January DTS 2012

Some see a bunch of random young people.

some see a bunch of beautiful people.

I see warriors preparing for battle.

it is a war not between flesh and blood but between the evil powers, forces and authority.

It is a war that is constantly being fought even in this moment.

We are in that battle fighting not by might not by might or by power but by the living spirit.

We are not alone in this battle because we have an omnipresent father, that is with us and never leaves us.

We are protected by the armour of God, thus we put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes that is readiness given by the gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation and lastly the Rhema word as a sword.

We get our help from the lord who made the heaven and the earth I am a warrior in this battle, I will rejoice in time of suffering because I know this is a winning battle.

We fight with a spirit who can overcome anything. We are winning this battle but not because of what we’ve done but because of what has been done on the cross for us. On the cross death was overcome, Satan was crunched and life was restored.

The bridge was restored and we have an open way to our father .

I am a warrior in this winning battle, willing to fight not by my power but by your power in me.

My friend, the leader of heavens armies are with me wherever I go and intercede for me.

That is the reason I live to see the will of God be done, to fight this ongoing battle.

We are winning.

As I sit here I am starting to regret somewhat taking up the task of writing a post on Holy Spirit week. You see, It’s difficult to write on something as complex and personal as the Holy Spirit! He is God after all… And God is still a beautiful mystery to me. The Spirit of the Lord is really something you should experience and not read about.

However, I will try share some of the crazy experiences we had and how God revealed Himself even more. One thing that stood out to me was just how the Holy Spirit manifests differently and personally for each individual. This week we got an intense dose of the Holy Spirit and people reacted in varying ways. Personally, this week was a real challenge for me as I felt the Lord was uprooting a lot of deeply buried hurt in my life.

My encounter with the Holy Spirit was a very emotional and painful one. My spirit was in a grieving state, but as I made myself vulnerable before the Lord, He did not let me down. This week we really expelled the fear of man that was present in many of our lives. If someone was to come into the DTS classroom on Wednesday night they would have thought we were all drunk.

And we were drunk, drunk in the Spirit! Some people were laughing hysterically together as the joy of the Lord overwhelmed them, while others (such as myself) were crying from a deep and agonizing place and others were writhing on the floor, giving birth to some serious spiritual babies. Holy Spirit week left me with a greater understanding on just on how gentle God’s Spirit is. He will never force you into something you aren’t ready to take on and He is always super sensitive to where you are and what you need. Although this week was a challenge for me, I have never been so aware of God’s presence before. I could physically feel the thickness of His being and how closely He was holding me.

Although the baptism of the Holy Spirit doesn’t give us more of God, it certainly makes us more conscious of Him. The Holy Spirit is our counsellor, teacher, reminder. He testifies truth, convicts the world of sin, and reveals Jesus to us.

By Emma from South Africa

Never felt like going to ANY country in the world and reach the lost? After this week on God’s heart for the Last, the Lost and the Least, many of us can’t wait to go on Outreach. Edwin Fillies’ passion for the nations was so contagious. If we want to have a long-lasting passion that makes us go to the nations, we need to have an encounter with the love of God. It’s God’s desire to reach ALL nations and EVERY creature. Therefore we shouldn’t just be filled with what God is giving us but we should allow God to bless others through us. 42 % of the 7 billion people on earth are non-Christians but with access to the gospel and there are still 25 % that have never heard about the gospel. That’s why he gave us talents, gifts and dreams – to go out and reach the nations.

“Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:8

If God wants to gives us the nations, why on earth are we still asking for small things, like iPods?!? His plans are greater and he wants to give us more than we can ever imagine. It’s up to us to decide if we want to live up to our full potential.

It’s a matter of attitude: Are we willing to give a down payment for our/God’s dream? Are we willing to take a risk in faith and trust God? Are we willing to let the dirt come out in order for Jesus to bring out the gold in us? Are we willing to work hard, to be trained and to develop a discipline in our lives? Do we have a desire to give? Are we ready to give up our comfort and help others with what they cannot do on their own?

