View our California recap video here!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT0T3gUxpiY&feature=player_embedded
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
CALIFORNIA BABY
First off I would like to apologize for the lack of blogs. Its almost been a month and I ha vent updated once, i have been so busy. But I will make up for it in this one :)
Where to begin... Once upon a time there were a group of radical world changers that decided to get up one morning at 3 am and drive 18 hours to California. This trip was long and hot especially when the AC was replaced with heat so their vans wouldn't overheat. But in the end, they made it; Safe and sound ready to start what God had called them to.
Wednesday morning (3 weeks ago), our whole base got up, as the short story told, at 3 am and road tripped to Cali. Why California? Well, a couple months ago God placed visions and words on peoples heart that there was going to be a revival in California and that our YWAM base needed to partner with Kona, Hawaii's Circuit Rider's. And so we, well really the staff because I didn't do anything until we got there, worked diligently and quickly to arrange plans for everything from housing to transportation to a giant tent on the beach all in a short 2 months or so. And so that's how we got there.
We spent a total of 9 days in California, about 300+ people, spreading God's love and holding tent meetings. And boy did He show up! So our daily routine would go as followed.... Corporate worship, snacks, and lunch ALL together at our "hub" church, street/beach ministry (normally from 1'ish until 7, so all day) and then our tent meeting from 7 until we went back to our "sleeping" churches. Your probably wondering what a tent meeting looked like, so let me describe. Each day when we were on the streets we handed out business cards with info for our tent, inviting people to join us. So when 7 rolled around, we packed the rented white tent in the backyard of the Hilton hotel full of YWAMers and anyone else who wandered in. There we started with an incredible time of worship, a short message or testimonies, and then let the spirit move with salvations, spiritual baptisms, healings, etc. Each night looked different, and honestly just when you thought God couldn't do anymore, He would do ten times more!The first night was INCREDIBLE. During our spirit led worship time, I prayed over people, prophesied over them, and just sang out to God. Words can not describe the experience, it was so amazing. The second night, during worship and the altar call, a girl caught my eye. And so i started praying for her. One thing led to another and God started downloading so much information about her life to me that it was almost overwhelming. And it was very specific, down to her addictions and recent relationship, stuff that no one knew about but her. I ended up telling her everything God was telling me, prophesying over her, and leading her to Christ. This was such an amazing moment not only for her but me because in that moment I realized my gifts from God, prophecy and prayer.
The next couple of nights continued to be mind blowing. Demon manifestations happened, dramatic healings of cancer, broken bones, and pains, crazy salvations, and the move of the holy spirit supernaturally. The Hilton hotel actually tried to pull the plug on us one night because we were so loud and spirit filled, but don't worry we took what the enemy tried to destroy and changed it into a glorification for God.
One cool story from i think the third night was radical salvations for three guys we had met the day before. When we were in Huntington Beach, debriefing and praying as a team, 3 tattooed and crazy eyed kids came up to us trying to get money for hitting each other with skateboards. When we took the opportunity to ask them about Jesus and what not the went wild. Cussing and getting in our faces, they seemed completely offended that we believed in such a myth. Walking back to our vans, they ended up following us a screaming at us the whole way. One of our guys said their eyes were completely black and weird looking. So the middle of worship the next night half of us catch glimpse of these guys we had seen the night before. Jaws dropped and hearts pleased, we immediately knew it was God. Long story short, they all three got saved and we saw a radical transformation in their lives. Each day after that we saw them standing on street corners preaching the gospel and bringing more people to our tent. When we asked them why they came to the tent the first night, their response, "God can only push you and pursue you so long before you finally accept Him." So good!
