Hey Jo, what's up?

Purpose

2011-10-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

What is DTS? What do you do as a staff member of a DTS?
These are questions that I have been asked and have asked myself often.
As we’re starting this year’s school, I’ve sensed a change: a new seriousness and passion to follow the vision of our mission.
Within the body of Christ at large, DTS is a unique experience for a believer, as it allows for an intensive discipleship process in which students can put aside the distractions of everyday life and enter into full focus on their relationship with God. The live-learn aspect of it only amplifies the opportunity for transformation. It is in that live-learn relationship that we as staff have our responsibility. We want to provide a nurturing environment in which our students can not only be changed, but transformed. We get to walk with them every step of the way.

That’s how we found ourselves in the outdoors of the Buffalo National River, climbing, backpacking and canoeing. Outdoor adventures are awesome tools that allows students and staff to experience God out in nature, away from distractions. We face challenges, explore the gifts and strengths that God instills in us, and see him carry us through those challenges.
At this point we’re in the third week of our school and our first week of regular campus schedule after having spent most of the first 2 weeks outdoors.
This week’s teaching is on relationships. Some of our students, though having grown up in church, have never had a comprehensive teaching on how to develop godly relationships, especially how to go about romantic relationships.
I’m excited how God is answering our prayers and is already working in this group.
How often do you see young men (or men in general) openly express themselves and even their feelings? Yet our guys have decided that they love God more then they fear men and that being vulnerable is a small price to pay for holiness.

God is faithful

2011-07-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

My heart almost stops as she steps out the door. Then its pace rapidly increases as she comes closer with each step. I can hardly believe that a woman that beautiful and wonderful would spend the rest of her life with me.

This day was a sheer miracle. When I proposed to Jenni by a beautiful waterfall in the middle of the Ozark National Forest, neither of us had any idea how we would pull off a wedding. The ring I gave her, I could only give because God had moved in peoples' hearts to give to me because they believed that God's blessing was on our relationship. Even with the limited budget I had I was able to get the perfect ring for my love.
It was because of experiences like this one and many more that we were able to trust God to provide for our wedding.
We have so many people to thank - most of all God - because on May 7th we had a perfect wedding in a field with beautiful weather and the company of many of our friends and family. Our reception was a blast as we looked back at how God had guided our lives together and then committed our future to Him in prayer.
Not only did we have a wonderful wedding, but by God's grace we were able to get on a plane the next day to spend 3 weeks in Austria. We toured the country and had a great time with many friends and family members whom I had not seen in years and whom Jenni had the chance to meet for the first time.

Thank you again to everyone who was part of our special day and time in Austria.

God is faithful.

Missions in action

2011-04-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

"Hey everyone, alright, so Faith In Action is a group started, because of Christ Jesus and His love and mercy He has shown us in our lives and by how He inspired us on our last Mission's Week together, by a few of us highschoolers that want to serve God. This group will be doing many different things, such as: street evangelism, raising money for different organizations, and showing Christ's love and sacrifice for us by serving Him in many different ways. We encourage anyone to join and be apart of something greater than ourselves- Spreading God's Word."

This is the opening post of a group on Facebook called "Faith in Action," which is a result of our Mission Adventure (MA) week that we here at YWAM Ozarks put on for a group of high schoolers from Joplin, MO. It's not just on facebook either. They have organized several events with the goal of reaching out to people in their city.
When praying about this MA we felt like God wanted us to put a special emphasis on evangelism. It was a risk, because there was potential that the students would be really uncomfortable approaching total strangers and telling them about Jesus. However, as the students went out talking to people in Ft. Smith and going from business to business in our little town of Ozark to pray for them, God proved himself faithful. Through these and other outreaches, along with games and activities that showed what the missionary life can be like, God awakened a passion for missions in their hearts. They took that passion with them to Joplin and are living it out there. Yes, their faith IS in action! PRAISE GOD!!!

