South Africa

                                                                   Hey Guys!

Today marks exactly eighteen days until I leave for my two month outreach to South Africa. It is really starting to hit me that we are leaving VERY soon and I'm starting to freak out in a good way! When I started DTS it seemed like we had all the time in the world before outreach arrived but time has flown by and here we are, two weeks out from leaving. I am beyond excited to go to AFRICA and share the gospel message with the people! I thought it also would be neat if I filled everyone in on a few facts about this beautiful country and all that we will be doing for two months.

South Africa is located at the most southern point of the continent of Africa. It is the richest country in the entire continent as well. It is a country full of diversity in skin color, language, and living conditions. There are nine provinces in South Africa and the main language is Afrikaans followed then by English. The population is just over 51 million people. The climate is very enjoyable and when my team is there it will be summertime. 

My team leaves the states on December 9 and we arrive in South Africa on December 11. Yes, it will take us two days, four flights, and an eight hour time difference before we arrive in Cape Town. Needless to say I'm not looking forward to the travel. We will be spending the first four weeks of ministry time in a beach town called Mossel Bay. A lot of local people travel there for the holiday season so we will being doing a lot of evangelism. We also will be running some kids camps and helping run kids programs in a local church on the weekends. This is where I will be spending Christmas and New Years with my team. The last four weeks we will be staying in Cape Town and we will be working with the YWAM base there doing all sorts of things. Most of our time will be spent doing open airs, street evangelism, and some community service types of projects. I cannot wait to see some sun shine and experience some warm weather! 

Please keep our team in your prayers for traveling mercies, good health, and safety while in Africa. God is going to do some awesome things while we are there and I am just so excited to bring the love of Jesus to these people. When I came into DTS the thought of going to Africa for outreach didn't even seem like a possibility. I was so shocked when this was an option for outreach and I know that God has called me here at this time for a specific purpose. Also please keep the four other teams going to Cambodia, Iceland, Thailand, and Taiwan/Philippines for outreach in your prayers as well. I have mixed emotions as lecture phase is winding down and soon our DTS will be heading out to different places across the world. I'm super excited for outreach but also sad to say "goodbye" to some of my closest friends for two months. Thank you in advance for the prayers! 

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." 

~Matthew 28:19-20~ 

A YWAM Thanksgiving

Happy day after Thanksgiving y'all!!!!! I hope everyone had an awesome holiday and enjoyed the time spent with family and friends. This was the first Thanksgiving that I spent away from my family and it was a little sad at times to be separated from them but I also had an equally amazing day with my YWAM family. My Thanksgiving break started Wednesday afternoon and will continue on until Sunday. It has been super nice to have a few days off from classes and schedules so that we can rest and start really preparing for outreach.

My morning started out with a whole group of us watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade on TV. I watch the parade almost yearly at home and it was nice to continue this tradition with new friends. The only weird thing about watching the parade was the fact that it wasn't live due to the time difference. We pretty much watched the whole thing and laughed over the bad lip syncing, cheesy floats, and the couple of total mess ups on national television! It also was cool because all my Canadian friends have never celebrated an American Thanksgiving and we got to explain all the ins and outs of this holiday to them. 

The base fed us a delicious brunch that consisted of casserole, sausage, fruit, and juice! We NEVER get breakfast food that nice so it was awesome to have a little taste of home in the morning. How Thanksgiving works at YWAM is that the permanent staff that live in houses on base invited all the students over for a meal and fellowship time. They want to make sure that we all have the "homey" experience on the holidays. One of my fellow DTS students, Millie is from Kalispell, so she invited ten of us to her house to spend the day with her family. It was so nice to spend the day off base and be in a home with a family to celebrate the holiday. 