One last amazing story was form the last tent meeting. Being our last night, we prayed God would show up and rock our worlds in an extremely over whelming and different way then He had every other night before. And so He did. I started praying for this young girl who had gone to the altar (later I found out she didn't know why she walked up there, her feet just moved). Slowly God started giving me words for her, "she's beautiful" "she is not defined by what people tell her she is" "the abuse in her life wasn't her fault and she did tn deserve it" just different dramatic but yet powerful things. After praying with her and leading her to Christ, I began to step away and worship oin my own. But God told me to go back and declare freedom over her life in the area of depression and suicide. I really fought God on this mainly because that is not something you go and declare freedom over someones life unless you know its one hundred percent true, its a huge issue that honestly if you were wrong could destroy someones life. But after much debate, I finally gave in and listened. I walked back up to her and declared freedom from her suicidal thoughts and any depression in her life. She then broke down in my arms. "no one was suppose to know, how do you know? "i was going to do it tomorrow, how did you know?" I broke.... had I not been obedient to God, this girl most likely would have taken her own life the next day. We prayed freedom in her life and I could tell that God met her where she was at and freedom entered her life. She later told me she had no desire what so ever to kill herself now but instead wanted that plan that God had created her for. Never have I been so grateful for God using me and being obedient to Him even when its hard. Another loing story short, her mom gives all the credit to God for her being at the tent that night because she refused to come. "Your an angel from God and I can see Him in your eyes. Thank you so much for letting God use you to save my daughter." Ah! Our God is sooo amazing!
Sorry this was a long blog, i have so many more testimonies and stories from this time in the OC but I will end saying this. God is bringing revival to the United States, and a sure sign is not only all the testimonies from our week in Cali but the speratic earthquakes all around the states I truly believe were no coincidence, but Gods sign that He is moving. So are you going to jump on the wave of revival and reach all the lost, or slowly drift away and miss the wave?
Where to begin... Once upon a time there were a group of radical world changers that decided to get up one morning at 3 am and drive 18 hours to California. This trip was long and hot especially when the AC was replaced with heat so their vans wouldn't overheat. But in the end, they made it; Safe and sound ready to start what God had called them to.
Wednesday morning (3 weeks ago), our whole base got up, as the short story told, at 3 am and road tripped to Cali. Why California? Well, a couple months ago God placed visions and words on peoples heart that there was going to be a revival in California and that our YWAM base needed to partner with Kona, Hawaii's Circuit Rider's. And so we, well really the staff because I didn't do anything until we got there, worked diligently and quickly to arrange plans for everything from housing to transportation to a giant tent on the beach all in a short 2 months or so. And so that's how we got there.
We spent a total of 9 days in California, about 300+ people, spreading God's love and holding tent meetings. And boy did He show up! So our daily routine would go as followed.... Corporate worship, snacks, and lunch ALL together at our "hub" church, street/beach ministry (normally from 1'ish until 7, so all day) and then our tent meeting from 7 until we went back to our "sleeping" churches. Your probably wondering what a tent meeting looked like, so let me describe. Each day when we were on the streets we handed out business cards with info for our tent, inviting people to join us. So when 7 rolled around, we packed the rented white tent in the backyard of the Hilton hotel full of YWAMers and anyone else who wandered in. There we started with an incredible time of worship, a short message or testimonies, and then let the spirit move with salvations, spiritual baptisms, healings, etc. Each night looked different, and honestly just when you thought God couldn't do anymore, He would do ten times more!The first night was INCREDIBLE. During our spirit led worship time, I prayed over people, prophesied over them, and just sang out to God. Words can not describe the experience, it was so amazing. The second night, during worship and the altar call, a girl caught my eye. And so i started praying for her. One thing led to another and God started downloading so much information about her life to me that it was almost overwhelming. And it was very specific, down to her addictions and recent relationship, stuff that no one knew about but her. I ended up telling her everything God was telling me, prophesying over her, and leading her to Christ. This was such an amazing moment not only for her but me because in that moment I realized my gifts from God, prophecy and prayer.
The next couple of nights continued to be mind blowing. Demon manifestations happened, dramatic healings of cancer, broken bones, and pains, crazy salvations, and the move of the holy spirit supernaturally. The Hilton hotel actually tried to pull the plug on us one night because we were so loud and spirit filled, but don't worry we took what the enemy tried to destroy and changed it into a glorification for God.