This in itself is an amazing testimony of God's power, but it's just part 1!

The following week was to amaze us even more....

Please stay tuned for part 2.

Want to try some alligator?

2011-03-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

"Would you like to eat some alligator?"
Max and I looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.
"Yea, we would love some!"
The family who made the offer invited us into their home as we were about to take a little stroll into the jungle. We had hopes of catching some pictures of wildlife, which was unlikely because most animals here in the Amazon are very shy and only come out at night. As we were enjoying our fried alligator, we continued to talk with
the little Spanish we had.

The day before, our team had visited that home and others in that village on the Marañon river. When visiting, we would share encouraging verses from the Bible with
them, pray for their needs and just talk about daily life, which for them consisted mostly of fishing and farming. It was so fun and interesting to share life with these people. A lot of times we would just play with the kids and do sports with the adults. Volleyball and soccer are very popular here in Peru.

We also had many of opportunities to serve at the local church through preaching and sharing our testimonies. Many people here can't read so it's so important that they receive good teaching.
In the next village we served the community by digging a well for them. This was especially helpful because their village was a little off of the river, and previously they had to carry all of their water a great distance. Well water helps keep sicknesses down as well because the people would usually drink straight from the river. Parasites and other health problems are often the result, but that is what everyone is accustomed to here. To help out with that, we also handed out parasite medicine to everyone.

In whatever way we could we wanted to share the love of God in both word and deed. He's the one that changed our lives and that is why we want to pass on the riches that he has heaped on us. It was worth all the discomforts and pains we endured, ranging from swarms of mosquitos to sweltering heat and everything inbetween.
We have a prize ahead of us, and with that goal in focus we continually strive forward.

Huancavelica

2011-01-17T08:08:00.000-08:00

As our bus winds its way around tight curves through the Peruvian Andes we can feel the air getting thinner as we climb higher and higher. Our destination is a city called Huancavelica, 12,000 feet above sea level. Upon our arrival we went to the pastors house with who's church we were going to work with for the next 12 days, where we received some refreshments, mainly mate de coca, a tea that is supposed to help with the altitude.
After a rich and delicious lunch (though most of us were to tired to enjoy it) we were able to rest some in the hotel. The bus ride took us about 14 hours due to a breakdown. There was a lot still ahead of us that day though.
That evening we got to meet all the youth of the church and share our testimonies with them. It was encouraging and fun to see a fair number (about 15-20) of young people in another country following God and share their lives and passions with us.
It is those youth that make up most of the congregation in that little church. Over the next days we would get to know these youth quite a a bit and form some valuable friendships.
The people here are very friendly and have a good sense of humor. The culture is colorful both in textiles and living. During our stay here we got to see one of the major festivals here called "las Negritos". Back when the Spanish brought black slaves to Peru, some escaped and fled to the mountains where they were warmly welcomed with amazement since the people there had never seen such people before. Aside from all the drunkenness and fireworks at 6am it was very interesting and fun to watch. (the costumes are very exaggerated)
We took advantage of the crowds and performed a couple dramas that we learned there. The people were very open and we were able to share with some and pray with others. Max, one of our students was able to pray with one man for his salvation.
One of the things we felt like was our focus here is to serve and we've had opportunity to do that when we helped the church move from one location to another, paint the inside of the old location and help build a roof over the entrance of the new location. The pastor here also let us preach for his services on Sundays, which was a challenge for some but God proved himself so faithful in showing us just what to teach about.
Aside from serving here were also able to enjoy the beauty of the place. At one point we were up at about 14,000 feet to see the oldest mine here. (the main economy here is mining) The descent back down, which was all on foot just about took us out, since we weren't quite adjusted to the altitude yet.
As we draw near the end of our time here we're still looking froward to being able to pass out clothes at the local hospital.
On Wed. night it's back to Lima again from where we head on to our next adventure: The Amazon rainforest...

