Its All About Relationship

This last week was the first week of actual classes. We studied the kingdom of God and the importance of relationship. Its going to take me awhile to really get into the swing of things here. Every day we go, go, go, and my mind and body are exhausted. With the long days of living and learning I have had many chances to bond with teammates, but there have also been moments of frustration. The blessing and curse of living in community...there are always people around if you need to talk, but then there are always people around when you don't want to talk. I must say though, I have become really good friends with my ear plugs and eye mask, which makes sleeping much more pleasant.

This week we also started our local outreach, Camp Tuesday. Every week we will be going and and working near two apartment complexes and doing an afternoon summer program with the kids that live there. I am on the singing team, but there is also a teaching, games, science activities, and crafts. It will be fun and challenging working and building relationships with these kids each week.

The past few nights though have been quite memorable. We went to a drive-in theater and saw Monster's University, and I saw a firefly for the first time. We had a tornado warning and had to cram into the basement. Growing up in Eastern Washington with maybe threats of wild fires in the summer, it was a little overwhelming dealing with this new threat that I never really imagined I would have to deal with. That said, I of course started crying, but I had my trusty pillow pet in hand, and was just great. Then last night, a group of us came together to pray. It was a powerful time of opening up to each other, we cried and shared and grew together a little more.

Today we started a week long series on the Father heart of God. Looking at our misconceptions of authority figures and how that has affected the way that we view God's love for us in our lives. The reality of God's love is sometimes hard to really understand in our broken world. But in seeking him, listening to him, experiencing him, we learn to see him for who he is and see that he loves us truly and unconditionally.

I know that God is working in my heart, and I pray that I won't get too overwhelmed with all this learning. With the busy days there is a lot to process, and it is tricky balancing my time in order to stay most alert in classes. God is good though, and will help me learn what I need to learn.

New Beginnings

Here I am. YWAM Madison. Exactly one week. Its always funny to me how one week in these sorts of settings feel like such a long time. While I am here, especially during the three month training phase I will do my best to update my blog once a week. During the school, we will have a different topic each week, so I am sure I will have enough thoughts to write a blog once a week.

This last week was getting used to being here, orientation, and a little bit of teaching near the end of the week. There have been lots of silly moments, tired moments, serious moments, and I love it.

So, some basics about the school. YWAM, DTS...fun acronyms. Youth With A Mission, founded in 1960 by Loren Cunningham (we spent last week reading his book, Is That Really You God?, about YWAM's founding). Their mission statement is "to know God and to make him known," which is then the basis for our entire DTS, or Discipleship Training School. With the focus of children at risk or community development, 15 young adults from all over the world, hanging out in Madison, WI for the summer, then to Mexico in the Fall. For the summer, we are staying at the training center, which is a couple miles north of Madison, surrounded by corn fields. It is absolutely beautiful. So much green.

We live in community, sleeping, eating, and doing life together. It is fun, but exhausting. The introvert in me hasn't been thriving, but I do my best to take some time each day to sit and be still.

Throughout the next three months we will be living and learning in this community. Each day we have quiet time, classes, community responsibilities (ie dinner prep, for me anyway), and maybe some free time. Then every Monday evening we will be heading into the city for a worship and intercession night with the entire YWAM Madison base, for our DTS is just a small part of the entire base in the city. Tuesday evenings we will be doing our local outreach in Madison, running a summer program for kids in a lower income neighborhood. Thursday evenings we will have classes for our specific focuses. Most of the time everyone in the DTS will have classes together, but these nights we will do specific learning. For me, children at risk, but for others community development. Then also on Fridays we will do a specific project with our focus group in preparation for the outreach in the Fall.

This will be a good five months, I am sure. I already feel close to many of the other DTS members, and hope to get close to the others. We are a tight knit group of members and staff and I am excited to see what the following months will bring.

This past week the focus of the lectures was on relationship to God. As YWAM's mission states one of the primary goals of a DTS is to know God, and as we grow in relationship with him, the natural outflow will be to make him known. It is fun to see the structure of the DTS so closely follow the mission of YWAM. For these three months of training will lead into outreach, giving us opportunity to truly know God, and then to make him known.

So, here's to new beginnings again. Ladies and gentlemen, its adventure time.