Face lift?!

Well I just tried to give my blog a "face lift" ... it looks okay. I will have to keep working on it. I know for some of you, your thinking is "it is so easy to change this or do that, or find that html code and place it there to make this special"... umm yes.. well it makes my head hurt =) 

I have been walking around for the past week feeling like parts of my brain were falling off every where. ha. I am getting ready to go on outreach with my students. We are heading into the second phase of DTS where we take the students into the world and "make God Known". We love people, help people, share, and testify of God's goodness in our lives and in who He is. I love it.

I am currently getting two different teams ready. We are doing things a bit different. Usually I would just have one team for the whole 11 weeks of outreach but this time I have two teams. I take one team to London for 7 weeks and then I take a different team into Hyderabad, India for 4 weeks. Whew.. what does that mean... lots of visa work, finance raising, preparing teachings, skits, prayer for the nations, and me feeling like my brain is scattered all over perth! =) In a good way! I can tell that I am growing in my ability to take on responsibility and that is a good thing, even when I feel my brain and mental capacity being stretched! 

We are headed into London for Megacities. This is something the base here at Perth does every other year. I will post a link below to give you a little idea of what that means...

http://vimeo.com/11801013

We are settling into our new base! It is so beautiful! I will post some pictures below. We are moving in slowly and still working on design projects (making it all even more pretty!) A small prayer request answered... we have a lot of glass in our new building... it is pretty much all glass.. so we needed to revamp our cleaning supplies and techniques to learn how to clean glass. One of the students on a school this quarter was a professional glass cleaner for 3 years before he came to australia. SO we have him training us on glass cleaning and man is he good! He was one of those high rise glass cleaners. Funny to get so excited about seeing someone clean glass, but when you see someone do it so well, it is inspiring! 

you are blessed to be a blessing.

 Auditorium

 Main entrance

 New office desks

 New staff office

 Stairway

 Outside area

My roommate debora and me! 

Australian Bush...

Well we took our students camping last weekend. It was a good time, with lots of work and fun. We went down south to a camp ground that but us out in the bush next to this river. Apart from some killer biting flies (yes some flies here bite you) we didn't run into much trouble!

We had such a good time, just relaxing, swimming, canoeing, enjoying the quiet, and sleeping under the stars! We had a few extra friends that decided to join our group - one was a kangaroo with her joey that kept scoping out our food (we had really good food!) and the other was a lizard of some sort ( i have no idea what it was but it was longer than my arm! ).

We are about to start our 8th week of lectures! crazy... only 4 more after this before we head out on outreach! We are on the down ward slope now!

Tomorrow is the first meal at the new base! We have been moving in, cleaning, and getting the kitchen ready for the past two weeks. We have been having worship in the building and lots of people are fearlessly working long hours to get things like all the technical (lights/internet/cabling) working in there, and also the kitchen set up. So tomorrow is it.... first meal in the new building! One top of that we are also going to have a cafe... dangerous yes I would say so! It launches tomorrow night as well! oh coffee how I love thee! I will post some pictures of the base soon, but for now.. camping pic's!

you are blessed to be a blessing

Our new home...

Here it is! Our new home...
After months of waiting, expecting, maybe this week we will get it, maybe next, Perth city council finally came and said it's usable! We are IN!!! 9 Robertson is YWAM Perth and it open, livable, usable, and absolutely beautiful!

Thursday we got our official letter from Perth city and that night we were in the building dedicating it to the Lord with prayer, oil, worship, and leaders from the aboriginal community giving us formal welcomes onto the land and prayers for what God is going to do in this facility. It was such a incredible time together and with Jesus.

On top of all the excitement of the new base opening up, we are still in full swing in our school. Finishing up a week on submission and authority, we learned about God's anointing leadership and how to have submission in our hearts, not just in our obedience. It was powerful with lots of world views changed.
We are headed into week 6 of the school! Only 7 more weeks to go before heading out on outreach! We learned our outreach locations this week and drum roll please...I will be headed into London for the first 7 weeks then on to Hyderabad India for 4 weeks! I am leading different teams to both locations by myself and am soo excited. I have never experienced London and I am very familiar with hyderabad (this will be my third time to go!) so I am ready for the newness, challenges, and all that God is going to do in both places. I will be focusing on health care in India and will be working closely with an aids clinic that I have worked in and taught in during previous visits.

well i will leave you with a few pictures of my small group, and some school activities! We are taking the students camping this weekend (so fun!) and I have a small video post coming that you can be anticipating. I filmed my day in full the other day to give you a quick preview of what exactly do I do... haha in case you ever wondered! Be looking for it in the next week!

you are blessed to be a blessing

I drive this giant van once a week to take some of my students to volunteer at a pregnancy crisis center in the city - i call it the whale. 