Outreach - Peru

2011-01-04T15:01:00.000-08:00

The time has come. In less then 48 hours, 4 of our DTS students, my co-leader Becca and I will be on our way to Peru. The other 7 students, lead by our DTS leaders Josh and Jen (who are travelling with their two children Marin and Ava) are going to Thailand and Cambodia.

Over the last days God has proven his faithfulness once again.
A lot of the finances that were still open and came in just in that short time, enough to match the $10,000 a supporter of our ministry has pledged to give.
This brings us close to what we need for our expenses in Peru and Southeast Asia.
There is still an amount (approx. $5,000) needed to bring us to the amount we budgeted for these trips, so if God leads you to give, I've added instructions on how you can do that below.

Thank you so much to everyone who has already given so generously.

Please pray for us while we're in Peru.
Pray that we would declare that God's kingdom has come and that people would accept Jesus as their LORD and Saviour. He alone is worthy to have our entire lives surrendered to him.
Pray that we would build his kingdom through everything we do. The way we treat each other (unity) and how we care about the people there should reflect Jesus.
Pray that each of our students would discover the unique strengths and gifts that God has put in them.
Pray that we would get God's heart for Peru, that he would lead and guide us and that we would be sensitive to his guidance.

Here is a rough outline of where we will be and when:

Jan 6th - arrive in Lima
Jan 7th - depart to Huancavelica (a city in the Andes mountains @ 12,000 feet elevation) via bus (12 hour drive!!!)
Jan 8th-19th - working with a local pastor in Huancavelica by ministering to children, teaching in the church, evangelize, and visit villages around the city (Huancavelica is one of the poorest areas in Peru)
Jan 19th - depart for Lima (bus again)
Jan 21st - fly from Lima to Iquitos (the main city in the Amazon region of Peru)
Jan 23rd-Feb 1st - serving at a indigenous community on the river, helping with the construction of a church, possibly digging a well and just spending time with the people and build relationships
Feb 2nd-Feb 12th - ministering in the city of Iquitos, again mostly working with local churches
Feb 13th-Feb22nd - serving at 2 more indigenous communities
Feb 24th - depart back to Lima
Feb 25th - Mar 1st - working with YWAM in Lima
Mar 3rd - return to Ozark

We can receive donations at our website, via Paypal. Follow the link below:

http://www.ywamozarks.com/donate.php
To donate by check, make your check payable to YWAM Ozarks and indicate that it is for DTS Outreach. We will still be receiving donations even after we've departed. Mail it to...
YWAM Ozarks
7119 Mountain View Dr.
Ozark, AR 72949

2010

2011-01-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

When I think back to this last year, my heart is filled with thankfulness and awe of the things God has done and has allowed me to experience.
I want to share with you some of those that I remember:

- successfully leading our 8 DTS students on their outreach

- touching the lives and building relationships with the simple, but most hospitable Berber people

- facilitating a Mission Adventure week for a 9th grade group from MO

- taking a group of local high-schoolers on a life changing mission trip to Dallas over their spring break

- the begin of a ever deepening relationship with Jenni :)

- setting up a prayer and art booth in the middle of 16,000 people attending a music festival with lots of sex, alcohol and drugs

- driving thousands of miles with Jenni to attend my best friends wedding and visiting her family and friends in Colorado

- successfully completing a Wilderness First Responder course in Salem, OR

- seeing our good friend and campus director Jim Nizza going home to be with God after battling cancer for 7 years

- being refreshed and strengthened at our first staff retreat in Fayetteville

- celebrating with our YWAM family our 50th anniversary in Denver

- welcoming our 12 new students to the begin of their Outdoor Adventure DTS

- spending our first 11 days in the woods, rock climbing, backpacking and canoeing, and then spending several days out again on camping and climbing trips

- seeing God transforming their lives through the teaching of weekly speakers, small group and 1 on 1 times and most of all through the answering of prayers poured out for each of those students

- asking Jenni to marry me and hearing her say YES!!! :)

- spending our Christmas in Dallas with our DTS students to serve and reach out to the poor and needy

These are just the highlights. I'm most thankful for the love, grace and forgiveness that God gives in so generous measures, but also for his discipline and all the hardships through which He allowed me to grow.

more then just adventure...