That’s what it means to be a missionary. The combination of our dream and the right attitude make us the person who makes a difference in the world, who can impact many people and who lives up to the full potential. To look away from ourselves and focus on other people needs will fill us with complete joy!

This week was just so inspiring to sit down and study his word and get prepared for our calling. The best thing is, EVERYONE can fulfill God’s dream for the nations, because he is not calling the anointed but he is anointing the called. -> DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE EFFECT OF YOUR OWN TESTIMONY!

By Debbie from Germany

‘Our lives are defined by our relationships’

This is a very big statement but when analyzed we can see great truth in it. Because when you think about it everything we do in life involves others so who we associate with will start affecting how we think and act. I think this week opened our eyes to see the big picture of relationships. God created man to be in community with one another. He designed this from the beginning of time when He created Adam and Eve. We can see God’s heart for relationships in the Trinity- They’re all God and all have full authority but they all humbly submit to each other. Its such a beautiful example for us of how we should treat relationships – with love and humility.

Something that really stuck out to me this week was when Lindsey (our speaker) said God created us in His image so when we decrease the value of someone we decrease the value of God. The greatest commandment is love the Lord with all your heart followed by love your neighbour as yourself so that the love we receive from God should be reflected in how we treat the people in our lives. Lindsey spoke to us about being interdependent-mutaual need and trust between both people in the relationship- we shouldn’t be so dependent on someone that we find our value in them but also not so independent that we feel like we don’t need anyone. We were given an example of a bucket and how when God fills our bucket, He fills it with value, identity and worth but how we sometimes want to fill it with value in our friends, selfish desires, etc. but by doing this we are creating a hole in our bucket and we never feel completely whole- only God can complete us.

We need to find our identity in Him! We saw that there is a difference between honour ad respect and how its so important to honour our parents. Gratitude towards our parents is so important and I think it really made me realize how often I forget to thank them for all they do. God definitely spoke to me a lot this week through Lindsey and its opened my eyes to see relationships from a different angle. The best part is that God wants to have relationship with us!

By Natalie from South Africa.

 

I have been trying to explain DTS to my friends and family back home. It is a difficult task. I figured that the best way to describe it is to just try and walk through a full day here.  So here is what a hypothetical day looks like for me. It’s hard to describe because each day is different, but I’ll give it a shot. -Breakfast: It’s my work duty to get breakfast out and clean up after, so I get up early and do that.

It doesn’t take that long, but sometimes I really feel like sleeping in. But I don’t. People without their coffee and breakfast are scary. -Worship/Prayer: Different people lead each time. Sometimes we just pray for something specific or sometimes we just do general prayer. Crying is optional during worship. It’s a little early in the morning still so completely falling apart will probably not happen. -Class: Take a minute after worship to clean myself up if needed and get everything ready for class. Grab a seat. Maybe volunteer to pray for the speaker before he/she starts.

Listen and get awesome revelation about who God is/who God has made me to be. Be amazed. -Break: eat toast. Wednesday is treat day so we get yummy food on that day. 🙂 [:)] -Back to class: Learn more amazing things. Sometimes find out how to apply what you learned in the morning. Do something interactive like an exercise or something. Be excited about what I learned so tell someone. Maybe share with the class when they ask for feedback. Or don’t. Whatever. Arrow up. -Lunch: Eat. Lunch is not the most exciting meal. -Afternoon: Most people have their work duties at this time. I usually have a nap. Sometimes I start my journal or read the book we are supposed to be reading. Almost every time I end up sleeping. Usually in the sun room. It’s really nice and warm there. Sometimes we go to the beach or get icecream or buy stuff at checkers .

