Reflections and Evaluations

At the end of each week of lecture in our YWAM schools, we have an activity called "Reflections & Evaluations". It's a chance to look back over the past week of teaching and reflect on what the teacher spoke about and evaluate what God spoke that past week. As one staff puts it, “it's a chance to soak up all those last bits of a really good meal, so nothing is left over." It's a good idea, so we thought I'd reflect and evaluate over 2011, as it has been a life changing year.

January 2011 - March 2011: Joy- I was a world away for my Discipleship Training School [DTS] outreach to Southern Africa! We spent 8 weeks in South Africa & Botswana, and it was an amazing experience. God used to me to bring someone to salvation and to heal another! I created deep & lasting relationships with some incredible people. I was processing voice of the Lord to no longer move to Cambodia long-term, but instead pursue staff at YWAM Orlando. And I had a crush on this boy that I just couldn't get over…

Creagon - Naomi said “I had so much self hatred but I became so free!” One of my favorite parts of my job is to ask discipleship students what God has done in the past week and produce a video for those who are praying for them. Their response reminds me why I believe this generation will change the nations. (Oh... and I read a blog by a girl visiting Africa with great interest!)

March 2011: Joy- I graduated from my DTS, and went home for 2 weeks. My family went on a great vacation to New York City and we had such a blast. I also began my second training school with YWAM Orlando, called the School of Ministry Development [SOMD], which would lead to my becoming staff. And I had my first date with Creagon.

Creagon- “Mom, I've invited a girl to join us.....but we are just friends.” This is how I told my parents that Joy would be joining us for a worship concert while they were in Florida. I had no clue that the next time they met her I would be proposing!

April 2011 - May 2011: I loved loved loved my SOMD lecture phase, and really refined my vision for staff at YWAM Orlando. I grew so close to my 2 other schoolmates, and created even deeper relationships with staff at the base. And my dates with Creagon became more and more frequent, until at the May, he asked me to be his OFFICIAL girlfriend. Oh, happy day!

Creagon- When I returned to Joy from teaching in Colorado (see video) I knew that I never wanted to be apart again. Her dad just grinned at me when asked his blessing to date his 28 year old daughter.

June 2011: Joy- My SOMD prayed and we decided to postpone our Nepal outreach, as God was evidently closing the doors on this opportunity. And Creagon was in a life-threatening car accident that forever changed our relationship. I was by his side essentially 24-7. His world became my world, and it was then I saw how much I truly loved him. We left for an extended vacation at his parents place in Michigan, where rest and healing was crucial. I loved our time in Michigan, getting to know his family better and falling more in love with Creagon.

Creagon- I was in a hospital bed and I didn’t know why. The past 2 ½ hours of my memory was black. My world was spinning and I told the ER Doctor “I WANT JOY!” It took a while for him to realize that “Joy” wasn’t just an emotion but the name of the person that meant the most to me.

July 2011: Joy- He proposed. My entire world changed in a moment when the man I had fallen madly in love with asked me to be his wife. And we set our wedding date for just 4 short months away.

Creagon - She had dedicated every waking moment to my healing and recovery. This kind of love just can’t be faked. Once the concussion had passed I asked God if I could marry her and popped the question.

August 2011 - September 2011: I was back home in Tampa, with Creagon too, building the sponsorship team I needed to be back on staff at YWAM Orlando. It was a great time for my friends and family to get to know Creagon, as my future husband, and for us to share our vision and passion for ministry. And Creagon continues to heal from car accident injuries.

Creagon- My old car was a pancake and we needed a vehicle to give tours to YWAM alumni, parents and potential sponsors. God provided generously an SUV that is perfect for our needs.

October 2011: Joy- Back at YWAM Orlando, and it's so great to be back for my first quarter on staff! I'm living in the 31-foot camper that Creagon and I purchased for our first "home" and its wonderful. I'm working as school staff with the Justice DTS, focused on human trafficking prevention. Loving the students, and their passion for worship and thirst for God. This quarter was an incredibly learning experience for me. Was also planning our wedding, which at time was more stressful than enjoyable.

November 2011: Joy - But on November 26, 2011…I married him. And it was perfect.

Creagon- I remember resting my head on hers during our first dance with all our friends and family watching. I was amazed that I got to marry my best friend and we could serve God in missions together...for ever!

December 2011: Joy- We split our honeymooned in two parts and finished up two weeks of work. I write this blog from honeymoon part two in Mexico, with so much anticipation for 2012. What will my first full year of Mrs. Muldoon bring? What does God have in store for our marriage, our ministry, and our future. 2011 was full of twists and turns, so many unexpected moments. It was a GREAT year. And I have high hopes for 2012 as well.

