What makes you come alive?

Good day mates!  I hope all is well.  This past week of lectures has stretched my mind & thinking more than ever.  A man named Dave Fenton spoke on Spiritual Gifts with an emphasis on prophecy.  A lot of this was completely new to me and I just did my best to comprehend everything being spoken so that I can study it more for myself later.  Ultimately though, every speaker we've had continues to express the importance of one's character.  I love when there are reoccurring themes and a positive character is something I'm continuing to strive for.  Dave shared personal stories of prophecy, healing, and words on knowledge that he experiences on a regular basis.  Most churches have "proof" that these types of gifts no longer exist and that is merely because they don't practice the gifts readily available to them.  Friday we watched a movie called "Furious Love" that shares of the spiritual warfare in the world today and those who have discernment to recognize different situations.  It was kinda spooky so I wouldn't recommend it to everyone, but it helped me realize the spiritual battle that is alive and well today.

Saturday I went into town and was confronted by two women who wanted me to know that I wasn't a born again Christian, because I can't speak in tongues.  Supposedly speaking in tongues is the only evidence that the Holy Spirit lives within you and boy was I in trouble.  We talked for a good 40min before I had to be on my way, but it definitely got to me.  This is just one of a few situations I've encountered since being here and I really feel like God is placing these situations in life to strengthen and encourage my beliefs.  My only solution is to dig deeper into the word.

Saturday night we had a bonfire & fresh hamburgers at some local Aussie's farm and it was a nice getaway.  Later Saturday, some buddies and I went to the skate park where I received multiple bruises due to my inexperience.  That was my first time actually skating & possibly my last haha.  However, it's not keeping me from trying other new activities here on the Sunshine Coast.

Also I visited the doctors and I have a damaged ear drum that's infected so I'll be heading to a specialist this week :(  No surfing or ocean for me... Otherwise I've become a caveman, because I haven't shaved or cut my hair since the first week here.  For some reason the laddies here can't seem to appreciate what I'm doing.

Overall, God is giving me a new rejuvenation and I am beginning to realize how open my future is.  I still have absolutely no idea what it holds, but it will be something that allows myself to come alive.  What stirs your heart?

Kondalilla Falls

Local rain forest 

My first Kangaroo sighting!

Surfs-up!

I miss you all and can't believe I only have 4 weeks left here in Australia before I head for outreach. Also, thank you all again for your generous support.  It's hard to imagine I'm actually here and I wouldn't take this experience back for anything!  Make it a good week!

No picture can do God's creation justice!

Prayer week blew my mind. Enough said. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but essentially we had prayer slots throughout the entire week with a small group for 3 hours and we could do whatever we wanted. It was incredible to see God work in everyone and the revelations that took place. I've gained a new passion for prayer and how to communicate with God:

- Often if we seek God without an agenda, He will bring it back to us because he knows what we need better than ourselves.

- If we don't have fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace..etc.) than we won't be "Christ like" and we can't act on spiritual gifts.

- God will never give you a misguided perception of who he is.

- God is constantly pursuing us and we have the choice by grace of God through repentance that we may not choose him now, but he will still come after us.

The best part was the sober joy from God's presence that I experienced; not your typical "high" that results in a crash... if that makes sense. However, there is nothing I can say that would even begin to scratch the surface of how blessed I am to be here! Another thing we learned about were spiritual gifts and I feel I've been blessed with the gifts of encouragement, leadership, serving others, & wisdom. I'm doing my best to let God use me in these gifted areas.

This Saturday, we went to Kondalilla Falls and went waterfall jumping. It was a thrilling day filled with ups & downs. I was sucked by many leeches & failed an attempt to front flip into a dive, which ended in me landed on my face. You can pray for my ear & stupidity, because I can't fully hear & it is filled with fluids continually. I just want my mom. Haha, but apart from that, the view was Amazing & we hiked through a rain forest.

This morning we had our once a month "Giving Morning" where everyone apart of YWAM gathers and presents their needs no matter how great. Then everyone seeks God and listens to what he is wanting them to give or provide. It is crazy to think about, but don't under estimate God and that he can work in miraculous ways. Over that 30 minutes $24,535 were given throughout the room. This was an incredible experience and a great way to start our week of Prophecy/Lifestyle of Miracles.

I hope everyone's having/had an awsum "Australian accent" spring break! I'm starting to miss an awful lot in the states including March Madness, the NBA & America Food (homemade, Baja, Yesterdog, & Captain Sundaes). Let me know if there's anything you'd like me to expand on. Please leave a comment!

