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