2010-10-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

Exhausted, we finally arrived at our destination just before dusk. The 8 mile hike had taken us longer then we expected, but there was a great payoff. A different student was appointed "team leader" during each day of our backpacking trip. Josh, our DTS leader, felt like Kacy was to be the first one and she did a great job! The team leader was responsible for creating a schedule for the day, assigning fellow students to prepare and clean up meals, and ultimately responsible for getting the team to where they were going.

As we gathered that night to debrief the day, Kacy was deeply moved. That day was one of the first times in her life that she had been trusted with such great responsibility. Craig, a fellow DTS student, also expressed that he felt affirmed because he was able to complete the tasks that were appointed to him. That kind of pattern was repeated often throughout the first two weeks of our DTS, which were spent in the wilderness. Though faced with great challenges, the group learned to work as a team, to encourage each other in every circumstance, and found strengths within them that they didn't know existed. There is a special aspect in being out in the wilderness and facing those kind of challenges; through them we each learned many unique things that we may not have learned in a different setting.

That is just the start of the six month journey that our twelve students are on...

I WONT QUIT

2010-09-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

What is our goal here at YWAM Ozarks?
Where does the motivation come from to give up your live, live on support and go through all kinds of struggles? Is it to bring as many people to Christ as possible, to run programs, or to have schools filled with students?

Those are the questions that I have had to ask myself. During a recent staff retreat in Fayetteville I was reminded what it's really all about. In everything we do, we are to bring glory to God. That is our primary motivation, our first goal. Yes, I want to bring to Christ and disciple as many as possible and have successful outreaches and programs, but that is not my primary focus. Only if I seek to bring glory to God will I find the energy to give it my all and not be discouraged by the results. I do what I can but God brings forth the results. That means that I must rely fully on God, but He is trustworthy!

On September 8th, our entire campus staff packed their bags and drove for 14 hours to Denver, Colorado to be part of YWAM's 50th anniversary celebration. It was refreshing and inspiring to hear our co-founders, Loren and Darlene Cunningham, share about how the mission was started, what is going on today and what their vision for the future is. On the second day of the conference Darlene taught on faith.

Faith means to have an attitude of "I wont quit." No matter what the circumstances are, we can stand on the word of God and we will choose to believe what He has told us. During the weeks prior to the conference I had been struggling a great deal with faith and trusting God to provide for my needs. I allowed myself to look only at the circumstances and be discouraged by them rather than trusting God. God had mercy on me and He's giving me another chance.

I know it won't be easy. In fact, it will probably be extremely challenging, but I WONT QUIT.

He gives and takes away

2010-08-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Worn out from an outreach to India and out of money I came to visit the YWAM base here in Ozark almost 3 years ago. Nonetheless Jim Nizza the campus director wanted me to stay and join the School of Biblical Studies that was about to start. A school that lasts for 9 months, takes every second of your time and energy and costs close to $12.000. But Jim believed in the life transforming power of the Bible and his passion was to teach how to study and live out God's message to us.
The same that had transformed his life and enabled him to live an extraordinary life.

On the night of Tuesday the 10th I had the chance to visit him and his family at the hospital. Jim was asleep, due to the heavy pain medication but our time there was precious. We talked about the life that he had lived and how he had impacted our lives. The next morning his daughter, Crystal told us he had passed early that morning and gone home to Jesus. His pain is gone and he now gets to enjoy his new body. We're all going to miss him dearly but we also need to move on.

Preperations for our upcoming DTS are in full swing. We've just accepted our tenth student which is more then we've ever had. I'm excited to see how diverse our group is and I can't wait to get to know them. Our students are coming from all over the States, Canada and even South Korea to enter into this life transforming time here at YWAM Ozarks.