We spent the afternoon playing games, singing worship music, going on a walk, and just spending quality fellowship time with each other. Her parents welcomed all of us with open arms and made us feel quite at home. Her mom cooked an amazing meal and I left so stuffed I could barely walk! We had turkey, ham, green bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potato's, corn casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls, and pie for dessert. I don't think I've eaten that much food in quite a long time! I also got to spend the day playing with her two HUGE dogs, Hudson and Bear. It made me miss my sweet puppy dogs but it was nice to have some loving from other dogs. 

Thanksgiving is a holiday filled with fun, food, and family but it is also so much more than that. I was reflecting on the past year and just remembering all that God has blessed me with.  He is such a faithful and loving God and as I reflected, I could just see the many times where I had lost hope and yet He still provided in ways that blew me away.  I am so thankful for my parents who have been there through the good and bad times and just continue to love me with their whole hearts and encourage me to chase after Jesus. I am thankful for my little brother who brings such laughter into my life. I am thankful for YWAM, new friendships, and this new season of my life. I am thankful for my job and the fact that I get to love on and care for two of the most precious boys ever.  I am thankful for an amazing church and the friendships that have come from that special place. I am the most thankful for Jesus and the price He paid for me on the cross and that I get to spend the rest of my life serving Him and walking in a relationship with Him! 

As the holiday has come and gone, I encourage you all to not just have a heart of thankfulness on Thanksgiving but daily give thanks to God for all He has done in your life. Personally, I have found that if I daily have an attitude of thankfulness the stresses and bad days of life become a lot less important and overwhelming. 

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." ~Psalm 100:4-5~

Portland: The city of hipsters and coffee

So sorry it's been such a long time since my last post on this ole' blog. Life has been crazy around here and I have so much I want to share with you all. We are currently on week eight of twelve and it is starting to hit me that my time in Montana is quickly drawing to a close. The last three weeks have passed in a blur and I hardly know where to begin with all that God has done. I am going to start by sharing with y'all about our mini-outreach to Portland, Oregon last week.

Last week my entire DTS, staff, and their kids all loaded up in six fifteen passenger vans and started on the LONG journey to Portland. There was right at 80 people total in this caravan and it was quite the adventure. 10 hours of driving, multiple potty breaks, and a few awesome dance parties later we finally arrived in the city of hipsters and coffee! We stayed at a local church and all the girls, 35+ of us, slept in one room on the floor for the week and the same went for all the guys. We were blessed with one, 10 minute shower for the week and we were lucky if we had the chance to shower more than once. I was slightly worried about the living arrangements but God is so awesome and there were absolutely no issues the entire time we were there. It was very stretching in many ways and I feel as if it was great preparation for my big outreach to South Africa. 

We did a lot of really cool things throughout the week and God showed up in major ways. Monday we learned about sex-trafficking in America and watched a documentary about stories of people who have come out of this in America. A major fact we learned is that Portland is the number one city in American for sex-trafficking. This was so socking but it made all of us super pumped to get out and go bring the light of Jesus to this city. That afternoon we went to the Lloyd-Center mall and participated in a flash mob to bring awareness to sex-trafficking in Portland. We also walked around the mall and just talked to people about Jesus. I found it very difficult to approach people in the mall and we got shut down very quickly in many conversations. I struggled a little with doubt and I had to give those thoughts over to God and just trust that we were going to see fruit throughout the week. 

Tuesday came and it brought plenty of rain and awesome ministry chances. We spent our morning in lecture time. That afternoon they split our group in half and some people went down to pioneer square, which is in the middle of downtown Portland, to walk around and talk to people. My half of the group went to an art museum to see an exhibit about sustainable architecture and how we can use that in ministry. After walking through the museum and grabbing a little snack from voodoo doughnuts, we hit the streets to share the love of Jesus with people and pray for them. We had a good conversation with this one man who was not a christian but we were able to pray with him and encourage him.  I was so surprised at how people were willing to actually listen to us and not shut us down immediately. 

