to the effect of "Well, you can sit around and mope about it or can can get up and do something fulfilling."  So I took up what was bothering me with God.  I wandered down the street and prayed if there was anyone I should talk to.  I saw this lady at the bus stop and felt like I should talk to her.  Now all these thoughts are going through my head.  I was so close to just passing by.  I sat down next to her and we talked for a good 20 minutes or so. (if you come to Australia, be flexible with the busing system because it's always late.)  Anyway, we just chatted about aboriginal life, art and culture for a while and I shared about Jesus through the conversation.  She told me she was Buddhist so we talked about that until her bus came. I mostly just asked her questions and listened.  It was pretty low key.  It's important not to stress when you're talking to someone about God.  If you pray God will give you the words to say He will.  Maybe you're just supposed to be the person who sows the seed or waters it.  I think a lot of times we have such a tendency to get caught up with our own life.  How hard is it to take 20 minutes out of our day to talk to a stranger?  I hope that I'll continue this throughout life.

I am going to learn how to surf this weekend!  My room mate, Caitlin is going to teach Sarah and me.  Some of us are heading down to Byron Bay to reunite with our friends that lived with us for a week.  The base is on a beautiful farm.  It will be a different atmosphere from Ashmore, that's for sure! It's been one of those weeks where you just need to get out, so it will be perfect.

God is so good!  I am continually amazed at his provision and love for me.  This seems small, but I was having trouble sleeping for a while.  I would wake up at 5:00 am,  thanks to the heat and squawking birds.  Now that Laura the intern moved out, (and we miss her greatly )  I moved down to her bed.  I am sleeping much better, praise God! I'm happy to say I've been sleeping in until 6:00am. I had a top bunk before. Every night before bed I would put pillows on the floor in case I rolled out.   My room mates and I would laugh about this ritual, but now I can just cruise into bed and not have to worry.  I'm still in the same room as everyone and I love our late night chats that go on forever.  Being surrounded by Goldy people all the time has been such a blessing.

Philippians 3:7-10
"But whatever I consider a profit I consider a loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ -the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith."

Hebrews 10:24-25  - my guiding verse this week.  (I remember Bonnie Mateer leading this scripture in church.  I was in fifth grade and she had all these props and ways for it to stick in our memory.  I will never forget when she led those scriptures in church.  She made it fun and every week, our congregation would recite them. Thank you Bonnie, they will always be in my mind)

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another- all the more as you see the day approaching."

"I'll hold on hope..."

Mumford &Sons
The Cave
It's empty in the
 valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind

The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

Cause I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind

So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

So come out of your cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's hand

So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say

Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be

And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

OZ quest complete

OZ quest was intense!  The past four days were all about preparation for worse case scenarios that can occur during the outreach phase of DTS.  It was a time of team building, trust forming and growing closer to God.  The first night we gathered to cross the line of commitment to the challenge. Everyone crossed the line promising to commit to the challenge 100%  Then we learned the rules and made consequences.

Rule for OZ Quest:

• No team break. - we couldn't be more than 1.5 meters from each other at all times.  Punishment was 15 jumping jacks per team break.
• No bad attitude. -punishment was a public apology, what was learned. an encouraging word for everyone and 5 fist pumps.
• No left behinds- If our backpacks weren't in the tent they had to be 1.5 meters away at all times, unless someone was watching them.  Consequence was 15 push ups per item left behind for 1.5 meters.
• Be on time- this was timed to the second. consequence was 15 crunches per 30 seconds late.

We had between 5-10 minutes to eat and cleanup meals, so manners went out the window first day :) there was also no silverware.  We cooked all our dinners over a fire.  (which would have been more fun if it didn't rain.) 

At night we all (17 people) slept in one tent.  It was a big tent, but we were crammed like sardines.  Our sleeping bags were drenched. I didn't care because of all the activity we were doing, sleeping on a rock looked appealing.  On the last night we were woken up twice in the middle of the night. The first time we had talk to someone who wanted to hear the gospel, and share our testimonies.  The second time was more intense.  At 3:30 AM there was a tribal war so we had to pack up everything in three minutes and escape. That was crazy.  I'll never forget a tent full of 17 people trying to gather everything in such a short amount of time.  I had to do push ups as a punishment for leaving my shoes behind in all that mess.  Our nights were anything but restful, but we were told that both those instances occurred during outreach.