Creagon- We celebrated Christmas a few days early with some of the Mexico’s children who needed it the most. One of my sponsors gave some extra money so we could bless each of the families with the gift they wanted most.... a chicken!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
--Joy & Creagon
http://bindingthebroken.blogspot.com
http://www.creagonsjoy.com

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Changes, Redirects and New Steps

One of the great things about this missionary lifestyle is the fast paced, ever changing day to day. One day can look radically different than the day before. The spontaneity, the go-with-the-flow, all of it is part of the reason why I love this life. With that said, sometimes these changes can look like disappointments, yet prove to be the best plans all along.

After discussing it with my other team members and school staff, I’ve decided to postpone my trip to Asia until after the new year. This will allow me to be part of the leadership of the training school team in the fall, and help lead their outreach to Asia to fight human trafficking from January to March. Working alongside this team will help me to learn how to staff training schools and how to take leadership roles on outreaches. I will not only be an active part of the anti-human trafficking ministry we will do daily, but I also get to invest in the lives of my teammates, discipling & encouraging them in this process. I get to help walk students through the exact same training school experience that I had almost a year ago, which was 12 weeks in Orlando and 8 weeks overseas.

I believe that by postponing this outreach opportunity, I will have the chance to be the most effective in fighting against human trafficking in Asia. The students I lead will be multiplied exponentially, and many of them could be awakened to this injustice for the very first time. Thank you for all your prayers, your support and your encouragement. I could not be doing this ministry without you.

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Me and Demi Moore

I never thought I'd ever have something in common with Demi Moore. I mean, there's always my secret desire to be a movie superstar and marry a much younger man and rock a shaved head. But that's not what I mean.

A few years ago, her and Ashton Kutcher launched the DNA Foundation, an organization crying out against modern-day slavery in our world. I love when celebrities grab a hold of a justice issue and really stir up the general public [think Bono, AIDS, and Africa]. That's what Demi and Ashton have been doing for some time now with this issue that gets my own heart racing. Recently, CNN has joined the fight too, with their Freedom Project initiative. In fact, later this month, CNN will be airing a 60-minute documentary featuring Demi Moore and her recent trip to Nepal to bring awareness to the slavery happening there. You can understand my excitement, as I too will be traveling to Nepal later this month. Demi and CNN recognized the tragedy that is happening everyday in this beautiful country nestled deep in the Himalayas. And just like they are standing up and saying "No more!", so am I.

Help me and my team get to Nepal by donating $300 or some other today right here on my blog through PayPal. Your donation will secure my airline ticket and the funds needed to spend 7 weeks living with and loving the people of Nepal, and bringing the freedom of Jesus Christ to them. Will you join my support team today? Continue reading →

The Calling

This blog is not a tribute to the great band of the 2000's, The Calling, whose classic alt rock hit "Wherever You Will Go" spawned sappy romantic montages in movies for years to come. Although, that is a possible blog topic for the future. But I digress...

Nope, this blog is about the previous week of teaching in my School of Ministry Development [SOMD] here at YWAM Orlando. Dean Sangrey, my school leader and training director here at the base, spoke in my school about our personal calling and how it effects our future ministry. Plenty of people can do ministry without a calling, and still accomplish much for the Kingdom. But the sharper we can make our calling, the more effective our lives will be. If we know what we are aiming for, we are more likely to hit it.

So we spent past week in class discussing why a calling is important and how to discover that calling. Asking yourself questions such as what is your personal history, your talents, your spiritual gifts, your acquired skills, your desires and your values can really help give you a clear picture of where you are called. For me, there's a lot of overlap between my personal childhood and interests I had in childhood to what I am burdened for today to what I value. I saw the common thread. And I knew I was getting close to a calling.

Dean also challenged us to write a mission statement for our lives. A mission statement is a written down reason for living. It's what we want to be remembered by. It's not our job, our role or our to-do list. Here's mine...

My mission is value, defend & restore freedom and truth to those in captivity.

As we moved from mission statement to vision, I was able to dream about what it would look like if my mission statement is lived out. And I began to see more of what I'd be doing here at YWAM Orlando. My most obvious passion and what is driving me into missions is the desire to see an end to human trafficking. Freedom. But freedom isn't merely physical. It's spiritual, emotional, and mental as well. I desire to bring freedom to others in all aspects. Whether they are enslaved in a brothel in Asia or studying as a middle-class college student here in the States. When Jesus preached his first sermon beginning His public ministry, this was His message:

"God's Spirit is on me;
he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
to announce, "This is God's year to act!" - Luke 4:18-19

Freedom is the key. It's what is taking me to Nepal this summer. It's what is bringing back to Orlando in the fall. It's my calling. Continue reading →

Up, Up, and Away!

