Here's a quick update on what's about to happen this week.

In about an hour or so, the DTS will leave for New Mexico to do prison ministry. We've rehearsed dramas for the past two weeks, preparing for this week. We still have normal class sessions, but we get to use what we learn in practical application. This week's topic is on evangelism, and we will have class during the morning and the afternoons. Then during the evenings, we will go out into the prisons and perform our dramas, share our testimonies, and simply talk to the people who desperately need hope. I honestly don't know what to expect from this week, except that God will definitely move in these prisons. I've been praying that our class will set aside our fears to bring a light into the darkness. A lot of my classmates have never performed infront of people, and some are pretty nervous about it. But I believe that God will do the performing for us, and He will work through us.

Please pray for us as we are in New Mexico this week. We will be back on Friday, and I'll give you guys an update on what God has done in the prisons. Thank you, and God bless!

Whoa, two in one week! This is a special outreach edition of Hands and Feet ;)

This evening our oversea outreach teams met for the first time. The Brazil team has 11 members including myself. Our DTS director is leading our outreach, and one of the DTS staff members is joining us as well. We don't have a specific itinerary, but we do have a general idea of where we are going and what we will do.

As of now the departure date is June 17th. We will fly to Miami, and then fly into Sao Paulo. From there we will travel to Manaus, a city of a population of about one million. The interesting thing about this city is that it is only accessible by plane or boat. There are no roads going in or out of the city. From there we will start our boat ministry. We will do at least two weeks of ministry, possibly as much as three or four weeks. During this time we will travel by boat and visit the local tribes that live near the Amazon river. The opportunities are endless at what we might do. We might drill wells or build houses, but whatever we will do we will do with the love of Jesus Christ. The Gospel will not only be spoken, but it will be in our actions as well. After our boat ministry, we will travel to Foraleza which is on the coast of Brazil. We will do a variety of inner-city ministries, such as orphanage and prison ministry. We will arrive back in Denver on or about August 5th.

That is the basic plan for now. A lot of things could change with outreaches, and we have to be willing to follow the Lord at any and all cost. It could very well be that Brazil could close off its borders, and God might call us into another country. But we are all open to the challenge, and excited to see where the Lord will lead us. The outreach teams will meet at least once a week between now and before we leave. We will also spend a whole week prepping for outreach, rehearsing dramas, and becoming mentally, physically, and spiritually prepared for the challenges that are ahead of us.

For myself, God has convicted me of some awesome character traits that I need to adjust. As a detailed oriented person, I "need" to know what is going on and what we will do ahead of time. This outreach requires tremendous flexibility that I don't seem to have! I've already expressed this to the team, and it's something that I'm already seeking guidance in the Lord. I know that God will guide me in this area of my life, and that I won't lose my sanity from any "lack" of organization.

As far as fund raising is concerned, I am a little over half way to paying off the outreach. I still need $1414 to pay off the outreach, and at least $639 is due May 11th. God has already blessed me by providing funds for tuition, and I know that He will provide for this outreach as well!

Please leave comments or email if you have any questions concerning the outreach. Things could very easily change, and I will keep you guys updated.

Hurray for pictures! I was finally able to load some, thanks to my roommate Nicole for lending me her laptop.

This was a pretty rough week for DTS. We received a teaching on the Father Heart of God from Jeff Pratt, the base director at YWAM Axiom in New Haven, Conn. I think this was definitely a breaking point for a lot of people, including myself. It is statistically proven that one's view of their Heavenly Father is based off their view of their earthly father. If a person's earthly father was loving, caring, and nurturing, then that same person will more than likely think the same about their Heavenly Father. If one's father wasn't any of those things but in fact mean spirited and abusive, then they will think the same of their Heavenly Father. A lot of us did not have aweome relationships with our earthly father, and have struggled with the fact that God is a loving Father who desperately loves us and wants us to love Him back. So the first two days of teaching was very hard to swallow, but we had a day of "practical application" on Wednesday.

We've talked about the hurts and wounds in our lives, and how living in openess and complete brokeness heals the wounds. So take a wild guess what we as a class did on Wednesday? One by one, we each confessed a wound, a hurt, or a sin that we've been struggling with. I was able to admit about things in my life that I've carried for a very long time, and it was wonderful to be embraced by a God who is really a loving Father. I won't go into detail as to what was said, but we prayed for each person after sharing their testimony, and we were able to intercede on their behalf. It has definitely brought the class dynamic closer together, knowing that we can trust each other and fellowship with each other.

