Graduation

The ladies..... (participants and YWAM staff)

Last night we had our DTS Equip Leadership Training graduation dinner with Caribbean food and great fellowship. Here are a few pictures, more to come. Its inspiring to hear of each other's future plans as we all part ways...

The men (participants and YWAM Staff)


Silly Kathy , my Equip leader Jeremy,and myself

Outreach week

The boys TJ, Kyle and Josh taking a quick rest.....or maybe impatiently waiting for the next move.

Well we have just been handed our final exam- we have the entire week to finish it and it's open book so I am not too concerned about it! This week was our outreach week and it was fantastic. I am amazed at how much each one of us was able to hear from the Lord. Its incredible to be in a large group and to have people receive the same message. We also had numerous times while we were in smaller groups, that members of the different groups would get something similar that validated what the other had. One morning we wrote out all the things God was saying- images, words, verses etc... and during the next two days all of them except for two had been seen or done. (examples include Red door, Joy-child, ruins etc) We also hosted a half day for kids in the community where they got to swim and have fun. We did a pizza night for some of the local basketball guys last night. We also did quite a bit of evangelism in Fredricksted and also a town called Mon Bijou.

The theme of being stones in rebuilding the ruins came up numerous times. One that I was involved in that was particularly exciting was following a vision that one of us had about an old lady in a mansion on a hill. Here in St Croix there is a 'castle' on a hill owned by a countessa from Bulgaria. It seems she now is moving into her more permanent place in Long Island but that was a series of hints, leads, seeking out (literally going into restaurants and asking for info on her) and a lot of intercession for her , hearing Gods heart for her. Will we ever make contact? Who knows.... I think the point is that God is actively seeking her out and wants to overflow her with the love of God,that he hears her disappointments and cares about an intimate relationship with her. For the group this was so moving. It was also incredible (and a bit unnerving) to hear directly from God and to see fruit and pieces of the puzzle come together. We are waiting on our next step. I was feeling the word pink at the beginning of the week so this whole week Ive been looking for a pink mansion or house, thinking maybe there was another old lady who needs prayer. Then I found out that this Contessa (Nadia Farber) has a PINK MANSION in Long Island.... Its been crazy and I don't think any of us in the group has been on a 'chase' like that before... Its nice feeling like we aren't in the drivers seat-God is!
Another highlight has been visiting Neil at the bakery that he owns in Fredricksted. A while ago another team that was here helped him open his business, painting etc. We felt to stop in a pray for him and he was so excited cause he just changed the name of his place to Bread of Life and moving in a direction to be passionate about pursuing God and his values. He is also going through a tough time in his family so we prayed for him. God also was preparing his coworkers heart as he has been involved with a lady named 'Mrs Padilla' (she is the older lady in the next picture talking to one of the local homeless guys) who is interested in donating her property to be made into a shelter/food pantry/bible study area.

This guy, Leroy (or LAM-white hat next picture)...is heading it and has a vision for it. We went there and prayed for the building and met Mrs Padilla- we may have opportunity to partner with them. Again it was a series of 'God things' and we walked away excited (by the way - the bakery has a bright red door- one of the visions earlier this week).
We ended this week with a Skype (video phone on the computer) session with Darlene Cunningham, founder of Youth with a Mission. She encouraged us to press in and repeatedly spoke on increasing the measure of our faith. Her sharing was so rich I'm sure we will all take time to go back into it and dive into the scriptures she used. Last week I was able to volunteer with a local group (women's coalition) preparing for their annual race and was honored to meet so many ladies from the community. I hope to continue to do one time volunteer things like that again. I will try to update my blog more often as there is so much packed into one week to share. Unfortunately that also means less time to be able to connect on the internet! One more week of Equip - here I come!

Poor Camera

This is what I see out my window
I do not know what kind of bird this is but he has come to visit the last couple of days.....
Those were my last two pictures on my camera....

Poor camera.... as of right now it refuses to turn on (yes, Ive changed the batteries a couple of times).... "Dear Jesus, Please bless me with a camera so I can keep my loved ones updated on what I am seeing and doing... and because I like photography. AMEN"

This was another full week of teaching including looking at Crisis examples, how to lead a small group, outreach tips etc..... We had Jeff Wilke (main speaker) from the Montana YWAM base here as well as Kim Hunt (more pastoral support). Both were so full of stories and inspiration and we truly felt blessed by them. Jeremy also spoke on a few topics and with only two weeks left of leadership training we are drinking in all the info we can. This coming week is our 'outreach' week and as we've been praying God is giving some clear directions and messages that seem to be not just for our immediate team but for ongoing ministry on the island. One of the main outreaches next week will probably be inviting the local boys in for a basketball night and treating them to pizza (with testimony time). I am reading a book called 'Repenting of Religion' by Greg Boyd as one of my book reviews and while the general themes and some great examples are good, I don't agree with his open theism. I'm already getting sentimental at the thought of my beloved new friends going back to their home bases. The best way to learn is from each other.

One of my fun highlights from this week was Pier jumping. A bunch of us (lead by my director) went to Fredricksted pier one night and after watching a few of the boys jump in I was surprised by my own impulse to follow them. The water may be clear but we'd already spotted huge fish (maybe even longer than my arm but any fish longer than my hand gives me the hesitations), and also sea turtles. When we first stepped on the pier the natives were talking about the sharks they had caught off the end of the pier. So to the more logical person, pier jumping at night would not be an option. I did not have on the 'logical' hat that night and even without a swim suit I jumped in! The water was warmer than the outside air and it was so worth it. Just to say I have! And don't worry, I did not feel any nibbles on my toes (by the way, I was the FIRST one up the ladder).....

This weekend a group is going to Carambola beach/resort (there are tide pools there too) but unfortunately it does not look like I can join them. Ive already to committed to helping out with the local Women Coalitions' 25th Annual Race that runs on Sunday (prep time is on Saturday during the beach outing). What a bummer!!! I know God will have me be in the 'best' spot but sun and fellowship sure sounded nice.... Meeting new people will be fun though! I might be able to update a bit more this week (outreach week). You can be praying for my school leader's daughter, Eden, as she has been running a fever, ear infections and some nasty bug bites (she is only 1.5 years old)....