Everything was rationed. toilet paper, kerosene, matches, water, peanut butter etc.. We had to figure out how to spread out supplies to last four days.

The first morning I was up at 3:30 and walked in the pouring rain to the first destination.  We made our way to the first check point and got our bags inspected.  We had a strict list on what was allowed. I opened my my bag to find my Bible and journal  soaked from the rain. (we weren't allowed any coverings or wrappers for anything.) I just wanted to just run away and cry right there, but I stopped because I couldn't be 1.5 meters away from a team member haha.  Thankfully they took them somewhere to dry, but I was without my Bible for all that time.  The first day was spent on a ten hour hike through the bush.  we saw  wallabys and lots of other Australian wild life, which was awesome.  Each team was given a compass and some vague directions.  Needless to say,  none of us were raised cub scouts so  we got lost and an hour and a half behind.  We prayed about it and God led us to this place and it ended up being a short cut, so we made up for the time we lost!  We did another hike the last day as well, but this time it was a competition between the two teams.  The hiking was such a fun adventure.  I will never forget climbing this huge hill with a gorgeous view and a pb&j as a reward.  

Many of our challenges were to prepare 30 minute sermons on the spot, and we never knew when.  We would be the congregation for the other team and visa versa. We would critique and complement each others. Sometimes we had to prepare a church service for prisoners, a normal congregation or a group of children ages 5-12.  We would have 15 minutes to prepare.  It was so good to practice this on OZ Quest and be prepared now.

Every evening we had devotions led by our leaders.  My favorite was the first night.  The topic was on servant hood and we washed each other's feet while we prayed for each other.  Our feet were probably like the disciple's when Jesus washed them.  It really puts a different perspective on it when your feet are hurting, gross and someone washes them, and you do the same for them.  God taught me a lot on servant hood that night that carried on into the week.

The same night my shoes were taken away from the whole tribal war fiasco, we woke up a 5:00 am to do morning exercises. This was the worst part for me.  It wasn't time to do consequences, so it wasn't possible for me to get shoes.  A few other girls and I were had to continue on and run on the gravel rocks.  We ran about a mile. Our feet already killed and the run on gravel made it ten times worse. 

When oz quest wrapped up we had a closing ceremony.  From there we were blind folded and told to find our bags with our eyes closed.  Then with our eyes still closed everyone was led up to this pavilion.  Our noses smelled it first.  The most delicious chicken barbecue.  A real meal after four days.  Opening my eyes I saw the best looking spread and all the YWAM staff there to greet us.  It was a great way to end Oz quest!

Now I am back to the comforts of everyday life.  Although the intention for oz quest is outreach prep, I cant help but think of all the people whose daily life revolves around such conditions.Walking far to get water,  peeing behind a tree, sleeping in a soaking wet tent, running without shoes, eating rice with no utensils, no showers, and running in fear of tribal war are daily existence for some people.  There is no way I should pat myself on the back for completing such a challenge.  Instead, I think more people should experience it.  How incredibly easy is it to get used to the great comfort and luxury we live in and forget what the rest of the world lives like.  I'm not trying to be a downer here, I'm guilty of it too.  In normal life, I think if excuses not to run in my nice quality sneakers.  When your the one that actually has to do it, you think of things a little differently.  This is real life my friends.  I think we should all think of how our brothers and sisters in Christ live around the world. 

OZ Quest taught me so much.  I learned so much about each person on my outreach team. Having to be with in arms reach constantly, I know them all SO much better :) I learned to trust them more.  Most importantly, I learned to act out of my spirit, rather then my body or soul.  Believe me, there were times it wasn't easy.  But if I acted out of my flesh, I would have been doing a lot of public apologies and fist pumps :)

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why for Christ sake I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

James 1: 2-3
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds.  Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

the quest of OZ

Tonight we abandon the comfort of civilized life and head out on a four day wilderness excursion.  This test of physical, mental and emotional  endurance is to prepare us for worse case scenarios that can occur during outreach.  The leaders are secretive about what exactly will happen, so there is not a whole lot to expect, except a lot of challenges.

We can only back the essentials and even they are numbered, no jewelry can be worn and no food can be packed. All we have to wash is a bar of soap. I'm not sure what its like to sleep with out a pillow, but I will know soon!  We will be with our outreach teams the whole time to form unity and team building. 