Here it is, June already and later this month I'll be flying off to Nepal for 8 weeks! This summer, I will be traveling to Kathmandu, Nepal, where I will be fighting against human trafficking and modern slavery in one of the darkest countries on the planet. Nepal's children are being sold by the thousands to the sex trade in India every year. I will have a chance to change that this summer. I'm pretty excited about this opportunity, and even more excited to be purchasing our PLANE TICKETS next week! But, I still need the money to make that happen! Using the PayPal link located on the left of my blog, you can donate directly to my support fund. Partner with me by donating $300 or some other amount today.

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God in Hollywood

Every week here at YWAM Orlando, we as a base do something called "Worship & Warfare". It's a chance for us corporately to get together and worship and pray for a nation, an issue or an injustice. I look forward to these days each week, because its when we get to pray what is on God's heart for these places and people. And also I just love learning about countries and how to pray for them! This quarter we've focused on Libya, Ukraine, China, West Bank/Palestine, and more. But today was my favorite Worship & Warfare. We didn't focus on a country, but a sphere of influence that is heavy on my heart...Arts & Entertainment, specifically Hollywood. Almost any conversation with me will reveal my love of movies, music, TV and entertainment. I even keep up with my own entertainment-focused blog just for fun! So when I heard we were praying for this city and this industry, my heart was immediately captivated. Here's some things I learned today...

-Back in the 1920's, when Hollywood was putting together the MPAA [the people who rate our movies], church leaders and pastors were invited to be part of the board. Hollywood looked to the church for input on content and morality. It was the church leaders who backed away from this commitment, seeing it as 'secular'. What a lost opportunity...

-There are Christian talent agencies in Hollywood! Believers who are committed to the arts and having an impact on Hollywood are helping upcoming actors, models and talent find work and get their start in the industry. AMTC is well-respected in Hollywood for locating quality talent.

-Los Angeles, translates to "The Angels" or"Message Bearers". Sadly, the message they bear today is one of immorality, pride, promiscuity, and idolatry. But wouldn't it be amazing if the message they could bring instead was one of truth, humility, glory & reverence to God. That's what we prayed for today.

We also prayed for celebrities in Hollywood right now that are believers. There are actually some there!

Tony Hale, best known for his role as Buster Bluth on Arrested Development [one of my FAVORITE shows] is a believer in the entertainment industry. He is an extremely skilled actor and is open about his Christian beliefs. Here's a quote he said in an interview: "...The majority of my conversations are about breaking down stereotypes. Unfortunately there’s been a lot of abuse of Christianity. But I’m excited to help break down those stereotypes. Even if it’s just to say, “I understand. Most of the Christians with the microphones are the wrong people to have the microphones. But if we’re going to talk about Christianity, let’s talk about Jesus: who he was and what he taught. Because that’s who I follow.”



Zachary Levi, star of NBC's Chuck, is also a Christian in the industry. Here's some of this thoughts on living out his faith in Hollywood. "The atmosphere in Hollywood in general is very anti-conservative, very anti-Christian. The liberal segment of Hollywood, which is 80 percent of it if not more, they look at Christians as hypocrites that are false and fake. The tough part is that in many cases I can’t argue with them. My job on my set, I believe, is to first just love people and gain that trust with people where they know that I really do love them and care about their well-being, so that when they are running into problems, they will hopefully, at some point, come to me and ask me, “What is your peace all about? What is your comfort all about? Where do you get your love? Where do you get your talents? And I can turn to them and say without blinking, “Jesus Christ.” You can’t just come out there and say “Hey, I’m a Christian, and I’m gonna beat you into thinking the way that I do.” You can’t do that. It’s not about manipulation so much as it’s about getting in on someone’s life on the ground floor. So more than anything, that’s what I’m trying to do now. Just build relationships with everyone that I work with."

There's obviously more Christians in Hollywood, many we don't even know that are doing what God has called them to do in this city of darkness. If you'd like to join with me to continue to pray for Hollywood, check out the Hollywood Prayer Network for directed prayer topics, people, and issues straight from Hollywood. And let's watch God do miracles in this city! Continue reading →

Prices and Costs

"A revivalist will disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed." Glenn Sheppard, a modern-day revivalist, shared this with us this past week as he taught about the price and cost of revival. When most religious people hear the word "revival", they immediately think of a super long prayer meeting that starts on Sunday and ends Wednesday night, with engaging worship and long-winded teaching. But that's not what a real revival is. A real revival is the sovereign work of God among His people bringing them from cold, carnal complacency to true Biblical Christianity. It's a difference between knowing the Word of God and the God of the Word. It's not being religious in our world, but being Jesus in our world. Glenn talked about the price of revival, what you "pay" to obtain it, such as desperate praying and humility. He then discussed the cost of revival, what you "pay" to maintain it, such as instant, joyful obedience, the willingness to be identified with all of God's children...no matter who they are, choosing the place of no reputation, and taking the time to seek God's face to discern the things from Him and the things not from Him. Often the cost of something is greater than the price.