What we do in the afternoon switches everyday. -Dinner: Eat. Also not that exciting. Although it is usually very loud and full. That makes dinner fun. Or it gives me a headache. One of the two. -Evening: This differs depending on the day: -Class: Wednesday especially is an important class. It’s the last day that the speaker is with us usually, so it’s like the Saturday night at a youth retreat weekend. That’s when everything gets real. Crying is not optional. Be ready with real tissues because toilet paper will fall apart on your face and leave white pieces everywhere. -Free evening: We hang out, play dutch blitz, talk, eat toast, run to Bray’s quickly before it closes to get some junk food and talk to the guys there, or sometimes I seclude myself and have quiet time to process (my new favourite ywam word = Process. I never used to say it, but it’s fantastic.)

There is ALWAYS a game of dutch blitz going on. It gets very competitive. There is a lot that happens throughout the day that I’ve missed out. Like people being picky about where they sit in class. Or us making fun of all of our different accents and fighting about the “right” way to say different words. Or the beautiful drawings that appear in the morning on the white board in the classroom. Or the stinky room boys causing trouble. Or random worship springing up somewhere. Or heart-to-hearts and deep discussions. So that is as much as I can explain a day in DTS. This is not something you can explain in words though. It’s different for everyone. God works on all of us in different ways. You just have to experience it to fully understand it.

From Rachelle Steegstra, Canada

Daddy, Dad, Papa, are names that I would not normally think of in addressing God. That the great God, the all powerful Creator of the universe, mighty in valour desires to be my Dad was just unfathomable. Yet He does!! This glorious living God want to be known as our Daddy.

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18 NIV)

Learning about the Father heart of God this week was a revelation of an incomparable love, the love our heavenly father has for us. God is the perfect father…… For many of us, our image of God the father was limited to impressions of our earthly fathers. It all depended on whether your father was physically and emotionally present. Whether he taught you how to ride a bike or walked you down the aisle. All tokens of a father’s love. Still God’s love is greater! Our heavenly father far surpasses our earthly fathers.

“Even if my father and mother should desert me, you will take care of me” (Psalm 27:10 CEV)

“…I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jeremiah 31:3)

Despite this great knowledge of His love, we can sometimes have self-inflicted hindrances obstructing our relationships with God. It is these hindrances that can often make it hard for us to believe the Father’s tender heart for us. Unforgiveness was just one of the barriers I had put up, preventing intimacy with God. It was when I brought all the baggage to the foot of the cross (Fear, shame, unforgiveness etc), I began to see a breakthrough. God revealed painful scars of my past yet he also provided me with a comforting shoulder to rest my head on. This week we had the opportunity to sit on the lap of our beloved Daddy, relinquish all our problems to Him and be wrapped in His arms. God only responded with great affection. He has good intentions for his children

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

 He wants to provide for us, to give us all that He has. He even promised

“all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine”.

Wow, that promise is just wonderful. You are as close to God as you want to be. Are we ready to step into our rightful identities as children of the amazing heavenly Father? Are we willing to call Him Daddy?

By Pelumi Botti, Nigeria/Swaziland

Ever felt that your father was absent or even your mother? Luckily this week in DTS we took a look at God as our Father and Mother.  A Father who loves and provides and who wants His children to have an intimate relationship with Him. A Mother who is caring, compassionate and heart broken to see Her children struggling; to see people die without having a relationship with Him.

Sometimes we have projected the image of our earthly father to the way we see God, and  that stops us from having an intimate relationship with Him as our everlasting and ever loving Father, but today God is calling His sons and daughters with a welcome voice and He waits with an open arms and a warm smile to make us part of His incredible family.

Now we wonder what can we give back to God as our Father, but isn’t it true that the greatest thing we can do is to try to be like the Father? If we love others the way God loves them or forgive others the way God forgives us, God’s heart is skipping a beat. In Matthew 5:48 it is written “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” It doesn’t mean if we are not perfect we aren’t His children it means that our ultimate goal is to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. God brings forgiveness through His Son, forgiveness that sets us free.

