Your mission if you choose to accept it...

... is to go to Colombia and...

With less than a month to go we are busily preparing for Colombia (and the other teams are preparing for their locations).  This week's focus is Outreach Prep, so basically learning and practising skits/dramas, presenting testimonies and sermons and Bible stories (without aids), and multiple other things.  It's going to be a full on week, but crazy fun!

But with also less than a month to go I realised that I haven't updated you all on what our Colombia team is doing.  So... here we go.  This is a rough outline of what we're doing - it may not occur exactly as this outline says as things don't always go as planned and plans change, but as of Saturday 24th of November, 2012, this is what we are doing...

14-17 of December, 2012 - Outreach teams Africa and Costa Rica depart, whilst the Colombia outreach team cleans the Eagle Rock base, and prepares to leave.

17th of December, 2012 - Colombia OT departs!  Flying from Denver, Colorado, to Bogota, Colombia.

Denver:

Bogota: 

17th of December, 2012 - Busing from Bogota, Colombia to Pereira, Colombia!

3 Weeks in Pereira:

In Pereira we will be spending it with a local contact who has just church planted a new church, helping him in whatever way we can.  We have also been requested to make long term contacts there, not just a hi and bye contact, but an actual friendship developed.  <-- I really love this idea as there is no point to missions if it's just a temporary connection with minimal help or advice available/offerred.  Some of the things we will be doing whilst we're in Pereira are going into orphanages and working around the town.  We will be spending Christmas and New Year here as well, which should be amazing! 

Pereira to Leticia (bordering Peru):

Early January - 26 January 2013:  During this time we will be in Leticia, which borders Peru and is on the Amazon River.Whilst we're in Leticia we will be working alongside a medical organisation, putting on a medical brigade.  Our main role here will be looking after approximately 200 kids whilst their parents are queuing or being seen by medical professionals.  This could involve skits/dramas, songs, puppets, face painting, Bible stories, games, and we've been requested to do a soccer tournament <-- I AM SO HAPPY!!!  I have been told that this will mean early mornings and late nights, with the soccer tournament being at night time, but I am so looking forward to this opportunity to spend time with children, my team and people who just love life and know how fragile life is but look for the positive and push through the hard times!

26th January: We will board a power boat, with a medical organisation, for 6 hour boat ride down the Amazon River, into Peru, to a remote Indigenous tribe whose outside contact with the World is through this medical organisation only.  This tribe is truly remote, sees very few white people and do not easily accept outsiders, but we have the privilege of being a part of this medical organisation's trip.  

As the tribe is in the jungle, we will have no access to technology, electricity, running water, showers or western toilets for a week.  Not too long if you think about it.  But it will be an amazing experience and one that I've dreamed of ever since I was a little girl! Can you tell how EXCITED I am?!?!

First full week in February: We'll be back in Pereira helping out with a few jobs there, before flying back to Denver for debrief.

8th of February - 15th of February 2013: Debrief week.

15th of February, 2013: Graduation day. 

I am so pumped and feel so blessed to be given this opportunity and cannot thank you enough for helping me to get here.  Hopefully I will be able to keep you guys updated through this blog, and also another blog that has been created to inform everyone in the YWAM community (with access world-wide), whilst I am in Colombia.  I would definitely love to hear from you - email, mail, etc. too.  Thanks also to my room mate and team mate, Alex, who helped me out with information on what we are doing through her website http://livingthisdayforthatday.blogspot.com/2012/11/humidity-mosquitoes-and-children.html?showComment=1353801093976#c7142325722985856911 

Until next time, have a great week, and GBUG!

God's chisel. Do you let Him still chisel you?

This was a video we watched in class today.  I had seen the video before, but it still impacted me greatly.
How much do we allow God to chisel away from us?  Do we think we're perfect or do we know we're imperfect, but are too afraid to let God, to trust God with helping us be more like Him?

While we were watching this video, as an introduction into trusting God, we were asked a question: "What if we don't trust God to lead us or love us, convict us or judge us fairly?" What do you think?

(Think about it!!!)

What do you think the World would be like if no one trusted God to lead us, love us, convict us, or judge us fairly?  Or let's changed the perspective... What do you think the World would be like if EVERYONE trusted God to lead us, love us, convict us and judge us fairly!?!?!!!!  Think about it!  I think it would be a encrazed, alive, passionate World, and I believe that if we listened to God's voice AND obeyed it, that there would be no more poverty or war - we'd think of others, instead of just ourselves.  How crazy would that be?  Yet we don't need the World to be totally surrendered to Christ for us to do our own part.  We can individually listen and obey God.  Follow what He tells us to do, with assurance from the Bible, and start changing the World ourselves, one step, one person, one city, one state, one nation at a time!  God is alive and we need to start listening, surrendering to Him, and obeying His Word!  We need to commit!

WHAT DO I DO??? The Weekly Schedule

Hey all

I know some of you have been wanting to skype with me whilst I've been here and it's been confusing for you on when I am free to chat - my Mum is one of them... but I've finally gotten around to typing up a schedule so that you can see what my average week looks like in advance.

The yellow is usually a good time to skype me (my username is: peace-truth-love), as it's when I am supposed to be free, unless something comes up or I have weekend kitchen duties or one-on-one with my Small Group leader, so feel free to send me an email and schedule a time. :-)

And for those that are just curious at what I do each day, I'll give you a break down below the schedule of what each thing means and what it involves, etc.

