Oh man. WARNING: This might be a long blog post with lots of stuff happening and not total coherency in the writing. Duly noted?

Alrighty then.

First things first, I should mention the YWAM York staff so I don’t have to say who everyone is later. Everyone is all so wonderful! Jennifer L is our base leader, Angharad is our DTS leader, Rob and Nan (who are engaged) are staffing our DTS full time, Nicole is DTS staff part time, and Jennifer P and Lisa are general YWAM staff. Also, Stephanie, Ruth, and Jillian are my fellow DTS “trainees”.

So, my flights were pretty nice, as far as flights go. On the plane from Dallas to Chicago, I was between two very nice people, and we spent the almost 2 hour flight chatting. The young man to my left (whose name, I am sad to say, I never thought to ask) actually went to college at Le Tourneau University in Longview, and had gone back to speak to some students about the ministry he was currently involved in. He lived in the Chicago area, and helped me navigate O’Hare when we landed, which was quite thoughtful. Great way to start a journey!

I didn’t have any conversations on the long flight to Manchester, but that was okay because I had the entire row to myself and was able to get comfy. I wasn’t able to fall asleep, but I think I got in some good rest anyway.

That first evening is all a bit of a blur, really. I was so tired! By the time I went to bed, I had been awake for 33 hours straight. I started to unpack my bags, and Angharad came in to say “Finish unpacking, but when you’re done pack for a 3 day trip to Derby; we’re leaving at 8:30 in the morning”. To be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed by the news I’d have to be up so early, but I am totally glad we went to Derby.

Derby (pronounced darbee) is about 1 ½ hours south of York, so, roadtrip! I think this was when I actually stopped stressing about driving on the wrong side of the road. Anyway, YWAM Derby is based out of an old manor house that was built in the 1800s. It was a very cool building, full of nooks and crannies and way too many staircases. I got turned around a couple times! Paul and Karen are the base leaders, and Somalee and Rosie are the other full time staff we met. After we got there, we jumped right in! Ruth, Angharad, Rob, Paul, and I all went to a “drop-in”, where homeless, jobless, or generally down-and-out people (mostly men) can come to get a nice lunch and some fellowship. I was surprised at how easy I found engaging with the group of men I sat with. They were all so open and friendly; I think they truly enjoyed having someone new to talk to! Especially Ruth and me, because we have American accents.

That afternoon and evening we heard from Jennifer P on the history of YWAM in general, and from Paul on YWAM Derby specifically. God is doing some awesome things in Derby!

The next day we had worship led by Lisa (who is amazing, by the way). At the end of worship, everyone gathered around the trainees and prayed for us, which was such a blessing. Rosie bent down and prayed over our feet, referencing the verse “how blessed are the feet of those who bring the Good News!” When she got to my feet, I was super startled when she yelled! “Oh!” She said, “You are going somewhere!”

This weirded me out. No lie.

Anyway, after doing a workshop on prophecy (more on that later), this is actually quite encouraging. I am excited to think that God is going to use me, although I have this sneaky suspicion that I am going to have to be stretched, possibly quite uncomfortably, before I am ready for His purpose.

~~Sorry, but I’m going to have to pause! I am so worn out. We have been really quite busy, but I wanted to update everyone at least a little bit! I’ll get caught up to the present at least on the weekend. Love you all!