Wednesday was Halloween and it was so awesome to see God glorified on a night that was meant for evil. All day we spent time in worship and intercession for that evening and we just really spoke truth and encouragement over the city of Portland. That evening we returned to pioneer square to do evangelism and an open air type of thing. We sent the worship team, prayer team, and dance team in ahead of the rest of us to draw a crowd in. The rest of us gathered and got ready for a skit we were doing. For this skit we had a coffin with one of our guys in it and the rest of us walked in a line behind the coffin in a mock funeral procession. We walked a couple blocks to the square and we drew some major attention. People were mocking us, throwing stones at us, and just being rude because they realized it wasn't an actual funeral. We walked around pioneer square twice then set the coffin down in the middle and that is when Daniel, the guy inside, popped out and started preaching the gospel at the top of his lungs. After he finished preaching we all split into groups and started talking to people about all that had happened.

I went out that night in a group of four and we had a really cool experience. We talked to this one guy and come to find out he was a christian but was really discouraged in his walk with the Lord. He told us his whole life story and we discovered that he was originally from Ethiopia and he had moved his whole family to America so his kids could attend university. He was struggling to find a job and just seemed a little hopeless. We were able to pray for him and encourage him. The best part of the story is that he told us that he had a dream that four people would come up to him on Halloween and be an encouragement. We were so amazed that God allowed for our group to fulfill that dream and bring a little light into this mans life!

Thursday we had another day full of evangelism and worked with an awesome ministry that night in the city. We walked around Portland that evening in groups. Some groups did prayer walks and other groups were the literal hands and feet of Jesus and just served homeless people and blessed them. God is doing some crazy things in Portland and it was so awesome to witness all sorts of healings, lives being changed forever, and just seeing the light of Jesus brought into such a dark place. We saw prostitutes get saved, people on the street get healed, and all sorts of people touched throughout the week. God was moving in mighty and powerful ways and I loved every second of it!

Throughout the week I realized that America needs the gospel message just as much as other countries do. Sometimes I find it hard to evangelize in America because of a fear of rejection or people judging me but this week God totally delivered me from those chains that were keeping me from being bold. After DTS is over I am going to continue to go out in my hometown of Charlotte and just take every chance to preach the gospel message to anyone I come in contact with.  In Mark 16:15 the Bible says "go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." This verse doesn't mean all the world except your own country, but literally ALL the world, including America! God is SO GOOD and He did above and beyond all I could have expected in Portland. The week was awesome and it only made me even more excited for my upcoming trip to South Africa! 

The Journey

Today marks exactly one month of being in Montana. This afternoon I was walking and chatting with one of my dear friends Jo about how we got to Montana and all that God has done to get us here at this very time. When I think back over the process of how I came to Montana, I am just overwhelmed with the goodness of God and how He knows exactly the right direction for our lives. 

I remember the exact time in my life where I started to feel a call to explore YWAM and the possibility of doing a DTS. I had just returned from a week long missions trip to Costa Rica where we happen to stay at a YWAM base for the week. After we arrived home I remember googling YWAM and learning more about their mission and all the options they presented. I knew I wanted missions to be apart of my life in some way but I just wasn't sure to what capacity it would look like. After doing some research and praying I felt as if DTS would be the best option for me after I graduated high school. 

As I started my senior year of school I remember starting the process of praying and looking into which base I should do DTS at. YWAM has bases all across the world and it was slightly overwhelming trying to narrow my options down. I remember looking into bases all within the south eastern part of the USA. I figured it would be nice to stay relatively close to home and it would be something sort of in my comfort zone. I eventually decided to do my DTS in Jacksonville, Florida. I thought it would be the perfect location. It was on the beach and only six hours from home. Little did I know God had other plans for my life! 

January rolled around and I remember feeling very neutral about my choice to head to Jacksonville. I remember asking God to give me real confirmation about Jacksonville. During the holidays my aunt told me about this guy from her church who had done his DTS and two other schools at a base in Montana. She asked me if she could give him my phone number so he could call me and answer any questions for me. Around the end of January he called my mom and they talked for a really long time about me, YWAM, and DTS. My mom encouraged me to give him a call and chat with him for myself. I did end up calling him and we had a really encouraging conversation. He told me all about the base in Montana and encouraged me to look into it. I wasn't really interested at first but I finally googled it and fell in LOVE! I knew that Montana was the place where I would do my DTS. 