One cool story from i think the third night was radical salvations for three guys we had met the day before. When we were in Huntington Beach, debriefing and praying as a team, 3 tattooed and crazy eyed kids came up to us trying to get money for hitting each other with skateboards. When we took the opportunity to ask them about Jesus and what not the went wild. Cussing and getting in our faces, they seemed completely offended that we believed in such a myth. Walking back to our vans, they ended up following us a screaming at us the whole way. One of our guys said their eyes were completely black and weird looking. So the middle of worship the next night half of us catch glimpse of these guys we had seen the night before. Jaws dropped and hearts pleased, we immediately knew it was God. Long story short, they all three got saved and we saw a radical transformation in their lives. Each day after that we saw them standing on street corners preaching the gospel and bringing more people to our tent. When we asked them why they came to the tent the first night, their response, "God can only push you and pursue you so long before you finally accept Him." So good!
One last amazing story was form the last tent meeting. Being our last night, we prayed God would show up and rock our worlds in an extremely over whelming and different way then He had every other night before. And so He did. I started praying for this young girl who had gone to the altar (later I found out she didn't know why she walked up there, her feet just moved). Slowly God started giving me words for her, "she's beautiful" "she is not defined by what people tell her she is" "the abuse in her life wasn't her fault and she did tn deserve it" just different dramatic but yet powerful things. After praying with her and leading her to Christ, I began to step away and worship oin my own. But God told me to go back and declare freedom over her life in the area of depression and suicide. I really fought God on this mainly because that is not something you go and declare freedom over someones life unless you know its one hundred percent true, its a huge issue that honestly if you were wrong could destroy someones life. But after much debate, I finally gave in and listened. I walked back up to her and declared freedom from her suicidal thoughts and any depression in her life. She then broke down in my arms. "no one was suppose to know, how do you know? "i was going to do it tomorrow, how did you know?" I broke.... had I not been obedient to God, this girl most likely would have taken her own life the next day. We prayed freedom in her life and I could tell that God met her where she was at and freedom entered her life. She later told me she had no desire what so ever to kill herself now but instead wanted that plan that God had created her for. Never have I been so grateful for God using me and being obedient to Him even when its hard. Another loing story short, her mom gives all the credit to God for her being at the tent that night because she refused to come. "Your an angel from God and I can see Him in your eyes. Thank you so much for letting God use you to save my daughter." Ah! Our God is sooo amazing!
Sorry this was a long blog, i have so many more testimonies and stories from this time in the OC but I will end saying this. God is bringing revival to the United States, and a sure sign is not only all the testimonies from our week in Cali but the speratic earthquakes all around the states I truly believe were no coincidence, but Gods sign that He is moving. So are you going to jump on the wave of revival and reach all the lost, or slowly drift away and miss the wave?
Thursday, August 4, 2011
INTERROGATION ROOM
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we have a two hour time period of worship where everyone on base comes together and we just praise God. Well yesterday was Wednesday, so worship time it was. And I was super excited because our worship times are so powerful and you can just feel God's presence when we all come together and worship Him. From the very first song, I could feel God moving and putting things on my heart. And I got the sense that I wasn't the only one. But I continued to worship and ended up spending a majority of the time just praying aloud and declaring who God was (exactly what the enemy hates!). So as the time went on, other people in the room started getting words and scriptures about chains being broken and freedom needing to happen. Which was sweet because guess what God was revealing to me? Yep, the same thing! This was made obvious in the next moment when I got a vision from God. And before I say what it was, I just want to say that I really feel this wasn't just for the YWAMers that were there but anyone reading this. Anyone who has chains and burdens the enemy tells you you have to carry, which is a LIE by the way. But I will explain that in a minute. So it goes as follows....