I want to quote a verse out of Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” We can’t expect to receive forgiveness if we don’t forgive. Forgiveness brings freedom. Forgiveness opens the way for the Holy Spirit to heal. “So If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” 1 John 1:9. SO then if we look at our past we see the cross rather than the sin. God sees Jesus in our lives rather than the sin. As we went through the week we saw a part of God’s heart though everyone saw a different part some saw the loving part, others the emotional healing part and a lot saw the forgiveness part etc. The most important thing is that there is a special place for each and everyone in the Father heart of God.

He knows you by name and even know how many hairs there are on your head. Thats amazing… God is a Father that provides. God know what you want but He longs to hear your voice asking it from Him. So this is the challenge ask it from God our Provider. In Matthew 6:26 is written “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” God will provide in His time if we ask from Him and believe it. I want to conclude by saying God is my Father but also your Father. He is gracious, loving, caring, merciful, forgiving, He is a relational God. He knows the best for you. He is everywhere and with everyone; all the time. He hates sin but loves the sinner. He doesn’t change. We are made in His image. Can we have a better Father than this? This is just a summary of what this week meant to me and the best thing is, He has so much more coming for us. Amen.

By Arno from Namibia

Where is God during the day? Is He with us during prayer? Is He with us during worship? …the answer, of course, is YES! In fact, most of us have probably experienced His presence during these ULTRA spiritual times. Recently, however, God has been revealing to me that His love and desire to spend time with us goes much further. He wants to penetrate our conversations, our time at the beach, our relationships, our dreams. He wants to be there while we’re eating our delicious base food and while we’re riding on the train, while we’re hiking up Muizenberg mountain with friends or having deep talks with classmates. If you’re not getting the picture yet… He wants to be part of EVERYTHING!! God has used many methods to teach me this over the last few weeks, but one very unconventional way sticks out in particular. What do Namibia, Canada, South Korea, Kenya, South Africa, and the United States have in common? Is this a new alliance of nations? …maybe in a way yes:) It is an alliance forged from a common ability to generate an offensive odor! This alliance is fondly refered to as the “Stinky Room” by our fellow students. We are room #15 at YWAM Muizenberg. If we were to have a flag it would most likely be crafted from the unending supply of smelly socks and underwear that reside in every corner of our humble living space. Our room also has a supernatural anointing of gaseous eruptions that have often blessed our room with continuous melodies:) At this point I’m sure you’re asking yourself, “What does a room full of smelly dudes have to do with my relationship with the Lord?!” Our goal, as a group of brothers, is where the answer lies. Our goal is to know God and to have Him consume our lives. See, the Father is there when we pray as a room, or when we worship late at night, or when we’re having room bible studies… but may I also suggest that he’s there when we’re laughing, when we’re exercising, and even when we’re pranking one another. God doesn’t only want to be invited to share certain aspects of our lives… He wants to enjoy it ALL with us! The question is, are we inviting Him and do we recognize His presence during these times? God is a Father, a mother, a sister, a brother, and a friend. He is excited about our lives!! He cares about everything from the smallest detail to the biggest life altering decision. When was the last time you took a walk on the beach with the Lord? …played soccer with Him? …shared a cup of coffee with Him? It’s often during these times, when we least expect it, that we can feel the closest to Him. Challenge yourself this week to involve God in your everyday activities. Go body boarding with Him. Scrub some dishes with Him. This simple concept has been life changing for me. It has brought me to new levels of relationship with the Lord. Even as I write this His presence brings me peace and happiness. So take a lesson from the “Stinky Room”and give it a shot! Jesus is a pretty fun dude!! 🙂

By Nate McPherson from USA

 

Knowing the difference between Sin and Sins is eye opening, Sin being “Wrong being” and Sins being “wrong doings”. Everyone born in a body has a sin nature which puts him or her in disposition but thank God for His Son, Jesus Christ who came being in the very nature God came through a body to break the nature of Sin. Jesus Christ did what no man would or can do. He redeemed us, reconciled us to GOD when He became the PERFECT Sacrifice. And through this, He gave us the victory over sin and death!!

