Wow, so much time has gone by!

I am a terrible blogger, I know! I will try to get better at blogging more frequently, but alas, it won't happen at least for another week. Why, you ask? Welll........

We're off to Manchester for a week! What will we be doing, you ask? I have no clue. All I know is that all the DTS' from the country will be gathering to learn about and do evangelism. What that looks like I'm not sure, and therefore am really very nervous about the whole endeavor. Also, we get to bunk on the floor of a local church, and showers are community style! Yay?

Anyway, I'm sure there's lots of adventures coming up. I'll let you know how it turns out! Unfortunately, this blog is going to be short because we have to leave soon to catch our train.

Love you!

So, I've been here almost a month and a half, and I have this to say:

I am ruined for the ordinary.

I know that after this DTS is over, I can not just go home, get a job, and carry on with "normal" life. There is so much more to be done, so many people that need help, healing, and just to be loved with His love. Yes, there is a place for this in "normal" life, and yes, the workspace is a definite mission field. However, I know that I have been called away from this, and in to a life of community and service with other believers. Even now, God is rekindling the love in me for a specific place, that was actually placed in my heart at a young age.

I do know that there are obstacles to be overcome, like the debt I currently have from my student loans. But I don't believe at this point that it is God's plan for me to take a break from missions work to join the workforce. I believe that God is generous, and will provide for me the approximately $11,000 I need to be free entirely from debt and he will open the doors for me.

I ask that those of you who read this blog will keep me in your prayers, both for confirmation of the calling and for financial support.

Praise and thanks be to the glorious God who loves to give his children good gifts!

Hokay, so.

Here's the blog!

So, first a quick sum-up of the local outreach week before I get to the awesome Wales week. We got involved with a local outreach called the Besom. Basically, the Besom connects the church in York with those who are in need in York, whether the needs be time, money, or things. We painted the bedrooms of the children for a family who actually live just four doors down from us! It was a great opportunity to get involved with the local community. We now have the kids-- Kieren, Kallum, and Millie-- come around to play! Through them, we have also been introduced to some of the other neighborhood kids. How awesome is God for providing the chance to serve our neighbors!

Alrighty, on to Wales!

So, before we left, we were talking about the woman who was going to be the speaker for the week, Mariette Louw. We were sitting in the living room and Rob said "She brushes her teeth with demons!" While hilarious, this was also intimidating. So, we loaded up the and set off with me, at least, not knowing what to expect!

We arrived at the YWAM base in Wrexham, Wales, and were immediately welcomed by the wonderful staff and DTS students! For that week, it really felt like we were one big DTS, not two separate. The Wales students, Shelby, Leah, Chad, and Mike, had all been on the DTS since September, but they weren't exclusive at all, which was such a blessing.

Man, I learned so much that I'm having a hard time focusing and knowing where to start! Our topic for the week was Spiritual Warfare. Because the York DTS hadn't had the week on the Holy Spirit yet, Mariette took time out to have a special "Intro to the Holy Spirit" session with us, which was really awesome. One of my favorite things about the week was definitely her reference to the Holy Spirit within us as our "Spirit Man"!

How refreshing to know that our spirits can never be separated from God's. How silly of me to sometimes try to separate it! 1 Corinthians 6:17 says "But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him." We have a living, active connection with God. All the time.

Woah.

We confronted a lot of lies this week. Individually, I confronted a few poisonous ones. We learned to battle them with proclamation: basically, finding a passage of scripture that states truth, and declaring it aloud. Interestingly, when you do this (at least I found this to be true), actually hearing the truth makes it more real. I feel like this is a tool, maybe a chisel or something, and I'm chipping away at the unrefined block that is my relationship with God. I'm working to remove the impurities and anything that weighs me down, and eventually I will become a beautiful sculpture, worked to His design.

Thank you, Jesus.

Holy goodness, it's been a while since I posted!

Therefore, there is much to say. However, I still don't have it all worked out in my head yet, so lets just agree now to put up with me and bear with probably many blog posts over the course of the next few days. I WILL make time for it!

This post is just going to have a few important things, so be looking for a longer, more thought out post later.

The first couple days in Wales were actually pretty hard for me, because I found out a young man I graduated with (and actually dated Sophomore year of high school) died unexpectedly. Please be praying for his family.

Also, Mariette Louw is ridiculously awesome. More on that later!

That's it for now, as I am currently waiting for our landlord to come fix our boiler. We have no heat or hot water currently, and it is really quite cold in here! Currently all of us are camped out in the lounge, where there is a small electric heater. (I definitely slept in sweater tights, thick pj pants, thick fuzzy socks, underarmor shirt, jacket, and mittens. Good grief.)

Landlord please come soon!