The most challenging training of my life

2010-07-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

“It exploded! It exploded!” The scene our team walked on to was shocking. One lady was unconsciously lying on the ground and was obviously injured. The other knelt beside her and in her shock just cried over and over: “It exploded! It exploded!”
That a ruptured camp stove had caused this accident was quickly apparent, but the more difficult question was what are we going to do?

Over the last 8 days Jenni and I learned just how to respond to a situation like this. On June 22nd we started our Wilderness First Responder (WFR) training at the YWAM base in Salem, OR. Every day from 8am until about 10pm we were pumped full of information about all kinds of injuries and illnesses that can happen in the outdoors and practiced how to treat them.

Now during our final exam we had to face 8 different incidences in one day. But that evening we knew that the worst was yet to come. We were sent to bed with the knowledge that at some time that night we would awake and a disaster of mass proportions would await us – our “final scenario”.

At times I seriously doubted that I would make it through that course and succeed. Yet thankfully there was no pass or fail for individuals. We were graded as a team and in my team I knew that each of us will do their best and glorify God with the skills and talents he has put in us. To do anything less would be like a slap into his face. He deserves all glory and I’m so thankful that he walked us through this course. Thank you all who have been praying for us and supporting us.

Be in the world, but not of the world

2010-06-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

"Bloooody Maries! Fiiiiiiiiiiiiive dollars! Get your breakfast booze!" That's the lovely chant I woke up to on Friday morning, the second day of a 4 day camping and music festival called the Wakarusa.
Nearly 20,000 people came together to indulge in a huge party where alcohol, sex and drugs were abundent. In the middle of it all we had set up a little art booth with the intention of offering prayer in form of painted pictures to these people. We had also set up a table where people could sit down and paint while talking to us. They shared their stories with us and we shared what God has done in our lives, together with the gospel message and other seeds of truth.

My highlight was on Sunday when a guy named Todd came and sat down to paint. As he was working on his masterpiece we talked with him about a variety of things until Sarah directly asked him what he thought about Jesus Christ. We came to find out that he grew up in a Christian home, but his parents rarely went to church. I was able to share about how the only fulfillment I ever found was in a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Throughout the festival we had all sorts of people come to our booth, but most of the time it was guys who stopped by to sit down and talk with us. It was as if they needed a place to rest from all the craziness and temptation around them. While praying for this event we felt like God was going to make our booth just that: a place of peace and refreshment. We named it the "Ozark Oasis".

Thank you so much for all your prayers.

Home school convention

2010-05-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

"What? There's no booth for us?" As Jenni and I try to find our spot on the layout for this year's home school convention, we're wondering if we made the 3 hour drive for nothing. "There is no registration for you. We were wondering why YWAM wasn't coming this year because we always enjoyed having you here," explained the lady at the registration. She looked around for just a few seconds and then pointed towards the entrance. "We can set you up a booth over there and people will see you as they come through registration."

The only little downside of the location was that it was away from all the other vendors. Nonetheless we were glad we had a spot and didn't have to go back. Our purpose for being there was to recruit for our upcoming DTS, giving graduating students an opportunity to grow in their faith in Christ and experience missions before they go on to college, if that's what God leads them to do.

Despite our location we still had some really good conversations. There were at least two graduates who were really excited about the program. Some people who had either worked with or had been with YWAM came by and exchanged some stories with us. I was also able to connect with some people that I had met the previous year there. What started off as a potential disappointment turned out to be a great success.

What did you do this spring break?

2010-04-08T17:28:00.000-07:00

One by one they came up and shared about the amazing things they had experienced that spring break. While other high school students were out on vacation or just resting back home these 10 students went out to make a difference.