I was really challenged this week by how much passion I live for God with. Glenn, or Papa G as many lovingly call him, has been passionately serving the Lord for several decades. And his passion is contagious. He told us this story from the book "One Divine Moment" by Robert Coleman that recounts the revival at Asbury College in the 1970's, about a businessman in New York City in a moment of selflessness was mistaken for Jesus. And that image has stuck with me all week. I desperately want to live a life where I could be mistaken for Jesus. This week's teaching pushed me into a place of greater intimacy with Christ, and I don't want to stop here. I want more. Continue reading →

Why Would Anyone Want to Go to Nepal?

Dear Family and Friends,

Seema had left the poverty of her home village to work in Kathmandu, Nepal. She was barely twelve when a smooth-talking flesh trader lured her to Mumbai, India, with talk of a better job. She hoped to become a film star. Instead she was sold into a brothel. At first she resisted, screaming, crying and fighting off prospective customers, but the madam who ran the brothel would have none of it. Seema was beaten. But Seema’s spirit was not broken. Nine months later she escaped from the brothel and boarded a train, hoping to eventually get back home. A soft-spoken lady promised help. She lured the young girl to Calcutta and sold her. Seema had only escaped from one brothel into another. And Seema’s story is just one of thousands from the brothels of Nepal and India.

I tell you Seema’s story because this summer I’ll be doing an 8-week outreach to the capital city of Kathmandu, Nepal, with my two schoolmates, Corey and Rebekah. As we have studied & learned together through our lecture phase at YWAM Orlando, we discovered that God had given us all a similar burden for preventing human trafficking. Each of us feels that fighting the injustice of modern-day slavery is part of the ministry God is calling us to. So as we began to pray and plan our outreach, the theme of human trafficking became evident and God began to provide ministry contacts.

Nepal is a source country for human trafficking to India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, with thousands of victims trafficked out of Nepal every year. But Nepal also has a growing demand for forced labor and sex trafficking itself. Author Tim McGirk estimates that more than 200,000 Nepalese girls are involved in the Indian sex trade. The girls are bought for as little as $20 and later on sold or re-sold to Indian sex market agents for up to US $600. Our team will bring hope to in the heart of this problem, in the capital city of Kathmandu.

While helping the local YWAM team in Kathmandu, we will bring the hope of Christ to those seeking a way out of prostitution and slavery. Through mapping & documentation, our team will work to provide accurate statistics to those who will end slavery in Nepal.

Please pray for my team and I as we finalize plans, purchase plane tickets, and prepare for this spiritual/physical challenge. Please join us in prayer that each person we meet will become an ordained appointment in their spiritual journey and provide a solution to the deepest needs in their world. I’m excited to invite you to journey with me through abolishing Nepal’s growing injustice of human trafficking and releasing the freedom God wants to bring. Follow my stories at: http://bindingthebroken.blogspot.com

God Bless,

Joy Engdahl
http://bindingthebroken.blogspot.com Continue reading →

Good News

This week, my SOMD and staff went to the beautiful Miami, Florida for a time of teaching and ministry with YWAMer, Bob Felder. Bob also taught in my DTS, so I knew we were in for a great time. Bob and his team do campus evangelism at a couple Miami-Dade Community College campuses. They are on the front lines, sharing the gospel with anyone who will listen. I thought I'd be pretty intimidated, but it ended up being a great few days of ministry.

We drove down Sunday afternoon, and it was only a 4 drive, so we got there in time to have dinner with Bob and his family. We were staying at his house, which is huge and has a pool and hot tub, and the most beautiful tropical trees. Monday, we had class all day on the back porch, sunbathing and swimming during a break, and eventually finishing classtime while in the hot tub. Refreshing and relaxing don't even begin to cover it!!

Best class time ever? I think so!