Identity to Destiny

Ay mates! So much has happened in the past week and I am thoroughly enjoying the time God has given me here!  My mind is wrestling with so many new ideas & concepts and somehow I'm not feeling drained.  For lectures this past week our DTS leader, Luke Roque, spoke on "Identity in Christ" and he did an incredible job of humbling himself and making it very personal.  Identity is where we find our value & purpose and our identity determines our destiny.  It can be tricky to distinguish the difference between identity & personality, but in the end it revolves around our motives.  God can give anyone gifts overnight, but our character is a process and it takes time.  We also learned that Satan often deceives us by telling lies covered by subtle truths to make us buy into a false idea or identity.  A huge part of our identity is the "fear of man" and how we are perceived by others.  If we can understand that our identity needs to be in God then there should be no "fear of man", for fear is faith in the wrong kingdom.  Not easy stuff...

Also this week we learned more about Koney 2012 and his hunger for power that forces children into slavery.  There is currently a video going viral to spread the word about Koney and his destruction in parts of Africa.  Something to be aware of however, the group Invisible Children who created this video, only sends 1/3 of their donations to Africa directly.  Overall, it is a really inspiring video and we can all play a part in praying for the corruption in third world countries.

For outreach we are currently learning games & skits for the camps & events we'll be putting on.  As a group we've decided to buy 100 Bibles to bring with us, which we found for close to $7 in their native languages.  I am really getting stoked for all that God has planned and I just know he's going to blow us away.  My group has really made some huge breakthroughs this past week, so thank you tons for your prayers.

As far as everyday life here, last Saturday we climbed a local mountain "Mt. Coolum" and it was an amazing view over the Sunshine coastline & ocean.  One night a smaller group of us went "treasure hunting", which was very new to me but really interesting.  Pretty much we just prayed that God would show us where we needed to go & if there was anyone needing help or that needed the gospel, and that he would show us.  Talk about faith... Anyways it's rained a bit this week & I have yet to get stung by a jelly fish unlike everyone else.  I did however manage to get involved in a surfing accident Friday, but thankfully I have a hard head.  Friday evening all of us guys had a huge game of rugby on the beach, which was much more enjoyable than I originally expected.  I also got my basketball fix last night finally playing at a park...well overdue.  I am definitely settled in after a month into this 5 month adventure & I can't imagine ever getting sick of it here.

This next week is prayer week & we will be praying for 3 hour slots on a daily basis.  If there is anything anyone needs prayer for you can message me or facebook me & I would be more than willing to give you a couple hours :)  Thanks for all of your support and feel free to comment below!  Please pray that God continues to speaks to me this week and that I am able to stay energized.  Love from the Land Down Under!

"God hasn't called me to be successful.  He's called me to be faithful." - Mother Teresa

Our house where all the guys stay & our lovely transportation!

My discussion group enjoying a local waterfall! God has wonderful taste in creation! 

The local beach less than a mile away.  So beautiful!

This is where we have all our lectures & morning worship.  It's apart of a local church in Maroochydore.

Team Fiji-ppines

God has called me to the Philippines & Fiji for my YWAM Outreach!!! I'm so pumped for such an incredible experience that God has blessed me with and I can't wait to see his plan unfold.  I found out this past Friday and even though it wasn't the original place I had hoped to go, I can definitely see God's hand in the whole process.  My group has 5 guys, 4 girls, 3 leaders & we will spend a month in each country!  Right now we don't know many logistics, but I've heard that we will be spending time with orphans & inmates in Fiji.

Last week in lecture we talked about "Hearing God's Voice" and we really focused our time on learning about intercession through prayer.  This is essentially when you pray for someone no matter where they are.  Throughout the week we prayed for the Christians in North Korea who are being persecuted for their faith and the Muslim women who are being tortured as part of their Muslim heritage.  It was very powerful and a great learning experience/reminder of how blessed we are.  I've also been learning about how my personal relationship with Jesus should look and the deep love that he has for me.  Similar to a significant relationship, I will do anything possible to get to know that person and if they were to write a book about themselves, I would devour it.  The hard part is translating that desire into reading God's book to learn more about him.  I have really been striving to find that desire and in the end, I just have to go get it.

In other news, jet leg has finally caught up to me and I'm sleeping in as late as possible now.  It rained all of last week which I guess is typical for the summer months here.  Also, last Friday we helped move an organization called Destiny's Rescue (http://www.destinyrescue.org/aus/) into their new building so they can continue to help formerly enslaved children earn money through craft & jewelry making.  It was a nice change of scenery to get out and break a sweat for something that has such an impact around the world.  This weekend we are heading to Mt Coolum to hike & explore where I hope to see my first kangaroo!!

Can you please pray for unity among our outreach team, because we have a lot of strong personalities and working together + loving one another is going to be crucial if we want to show God's love to others.

My address here is:

Youth With A Mission

PO Box 5633

Maroochydore BC

QLD 4558 Australia

Thanks again for all of your support & I will post pictures soon!