I saw a picture of an interrogation room. A dark room with a stainless steel table sitting in the middle. Two metal chairs on either side of the table, one was empty and the other was occupied with each of us, individually. It was like a scene straight out of CSI or Law & Order, where the suspect is sitting in this cold, dreary room waiting for the interrogator to come in and hound them. And so as the whole scene played out, I heard the lock on the steel door click open, and in walked the devil. Now he didn't have red horns protruding out of his head and a black cloak flowing behind him. But he was neatly dressed up, with a crooked smile on his face and briefcase in his hand. As he took a seat he started to "sweetly" interrogate whoever was sitting in front of him. "You know this is your fault." "Your going to live with this the rest of your life but at least you will never forget it." "I really like how you chose that decision in this situation. Its exactly what I would have done." He was feeding us lies about our past and sin, but we just sat there and listened to it all. Didnt fight back, didnt start defending ourselves, just listened. And then he pulled his briefcase up and pulled out a black ball and chain. He then pushed it across the table and said, "Here, this is yours. You need to wear it, it will make all those memories go away and you will be free. Just look at it as my peace offering with you and I will let you off this time." But then, we gently pushed our hand out and put it right back into his lap and said "No thank you! I know the truth and yeah I made mistakes but I don't need a bargain plea with you. My God, my lawyer, has released me."
This vision was so clear and vivid. And as I asked God to better explain this to me, not that it wasn't obvious, He spoke that there is freedom in Him. He came to save us, and because of His sacrifice and grace we no longer have to carry that chain given to us by the devil. He rescued us from that and we just need to throw that right back into the enemies face.
There IS freedom in the name of our Heavenly Father. He put His son on the cross for us, so we could live in freedom. But the devil will always try to tell you otherwise. He will whisper the lies that you aren't worthy of that sacrifice, your sins were to much for that little act of Jesus so your not covered. Stupid lies that are LIES. They aren't truth, and the enemy finds enjoyment in how many people he can get to believe them and carry his ball and chain around. So don't! I challenge you to look at the areas in your life that a chain was placed around your ankle for. What has the enemy been lieing to you about today, this month, or even your whole life? Your purity? Immorality? Unworthiness? Being unloved or unwanted? Major things as well as minor things, but either way he has found away to attach the weight to you and its not right. Ask God to reveal these areas to you and rebuke them in the name of God. Satan has no right to be in your life, let alone your interrogation room, so don't let him in! Throw that ball and chain back at him and let your Rescuer and Heavenly Father free you and bring you comfort. In Him, there is freedom. In Him, there is hope. And in Him there is truth!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
SEND THE LOVE
If any of you would like to send words of encouragments or just notes, feel free... I love getting mail!
Mackenzie Ochsner
c/o Youth With A Mission Denver
12750 W 63rd Ave
Arvada, CO 80004
Thank you for all your guys' love and support through this journey in my life! Its truly a blessing to have the opputrtunity to follow my dreams and desires while passionalty pursueing God. I absolutly love it here! So thank you, without many of you this time wouldnt be as easy.
Mackenzie Ochsner
c/o Youth With A Mission Denver
12750 W 63rd Ave
Arvada, CO 80004
Thank you for all your guys' love and support through this journey in my life! Its truly a blessing to have the opputrtunity to follow my dreams and desires while passionalty pursueing God. I absolutly love it here! So thank you, without many of you this time wouldnt be as easy.
PREPARE THE WAY
As some may know, I am preparing to go with part of my class to the Philippines for my outreach phase of DTS. This, I am beyond excited about because its one of the places God layed on my heart and its a two month mission trip.... which is a little slice of heaven for me. So as we approach the departure time form Colorado, we weekly prepare for this outreach phase.
One night a week we have outreach training, which is basically learning of skits, plays, puppet shows, and other "tools" we need to put into our toolbelt for reaching all sorts of people when in the Philippines. Not being an actress, God took this time as an oppurtunity to put me in every skit we do. One of them, Fix You, is all about redemption and Gods restoring love; how He can take a broken, abused, unloved, etc. person and make them new again through Him. And yes, it is to the Coldplay song. They warned us that by the end of our outreach phase, these songs will no longer be appealing to us because they will be so overplayed. All well! Our other skit, so far, is called Family. I play the older sister (fitting huh?) in a 5 person family. Through the process of the song the family starts to break apart as satan enters into their lives. Its very dramatic and after watching the other teams perform it I can understand how it could have a huge impact on people. Its a very common problem or topic in this world today, which is really sad, but at the end the family, individually, runs back to God and becomes restored. Which is a hopeful and happy ending! Its cool because not only do we get to act and participate in this but leaders constantly tell us stories of how mid way through God starts putting specific crowd members on your heart, and you get to do ministry time afterwards. I honestly can not wait!