The place they sought to do so was inter city Dallas. These next 5 days we went out of our comfort zones, overcoming many of our fears. One of these was to go up to a complete stranger and asking them if you could pray for them. We were all surprised at the reactions we got. Most people were very welcoming and accepted prayer for all kinds of things. Maebry, one of our usually more quiet students went up to a Lady who was on the phone, which usually would have been considered rude, but she ended up praying for the ladies daughter who was in the hospital and about to give birth. Another one of our students got to pray for a guy who hasn’t seen his son in a long time and whose birthday was coming up the next day. She ran into that very man that next day and found out that he got to see his son and talk to him again.
The highlight of the trip was the Dallas International Street Church, a place where we met people who had been pulled out of some of the most difficult situation. They told testimonies of how God completely turned their lives around, but what was even more exciting was to hear the student’s testimonies. Stories of how God called them to him at early ages and preserved their faith and helped them grow. Some of them come from broken homes or their parents aren’t Christian but here they are going out, telling people in Dallas what God has done in their lives and living out their faith by serving the people there selflessly.
It is for students like these that I’m here for. To see young people Discipled and given a chance to experience missions and see God work through them.

Is Jesus greater?

2010-03-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

The sun’s beating down on us as we are continually ascending the mountain ahead of us. 1.5 miles behind and over 1000 ft. below us is the village we left this morning. The one we were trying to reach that day is still at least 3-4 miles ahead and still quite a bit to climb. As we reach the mountaintop our moral is being boosted as we all were surprised with the delight of enjoying a Snickers bar.

We reached the village at about 3pm. Our water supply is almost exhausted at this point and we noticed a well where we could fill up again. So some of us went to see if they could find a place to stay at while the rest of us went down to the well to get water which proved a lot more difficult then we had imagined. Apparently we should have had a bucket with a rope to draw water out of the well but the local women there were very friendly and helped us fill all our bottles. When we got back to the rest of the group I found out that a young man had invited us to stay at his house that night. He had a beautiful little house with a nice courtyard in the middle and a gorgeous view of a snowcapped mountain.

As we talked to him we found out that he had just been married for about 6 years and he had 4 children already. “Maybe a little too much” he said with a smirk on his face.

We got to sit together in their guest room that night and started talking about all kinds of things. He was very smart and hungry for knowledge. When we told him that we were students of the Bible he started asking us all kinds of questions. He told us that in the Koran it talked about Jesus and it even said that he would come back. So our question was that if Jesus was coming back why then is Mohammed greater in their eyes. Wouldn’t his coming back mean there is more to Jesus. Our host claimed that he didn’t know the answers because he hadn’t studied the Koran but we could see it really sparked his interest.

The next morning as we left we gave him a DVD with testimonies and the Jesus film in their language. He told us that our guides could come back any time again and be

welcome at his house.

Our prayer is that he and his family would watch that DVD and that God would speak to them through it. Please join us in those prayers. God is doing awesome things in the Muslim world and it’s only through his power that change can come.

Detox- Refuel

2009-12-07T16:47:00.000-08:00

Shivering I was lying in my sleeping bag outside next to a campfire that had mostly died down. The temperature had sunk down to nearly freezing and I soon found out that my bag was insufficient for that kind of weather.

Maybe sleeping under the stars that night wasn’t such a good idea but for me it was good preparation for our upcoming backpacking trip.

Unfortunately it was too late to get a better sleeping bag by then but at least I could still get some better layers to wear that would keep me warm. So I took advantage of the black Friday deals that weekend and stocked up at Academy, a sports store in Ft. Smith.

What was awesome was that my brother was here for Thanksgiving and he decided to pay for all my clothes as a late birthday/Christmas present.

But God didn’t just provide for me but gave us one blessing after another that upcoming week of backpacking. The purpose of that trip was to get away from all the distractions of daily life and spend as much time as possible reading through the New Testament.

Every night God provided a way for us to quickly get warmth which was crucial since we had freezing temperatures almost every night.