I've definitely notice things a bit more differently then before DTS. I've noticed that people are naturally drawn to us whenever a group of us go out. Yesterday afternoon a group of us went to 16th street in Denver to just chill and hang out. On the bus there was a guy who asked us if we were part of a church, which was funny because none of us were wearing anything resembling Christ. We talked to him for awhile and found out about things in his life, and we told him about YWAM and what we do. He seemed pretty impressed at what we do, and he was a pretty cool guy. We also went to Boulder to hang out last night, and met a couple of homeless people there. They desperately need someone to love them, and that's what we tried to do. It's funny, because we had no intentions of making our trip to Boulder an evangelism trip, but it's a 24/7 job.

I also found out that my sorority, Delta Delta Delta, has a chapter at UC Boulder. This school has struggled with substance abuse within fraternities and sororities the past couple of years, and quite a few student deaths have happened due to substance abuse. Since our visit to Boulder, the Lord has laid it on my heart to really reach out to the Greeks at Boulder and educate them on substance abuse and the true meaning of sisterhood. The only thing is that the school year is coming to a close, students are going home for the summer, and there are no Greek activities over the summer. Maybe this is something I'm suppose to do in the fall, if I decide to return to Denver? Hmmm, I'm not really sure.

Speaking of outreaches, we are going to Albuquerque, New Mexico next week to not only learn about evangelism but experience it as well. We will witness to people and perform dramas at prisons and youth detention centers in the afternoons and evenings while receiving teachings during the day. And we almost has our oversea outreach teams set. We will have our first outreach meetings on Tuesday, and we'll start prepping for those outreaches as well. And this week our base director, Peter Warren, will teach us on the Fear of the Lord. So quite a few exciting things are happening lately.

On a lighter note, the pranks have already started. I won't say anything more than that...

Here are some current prayer requests:

• Apparently I spoke to soon about people getting better. One of my roommates, Phil, has a chest congestion. She normally sings in the band that I play in on Sunday mornings, but she couldn't this morning. She's hoping to see a doctor tomorrow. Please pray that Phil will quickly get over her chest cold and feel 110% better.
• Definitely pray for our outreach preparation for New Mexico. We've been rehearsing dramas for the past week, and we're hoping to make an impact on the lives of these prisoners. Pray that we will continue to carry the Gospel with us no matter where we go.
• Continue to pray for the oversea outreaches, especially preperaton for the outreach and the funding raising process.
• Pray that the pranks want get too out of hand.

Overall, I'm still doing very well. I'm fed pretty well here, and the weather has been warm for the past couple of days. However, it's suppose to snow the next two days. Weather is really crazy here!

I pray that all you lovely readers are doing well, and enjoy the pictures!

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalm 86:11

Sense of time is totally lost in YWAM. I've only been here for three weeks, yet it seems like I've lived here my whole life. We're learning a lot about each other, and our classmates have truly grown to become brothers and sisters in Christ. Our theme for DTS is "undivided", which is based on the above scripture. The DTS leaders prayed over us way before we even arrived, and this scripture came to them during a prayer meeting. Our class is truly undivided. We come from all over the world with one goal in mind; to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This concept was introduced to us this past week while we were at the Eagle Rock base of YWAM Denver. This base is about thirty minutes from Arvada, and it's hidden away in the Rocky Mountains. It was awesome to get away from the Arvada base, and spend time with other DTS students and staff. I played some frisbee golf, which I haven't played in quite sometime. Needless to say I'm not very athletic, but the guys who were playing were very encouraging and gave me some frisbee tips. We also hiked up Eagle Rock mountain, which was really intense! The thin air and high altitude makes simple activities like walking a total chore, so it was pretty difficult for many of us to climb up a mountain. But it was worth it at the top! I'm still having difficulties loading my pictures to the computers, but hopefully I'll post some up before the end of the week.

The teaching this week was on relationships, which was an appropriate topic for us since we were bonding closer together at Eagle Rock. It was taught by John Murphy, who is a staff member at YWAM Denver and has done teachings on relationships for other DTS schools as well. God has shown me the importance of relationships, especially relationships with other people. John has taught us that we need to treat people based on their value, not their behavior. Each person has value, despite what we might think of them. If we view each person this way, then our perspective of them completely changes. It has certainly changed my perspective on relationships with others, and I continue to seek God in this area of my life. Relationship with God also needs to be established, and we need to know our place with God before we can establish our place with others. We are all sons and daughters of God, and until we understand this then we will have a very difficult time relating to others. This is just a snippet of what we've learned this past week in class.

We arrived back in Arvada on Thursday night, and then the next night both DTS and Phase II went on an outreach to Evans, CO. Evans is a small town about an hour outside of Denver, and we went door to door placing door hangers for a new church that is starting up called The Gathering. With 50 YWAMers, who knows how many houses we have hit with door hangers??? The church's first meeting was this morning at 10:30 MT, and we hope to find out how many people came in the upcoming week. It was interesting going door to door. I was able to talk to a few people about the church. Most people happily received the invitation. There was one house where I was almost chased by a pit bull. The dog blocked the door way, preventing me from approaching the doorway. I wasn't able to leave it on the doorknob, so I dropped it on the door step.