I AM 17 HOURS BEHIND AUSTRALIA'S QUEENSLAND TIME AND 18 HOURS BEHIND NEW SOUTH WALES. SO PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN SCHEDULING A TIME.

*The Schedule Explained...*

Breakfast and pack lunch - This means we have to pack our lunch (usually sandwiches and chips), whilst breakfast is being served, otherwise unless going to the shops, which are an hour away, you will starve.

Free time - This time is set aside for us to do assessment, correspond with people back home, study for exams, have an hour with our small group leader (also known as one-on-one or discipleship time), go for a hike, watch movies with other people (or by yourself), go with a van load of people to the mall (or other locations), do extra ministry time with a van-load of people, sleep, etc.

Church - We have the option of catching a van to one of two churches: Bridgeway (http://www.bridgeway.us) which is based in Denver (over an hour's drive away) or The (Mile High) Vineyard (http://www.milehighvineyard.org/) which is down near Arvada (just over half an hour's drive away).

Monday Worship down at the YWAM base in Arvada - Every Monday we drive down to Arvada (from our base - Eagle Rock, which is located near Black Hawk) and join the other half of the YWAM Denver campus in worship.  There's usually 300 of us (staff and students) that are gathering (for this quarter) at the Ward St Faith Bible Chapel across the road from the YWAM Denver campus.

View Larger Map

Small Group - A DTS (Discipleship Training School) usually has 'small groups' as part of its curriculum.  This is a time where you, along with a few other people (of the same gender), gather with a staff member (of the same gender).  It's a time where you can ask questions, have discussions on specific topics, do fun activities and just get to know a group of people more familiarly than the rest of the school.  

This is my small group here:

From left to right: Amy (Small Group Leader - Colorado/Pennsylvania), Amber (Pennsylvania, USA), Me (Toowoomba, Australia), Maria (Texas, USA) & Lynelle (California, USA).

Laundry - Each Monday we get the opportunity to bring our laundry down and wash it at a local laundromat.  This can be a fun and also a mad experience where mishaps, adventures and a lot of laughs can happen.

Community Ministry - For a couple hours of each Monday we do ministry in the community.  This is usually anything from prayer walks (and van rides) to child minding at another organisation, to being a leader at scouts, to helping clean and do odd jobs at different missions around the Denver area.  It's a great time to focus outwards and see a lot more than the society you usually see.

Group Devotion - As we have a late night on Tuesdays, we are allowed to sleep in an extra thirty minutes (if we so desire) and instead of having a scheduled quiet time to do individual devotions (although you can still do them) we gather as a group and one of the staff members will do a devotional message before we start our week with the first lecture.

Outreach Meeting - The funnest meeting of the week. Once a week we gather in our outreach teams (Colombia, Costa Rica, Uganda/Tanzania/Rwanda) and unify more solidly, discussing outreach concerns, practicing Spanish, and just working through the logistics that get each team individually prepared for outreach.

This is the team that I am heading to and spending 2 months in Colombia and Peru with.
Back Left to Right: Jeremy (Japan), Brady (Kansas, USA), Taylor (Iowa, USA), Caleb (Delaware, USA).
Middle Left to Right: Emery (Oklahoma, USA), Alex (Oregon, USA), Jenna (LEADER - Pennsylvania, USA), Kelci (Greece), Paul (Colorado, USA), Micah (Pennsylvania, USA).
Front Left to Right: Hanna (Texas, USA), Maria (Texas, USA), Joel (ASSISTANT LEADER - California, USA), Kara (Toowoomba, Australia).

Work Duties - This is another part of YWAM's curriculum to help keep costs low, in which we have a quota of work hours that are to be met to pass the University of the Nations curriculum standards.  This time is usually spent doing the same genre styled jobs.  For example, I am in maintenance for the whole quarter that I am here.  The other styles of work duties up at Eagle Rock (for this quarter) are child care, receptionist, breakfast preparation, dinner preparation, house keeping, and clean up.

Quiet Time / Lights Out - This is a self-enforced guideline curfew of when you are to be in your room (quiet time) and then when the lights and everything electronic or battery operated is to be switched off (lights out).  On weekdays it is earlier, with the Internet also being cut off after 11pm, but it does ensure that there's no distractions for yourself or your room mates, during a time which should be fore your body to rest.  You can go to bed earlier, it's just a guideline to ensure everyone has a chance to get a decent night's sleep.

Outreach Prep - This is another class, but it is solely focused on preparing each person for outreach.  It covers topics like skits/dramas, presenting sermons, writing a testimony, learning languages, creating games for different age groups, etc.  This class I find extremely challenging, but I am also starting to enjoy it a lot too.

This can all sound like a lot of rules and a very busy schedule, but being in the mountains you don't usually realise that and just feel immensely blessed with all that God has done and is doing through you, your YWAM family, and the creation around you.

  

Welcome to Room 6, The Lodge @ EAGLE ROCK!!!

Second video clip of the 'Welcome to the heavenly blessed abode' shot, which allows a full shot of all images.  Hope you enjoy!!!

Welcome to Room 6, The Lodge, EAGLE ROCK!!!

Hey guys, here's a short (very) basic (and rough) video on what my room looks like at Eagle Rock and who I get the privilege of sharing it with.

I will be creating and uploading a more professional looking video (not so rough and basic) of the whole Eagle Rock campus (where I am in Colorado), near Blackhawk, when I get the chance, but until then, enjoy and have a great day!

Note: I've just realised that the border has cut off more of the images/videos than I thought, so I will try uploading a video without the border so that you can actually see everyone's name and location.