Some of us enjoying nice drinks for our small group!

The aussie teaching us how to do a tim tam slam!  

Helping my housemate set up her new bed in her new house =( she moved out of out house into the new base... 

My roomie erika!  

Hayley and I making our students bday cake! It tasted great... didn't look as pretty as expected.. oh I have a lot to learn about baking! 

coming together...

We have started. 19 students from 13 countries. We are all gathered in one places for one purpose, to know God and make Him known. We are in the middle of week 2 of lectures and already people are making comments like " I feel like I am with family," "I have shared more with you guys in two weeks than with my best friends," "I knew this was the right place the moment I walked in the door."
So great how God works. He brings together all of us strangers and creates a family, a platform for growth, and a promise to meet with us.

We are a little off because our schedule is a bit different since we are still "baseless" ... the new building that will be our "base" is pretty much finished except for one minor detail.. and by minor I mean major! haha.. they forgot about turning on the gas... we are waiting for the building company and the subcontracted gas company to fabricate a special gas thingy (yes very specific) that we need to get the gas going in our beautiful new building so we can get approval from the city council and move in!! So I don't have a new expected move in date yet but the sooner the better.. please pray!!

I have been learning lately about depending on God. I mean, I guess we always depend on God but their are just times in life, when you really know that you won't make it through the day if you can't just have a quick moment in the bathroom or outside to take a deep breath and let God remind you that He has it under control. He is still good, and promises are still underway. I know it shapes us, times when we know we can't do things, but we can trust in Him. It kills me sometimes that I don't know what is going on in my heart but He does, and at that same uncomfortable, slightly sad and painful point, He is fixing something... it always comes out good in the end, and I always know it is worth it, it is the middle ground of laying at His feet crying that sometimes is hard to push through. Good thing He is in those middle moments as well...

I went to the pregnancy problem house this arvo with 4 of my students because they will be going out once a week to do "hands on compassion." Apart of the course where we practically get involved with a ministry that reaches out in the city. I loved it! Taking my students to something I am passionate about, and then hearing them share about how, in one afternoon, God was already speaking vision and getting them excited about future things He wants them to be involved in that relate to reaching out to women in need. It is a promise fulfilled really. Something God always speaks to me is to be a multiplier of people, and that I am called to raise up people into dreams, and desires for what they want to do with life. I felt that today when the girls where sharing. Give them the opportunity and God will speak and open their hearts and eyes to see the need they can fill! Love it!

Okay this is long... pictures coming soon!

you are blessed to be a blessing

2 cups a day...

It has started... I normally have a cup of coffee in the morning to get the day going, brings me joy as I listen to Jesus before the crazy day begins. I have now officially up'd my coffee intake to two cups a day as you do on DTS school schedule. =) one hot cup in the morning and one cold coffee usually in the arvo (as it is WAY to hot these days to consume hot beverages)

I thought I could make it until all the students arrived and we actually started class before I fully entered into my coffee drive.. how silly. We are in full gear this week preparing for 20 students from all around the world, and of all ages. They arrive throughout this whole week and Sunday marks the first day of their compassion 2012 discipleship training school.

I am already living the life of a dts staff... 5-6 hours of sleep a night, 2-3 coffees a day, baking scones for morning tea's, airport runs in the middle of the night, 15 things on my to do list to do in a few days, and the grace of God that surpass all of it!!

He is so faithful and it is so amazing to see how many incredible things He speaks about these students. He is pouring out words of anticipation for Him, intimacy with Him, about drawing near to them; so near that they can taste Him. I don't know all of these students yet but I already feel the love God feels for them. I already love them because of that, and am so ready to see what God has for them!