Me and Corey on a class break

Dean & Theresa's baby, Elias, totally loved Miami life as well

Tuesday, we went out to the Miami-Dade North Campus. We split up into pairs and began to evangelism the campus by storm. Well, Storm Joy & Dean [my school leader] lasted about 30 seconds. While talking to our very first person, we were stopped by security and told to stop what we were doing, because we didn't have proper identification. While we knew that the club we were had permission to be active on campus, we didn't want to defy authority, so we stopped sharing for the day. I sat at the campus ministry table and talked to people as they walked by, while my other schoolmates and staff were out sharing. It was really encouraging to hear their stories from the day and it inspired to get out there and try again on Wednesday [on a different campus].

Dean, after getting shut down by security.

Corey, deep in though about evangelizing, and the WAVES Campus Ministry table behind him!

Wednesday went really well at the Miami-Dade Kendall campus, as Corey and I teamed up and began approaching people at the campus coffeeshop. I was still pretty nervous though. Evangelism to strangers has never felt natural to me, and all too often it's the crazies that are the ones doing it. I'm not a crazy person, nor did I want to come off as one. I think I was more fearful of coming off as crazy than I was of actually talking to people. But once we walked up and started the conversation, it felt way more natural. We talked to a few believers, and were able to connect them to the campus ministry. But we also talked to a few nonbelievers, and we were able to clearly lay out the gospel and the plan of salvation to them. We prayed with some, encouraged some and hopefully moved them closer to a relationship with Jesus Christ. I guess some people would say we "failed" because no one actually prayed to receive Christ with us, but I think any spiritual conversation you have with someone that shares the truth about the gospel is a success. And that's exactly what we had. A lot of successful conversations.

We left Miami on Wednesday afternoon encouraged, refreshed, energized and much closer as a school. I jokingly compared our trip to a family vacation instead of a ministry trip. We laughed a lot and just had a great time being together. It made me excited for our outreach this summer and all the amazing times we will get to share together! More on that in my next post.... Continue reading →

It's All Elemental

Last week, we had Steve Sizemore teaching in our school on the Elements of Personality. I must say, this was one of my favorite weeks of teaching. I love any type of assessment quiz or personal inventory questionnaire. I'm such a nerd that way. I was definitely excited to take this specific personality assessment, and see which element I am most like.

The basic premise of the profile is you are either a Fire, Wind, Water or Earth personality type. Everyone has all four to varying degrees of intensity. And a few people are a fusion, with an equal balance of all four. The results of this test are usually easy to remember, as the elements are intuitive. The way you would describe the wind is the same way you'd usually describe a person who is a Wind, which would be fast-paced, swift, refreshing, uplifting, unlimited, untamed, supportive, energizes, and productive. Someone who is an Earth could be described as sold, life-giving, secure, deep, strength, ordered, perfectly poised, scheduled, detailed, works silently, and preserves. A Fire could be characterized with words like hot, passionate, intense, dazzling, warms, visionary, attractive, ignites, consuming, and captivating. And a Water would be described as flexible, reflective, healing, deep, vital, accommodating, refreshing, adaptable, and irresistible.

Along with discussing our elemental personality profile, we looked at our spiritual gifts, our strengths and our talents. We discussed how to function in a team, as a leader, and what each element brings to a team, and how to best communicate. It was very practical and simple to grasp. At the end of the week, we wrote our Personal Portfolio, which is something like a summary of who we are and what we offer. Here's mine...

I am Wind. I love for things to be fun and exciting. I am optimistic and extremely flexible. As my Fire comes out, I am constantly motivating and exciting people to do something, to know something, or to be part of something. This is also expressed through my spiritual gift of Teaching. Whether it's one on one, or in front of a large group of people, I enjoy communicating and sharing information with others for their benefit. My Earth keeps me grounded in reality and inspires me towards study and facts, which makes me a better teacher. Sometimes through teaching, the spiritual gift of prophecy will emerge, as I am able to edify, encourage, or comfort someone else. I don't like heavy/somber moods, even if I'm discussing heavy/somber things - it's my natural tendency to keep the atmosphere light and airy. I recognize the power of words and am consistently wanting to wield it well in the world, to inspire change, promote growth, challenge adversity, and bring healing.

As we learned, through self-awareness, we are brought into a place of stewardship. The more we discover about ourselves, the more responsibility God puts on us, just as Jesus taught in the parable of the workers and the talents [Matthew 25:14-30]. I pray that as God continues to show me things about my character, my personality, my strengths and my giftings that I am constantly putting them under His stewardship so I can be a tool used for His kingdom. What more can a girl ask for in life, right?
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i Know What I Know

It's taken me a few extra days to get a blog posted recapping last week's lecture. Maybe its because I had a weekend full of other things, or maybe because I'm still processing all that Al McBryan had to teach us. Al is one of the smartest people I have ever met, and sometimes sitting in his class is like doing mental gymnastics. He asks questions that I never thought of asking and discussing topics that have never crossed my mind. But I knew this going into the week, so I'll say I was somewhat prepared.

