Start of Something New

I've finally moved and settled back into my [new] life at YWAM Orlando this week. I arrived on Sunday evening, fully expecting to be living out at our new non-powered, non-watered property. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that YWAM had rented a house about 10 minutes away with plenty of space for us incoming students. Here's a few pictures of my new place! [None of the outside yet, because it hasn't stopped raining since I've been here!]

I live here with 16 other people, and thankfully because the house is so large, it never feels crowded! Well, maybe just the bathroom, as 12 of us girls are sharing it. But I'm so thankful for having indoor plumbing, I can't even complain. And we have wifi here at the house too! God knows how to keep me comfortable! I am living with 2 girls from my DTS back in September, Morgan and Sydney. Morgan was on my South Africa outreach and Sydney went to Jordan. My other roomies are Rebekah from New Jersey [also in my SOMD!], Iris from California, and Emily from France. Rebekah share a bunk, and I got the top this time around. We have the best bunk though, because they were custom built with those awesome drawers! So handy! Pretty much everyone else in the house is single female staff, as well as a family of four from Puerto Rico in the DTS. First week and things seem to be going smoothly, so let's hope that trend continues.

We've also begun our classes as well. I'm in the School of Ministry Development [SOMD] with 2 other students, Corey and Rebekah. It's a very small school, but I'm kinda excited that we'll be getting such personal attention from the teachers and the staff working our school. Sometimes I felt a little lost in the crowd of 50 during my DTS, but that's not going to happen in this school. Corey was one of the guys in my DTS and on my Africa outreach, and so we were already pretty close starting the school, but I know this experience will only bring us closer. And Rebekah is such a sweetheart, and I can't wait to get to know her more!

We have a great course schedule planned for this school. The whole purpose of the SOMD is to equip people who believe God is calling them to serve Him in full-time ministry. It will impart truth to us and teach us how to pass it on to others so God's kingdom will expand. It's also required for me to continue to pursue staff here at YWAM Orlando. Some topics/teachers I'm really looking forward to hearing are: Steve Shamblin on Identity and Healing the Fractured Heart, Dean Sherman on Effective Personal Ministry, and Al McBryan on the Essentials of the Gospel, which will really break down the gospel, and what it means to us today and how to share it effectively. We will also be traveling down to the YWAM Miami campus to train with Bob Felder and do some campus evangelism. Also, Dean and Creagon from our YWAM Orlando staff will be teaching us, which should be pretty great too! So it looks like these next 12 weeks of lecture phase will be just as impacting as my 12 weeks of DTS lecture phase, and maybe even more! I'm so excited to hear what God has for me during this time and grow in my understanding and knowledge of Him. Still not sure what my outreach for this school will be, but there's a real good chance I will be joining the current DTS to Turkey & Cyprus. It'd be a great opportunity to grow in leadership and experience Muslim missions for the first time. But I'm remaining opening to the leading of the Lord and my school leadership.

So as the end of the first week draws to an end, I am both excited and overwhelmed to be back here again. But most of all I'm just content, knowing I'm exactly where God wants me to be.