All of us have made mistakes even small ones. One thing I have come to learn is that a life of confession and repentance never ends. It should be part of us because we are not perfect. Confession is admitting your wrong to someone whereas repentance is to regret that you wronged someone. David, the man after God’s own heart committed adultery and murder (2nd Samuel 11&12) and in humility, he was sorry and broken for what he had done (Psalms 51). Have you confessed your sins to God or to someone? (1ST John 1:9, James 5:16). If not, go ahead and do so! Are you completely sorry for what you did or have done in the past? Remember, there’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ, the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death. Our God is Just, Merciful and Gracious. AMAZING!!

Its one thing to sit in class and learn from the lecturer and it’s another thing to actually practice what is being taught. Wednesday night was awesome, I have no words to describe what happened but all I can say is that God was moving. At first I was a little scared not knowing what I was going to confess to God, but was I started, I just kept going. For some reason, I knew that my Dad was with me the whole time and that He was in room with each of the DTS students. God is so faithful and just and He forgives those who confess their sin and He purifies us from all unrighteousness. He forgave me, He cleansed me and I know He circumcised my heart. Thank you God!

“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Matthew 6:14. Forgiveness is our obligation and it comes with obedience and willingness. Have you forgiven your brother, sister, father, mother or friend? Do you want your Father in heaven to forgive you? Think about it…..if you forgive, God will forgive you, if you do not, He will not. Don’t be tough, allow yourself to be vulnerable and let God help you get this person off the hook. Harboring unforgiveness is like taking poison and hoping you enemy dies. Ask God to help you, I have! It’s one thing to forgive and it’s another thing to be forgiven. Have you asked a friend that you wronged yesterday to forgive you? Maybe, or maybe not. It’s my prayer that God will give you courage to ask for forgiveness and to even go a step further by making amends with them. Sometimes God convicts us to do things we do not want to do because He has reasons, maybe He wants to use our situation to break someone’s heart.

This week, I had to lay down my pride and ask for forgiveness even when I thought I would not and God amazingly restored my relationships with my sister and friends. And also God is working in my heart as I am letting go of those people who hurt me deeply in the past and guess what…….I have a peace that God alone knows. Thank You God for your Father heart, I am in awe.

As I conclude, I just want you to know that God loves you so dearly that He sent His one and only son to die for you, all He says is if you believe in Him-eternal life is yours. When you wrong someone, confess

and ask them for forgiveness and from God as well. When someone wrongs you, forgive them, there’s no harm in that. God chose to be vulnerable with us, choose to be vulnerable with Him today. Jesus Christ has restored, redeemed and has reconciled us to Our God. How awesome is that? I am so amazed at His Great love and so blessed to be part of His great story.

By Shammah Nakawesi from Uganda

Africa2Asia DTS has begun! Somehow we already made it to day 15. Wow. Just two weeks ago, we all arrived not knowing exactly what we were getting ourselves into and nervous of all these funny people we’re supposed to be with 24/7 for the next 5 months. As we made our way nervously into the yard for lunch on that first day, we realized that 36 names is a lot to remember! After breaking the ice and spending the day trying to get used to a new environment, group of people, and home, we were already thinking about how hard it would be to say goodbye in 5 months time. We realized very soon that God had specifically called each of us here for a purpose and that He has an extraordinary plan for this specific group. How amazing is our God! For many of us, it’s a miracle that we made it here today, and we can’t wait to see what other miracles He will display His glory with. From the worship time on our very first night, we were overwhelmed with a sense of his presence and plan for this DTS.