First campsite we got to there was a starter log left in the fire pit that helped us to get a fire going. At the second campsite we met a friendly guy named Roy who was maintaining the campground. He had a drip torch that helped us to easily get a fire going and a chainsaw with which he cut us up so much firewood we couldn’t have burned it all up if we wanted to. That night Josh got to talk to the campground host and arranged a deal with her to rent a lodge for us all at a fraction of the usual price.

And lastly at our final campsite there was kindling bundled up next to the fire pit covered with leaves to keep it dry.

In the same way I expect God to provide for us as we have another great opportunity ahead of us to reach out to some people who probably never have heard of Christ before.

On Dec. 29^th our Discipleship Training School is heading out to a Muslim country in northwest Africa. Please keep praying for us especially since on every outreach I’ve been on so far there has always been a major spiritual war going on. So I encourage you to stand with us and fight.

Pain

2009-11-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

It’s 6 o’clock and my alarm clock is blaring at me. I’m actually already wide awake. Pain had kept me up every time I tried to move. As I try to actually get up I’m barely able to get myself to even just sit at the edge of my bed. My attempt to stand up was shot down as agonizing pain shot from my lower up into my brain.

Even though I did eventually succeed to get up and moving, the pain was still there and my mobility was severely diminished. That’s what worried me the most. I’m usually pretty active and the thought of being immobilized terrified me.

Later visits to the Chiropractor only made me feel worse because the doctor pointed out everything that’s wrong with my spine and the effects that could have on me.

So except for a big dent in my wallet and a shot self conscience those visits didn’t really seem to help. I did have a lot of people praying for me and after just a few days most of the pain was gone and I was able to slowly work on getting my mobility back. All through this time I felt like God really helped me and gave me peace. Surprisingly my real struggles didn’t come until later.

I’d been struggling with feelings of inferiority and self pity for a long time now and one morning during exercise those feelings came back again. Thoughts that my body was all messed up and wouldn’t get better and then doubts about my relationship with God and so on. Only this time I recognized these thoughts as lies from Satan himself and started fighting back. It took a while until I actually felt better but I made a decision to believe what God says about me and to trust in his character.

That whole experience gave a completely new perspective on this issue.

Whenever we wallow in our self pity all it really is is stinking PRIDE.

So I want to encourage you if you’re in that situation to snap out of it and start fighting against Satan’s lies and believe what God says about you.

Outdoor Adventure

2009-10-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Carefully we inch our way forward trying to decide how to make the best of the little portion of trail that our headlamps revealed. The rain had made the barely visible path slippery and in some places had even washed it out completely.

Our 8 students from Outdoor adventure DTS were roused at 4am this morning by our leader Josh to head out on what was supposed to be the peak experience of our 2 week backpacking/climbing/camping/canoeing trip that started off our school. Since 6:30 that morning we had covered some of the most difficult terrain Arkansas has to offer, a narrow, extremely steep canyon called Indian creek.

But even after several hours of hiking in darkness and rain we still had a ways to go. Before us lay several more miles of primitive trail through the canyon. We then had about 3 more miles along the Buffalo River with 4 treacherous river crossings. Finally at about 12pm we reached our campsite exhausted and wet.

Why would we do such a crazy thing? Well first of all we had not really anticipated for that day to take as long as it did, but we did put our students out there for a purpose. In those two weeks they were able to learn to trust, respect, take care of one another and find strengths in them they didn't know existed. On top of all that they got to experience God in way few of us ever do- in the midst of his creation.

I'm excited what else these years Outdoor Adventure Discipleship Training School holds for us and I'm looking forward to the way God's going to work in the hearts of the students.

The truth

2009-05-04T18:53:00.000-07:00

Have you ever felt like you are just a horrible person and every one around you is better then you?

While for some the bigger struggle might be not thinking higher of themselves, I tend to struggle with the opposite.

The funny thing is that this happened while I was reading through the New Testament in a week with our group, which consists of 2 students (Josiah and Angelina), 4 staff and one student/staff with her baby.