Fast forward nearly nine months and here I am. I just love that fact the God took me COMPLETELY out of what was comfortable to me and placed me far from home. I faced many emotions along the journey and there were many days I doubted wether or not I would make it to Montana. Now that I'm here I look back and see God's hand in the whole situation. He knew what the best base would be for me and I am so glad I listened and followed His direction for my life. 

I feel so at home here in Montana and have fallen in love with so many people. I have said this before but I have made so many friendships that I can see lasting the rest of my life. These past weeks haven't been easy by any stretch of the imagination but they have been good and I've been experiencing so much growth in my relationship with God. This is such a cool journey I'm on and I am overwhelmed by what an amazing God I serve and how much He loves me. I can hardly wait to see what He has in store for the rest of my time here in Montana and then all that will happen in South Africa! 

GOD IS SO GOOD!

Learning, Ice Cream, Knitting & More!

Hey Y'all! 

So sorry I've been MIA on the ole' blog lately. A lot has been going on and we've been super busy around here. It is hard to believe I've been here for one month already. Time sure does fly when you are learning and having fun. In two weeks we will be headed to Portland, Oregon for mini-outreach for a week. I'm so excited to go to Portland and it will be the first time I've traveled to the west coast of the United States. It is about a 12 hour drive from the base and we will be loading up in several fifteen passenger vans to make the trek out there. I cannot wait to see all that God does on that trip! 

We have had two speakers over the last two weeks and they both were interesting. Mark Masucci spoke two weeks ago on the foundational beliefs of the Christian faith. It was a very cool week as we dug deep into God's word and learned more about Him. I had a new and fresh revelation of God's grace for me and my life which was a cool thing. I love reading truth from the Bible and I was challenged to really not just read God's word but know it and hide it in my heart. Last week we had a guy named Matt Atkins speak on the father heart of God and it was a good week as well. I would say Matt has been my least favorite speaker since we've been here but he did have some good points. God is working and moving in so many ways here and it has been quite the roller coaster of emotions over the last month. I'm still loving every minute of it and growing so much. 

Last weekend my good friend Kyla's parents came down for the weekend from Canada to celebrate Canadian thanksgiving with her. They rented a house in Kalispell for a few nights and me and two other girls were invited to stay with them for one night. It was beyond refreshing to escape the base for an evening and just be apart of a family unit again. When you are constantly surrounded by people it can get challenging so it was a good weekend to recharge and rest. That same weekend we had a harvest party on base that included a chili cook-off, games, square dancing, and a popcorn bar. We always have fun things happening here in Montana. 

In the photo above is the best ice cream shop I've ever been to in my whole life. It is in old downtown Kalispell and it is adorable. All of their ice cream in made with local ingredients and the prices are so cheap! They also have an odd and unique assortment of flavors which is awesome. I got a waffle cone of salty caramel and it was pure DELICIOUSNESS. Good thing this place isn't in walking distance from base or else my wallet and waistline would be in some serious trouble! 

The photo above includes two of my favorite people I've met since coming to Montana. The girl in the middle is Jo and she is from Manitoba, Canada. She is adorable in so many ways. She is super creative, she can bake, and is an artist. We get along very well and enjoy a lot of the same things in life. She is one of those people that you feel as if you've known forever when you meet her. I love her dearly and cannot wait until she comes to North Carolina and visits me after DTS is over. The girl all the way on the right in one of my roommates, Hannah. She is from PA and is as equally adorable as Jo. Her parents have a huge grain farm in PA so she loves all things farming and outdoors. We get along really well and spend a lot of time together. I also get the pleasure of going to South Africa with her for two months. God has majorly blessed me with friends that will last a lifetime here. 