As for my overseas outreach, I have decided to go to Brazil. We will leave on June 18th, and we'll be back on August 4th. The first three weeks of the outreach will be on a boat sailing down the Amazon river. We will visit tribal communities who have never heard of Jesus Christ, which involves a lot of hiking and hot weather! Then the last half of the outreach we will do inner city ministries, particularly children and orphan ministries. So we have the best of both worlds on this trip. The first payment for the trip is due this Thursday, but praise God for His awesome provision because this is already covered! However, I still need to raise another $1550 for the trip, which at least half is due on May 11th.

So here are some praise reports and prayer requests:

• People seem to be feeling better! We still have a few sniffles here and there, but no where near as sick as some people were the first week we were here. Praise God for people getting better!
• Continue to pray for my classmates and their choice for outreach. We are suppose to notify our leaders by Thursday, and some can't decide where they are going. Pray that God will give my classmates wisdom and strength to step out in faith.
• Pray also for His provision to continue to flow. As for me, I've raised half of my outreach funds, but I still have another half to go. Pray that I will keep enduring in faith, and only God will send the funds for all of us to go to our designated outreaches.
• Pray that God will continue to do heart surgery on us. God has continued to show us His character through DTS, and we don't want to ever forget it! Sometimes the class can be a bit overwhelming with the information, and we need time to let it sink it. Pray that God will continue to show us understanding through the teachings, and that we won't give up through the difficulties.

I also have a myspace account with some more insightful blog entries, but that's not updated as much as this blog. But if you have a myspace account, you can add me on as well!

Thank you again, and God bless!

Hola and hello! I said that I would post pictures, but since these are community computers (I do not have a laptop) I am having a hard time uploading the pictures from my camera to the computer. I'll post them as soon as I receive permission from the tech guys at the base. Until then, please accept my apologies.

We've started our lectures this week in DTS. Last week was an introduction week, and becoming familar with YWAM and the base. This week, we've finally started on the teachings. This weeks topic was God's character, and how we can develop His character in our lives. Blake Mattocks was our speaker for the week, and the cool thing about him is that he use to live in Manassas over 15 years ago! He is currently a pastor at a church in Arvada, and he taught us some amazing stuff about hearing God's voice and recognizing God's characters within us. He also had us do an unusual activity. For a span of about 30 hours, each student had to carry a ball and chain for one hour. After the hour, we passed it down to another student in the class. The point was that Christians have things in our lives that weigh our spiritual lives down, and we need to cut off the ball and chain in order to be free. That's just a taste of what we've learned in class this week.

We've also started our weekly outreaches to the Denver metro area. This week I went to an apartment complex called Joy House. This is a safe haven for single moms who are recovering from addictions. Thursday night was there Bible study, and a group of us went over to babysit their children. I had the privelage to play with a four year-old girl named Chloe for about an hour and a half. What an imagination! We pretended to be various animals at the zoo, and we built a fort with a couch, table, and pillows. The television was never turned on. It was awesome to see the love of Jesus through this child, and I prayed that her imaginative spirit will continue to grow throughout her life.

I also had a rare opportunity to attend a worship conference this weekend in Golden. This conference was supported by YWAM-Denver, so students were able to attend for free. The conference talked about worship as a lifestyle and not the musical aspects of a Sunday morning service. They also talked about stepping out in our comfort zones when performing acts of worship, and not caring what others might think during corporate worship times. This was an awesome opportunity for myself, since I definitely feel called into worship ministry. But God convicted me of something during this conference. I feel that I'm too involved in the technical aspects of worship, and insecurities and doubt surround me when I purely concetrate on performance. God has challenged me to seek the heart of worship through music, and not from the technical aspects of a worship service. I think God will continue to challenge me in this area throughout the DTS.

Overall, things are going great. Living with six other girls has actually been a blessing. They are awesome girls, totally respectful, and all are truly women who are after God's heart. The class is starting to bond closer together through class, activities, and meals. This evening we are leaving for the extension campus in the mountains, and we will be there until Friday. We will continue to have teachings there, as well as bonding activities, hiking, climbing, and just relaxing in the mountains. The only obstacle that I'm overcoming is my work duty. Each student has ten hours of work duty to keep tuition costs low, and most people have them Monday through Friday from 3pm-5pm. I was assigned breakfast duty, which is from 6am-8am. Not cool, because I am not a morning person! But I ask God to get me out of bed every morning, and somehow He has managed to do it.