One other part of outreach prep so far is the puppets. I also got selected to participate in this, which is actually really neat. At first I was bummed because it seemed like a lot of work and I would rather be doing something a little more hands on but soon I(because puppets arent hands on, right?) realized that those were both horrible excuses. Putting your hand in a puppets mouth, crouching behind a curtain, and choregraphing puppets to music is truly a ministry in itself! Our puppet team consists of six of us, each having our own character. And we all have different personialties so its really enterataining to sit back and watch us. We have three performances down so far, and currently get to look for new songs to do. It will be a great time and I am so excited to see the mile wide smiles on the children and adults faces when we use a piece of cloth and string to entertain them!
So far that is our major preperations that are taking place. We have also started working on our testimonies and learning how to relate our life stories to other people. Taking the bad or heart breaking and turning it into a story of hope and redemption. Words can not express how excited I am for this trip. God is already starting to prepare the hearts of His children there, and we get to be the vessels of His love and plant the seeds. It will be one of the most amazing experiences ever!
One night a week we have outreach training, which is basically learning of skits, plays, puppet shows, and other "tools" we need to put into our toolbelt for reaching all sorts of people when in the Philippines. Not being an actress, God took this time as an oppurtunity to put me in every skit we do. One of them, Fix You, is all about redemption and Gods restoring love; how He can take a broken, abused, unloved, etc. person and make them new again through Him. And yes, it is to the Coldplay song. They warned us that by the end of our outreach phase, these songs will no longer be appealing to us because they will be so overplayed. All well! Our other skit, so far, is called Family. I play the older sister (fitting huh?) in a 5 person family. Through the process of the song the family starts to break apart as satan enters into their lives. Its very dramatic and after watching the other teams perform it I can understand how it could have a huge impact on people. Its a very common problem or topic in this world today, which is really sad, but at the end the family, individually, runs back to God and becomes restored. Which is a hopeful and happy ending! Its cool because not only do we get to act and participate in this but leaders constantly tell us stories of how mid way through God starts putting specific crowd members on your heart, and you get to do ministry time afterwards. I honestly can not wait!
One other part of outreach prep so far is the puppets. I also got selected to participate in this, which is actually really neat. At first I was bummed because it seemed like a lot of work and I would rather be doing something a little more hands on but soon I(because puppets arent hands on, right?) realized that those were both horrible excuses. Putting your hand in a puppets mouth, crouching behind a curtain, and choregraphing puppets to music is truly a ministry in itself! Our puppet team consists of six of us, each having our own character. And we all have different personialties so its really enterataining to sit back and watch us. We have three performances down so far, and currently get to look for new songs to do. It will be a great time and I am so excited to see the mile wide smiles on the children and adults faces when we use a piece of cloth and string to entertain them!
So far that is our major preperations that are taking place. We have also started working on our testimonies and learning how to relate our life stories to other people. Taking the bad or heart breaking and turning it into a story of hope and redemption. Words can not express how excited I am for this trip. God is already starting to prepare the hearts of His children there, and we get to be the vessels of His love and plant the seeds. It will be one of the most amazing experiences ever!
BUSY, BUSY, BUSY
I just realized I haven't blogged in a while... oops. Sorry everyone!Its been a crazy couple of weeks here at YWAM. WE are constantly doing something or helping someone, which makes the weeks fly by way too fast! We actually just looked at the calendar and in two weeks we go to Cali and then three weeks after that we are on outreach. I am going to the Philippines in a little over a month... Wow! It just amazes me how fast everything has happened and how in a blink of an eye it will all be over, but I will be a completely changed person throughout that time. Which excites me!