The weekends can sometimes get boring because all we do is homework and laundry. We have to get creative with ways to spend our time so I've decided to learn how to knit. I started last night and it was a rocky start. Jo is teaching me and keeps making me continue even if I want to give up. I am making a scarf and today I started to get the hang of it. It is very relaxing and therapeutic and I can see myself really enjoying it as i get better! We watched a good ole' chick flick last night in my room and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Today Jo and I started watching One Tree Hill on netflixs and got four episode into season eight. It looks like knitting and watching One Tree Hill will be come our new Sunday routine! 

Its hard to believe I am almost halfway done with my time here in Montana. It will be a sad day when we all have to say goodbye to each other in Feburary. We have already started brainstorming about when and where we are going to have a reunion after DTS is over :) I am missing my family, friends, and church back in Charlotte and you all stay in my thoughts a lot. I cannot wait to come back home with stories of how God is working throughout this whole experience. I am so blessed and am trying to soak up every minute. Until next time folks! 

Ramblings........

Hey Y'all! 

I've been meaning to blog and I actually did write a whole long post this weekend but we had an accident and my post completely deleted itself. Needless to say I was beyond frustrated and needed to take a break before attempting to rewrite a new one! All has been good the past week here in beautiful Montana and classes have been awesome. I am starting to really feel at home here and making some amazing friendships that I can see lasting for a lifetime. 

Last week we had an awesome speaker named Mike Phillips and he spoke on hearing the voice of God. While this wasn't a new concept for me, I learned a lot of really unique things that I didn't know before. One major point that really stood out to me was the concept that we all can hear God and there are absolutely NO exceptions! Sometimes I feel as if everyone around me has this awesome relationship with God and they can hear Him on such a regular basis and I feel as if His voice isn't always clear to me. I came to realize that was a lie that I had been believing and there is no truth in that belief. We all hear God in unique ways and no one persons relationship with Him is identical to someone else's. 

We have started in on week three and it is already shaping up to be a pretty awesome week as well. Our topic is about the fundamental beliefs of our faith. It's a topic I feel as if we sometimes forget about so it's nice to go back to the basics of Christianity. Our days are pretty long and we do a lot in a short amount of time. Most of our mornings are filled with lecture and intercession time. The afternoons are made up of work duties, small group, outreach prep, and our interest tracks. Every student in our DTS is required to complete 8 hours of work duty every week. My job is to deep clean our kitchen/cafeteria four days a week. Not the best job in the world but for sure not the worst! Small groups are pretty awesome as well. We meet every Tuesday and Thursday and just chat about everything we are learning. It is a great way to open up on a more personal level with a smaller group of girls. 

In the little free time we do have we love to play games, watch sports, and just hang out with each other. The base offers organized sports which consists of soccer, volleyball, and basketball during the week. Usually we spend a fair amount of time cheering on our fellow students as they play sports. I've learned a new card game since being here and it is so much fun! It's called "dutch blitz" and all my PA and Canadian friends LOVE it and have taught the rest of us how it works. It's super fast and competitive which creates mass chaos when we all sit down and play together. I will be excited to take this game back home and teach all my family and friends :) 

As most of you know by now I will be heading to SOUTH AFRICA on my two month outreach starting in mid-December and I'm beyond excited for that journey. We will be mostly based out of Cape Town and then travel out to townships and villages in the surrounding area. Our focus will be street evangelism, working with people who have come out of the sex trafficking industry, and some other cool ministry opportunities. Never did I dream when I came to Montana that I would have the chance to travel to Africa and share the love of Jesus with those people. Please keep our team in your prayers for all the funds to be raised, unity, and that God would start working in the hearts of the folks we will come in contact with. 

