Update April 2019

Hey Guys! HAPPY (late) EASTER!!! This is me and my friend Khryss after Easter Service :)

Wow, I don’t know about you, but I don’t know where April went!! The past couple of weeks have been busy, but at the same time, I feel like I’m finally starting to step into pace with the life here. The new quarter just started, so there are new schools running and new students here at base. That is particularly exciting for me because some of my friends that were with me before are back for another school!

Ok, Explanation time: There are basically 4 different reasons people are here at YWAM Perth.

1. Discipleship Training School (DTS) This is the school I was doing last July-December. It is how anyone and everyone starts their journey with YWAM.

2. 2- Second Level School, this is a more in-depth and focused school. There are a few second level schools running right now (Art Evangelist school, Children at Risk School, and School of Evangelism).

3. 3- Staff, this is what I am doing right now. As part of staff, you can be part of running a school or part of a ministry (or sometimes both!).

4. 4- Mission Building, this is something that anyone can do. Whether you have been part of YWAM before or not, mission building is a way you can be part of certain ministries here. This is a cool way for people who aren’t part of YWAM to see what it’s like, and a way for fellow YWAMers to be part of ministry without a long-term commitment.

So, back to my friends! They are back in Perth to be part of the School of Evangelism. This is a school that has been around for a while, but is being “re-vamped” this year. Peter Brownhill (the founder of YWAM Perth) has a real heart for evangelism, discipleship, and church planting and wanted to transform the school to be something that prepares and launches people into this calling across the world. All that to say, it’s been so nice to see more of my family around base:)

Here is a random picture of me and my friends hammocking ;P

We have entered a bit of a calmer time in my ministry. There are no healthcare schools running right now and many of the normal staff are on outreach, so the office is pretty quiet. It has been nice to not be so busy because we have gotten to spend more time building relationship and spending time together. I have gotten to do some pretty cool things over the last few weeks though!

The main project I have been working on is organizing the statistics for our ministry and all the healthcare schools. The statistics are kept in Excel and all of the formulas were messed up—If you’ve ever worked with Excel before, you know this job can be time-consuming/maddening! I think almost every day I convinced myself I could finish…I couldn’t…it took me over a week.

However, the really amazing part about this job was first, I got to see everything that God has done through the healthcare ministry for the past 20+years (patients helped, people prayed for, salvations, and more!) which is honestly quite a remarkable thing to see. Secondly, I was able to listen to podcasts while I worked! I have never really been a podcast person, but lately I have been getting more and more into them. I really love listening to sermons, or interviews with inspirational people, it’s actually so encouraging!

I did get a few breaks from the computer work here and there. We got a donation of linens from a local hospital, so we all pulled together to sort through the donation and then cut up old towels to be cleaning rags. There was a bit of a disagreement about the “ideal” size for the cleaning cloths. Suzy and I were cutting hand-sized cloths—let’s just say Sarah thought that was WAY too small… Here is a picture of Suzy using one of Sarah’s cloths…no one can say we don’t have fun!!

After everything was sorted, I was in charge of getting all the linens to the different ministries and non-profits around town that asked for them. One of the ministries I called was so excited to get the donation, which made it easier when I found out we would have to drive half an hour to get there. When we got there, they were in the middle of giving out food, so we had to wait for a while before taking the donation in.

As I was getting back in the car to leave, I felt to pray for the workers we just met, so we went back and I explained that we were Christians and asked if we could pray for them. One of the ladies, who had been quiet and a bit distant, started tearing up, and the both said that yes, they would love prayer. After we prayed, they were thanking us and the woman explained that she was really feeling down and overwhelmed, and that she usually keeps all her feelings in, but she was really struggling that day. I was so blessed to hear how touched she was.

This whole story is such an amazing testimony to me of how God sees the whole picture far before we can. I wasn’t planning on calling this organization, but the place I wanted to call wasn’t answering, so I looked at the list and asked God which one to call. He took me to this woman, who was out of the way, busy, and made us late for lunch, simply because she needed to be encouraged right in that moment.

I really love this story because honestly, I didn’t do anything fancy or “special”. Really, I didn’t do anything at all. God stepped in, and out of his abundant love for this woman (whose name I don’t even remember) He made a way to tell her that she is seen, and known, and loved beyond what she knows.

As the end of April nears, I realize that I have finished 1/8 of my 2 year commitment. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but the time I’ve been here feels like nothing, so I can only imagine how quickly time will continue to fly by! I would love to hear from you guys, my supporters, my encouragers, my prayer warriors. Is there anything you want to hear more about? I would love some feedback about what you think about this blog and if there’s anything more, or different that you want to see!! Love you guys!!