So a little bit about these couple weeks... As i mentioned before we have classes daily. Last week our director and his wife spoke on relationships. And not just romantic relationship, but every kind of relationship under the sun. It was sooo cool and I learned so much! Along side the teaching we each read a relationship book and i read "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Eric and Leslie Ludy. I would recommend it! It was one that challenged me to hand over my "love story" pen and stop trying to write it myself but instead letting the author and creator of love do it for me. This week is a new speaker on Blessings. Specifically, how at any moment you can be blessing or cursing someone with your words without even knowing it. He has had some really good points and its really cool to see how more genuine and open our community/family here is now. Well, that's just a quick update... I will post more later toady on the ways God has shown up here!
So a little bit about these couple weeks... As i mentioned before we have classes daily. Last week our director and his wife spoke on relationships. And not just romantic relationship, but every kind of relationship under the sun. It was sooo cool and I learned so much! Along side the teaching we each read a relationship book and i read "When God Writes Your Love Story" by Eric and Leslie Ludy. I would recommend it! It was one that challenged me to hand over my "love story" pen and stop trying to write it myself but instead letting the author and creator of love do it for me. This week is a new speaker on Blessings. Specifically, how at any moment you can be blessing or cursing someone with your words without even knowing it. He has had some really good points and its really cool to see how more genuine and open our community/family here is now. Well, that's just a quick update... I will post more later toady on the ways God has shown up here!
Monday, July 11, 2011
SO FAR...
Well, I have officially been here at YWAM for two weeks; and what a ride it has been! I have learned lots, seen Gods hand at work, met tons of new people (and life long best friends), and had loads of fun. Where to begin....
July 4th- our first holiday weekend which meant 3 days off, full of fun and no curfew. With such nice, hot weather here I soaked up the sun by working on my volleyball skills, chatting up all the people i still hadn't met, and barbequing. It was so much fun! We then, as a group of probably 30+, walked down to a soccer field and watched fireworks. Of course we got there early, so we started playing Ninja Warriors. And all I have to say about that is all those long and never ending hours of Ninja Warrior at Junior High Camp finally payed off! And then I ended the night with a beautiful, long lasting and spectacular firework show.
July 5th to 8th - A week full of our first classes and work duties. A normal day consists of waking up at 7, having breakfast, quiet devotional time, worship/intercessory prayer, classes for 2 hours, lunch, classes for 2 hours, work duties (which is nice cause I don't have any during the week ;)), dinner and then free time. A jam packed schedule but its so good! And the speaker for the week was amazing. A local pastor from a church of 4,000 taught on the different characters of God, which were all very good.
July 8th- We went camping... okay I went lodging haha. Our whole plan was to all go as a group and sleep in tents somewhere, where we would have bonfires, play in the forest, and do all the other normal camping activities. But since I seemed to bring the rain here with me when I came out here, we went up to our mountain campus where we got to choose between a dorm bed or tent. And since I felt others needed the tenting experience more than I did, I slept inside. The weekend was a blast. One morning a small group of us hiked these huge mountains/hills/rocks (10,000 feet high or so), what a work out. It did end up raining, hailing, thunder and lighting but that made everything that more fun. We played board games... I learned the 8 hour long game of Risk. We did puzzles, which made your eyes cross. And played a game called "Body! Body!" in the dark. Oh, the Australians and Denamrkians experienced there first s'mores next to me that night too! At the end of the weekend we all smelt like smoke, were exhausted, but left with deeper connections and friendships.
Today- Today we continued on with our daily schedules, which started with a new speaker who honestly leaves me speechless. He has an amazing style and is teaching on the Fathering of God. Lets just say he makes the room cry every session... its that good! But tonight we start our community outreach, which I am super excited for! All's we know is that we are in groups and get to go out into the city and do different tasks. Some of us helping out elderly neighbors, others doing street ministry, and so on. I am beyond thrilled to see what God has in store!
