Week 1 is over

So much has happened the past few days, that it seems unreal that I've only been here a week. They have crammed SO much into our time here! :) It is really nice, though.

I'm sitting in the lounge/living room at our dorm, Harvest, right now. We are all working on our "IT" (Insights & Teaching) which is a folder that is due every Monday. We have to answer questions about the lecture we heard the previous week, what God has been teaching us, etc. We also have to read a book every week (or 2 weeks) and answer questions about that. This week our book was Is That Really You, God? by Loren Cunningham, which is all about the foundations of how YWAM began and also understanding God's voice and the different ways He speaks to us. Our lecture this week was "Hearing God's Voice" by Al Akimoff, who was one of the "founding fathers" of YWAM. It was really interesting to hear Al speak about stories we have been reading about in the book.

Our DTS class has 3 leaders: Dave, Amy, and Vlady. Dave is in his late 20's, he's very passionate and a little ADD. He has a heart for Sudan and also for leading DTS. Amy is in her mid 30's, and is very sweet natured. She has been to over 32 countries! And Vlady is from Mexico; I'm actually not sure how old she is. She is probably the most joyous person I have ever met! That should give you a glimpse into my DTS staff-- they are all awesome.

Once a week we split into small groups, so all the girls go with Amy and Vlady, and all the guys go with Dave. It's just a time to process what we're learning and experiencing, and share things in a more intimate way. We also have all been assigned a one-on-one person, where we have someone to help us process everything, pray for us, hold us accountable, etc. My one-on-one person is Amy, which I knew would happen! I think her and I are going to be great friends. I think part of the reason why I came here was so that I could meet her.

We're also all assigned 2 hours of work duty or acts of service every day. We were able to choose, and I ended up with dinner prep which so far is really fun! Rachel and I work together with Mel, who is in the intern program known as The Galilee Project.

We have been able to get to know the Galileans pretty well this past week. I especially have been spending a lot of time with Brad, Ruthie, Minju, and Mel.

Every day is a little different, but I want to give you an idea of a "typical day" here at DTS.

5:30 AM- Wake up, shower, etc
6:00 AM- Quiet time
7:00 AM- Breakfast
7:30 AM- Bible Meditation
8:30 AM- Worship or Intercession/Prayer
9:30 AM- Class Time/lecture (one 15 min break)
12:15 PM- Lunch
1:30 PM- One-on-one/study time (Mon), ministry development/study time (Tue), intercession (Wed), small group (Thur), or community outreach (Fri)
3:00 PM- Acts of Service
5:15 PM- Dinner
6:30 PM- Either class time, free time, Q&A with speaker, study time, etc etc.

Our night free time has been wonderful and has included things like spontaneous games of volleyball, worshiping in the lounge, watching a really bad Thai martial arts movie, hanging out and talking, worshiping at a bonfire, etc. I feel so blessed to have this time with such awesome people!

I am so excited for the weeks to come, and I will try to keep you all updated when I can. I have felt so overwhelmed this week, but in such a great way! God has been teaching me a lot about how to draw near to Him even more, and how to wait and listen to Him and what's on His heart. I feel so blessed to be here, thank you again for all of your love and support!

Now here are some pictures to introduce you to all the DTS people:


Younsoo, Darcey, and me


Vlady


Rachel


Ian


Mike and Ally


Amy


Dave