Half-Way point

We are now half way through our lecture phase of the DTS; and I am also at the half-way point of my trip here. Time has really flown by. Looking back and evaluating the progress of our students, I feel blessed and rewarded that I can be apart of the growth that I see. God is working in their hearts and they have grown so much. I really wonder what big plans God has for these 7 students. Will they remain in YWAM and grow to be directors in YWAM? Will they start their own organizations? Will they impact the sphere of business? I don’t know how, but I know God is going to use them so powerfully.

WEEK 5- RELATIONSHIPS

For week 5 with the topic of relationships, we had a guest speaker from Nigeria. This speaker was truly a blessing and not only instructed well, he modeled good relationship and love for others. After this week, we could really see our students going out of thier way to try and be a good friend, serve others, pray for others, and put other’s needs before their own. Our students have really been growing in servant-hood and selflessness. They are really growing together as a family. It is such a blessing to see this and I know that through this godly character, God’s power and love is going to be released through them to others when they go on outreach in 6 weeks.

WEEK 6- SIN, REPENTANCE, & RESTITUTION

This week, we have had a guest speaker from Uganda. Even I have been learning from him and have really been gleaning on the words of wisdom he has been speaking. It is amazing to me at how much these teachings impact the students. One student shared at the end, “For me, I didn’t really know much about the topic of sin or what true repentance was, but you have taught us and now I have been enlightened”. We hear comments like this over and over again. I continue to hear (in response from my teaching on hearing the voice of God) “I didn’t even know that people COULD hear the voice of God until you taught us that week and now I can hear God and recognize it is God”.

It is really rewarding to see God working in these students. I know that as God works in them, they will go on to impact their community, their town, and their country. This first DTS is the first fruits of the base here, and I know God is going to use these 7 students for such big things. This week, I have been reminded that we are not only touching the lives of 7 individuals, but through them, we are touching this nation (God in us of course).

LOCAL OUTREACH

There is a refugee camp just a 5 minute walk from our door step. As a school, we have begun going their for ministry. They have been kicked out of the North (which was their home), put on a train, and dumped here. They have nothing. They have no choice but to live in this large warehouse type building together with hundreds of others. It is a breeding ground for so many diseases as well as despair. But it is also such fertile ground for the hope and light of God. We have begun to go there and people have been so touched and blessed. We hold a church like service and then pray for the sick and crippled. We are still waiting to see God’s power released visibly, but I have faith that he will. 

THIS WEEK 

This week we are learning about leadership in our regular morning classes. I am also holding extra evening classes to teach, "How to study the bible" "How to prepare and present a teaching" and "How to give and receive evaluation of a teaching".  Please pray these go smoothly as the first two days I have hardly been able to hold class because of random complications.

ANSWERED PRAYERS

• Our speakers, and our guests from the U.S. arrived here safely and have departed and are on their way. They had a very long 12 hour bumpy ride and when they arrived, they were covered in sand. It looked like they had buckets of sand dumped on their head. But they made it safely, they got to go to unreached people groups, preach in churches and in refugee camps, as well as bless us all.
• God has provided miraculously. We had nearly run out of money for food (about 7 dollars to feed about 20 people for a few more days before more money would come). As we prayed for provision, God has brought it. We have now stock piled on the staple foods as they expect food prices to sky rocket or a food shortage to happen very soon.

PRAYER REQUESTS

• One of our speakers (the YWAM director for all of Sudan) has come here from the North. He planned to be here one week but it has now been 3 weeks and he has not been able to return to the North. Tension is growing between the North and South, the North bombed a few days ago and I heard that they expect to be in war again in May or war has been declared (not really sure on the news source). This is causing it to be difficult for him to go home and be reunited with his wife and kids who miss him. Pray that he would be able to return and be reunited with his family.
• Pray for us as we pray about where the students will go for outreach.
• Pray that we would all have renewed energy to finish the lecture phase. This is the middle point and this is the point where things could go down hill, or excel. Pray the later would happen even though we are all getting tired. 
• PRAY FOR PEACE IN SUDAN! Sudan has been in war for 50 years (before they were even the country of Sudan and independent from Egypt and British rule. They have declared war again and three stated have already been bombed. Please pray for peace.