Six months of life. change. growth. pain. healing. stretching. love. uncomfortable. wholeness. glory.

you are blessed to be a blessing.

Winding down to wind up...

I have officially worked my last few days of property. I retired my steel toed boats and hug up my fluro vest. I can't believe the things I have done in the past few months. I walk around the buildings looking at walls, ceilings, and different things that I have built. I literally made (with the help of others, of course). It is amazing the things God can call you into and see come to fulfillment! We have seen one of our three buildings come to fulfillment this past week! We had the city council come through and inspect one of our buildings and we got approval, which means it is a working, operating, you can move in building! YAH! Just in time too, because we have over a hundred students showing up in 8 days and we need somewhere to have class!

I have had a few days off to wind down from property work, and wind up for this coming school. I can't believe we are already starting a new season of students, lectures, busy busy schedules, and God rocking everyone's world.

I have been seeking Jesus and getting ready to wind up for this school and what lies ahead. I have been looking at this one verse in psalms 37:7 - Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.
My Bible tells me the word 'rest' can also be translated into 'be still', and the word 'patiently' can be translated into 'longingly'.

SO be still in the Lord and wait longingly for Him.

I have spent the past two days trying to be still before the Lord. To get His heart and His perspective on several things. I can feel the longing in my spirit grow the more that I wait. I know He hears me, I know He is answering me and is growing me. The whole rest of chapter 37 talks about the Lord and how He prospers us when we wait on Him, obey Him, and show faith in Him.

So as life continues to whirl wind around me, I will be still. I am longing with every fiber in my being, and I will see the Lord. I feel so secure in that, and so thankful that I know this about Jesus. What would life be like in the whirl wind without the security of Jesus' presence?!

I welcome 21 new students from various countries and different ages next week. I am getting ready to staff a six month discipleship training school. It is going to rock my world, I love it!

Here are some pictures of the base and christmas....

you are blessed to be a blessing

12 gladstone.. our first building finished! 

Breakie on christmas morning

Me making french toast on christmas morning...

Christmas tree..

Presents from roommates! Mexican cook book.. they know me to well! =)

Last day at work in the property.... i got to climb in a hole between the bathroom ceiling and the second story floor and sheet rock this little wall... great times! 

life outside of construction

Well one glorious morning a week, I get to actually take a shower and fix my hair! I volunteer at a pregnancy crisis center in the city one day a week, and have been able to keep up that commitment even through this crazy time of construction and moving!
So apart from my normal work clothes, steel toed shoes, and hard hat one day a week, I actually get to get dressed up! And by dressed up, I just mean my clothes are normal and they don't have white jip rock powder all over them!

okay enough about my wardrobe. The real part that I love about it is the women. It is this amazing organization that has been set up to help women who find themselves in desperate situation and feel like they have a "problem" ... they fell pregnant. The center offers free pregnancy test, non diagnostic ultrasounds (for all you americans.. this is something we can't do in the states), counseling, and an unlimited amount of resources from all sorts of places to help women continue with their pregnancy.

Often women are in tough life situations and see the unexpected pregnancy as the problem.. we are able to speak truth about their options, their life situations, and often the women find out that the pregnancy isn't a problem.. it is the easiest thing to put in order in their life and is often the very thing that is used as a catalyst to change lots of other areas of their life. Isn't that great how God can use the development of life, the baby, to actually impact people outside the womb. World changers before they are even born!

I had the privilege to meet a women who was having the opposite problem of most women that we met. She was trying to conceive and she wasn't able to. She was worried because of previous decisions that she had made, that it was effecting her ability to conceive now. She was gripped and chained by fear. I could see it and hear it in her voice. It was great to give advice and resources for fertility clinics in the city that are christian based, but also to just open her mind to how her whole body needs to be taken into consideration for why she may not be getting pregnant. I know that sounds silly but because of where she was from and the world view of that country, then it felt like God wanted her to know that He cared about her emotions, her stress levels, and that He wanted her to be free in knowing she was okay physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He was shaking her thought that emotion and spiritual wasn't a factor, that it was all just physical. Just speaking truth to her about how she needed to process things emotionally, and talk through past things and release herself from any guilt, or hurt was so exciting. I love how God pursues us and desires to free us all.

You are blessed to be a blessing.