While we were reading I realized that I was far away from being the way the Bible tells us to be. That isn't really a bad thing but Satan used that to put lies into my head telling me I will never be able to improve, which in the short run really looked like I didn't. Towards the end of the week though, Bekah and Abby, the leaders of the school came up to me because they noticed something wrong with me. Together we recognized what I was going through as an attack and prayed about it, renouncing the lie and accepting the truth.

During this school, which now is already 3 weeks away from going on outreach, we've had a special emphasis on the Bible along with the usual lectures. Together we read through the New Testament, learned how to study the Word in depth and even were taught memorization techniques to help us meditate on it even when we don't have it right in front of us.

Studying the Word can be painful but that's the way we grow and it's so much worth it.

From snow to ice

2009-02-10T17:18:00.000-08:00

In my last blog I deceivingly posted a picture of our campus all covered in snow.
Well we didn't really have snow here at that time. The picture was from last March when we had the only snowstorm I had ever experienced in Arkansas occurred.

But there was plenty of snow in Maine this January, over 2 feet!!!
Well the reason I went up there was that my dear little brother got married.
My whole family was there, united again for the first time in 3 years.
I had a really good time and got to spend over a week with them.

Back in Arkansas I was greeted by the worst ice storm I had ever seen.
A lot of our trees got damaged and we lost power for one night and the water was out for a day, but we all made it safely through the storm thanks to God and his protection.

Not only that but a few days ago we had a group of volunteers come and help us with some of the clean up. They also helped us putting up water protection sheets in the kitchen, spreading top soil over our new septic tanks, painting rooms and I got to work with a crew re-roofing one of our dorm buildings. What an unbelievable blessing!

The joy of giving and receiving

2008-12-19T19:24:00.000-08:00

"OK Joanna its your turn". Full of anticipation she grabs the red box and hastily gets rid of the wrapping. When she actually sees what's in it, she can barely believe it. "Whoever got this is amazing" she said.

It was a new pair of converse shoes with a real cool artsy design, just the ones she wanted. Now usually we don't get along the best, so I saw it as a kind of irony that I picked her name for our Secret Santa. But since I did I thought I'd do something special.

It's funny how as you get older there is
that switch and all of the sudden its more fun to give presents than to receive them.
Nonetheless God provided an awesome gift for me as well.
A super cool, all decked out Chevy S10!!!
Finally I'm blessed with a set of wheels and
I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you Jesus.

Mission Exposure

2008-11-17T08:41:00.000-08:00

Shining my flashlight in their face I can see the fear and excitement in their eyes. The mission was to smuggle bibles into hostile countries and the Gestapo had just caught them…

That was one of the games we had a group of teenagers experience to show them some of the dangers missionaries go through while spreading the gospel.

Some other activities had them experience difficulties in culture differences and the difference of all the wealth we have here in the first world as opposed to the third.

But most importantly they had the chance to serve our neighbors by cleaning up their yards and thus showing them Gods love.

The Amazon?

2008-08-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

Hot humid weather, endless jungle, snakes, piranhas and lots of mosquitoes. That's what most people think about when they imagine the Amazon.
Even though I did experience most of those things it wasn't what impacted me.
It was the smile on the faces of children, the warm welcome we received every time we entered one of their humble homes and the privilege to see two different cultures unite to reach the lost.

While we got to see the lives of those children brightened up and had lots of people respond to the words we spoke to them and receive Christ, the biggest need I saw in that region is discipleship.
The young guerrilla who gave his life to Christ, the village that was reached out to for the first time and responded by most of the population come forward for the call.
These people have heard the gospel and accepted it but there are few to spend quality time with them and teach them how to develop that relationship with God to where He is the one who leads their lives.

And here is the challenge: Who will go to these people and not only tell them the gospel but take the task upon themselves to disciple them as well, and if you don't feel specifically called to the Amazon then start where you are at.