One thing I am learning so far is patience. When you live on a hall with 55 other students and share one bathroom for 30 plus girls it requires great amounts of patience and love. Community living is not the most fun thing about DTS but it provides it's fair share of learning opportunities and funny moments. Let's just say there is hardly ever a quiet moment and for a natural introvert like myself it can be personally challenging. God is teaching me many lessons even through the small stuff which I think is pretty cool. 

I have seen so much growth in my relationship with Christ in just two weeks and I can hardly wait to see all that happens over the next few months. He is so faithful and has sustained all my needs while being here thus far. All my worries have faded into the background and I have fallen in love with Montana, YWAM, and all the special people I've connected with along the way. I just want to say thank you to all who have been praying for me and have supported me as I am following God's will in my life. 

Until Next Time!!!!! 

Shelby 

Week One Happenings!

Hello Everyone! So we have concluded the first full week of DTS here in Montana!!!!!! It has been quite the week so far. We've had some awesome teaching time, worship time, and fellowship times. Our days are pretty long and we don't have too much free time. We spend most mornings in lecture time and our afternoons are filled with work duties and other stuff. Most nights are free so usually we will either play games, walk to the lake, or simply hang out and goof around. 

While our weeks are super structured, our weekends are the exact opposite. The only thing we are required to do on the weekends is attend a local church either in Lakside or Kalispell. That pretty much means we have to get creative with how to spend our time. It seems that Saturdays are going to be my catch up on homework, do laundry, and clean the room day! Today was the first attempt at laundry and so far so good.The building we do the laundry in is not that close to our dorm which is sort of a hassle but at the same time it is a new and exciting experience. 

We found out the options for our outreach location on Thursday which was an awesome experience. There were five options and all of them were places I have never been or even thought about going. I am dying to tell everyone where I will be heading but we have to wait until Monday to find out for sure. As soon as I get the green light to share I will write a nice long post about the process of finding out and choosing the options!

On Friday evening we attended a block party on base which they call "welcome to Montana night." They asked us to dress up like we were from Montana so we all raided the local walmart and salvation army to get some outfit choices. It was such a fun night filled with fellowship, games, and awesome food. The food consisted of pulled beef, green beans, salad, watermelon, and SWEET TEA!!!!!!!! I was super excited for some sweet tea y'all! We ended the night with a huge dance party that lasted well into the evening. 

It is hard to believe I have officially been here for a week. Time has passed by very quickly which I have been thankful for. I have grown very close to my fellow classmates and we have all bonded very quickly. In just one week we have seen God break the chains of condemnation, heard of the many miracles it has taken for each student to be here in Montana, and watched as Christ has united our DTS together in so many ways. I am beyond excited to see what God does over the weeks and months to come.Make sure y'all stay tuned for a blog about my outreach location!!! 

Until Next Time,

Shelby

It's here!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Everyone!

Well I've FINALLY arrived in Montana and started my DTS! It has been a crazy couple of days here and I'm so overwhelmed by all that has happen already. I arrived on Saturday after a long and pretty boring day of flying. I was really nervous when I arrived because I didn't know a soul but thankfully there were plenty of other people in the same boat! I was able to set up my new room and get all comfy in the place I will be calling "home" for the next three months.

There are 57 students in my DTS and we already have started bonding in ways I couldn't have even imagine. I have two of the sweetest roommates both who happen to be from PA. We all get along really well and I have been so thankful for that. It has been really awesome to start getting to know some of my fellow classmates and hearing a little of why and how they ended up in Montana. I cannot wait to see where God takes this amazing group of people during the next few months.

I have to say that Montana may just be one of the most beautiful places I've ever laid eyes on. Our base is about two miles from the tiny town of Lakside and the beautiful Flathead lake. We were finally able to walk down to the lake and fully take in the amazing view of the lake with the most massive mountains in the background. I have loved living in a new place and I've been taking in all the amazing sights to see.


We are only two days into our DTS and I know without any doubt that I was supposed to be here with this group of special people at just this right time. God has already done great things and I eagerly look forward to all He has in store for the future!

Until next time,
Shelby