As I think about what's ahead, I know these conditions may not be spectacular.  I do know however, that it's great we are doing this to not only prepare us for outreach, but because challenges are good.  Challenges are hard at the time, but they are designed for growth, maturity and to learn something about yourself.  When I look back, I wouldn't trade the challenges I've been through because they made me the person I am.  In fact, how are we expected to grow if we don't encounter them once in a while?

So cheers to a four day, rainy, Australian adventure.  I pray I come back a little stronger and smarter then when I started.

Today wrapped up Holy Spirit week, and I believe we went out with a bang. :)  We braved the rain and went to beach for lectures and baptisms.  Our whole DTS shared towls and huddled under the trees as we listened to Chris Twinn talk about the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  It totally reminded me of something Jesus would do. After lectures five students got baptised.  It was so beautiful to be apart of.  Then the sun started to come out and we gathered around for an amazing prayer time.  I could sense God was with us in that special moment.  What a cool afternoon.

"Love that will not betray you, dismay or enslave you,
It will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be.
There is a design,
An alignment to cry,
At my heart you see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be"
Lyrics from Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons.  a great song and worth a listen.

While my intentions were to update more frequently, I suppose my lack of corresponding with you all is a sign that they are keeping me occupied here at YWAM.  Now that the internet is back on track and we're back from our outreach trip I'm planning on getting back on track with blogging. With each passing day, I wish more and more to update. I decided to crack down and do it today, to let you all know I'm still alive and still loving it here :)  I am learning and experiencing so much here! Here is a quick recap of what I have been doing since the last update.

My last update was right after Fear of the Lord week.  We had Mark Parker as our speaker.  This was the most significant and life changing week thus far for me on the DTS.  Ever since then, I can truly say I wake up with a different mindset.  On November 13, Mark Parker lead a 14 hour ministry time for our group. (we were also privileged to host the YWAM Byron Bay DTS that week)  We praised and gave thanks to God, surrendered, confessed and received healing.  I will never forget this amazing time.

The next week lectures were on faith and finances, and conflict resolution.  Greg Cummings spoke to us about trusting God with money.  He has an amazing story.  He and his wife run an orphanage in Africa, so he knows quite a lot about what it says in Deuteronomy 28.  Conflict resolution was good as well.  It's amazing how the Bible is our answer book about anything in life.  I'm glad to say that I haven't had to put this into practice much since we all get along so well here :)

Last week, our base had the opportunity to volunteer with a highly credited Christian chaplaincy organization.  We spent the week in Surfers Paradise helping out with the Australian version of senior week. (I have to be rather careful with my words because they are strict about what we blog and share...) My group of John, Grace, Michelle and I were assigned to a hotel.  We would knock on the door and offer them candy (I promise it wasn't as creepy it sounds. The graduates know what this organization is.)  and then they would have us come in there rooms to hang out.  We would clean up their apartments, (no maid service here) make them pancake breakfasts, clean up their vomit, walk them home for safety, take them to first aid etc...  When we weren't in the hotel we would do all these other things.  Our group formed some amazing relationships with them.  The best part was leading a girl to salvation.  God is so amazing! In fact, that was my one expectation going into the week and he never ceases to amaze me with his impeccable timing   As exhausting and crazy as the week was,  I would do it again in heart beat.  As I walked down streets and saw all the young people, (most were drunk)  my heart went out them and I know God loves them so much.  Each one of the 30,000 kids in Surfers has a destiny with the creator.  So many of them I talked to were hungry and longing for something more out life.  Doing YWAM, I am so spiritually fed; constantly in a christian environment.  It was a privilege to be sent out and be the hands and feet of Jesus.  To win a generation is to SERVE a generation.

This week the topic is the Holy Spirit.  Chris Twinn is our speaker once again, and just like last time it's been amazing!  I am so thankful to be here learning this.  It's amazing how much more God wants for our lives.  Christianity is not intended to be boring, monotonous, and full of rules.  Rather, it is exciting and the greatest source of joy anyone can ever know or experience. Everyone here is open to what the Holy spirit has to offer, which makes for a neat environment.  I'm excited for the rest of this week.

I am doing so well!  Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray.  Not just for me but for my whole group.  Pray that we will be united and strong through this time.  We have been here for ten weeks and as they say: "the honeymoon phase is over."  God's grace is sufficient in every situation and I love every person here on this DTS. Seriously, living community style, you not only learn so much about your neighbor, but so much about yourself.