So, so far that has been my experiences here. Each day is filled with a new task and obstacle. All part of Gods plan to stretch me and draw me closer to Him. I have met one of my best friends here, together we are a duo. She is amazing... we can even finish each others sentences. But ultimately I look forward to getting up in the morning and seeing what God has for me that day. He reveals Himself through sessions, staff, letters, and ministries, each one being a delightful surprise! So I guess if you had to sum it all up I am doing great! I love it here, know that this is exactly where God wants me, and am growing each day spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. Thank you all for your support and prayers through this all! I love hearing your encouragements, so feel free to post here or send me mail. God has truly blessed me and I am so excited to share all the experiences with you guys!
July 4th- our first holiday weekend which meant 3 days off, full of fun and no curfew. With such nice, hot weather here I soaked up the sun by working on my volleyball skills, chatting up all the people i still hadn't met, and barbequing. It was so much fun! We then, as a group of probably 30+, walked down to a soccer field and watched fireworks. Of course we got there early, so we started playing Ninja Warriors. And all I have to say about that is all those long and never ending hours of Ninja Warrior at Junior High Camp finally payed off! And then I ended the night with a beautiful, long lasting and spectacular firework show.
July 5th to 8th - A week full of our first classes and work duties. A normal day consists of waking up at 7, having breakfast, quiet devotional time, worship/intercessory prayer, classes for 2 hours, lunch, classes for 2 hours, work duties (which is nice cause I don't have any during the week ;)), dinner and then free time. A jam packed schedule but its so good! And the speaker for the week was amazing. A local pastor from a church of 4,000 taught on the different characters of God, which were all very good.
July 8th- We went camping... okay I went lodging haha. Our whole plan was to all go as a group and sleep in tents somewhere, where we would have bonfires, play in the forest, and do all the other normal camping activities. But since I seemed to bring the rain here with me when I came out here, we went up to our mountain campus where we got to choose between a dorm bed or tent. And since I felt others needed the tenting experience more than I did, I slept inside. The weekend was a blast. One morning a small group of us hiked these huge mountains/hills/rocks (10,000 feet high or so), what a work out. It did end up raining, hailing, thunder and lighting but that made everything that more fun. We played board games... I learned the 8 hour long game of Risk. We did puzzles, which made your eyes cross. And played a game called "Body! Body!" in the dark. Oh, the Australians and Denamrkians experienced there first s'mores next to me that night too! At the end of the weekend we all smelt like smoke, were exhausted, but left with deeper connections and friendships.
Today- Today we continued on with our daily schedules, which started with a new speaker who honestly leaves me speechless. He has an amazing style and is teaching on the Fathering of God. Lets just say he makes the room cry every session... its that good! But tonight we start our community outreach, which I am super excited for! All's we know is that we are in groups and get to go out into the city and do different tasks. Some of us helping out elderly neighbors, others doing street ministry, and so on. I am beyond thrilled to see what God has in store!
So, so far that has been my experiences here. Each day is filled with a new task and obstacle. All part of Gods plan to stretch me and draw me closer to Him. I have met one of my best friends here, together we are a duo. She is amazing... we can even finish each others sentences. But ultimately I look forward to getting up in the morning and seeing what God has for me that day. He reveals Himself through sessions, staff, letters, and ministries, each one being a delightful surprise! So I guess if you had to sum it all up I am doing great! I love it here, know that this is exactly where God wants me, and am growing each day spiritually, emotionally, and mentally. Thank you all for your support and prayers through this all! I love hearing your encouragements, so feel free to post here or send me mail. God has truly blessed me and I am so excited to share all the experiences with you guys!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
THE POWER OF YOUR STORY
Everyone has a story. Some of us have had seemingly perfect lives, while others have been through the ringer. Some have struggled with little things, while others lives have been an everyday battle. Some have visible scars and memories, while others hide pain and anger. Everyone is different which makes each story unique.