Al McBrayn, getting comfortable for class time!

Our topic was "Essentials of the Gospel". Basically, we talked about the gospel, and what were the essentials someone has to know to be saved. Basically, we started with how do we know God exists, and if He exists is there a reason to believe His is there to be known. We had some great discussion on proving the existence of God. We then moved into who is God, and what is He like, and a discussion on the nature and character of God. From there we talked about about How and why must everyone come to know God, and it was here that we really delved into the process of salvation. Finally, we discussed why is Jesus the only way back to God. There were so many big theological ideas thrown about. Some I wholeheartedly agreed with and some I'd never considered before, and it challenged me to go back to Scripture and gain perspective. I've also been reading Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins, which has itself become quite controversial among many Christian circles. So last week I was really feeling challenged to KNOW that i KNOW where I stand on these issues. I mean, think there's always going to be the mystery of faith, and some things will ever be able to be explained with human logic. And that's OK. Faith is essential to the gospel. In Hebrews 11:6 it says "It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him." This current week's teaching is completely different than last week's, and I'm grateful for the change of pace, but I'm definitely still wrestling with some of these points and questions we discussed. But I guess that all just part of this Christian journey....the believing, the doubting, the grasping, the revelations, the understanding, the experiencing and the sharing. What a beautiful process. Continue reading →

A Developing Ministry

This week in my School of Ministry Development, we spent a week with Dean Sherman learning how to develop our personal ministry. Pretty important week for this school, I'd say! And it was truly great! I learned so much about true ministry and how to minister that are definitely shaping how I view things. One of the most foundational truths I took away from this week is that ministry needs to come out of my lifestyle more than my training. Ministry isn't a bunch of classes and applications, but a lifestyle that changes other people's lives. It's being able to show people how an experience with God revolutionizes someone's life. The greatest aspect about Christianity is the fact that it's not a list of rules and good ideas with a prize at the end, but its a shift in our entire mindset that brings peace, contentment, fulfillment in this life today through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Heaven is just the completion of that...an eternity in relationship with Him. So it's not how much I know that's going to give me an effective ministry, but how I live my life. We looked at the Biblical example of a developing personal ministry through the life of Paul. Other than Jesus, no one else's ministry shaped the early church more. Paul exemplified ministry as lifestyle in every way. Paul also recognized who was the center of his ministry....Jesus. "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." - Acts 20:24. If we are selfish in our ministry, or only serving for ourselves, we will burn out! Jesus himself said "And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:27. Jesus wasn't trying to make it rough on His followers, but telling us it would be impossible. We won't burn out if we are doing what God calls to do the way He calls us to do it. "but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint" Isaiah 40:31. Ministry and serving [which is the same thing, by the way!] should be a joy, not a chore!

Once we had the right perspective on what ministry IS, we discussed what it is NOT, the different focuses of ministry, different ways to minister, the categories or functions of ministry, the foundations of the church [or ministry], the different giftings given to believers by the Holy Spirit, and how to launch our ministry. It was a week packed full of information that I'm still processing and praying through, but its information that will transform any future ministry I'm part of, and the ministry I get to do daily. The best part of the week was the discussion about how if you are a believer, you are part of the Body of Christ and therefore have a function in the body...which is your ministry. Every Christian has a ministry and is called to serve! Isn't that just so freeing?! So minister this week in your job, in your family, in your neighborhood, and in your community. Use your life to point others to Christ, and watch what the Spirit will do. You'll be in for a great week! Continue reading →

Fractured Souls

This week in SOMD we had the great Steve Shamblin as our speaker. He also taught in my DTS, so I knew I was in for a week of great Biblical teaching and Spirit-filled times of prayer and ministry. Our topic this week was Identity, and more specifically, Healing of the Fractured Soul [Steve's book on the topic is also available on Amazon!]. Steve walked us through the Proverbs and what the Bible says about what can wound our spirit, and the pain and sin that can result. We even looked at Jesus' life and how His spirit was wounded, yet it never effected His character. Why is this? How can Jesus experience the same painful circumstances we experience, but it never caused Him to retreat into sorrow, rejection, mistrust or abuse? Because Jesus walked out in forgiveness and confidently knew His identity was in the love of the Father. And that's where we as humans fall short. We look to everyone but God the Father for our identity. From the culture around us to our friends or family or ministries, everything shapes who we are. And because those are all broken or imperfect sources, it's no wonder we find ourselves lacking in self-worth and self-value. In Psalm 139, the psalmist talks about God knitting together our "inmost parts"...which are fearfully and wonderfully made! It wasn't our bodies that God was praising, but our souls. The part of us that gives us life and character and personality and identity. The part of us that can live in eternity with Him forever. The bodies, or shells, will turn to dust and fade, but souls live on. Yet we spend so much time focusing on keeping these shells looking a certain way, and judging our shells to other people's shells. We should take care of our body as best as we can, but not put all of our stock there. We also talked through two cycles people live their lives in...Rejection and Performance, and the woundedness that can result.