The first week was amazing. By the end of it many of us wondered if each week would be this impacting and intense! After a few days of orientation and learning the basics of our new home together, we got right into learning. Dan Shannon was incredible, we were incredibly blessed to have him speak to us about hearing God’s voice, or rather, listening to God. We could hardly wait to go to class each day and hear his crazy stories, hilarious humor, and feel totally challenged on our own personal relationship with Jesus. One of the highlights of this week for all of us I think was when we practically learned how to hear by doing some blind prophesy! No matter how used to it we were, we closed our eyes and prayed for a person in front of us that we couldn’t see, asking God for some sort of word or encouragement for them. And wow, did God speak! We were all blown away with what God has to say to us and through us. Some of us were just amazed that He could and chose to speak to us for someone else! Many of us were impacted through this, praise the Lord! Another big event of the week, was finding out our outreach locations! Out of the blue, we got all 6 locations and were told to pray about it and see where God wanted us to go! The next couple days were spent putting into practice everything that we’d learned in class. We all sought the Lord, and by Friday gave in an answer. We are still praying for the staff as they seek the Lord to make the final decisions! Then on Saturday we got exercise – wow! We all climbed to St. Else’s peak to enjoy the most amazing view of the ocean and towns surrounding. Absolutely stunning, no words can explain. It was a great experience as a team!

Week 2 was just as impacting. Virmz really did his homework and somehow got us another very sought after speaker, Maureen Menard! Maureen was full of passion and zeal for Jesus, that much was evident, and it really rubbed off on us. She spoke about the character and nature of God. We learned about how very personal the one, true, living God is, and that through Jesus, we have fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! She also made times for worship in the middle of her lectures, which were awesome. What better thing to do after learning about God’s character, than to praise Him!! On Tuesday morning during one of these times of worship, the Holy Spirit really made himself known in that place. We were all overwhelmed with a sense of His greatness and acceptance. He spoke to a lot of our hearts in many different ways, and we all left in awe of Him! This was also the first week of local outreaches. This was new for many people, but we all stepped out of our comfort zones and asked God for opportunities to share Him in some way with others. Whether it was on the beach, the streets, train station, or the bar, the Lord gave us opportunities to spread His word and share His love. I have no doubt that as we become more comfortable that even greater things will be done for His Kingdom! Some people took a homeless person out for dinner, others just had conversations with people that were curious about Jesus. On Friday we went out for the first time for our weekly outreach in the local townships! Wow, what a different part of town. We were introduced to new people and really had to trust God to lead and guide us. He is always faithful! One group even had a lady healed! She couldn’t hear, but after they brought the power of Jesus down, she could hear! Praise the Lord! I have no doubt this is the first of many to come.

And now that brings us to week 3. We are all settled in and Muizenberg is starting to feel like home! The only thing is it’s going by too fast! I know the other people from Canada will agree with me, this little town right on the ocean is so much better than -48 and snow back in Canada! Nothing can compare with those early morning runs on the beach and a dip in the cool ocean after. We are all really enjoying it here. How can you not love living two blocks from the beach, but more importantly, one block from Majestic Cafe (which happens to have the best ice cream ever). We are expectant of the crazy things God will do next, He seems to have a lot in store. The weekends have been an awesome time to journal and process everything God is doing in our hearts.

Some prayer requests would be finances for outreach. There are quite a few people still trusting the Lord for their outreach funds. He’s been faithful so far!! Also pray for our outreach teams, that the staff will have wisdom in making last minute decisions and that all of our teams will be united and get a real sense of what God has planned specifically for us in 6 different countries. We are believing that He is bringing us there each for a specific reason because He needs certain things done there at that specific time to build His Kingdom! Also keep praying that we will continue to be united as a team and as a family. Each student has something to unique to bring to the group, all of the staff are so clearly called by the Lord, and our leader Virmz is such an amazing man of God and example of a Christ follower – praise the Lord! Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!!

We can’t wait to see what this week will bring…the topic is sin, repentance, and forgiveness. We’re ready, Lord, for the work you want to do in us and through us this week! Thank you, Jesus! Just like our theme verse for DTS says, you are the WAY the TRUTH and the LIFE! Amen!

By Gina van der Linde