Hello! I've been in San Jose for just over 2 weeks now, which is crazy! These past 2 weeks have been full of so much joy and expectation, as I've been thrown into living and working with complete strangers who have been united in their love for God and their desire to follow God in his call to reach the unreached.
I'll just give you an idea of what an actual day looks like here in YWAM SJ! I'm still in the first half of the DTS, which means that most of my time is spent on the base, being taught and studying, as well as then leaving for local work in the community. The second half will look very different, and will involve a lot more ministry work and serving in the community, in a different location.
Every morning, after breakfast and quiet time, we have intercession or worship. This is either with the entire base, or just with the DTS group. In our intercession times, we focus on praying for a specific unreached people group, which is a people group who, for various reasons, have an extremely small % of Christians and the majority of their community have never heard the name of Jesus Christ. Focusing on praying for and learning about specific people groups, has been extremely humbling as I've been thinking about how 'easy' it is to be a Christian in Northern Ireland, and how available the Gospel is. God has really been breaking my heart for these people over the past 2 weeks, as we have been lifting them up in prayer. I really encourage you to also intercede for these people groups, during your own time of prayer. Personally I've found the website www.joshuaproject.net to be really helpful in focusing my prayers, as well as www.opendoors.org for praying for the persecuted Church.
After worship or intercession, we have our classroom teaching time. During week 1 we had the joy of being taught by the YWAM SJ founders, Mar and Giacomo. The Lord has blessed them with such wisdom and vision, and they shared with us about hearing God's voice, and Biblical worldview. It was really encouraging but also challenging, and there was lots to process and discuss.
During week 2, we focused on the Bible and were taught by Andrea and Kevin who lead the Bible Core Course at YWAM SJ. We managed to go through the history and timeline of the Old and New Testament in 2 days, which was intense but also extremely useful as we tried to grasp the overall story arc of the Bible. We also spent time discussing different methods for studying the Bible, and focused on the Inductive method and how to use it well. Again, this week was challenging in terms of being overwhelmed at times with questions about different things in the Bible, but I found it to be really wonderful in reigniting my spark for wanting to go deeper into God's word. One of the things that we discussed was how the Bible is our story, and how it isn't detached from us. Instead it is living and moving, and its eternal truths are forever relevant to us.
After lunch, we have our work duties/family contributions each, which helps the base to continue running smoothly. I have the joy of sweeping and mopping the floors each day! Life here on the base is very community focused, where we each help run and organise our own part so that we can all live and work together well. It honestly just feels like a very large family!
And then in the afternoon, we either have local outreach in the community, outreach specific training in preparation for the second half of the DTS, small groups or Bible reading time. After dinner, evening time is usually free, unless we have family nights or fellowship time but we're normally so exhausted that we're in bed for 8:30pm!
So that's a quick overview of what life has looked like on base over the past 2 weeks! Our weekends are usually free, but they're usually spent sleeping or finishing up homework tasks last minute for class on Monday!
Highlights/what God has been teaching me:
One of the things I have enjoyed most this week is talking with the older staff members and families working here and hearing their stories, and how God led them to where they are today. None of the staff in YWAM get paid a salary, and one of the most incredible things to hear about, is how God has provided and continues to provide for each of them and their needs. Their faith in God and his provision is inspiring, and so so challenging!
God has really been teaching me to rely on him for strength and energy this week, as it's been exhausting to settle in and get used to a very different way of life here! Especially with jet lag in the first week, and getting used to a new routine.
God has also just shown me how faithful and trustworthy he is. Before coming, I was honestly terrified and fighting off doubts, even though I knew that I was doing what God was calling me to do. But once I arrived, God made me feel so at ease and at peace, and He reassured me that this is where I am supposed to be. Even though we might not see the end of the road, or the bigger picture, taking a step and trusting that God is guiding you in the right direction, has been something that I've been learning to do. I also feel so blessed to be surrounded by this group of people who are doing this DTS, who I get the privilege to walk beside for the next 6 months. I am so excited now to see what God is going to do!
Prayer requests:
- For strength and energy to focus and learn this week
- For the teachers and staff, that God would speak through them in the coming weeks
- That God would be speaking to us in the coming weeks, and that we would have ears to listen and hearts to respond
- For the community that we are involved in, that we would show them Christ's love and that God would be softening their hearts. Pray that our neighbours would be interested in what we are doing, and that they would ask questions and draw near.
- For protection from covid, and that those on our base would remain healthy and well
- For finances, that God would provide what is needed to enable the outreach phase of the DTS
Thank you in advance for your prayers!
I also just wanted to mention here at the end that I'm aware of the difficult situation with lockdown and covid restrictions that you all are facing in Northern Ireland, and the UK. I know that this is a really difficult time for a lot of people and families, and I am praying for you all. I pray that during this time, you would know God and his comfort and love. To those struggling with their mental health during this time, those struggling with home-schooling or working from home, those struggling with finances, those missing their families, and those who have lost loved ones - you are fully seen, completely known and infinitely loved by God, and I pray that you would know his presence during this time. I was wonderfully reminded by a friend this week, that in Daniel, there was another in the fire with God's servants - Jesus. God doesn't let us suffer alone, and you are not going through this trial alone. We have hope and the promise of life through Him.
Thank you for your prayers and support, and I am praying for you all.
Amy x