So as you can see, it's been another great week here in the YWAM Orlando SOMD. I'm learning not only awesome principles that are bringing me closer to God, but are also skills that I can use to encourage others in their journey with Him. It's a great place to be. Continue reading →

Leviticus Reading Party

Tonight, me and some of my friends decided to read the book of Leviticus out loud to one another. Now, reading the Old Testament is required for my current school, SOMD, and I thought what better way to get through a seemingly dull book than to make a party out of it! I invited my two other SOMDers, Rebekah and Corey, and Lori, one of my roommates who just recently moved back to YWAM Orlando after 9 months studying at YWAM Taiwan's School of Biblical Studies. She provided alot of background and great contextual information on Leviticus. We made brownies and coffee and dove into a book all about the Law.

I've never actually read Leviticus all the way through before, and I must say I judged it poorly. While God is extremely detailed in His instructions for the Israelites, it's not without purpose. This generation was coming out of slavery in Egypt, where they had lived for 430 years. All they've known is oppression and Egyptian customs. They never lived as their own people. God gave them these specific and detailed laws to set them apart from the Egyptians from which they came, and the surrounding peoples. Over and over again throughout Leviticus, God tells the Israelites they are to "distinguish between the holy and the common" [Lev. 10:10], He separated them from the peoples because they are His [Lev. 20:26], and He is the one who sanctifies [Lev. 22:31-33]. His laws were a beautiful picture of the distinction between the sacred and the ordinary, and the standard to which God calls us to. There is incredible foreshadowing of Jesus' role through both the Azazel scapegoat [Lev. 16] and how only life-giving blood can be accepted a sacrifice for sin [Lev 17:11]. Pretty much I was blown away with how much truth I walked away from this book. I love how alive and active His Word truly is, and every book and every verse is written for a reason. Plus, it was a good reason for a party!

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Property Pics!

FINALLY got around to taking some pictures of the awesome property we have here at YWAM Orlando, and all the hard work that's been going on around here...so you can have a better idea of what its like out here!

The entrance to our property

The inside of the "tree house" [because there's literally a tree in it] that we've been using for meals, meal prep, worship, prayer times, and staff meetings. So functional! I love it though...the tree and the HUGE window make it uniquely beautiful to me

The gorgeous lake on our property. Already set up with chairs ideal for sunset viewing!

Corey and Rebekah in our "classroom", which is the living room of my house!

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Sex + Money

This is an incredible video I ran across a few months ago highlighting some of the all-too-true statistics of the global sex trade. I still watch it and it brings tears to my eyes. I watched it again this week as my SOMD team is praying about our options for the 8-week outreach we have this summer. All 3 of us feel a specific burden for this injustice, and perhaps our outreach will be in this area. Watch the video and say a prayer for the victims of human trafficking in your own country, and what you can do to stop modern day slavery.

Sex+Money from crown media on Vimeo.

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Getting the DNA

This week in my SOMD classes, we watched videos from the YWAM DNA Conference from 2006. Co-founders, Loren and Darlene Cunningham, and international leader David Hamilton taught a week-long conference on who we are as YWAM, what are our values, how does that influence our character, and where is God taking us. Now normally videos are not my favorite way to learn in the classroom, doesn't leave much for interaction. But these videos were great! I felt so much more connected to the YWAM family after this week. I was able to hear big success stories of God's provision and humbling failure stories of man's pride. The successes encouraged me to press on and the failures reminded me of my journey...and the fact that God is still faithful. Some of the highlights from the teachings:

• Discernment is knowing what's right and what's almost right. For me, I can usually identify the "wrong" choice, but its those choices that seem right or pretty close that I get stuck on. That's where discernment kicks in.
• "I gave you the gifts you have and the gifts you don't have are part of my design." - God. I'm pretty confident in my giftings and knowing my strengths, but I can also think of so many times I've longed or wished for other, seemingly better, talents. But God didn't give me those for a reason! He didn't create me, then realize whoops! she was supposed to be musical. The gifts I have AND don't have are all part of His grand design.
• We must have enormous respect for the gifts of God AND the variety gifts in every person. Learn to celebrate their uniqueness and differences, instead of emphasizing their flaws. It's beautiful.
• Our goal in this "race" [Heb. 12:1-2] is not a "what", but a "who". And that's Jesus. Our goal in this Christian life isn't eternity in heaven. It's about a intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Heaven is just where we get to spend eternity with Him.