We have all been through high school, experienced the unconditional judgment and pressure to live up to standards put in place by other people. Being one of the youngest here, and just recently graduated high school, I seemed to still have that mindset; not necessarily putting on a show for everyone, but being cautious and really being me from the start. There are so many different people here, from every different culture and background, which leaves none of us the same. Guys and girls, young and old, tattooed and pierced, but we all have one thing in common... a passion and uncontrollable love for God. And so the moment where walls came down and realization that we are all in this together started to hit me (well all of us) was the sharing of testimonies. God works in each persons life differently, leaving us with a unique journey. And sometimes by our human nature and prejudgments, we miss out on the opportunity to really get to know someone. But put 45 of us all in a circle and tell us we aren't leaving until we each share our testimony, and all that changes.
God really placed James 2:13 on my heart throughout the process of hearing each persons personal story. James reads that "mercy triumphs over judgment." To me this was so powerful because I realized that i still had my "high school filter" on and was making unhealthy judgements about my fellow classmates. (which i have apologized and restored those relationships already) Its something we all do, but its not okay. God revealed to me that having mercy on these people and loving them the way He loves them is my only "job" here. I am in no position to judge them or categorize them. Each one has been through something different, but yet we are here now with a heart hungering for more of God. And so with that, my eyes were opened and ways were changed. It truly amazes me as I sit here thinking about the extremely cool, interesting, fun, and comical people i have met in the last two days. People i not only get to spend the next 5 months with, but will people that speak into my life and are going to be apart of this life changing experience. I guess in a simple 30 hours, God showed me something truly incredible and helped me change my heart and mind. And so i challenge you to step past your prejudgments, comfort zone, or ideas and really get to know someone you normally wouldnt have. Focus on them, their story, and how God has worked in their life. I promise you your life will be impacted greatly in one way or the other!
We have all been through high school, experienced the unconditional judgment and pressure to live up to standards put in place by other people. Being one of the youngest here, and just recently graduated high school, I seemed to still have that mindset; not necessarily putting on a show for everyone, but being cautious and really being me from the start. There are so many different people here, from every different culture and background, which leaves none of us the same. Guys and girls, young and old, tattooed and pierced, but we all have one thing in common... a passion and uncontrollable love for God. And so the moment where walls came down and realization that we are all in this together started to hit me (well all of us) was the sharing of testimonies. God works in each persons life differently, leaving us with a unique journey. And sometimes by our human nature and prejudgments, we miss out on the opportunity to really get to know someone. But put 45 of us all in a circle and tell us we aren't leaving until we each share our testimony, and all that changes.
God really placed James 2:13 on my heart throughout the process of hearing each persons personal story. James reads that "mercy triumphs over judgment." To me this was so powerful because I realized that i still had my "high school filter" on and was making unhealthy judgements about my fellow classmates. (which i have apologized and restored those relationships already) Its something we all do, but its not okay. God revealed to me that having mercy on these people and loving them the way He loves them is my only "job" here. I am in no position to judge them or categorize them. Each one has been through something different, but yet we are here now with a heart hungering for more of God. And so with that, my eyes were opened and ways were changed. It truly amazes me as I sit here thinking about the extremely cool, interesting, fun, and comical people i have met in the last two days. People i not only get to spend the next 5 months with, but will people that speak into my life and are going to be apart of this life changing experience. I guess in a simple 30 hours, God showed me something truly incredible and helped me change my heart and mind. And so i challenge you to step past your prejudgments, comfort zone, or ideas and really get to know someone you normally wouldnt have. Focus on them, their story, and how God has worked in their life. I promise you your life will be impacted greatly in one way or the other!
THE BEGINING
Well this is my first blog post... hooray! Hello World! If you didn't already know i am currently in Denver, Colorado with an organization called YWAM (youth with a mission) pursuing my long time dream and passion of missions. I cant directly tell you why I am here in Colorado specifically, but God has something up His sleeve and I am beyond excited to see what that is. Throughout this whole experience, my hope is to become completely consumed and obsessed with the love of my Savior, even more than I am now. I have a heart for the needy and children, and so this whole five month process is a little slice of heaven. And so the story begins, as I start my journey of pursuing God and His will for my life.
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