Things to pray for:

• That breakfast duty won't kill me!
• Various students in DTS and Phase II (the leadership training school) are becoming sick. One of the girls in DTS missed three days of class this week, but all the DTS girls prayed over her and her fever broke that evening! Please pray that illness does not spread over the base, and that God will protect us from sickness throughout the duration of DTS.
• Please pray for our choice of outreaches. I have decided to go to Brazil for my outreach, and half of the outreach fees has already been paid. Many student still don't know where to go, and the deadline is April 20th. Please pray for God's wisdom on us as my classmates decide wear to go. Please also pray that God will continue to provide all our fees for outreach.

In the next week or two I will give more details about the outreach to Brazil, such as financial information, what we will be doing, and things like that. Thank you again for all of your prayers! I definitely appreciate everything that everyone has done. Thank you and God bless!

I've just finished my first week of DTS. Whew!

This has been an awesome week of drawing closer to the Lord, and bonding with other believers. The first thing I noticed when I arrived were the mountains (obvioiusly!). Arvada is at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and we have a wonderful view from the base. During quiet time I sit by the pond and look at God's wonderful creation. It is truly a blessing to be here! I'll post a picture in a few days to show how amazing this place is, but even a picture can't cover the awesomeness of the Rockies.

The first week was our adjustment period to YWAM life. There are about 30 of us in my DTS class, and it is truly a community atmosphere here in YWAM Denver. We've been eating, fellowshipping, and playing together this past week. We've also shared testimonies, and have freely discussed how God is working in our lives. We are an extremely diverse class. My classmates come from South Korea, England, Switzerland, Chile, Canada, and Australia, as well as various parts of the United States. It's amazing talking to my classmates, because I am learning a lot about various cultures and backgrounds, and they are learning a lot about my background as well. During a bonding activity, I had the opportunity to tell people about pig-pickins. Very few people know what they are! I'm trying to get the staff to do a pig-pickin before we do our outreaches, but apparently it's not that popular in Colorado. We've also hiked a few mountain trails yesterday afternoon, and that was a lot of fun! Spring hasn't quite sprung yet in Colorado, but I love the mountains here!

Though the bonding activities are fun, our DTS leaders reminded us that this an awesome time to draw nearer to the Lord. Very few Christians receive an opportunity like this to purely study God and listen to Him. We are all very fortunate to have five months apart with God. Already God is speaking to each one of us in our class. He has spoken to me about certain issues in my life, and how much I need to lay down in order to follow Him. I believe that God has brought me here to Denver for a reason, and has placed certain people in my life that will help me with my walk with the Lord. I am truly blessed to be here, and I can't wait to see how the Lord will change my life.

God has already answered some awesome prayers, even before I came to Denver. He provided all the funds needed for tuition, plus contribuitions towards outreach. Of course, this happened at the very last minute, but my praises go to Him! And last night I was asked to play keyboards for a local church in the area. Other DTS students will be playing in the band as well. This is a rare opportunity for DTS students to play in the area! I am truly blessed to continue to play, even when I expected not to play keyboards for five months.

As a class, we are completely open to what God has to say to each one of us. At the same time, our minds have quickly shifted to the outreaches that are starting in June. We have a choice of three locations, which are Mexico, Thailand, and Brazil. I was leaning towards Thailand before I came to Denver, but I wanted to be open to where God will send me. On Tuesday, the outreach coordinator announced that half of the outreach fees are due on April 20th, and that this will determine where our location will be. When I registered the day before, I gave accounting all the funds that was raised for outreach without even knowing where I would go. It turned out to be almost exactly half of the outreach fee to Brazil! Since then I feel that God is calling me to Brazil, but I still need more prayer about this and make sure that this is where He wants me to be.

So here are some praises and prayer requests so far:

• Praise God for bringing our internationals here! We are waiting for one more from the UK who didn't receive his visa until last Saturday, but he will be here this Tuesday. Everyone else's visas went through, and I am blessed to have such wonderful classmates to share our experiences.
• We are currently praying over where to go for outreach. We leave June 18th (or there abouts), and the first payment is due April 20th. Please pray that God will gives us direction, that He will make it super clear as to where we should go. Please also pray for funding. We were given wonderful suggestions on how to raise funds, and the staff has been very helpful in this arena. Please pray that God will continue to provide our needs, and that we may put our trust in Him while we are serving Him.
• Pray that God will completely do "heart surgery" on each and every single one of us. Pray that we will each run towards Him for strength on a daily basis, no matter how tough it gets.

And I would also like to praise God for giving me such a wonderful church family. They have truly supported me through this process, and I don't think I would have had a chance in the world to do this if it weren't for my family at Clear River. I am very grateful for the prayers and support of my church, and I couldn't thank them enough. I'd also like to praise God for giving me such a wonderful biological family as well. God called each of them to support me, and each one (including my fourteen year old sister!) have promptly listened and followed God's voice.

I am very grateful to be here. I will continue to update weekly on what's going on. Thank you so much for reading!