There was so much more that I walked away with from this series. I really enjoyed this week of teaching and discussion with my school. Each week brings us closer and closer to each other. What a great experience! Continue reading →

Wise Counsel

This was my first official week of classes here in my School of Ministry Development. We’ve already hit the ground running with some awesome topics and discussion.

This week in my SOMD, we had John Bills teaching us on how to include God in our decision making, conflict resolution, and trauma counseling/debrief. I absolutely loved this week’s teaching, it was so practical and I know that I will be able to incorporate all of these new skills almost immediately into ministry.

We first looked at what each person brings to the table in a decision making process, such as personality, background, character, understand of God, and the ability to hear His voice. Each person is different in this area, and when making corporate decisions, one or more of these could be affecting their ability to make a decision. So we spent some time identifying these things in ourselves, so we can know what we are bringing to the table. We discussed the different elements we bring into decisions, like our spirit, conscience, mind, will, emotions, and flesh and the role each of those can play in our decision making. Then John gave us this great list of questions we can ask ourselves and pray over to determine if we are including God in the decision making process.

We also spent some time discussing conflict and how to resolve it. Because ministry always involve people, there is no doubt that at some point in my ministry experience, I will have to resolve some conflict. So this week I learned some great practical strategies on how to handle that, as well as the Biblical model of conflict resolution and how Jesus handled conflict.

Finally, we spent some time focusing on trauma and grief counseling. An inevitable part of ministry and life is dealing with grief, and if we can be more equipped on how to walk people through it, we can experience healthier ministries and teammates.

So this whole week was just full of great knowledge from a man who has seen a lot in his 37 years in YWAM. John Bills taught in my DTS last fall on hearing the voice of God, and that teaching was just as foundational. I’m so excited for what other great things I’ll be learning in this school and turning around to put into practice. Continue reading →

My Life as a Pioneer

Remember reading in history books about the pioneers? They worked hard for everything they had, which wasn’t much, and lived off the land. They made this country what it was as they set off for new land, not yet explored. Images like wagon trains, Daniel Boone and Little House on the Prairie usually come to mind. Well, these days I feel like I can relate to these early American pioneers.

YWAM Orlando has been in the process of restoring its new 198-acre property that was purchased last fall. During my DTS, we worked this property regularly striving to make it inhabitable. With their previous being rented facilities, and 15 homes spread out through several neighborhoods, YWAM Orlando has been steadily outgrowing its space. With this new property, which happens to be an abandoned church camp, all staff, students and schools can be in one place! It’s such a blessing! Last quarter, two schools were living and training out at the property, and this quarter all five schools moved out to the property. While that in and of itself is super exciting, here’s a few other things about the property I’ve left out. There’s still no electricity out here, as the process with the power companies has just taken an extremely long time. We’ve been running our buildings and kitchen off of generators. That works great, until you factor in water and sewage. Two things we also don’t have on the property. So its refillable water tanks and porta-potties! There’s one double wide trailer that has been set up with running water, which makes it a hotspot on campus. The majority of the staff out here are living in campers and RV’s as well. I’ve been lucky to be in a house [with 15 other people], that’s about 15 minutes away from the property, as there’s still just not enough finished space for all of us students. So that’s been the status thus far. It’s been challenging, and a learning experience, but we’ve been dominating each struggle.

Then yesterday we get this curveball. The city decides to tell us that we cannot “inhabit” any of the buildings without power. So all the students, staff, kitchen, offices, and classrooms now have to be moved to….where. But nothing can keep YWAM Orlando down for long! We made a pantry out of a trailer, and moved our “kitchen” into an outdoor picnic area. All male students are now in the double-wide, and classrooms have moved to homes. My new classroom is my living room. Should make getting to class on time a breeze!


And this is week two. Pioneering a new base is an adventure I didn’t realize I was signing up for. But what an incredible opportunity to see God provide in amazing ways. Also on yesterday, we found out we’ve finally been invoiced for the electricity, which means power lines can go in! We’ve been praying for this for 7 months. So God is definitely on the move here at YWAM Orlando and you can literally see it on the campus. I just hope I can keep up.

*Photo fail. These are all from the fall 2010 quarter. More current pictures to come on future blogs!

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Romans 12:2

Every week during my SOMD lecture phase, I'll be memorizing and meditating on a different Scripture verse. I thought it would be fun to share these verses as I am learning them. Enjoy!

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