YWAM Vol. #1
Time is flying, God is moving, sun is shining. We’re already starting week three of DTS, it couldn’t get any better than this; if i’m being honest. This week consisted of a lot of fun, reflection and renewal. I will be starting this update with the fun stuff.
On Saturday, we had a trial run of Uphill Battle, which is a fitness challenge Respect The Corners (RTC) hosts here every year. It was by far one of the hardest things I have ever done mentally. It was 3 circuits of various fitness challenges, that totaled 7 miles, in order to mimic what it’s like to go trekking on mission. After we finished the trial run, we were fed some good Costco pizza and liquid IVs before we all took a major rest day. (it was honestly so much fun, even though it was difficult.)The RTC ministry here is honestly insane; they are making big differences not only here in Hawai’i, but all around the world.
By far, Sunday was my favorite activity day so far. I rented a pick-up truck with ten of my friends and we explored the the south side of the island. (It is legal here to have passengers ride in the bed of a truck, as long as every single seat inside, with seatbelts, is taken.) We started off the day going to a called The Coffee Shack, the food there is incredible, affordable, and comes with an insane view. To be respectful to the locals and other coffee goers we ate in the bed of the truck.
After some breaky, we headed down to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach. It was definitely a bucket list moment for me. We got to see some beautiful fishies, that I have only seen in pictures and a couple sea turtles even pulled up to the shore; so goggles are a must when visiting. We got to speak to some locals and explore the area before heading off to the next stop of the day.
Our last and final stop of the day was the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. It was so incredible getting to see the nature Hawai’i has to offer. God’s creation truly has no limits, and no picture can do the views justice. We did a smaller hike, called the lava tube (aka Nahuku).
On to the everyday festivities… This week was so so good. The theme was Freedom Week, where we had Chloe and Derek Mack lead our classes. When I say they are anointed, they are anointed. They preached on fully surrendering, the unoffendable heart, finding freedom in Jesus, mental health, being bold, identity, unbelief, shame, discomfort & giving everything to Jesus and passivity. These are just the themes of each session we had. Here are a few of my favorite take aways:
Surrendering the entirety of who you are = freedom.
Submit & Surrender OR say NO! … either one has a consequence.
Our culture is trained to be offended, but we are called to follow in the likeness of Jesus; holding offense will only sideline you in what God has for you.
JESUS IS THE FREEDOM FIGHTER. In Jesus, there is no fear; let God make your heart as He originally intended it to be… peaceful. (Matthew 8:23-27).
Christianity is FULL-TIME, not just two hours a week… Jesus should be in the forefront of your heart.
Be BOLD in your faith; there is no excuse to not obey Gods words over your life.
The things of your past are not obstacles and excuses for God not to use you, they are why He uses you. GOD ONLY USES BROKEN PEOPLE. (Think of the apostles.)
Faith & Obedience go hand in hand; one cannot function without the other.
Embrace the discomfort OR stay comfortable.
Revival doesn’t happen in a room; it happens only IF it leaves the building and affects something outside.
Do NOT sit in indecision. Be disobedient or Be Sent. (John 20:21)
Your mindset: Whats gonna happen next to being me closer to Jesus?
WOW! that is a lot more than I thought I would highlight for you. Needless to say, they had some powerful messages throughout this past week. But these are the BIG take aways.
The roomies :)
OUTREACH REVEAL DAY!!
On Wednesday day night leadership surprised us by announcing our outreach teams and where we will be going for our mission trips.
In the morning they added a last minute ‘mandatory’ relationship night. Short story short, we got there and ended up having to (literally) run to the Ohana court. It was SO hype! Anyway….
I will be going to Africa!! I am so excited, my team is so amazing. It helped so much that I already knew half my team; which almost never happens. I will also not be announcing the exact location of where my team is going for the time being.
The dream team :)
ALOHA FRIDAY & WORK DUTY WEEKEND
At YWAM Kona, Fridays are for dressing up. It’s also our least busiest day of the week. Because I have a weekend work duty, it was my teams weekend this week. Therefore, we all try to take advantage and have fun together after class or work. On Friday a group of us went for Açaí, swimming and did some dancing on the pier. On Saturday, after work we went to a natural salt water pool and had a girls night at our team leaders house. Overall, a great weekend and the perfect way to prepare for this next (super busy) week.
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