Reflections from Easter

When I was home at Christmas I purchased a visual Bible at the airport. Being someone who thinks mostly in pictures I have really enjoyed learning more about the culture and looking at maps that show you where the stories of the Bible happened today and having a better overview and context of a book before I start reading it.

Lately I've been reading in the Old Testament, a lot in Genesis and some of Deuteronomy and I have been OVERWHELMED by the way that God pursue's us! Us, meaning human beings, the one's God has created. Even though we keep screwing up, God keeps warning us and we still are disobedient and don't listen, yet he keeps coming back to us, conversing with us, trying to help us out so that He can be in good relationship with us. Which ultimately leads to God humbling himself and sending His Son to Earth as a baby, to speak to us once again, and try to help us to understand His love for us. Until the ultimate sacrifice happens when Jesus, being perfect, is sacrificed on a cross taking on all, and I mean ALL the sin of the world (and dang, that is a lot!).

He gets sent to hell totally separated from God, but rises again and ascends into heaven. Ultimately breaking the Old covenant that was made, which God couldn't reneg on because God is perfect and Holy and Just and can't contradict Himself, so he couldn't just change the commitment He made with us. So he made this NEW covenant through Jesus, allowing ALL humans to believe and follow Him to come back into right relationship with the Good, kind, loving and faithful God for ETERNITY (meaning forever), who knows all, but only ASKS us to follow Him, doesn't demand it. And the reason He asks is because He cares about us and wants what is best for us!

The Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) made the human race out of love, we screwed up and didn't listen to what He asked of us by eating an apple, therefore opening our eyes to evil. And ever since God has been PURSUING US, for thousands of years, to bring us back into right relationship with Himself, not forcing us, but giving us the CHOICE...WoW! That's what I call ultimate pursuit!!

I'm Engaged!!!!!

I would like to introduce you to my fiancé Phil! He hails from Manchester, England. We met on an outreach to Brighton in 2010 and after he joined YWAM staff in January 2011 we began a relationship a few months later and he asked me to marry him in December just before Christmas while we were with my family in Arizona, USA. Phil has a degree in Marine Biology and worked in conservation for 3 years before he joined YWAM. He is now staff in the Discipleship Training School (DTS) Centre and helps to lead the weekly Intercession and Prayer times for the campus and is currently staffing the Impact UK DTS which started in January and ends this August after the Olympics finish. We will be getting married at the beginning of October and will return back to YWAM Harpenden to continue in Ministry here. We are praying about what that will look like for the both of us. Please keep us in your prayers as we pray about the future :)

Bless you!

It Is Finished!!!!

For the past few months the communications team here at YWAM Harpenden has been working hard on creating a new website and it is finally FINISHED!!!! Please check it out, I worked on most of the images you will find on it. My friend and co-worker Daniel did all of the coding and backend design...making sure everything worked, and my other friend and co-worker Lauren did the bulk of the writing :)
You can have a look at it here ywamharpenden.org Enjoy!

Wilberforce DTS and FCD

It's high time for an update so I thought I would introduce you to a couple of courses we are running here at YWAM Harpenden this quarter. The Wilberforce Discipleship Training School (DTS) and the Foundations in Community Development (FCD).

The Wilberforce DTS is our first All-Generation DTS that we've run and also our largest DTS yet with 28 students! All-Generation meaning just what it says, we have 18 yr olds, couples in their 20's, families with children, and even a Granny :) There is also an emphasis on justice and influencing all the spheres of society.
You can find out more about it here .

The FCD is a 12 week course with a 3 month outreach to work with a developing country. The leader, Annette, has worked in Cambodia for 8 years. You can find out more about it here.

The images below are the postcards I designed for them this past year.

Simon's House

About a month ago my friends Hayley, Colin, Pam and I went to Canterbury on the weekend to help out a guy named Simon. He is a Messianic Jew in his 50's or 60's he has had cancer so hasn't had much energy. We went to help him clean his house and the back garden (yard). We were able to clear out the entire yard and burn the extra stuff, so that he can actually enjoy his back garden again. He was so grateful, and I was surprised at how much 4 people accomplished in a day and a half.

My roommate Hayley is a part of the Forever Team which is our Olympic outreach team here at YWAM Harpenden, for more information you can go here www.forever2012.com. Hayley is the prayer coordinator for the Forever team and met Simon at a "More than Gold" prayer meeting. "More Than Gold" is a group of Christians from all over England who are networking, gathering, and working together to coordinate outreach to the nations and share the Good News before, during and after the 2012 Olympics here in England. They are made up of different Networks i.e. Prayer, Sports, Arts, Justice etc. It's pretty sweet how they are all coming together for the love of Jesus, truly working as the Body of Christ.

This week the Forever team is gathering all of the English Discipleship Training Schools (DTS's, like what I did in Norway a few years ago) and a few other teams from Europe to do outreach in Manchester, which is one of the Olympic locations. Last year I went with them to Cardiff, Wales (another one of the Olympic event locations). They do these gatherings every 3 months or so, to teach on evangelism and practice it. We also do a lot of worship and prayer and networking with local churches in preparation for the Olympics. I am helping with an art outreach and taking photos of the gathering, to help put a visual to what goes on at these gatherings.

Hope For Justice

A couple of weeks ago my friend Lucie and I went to a school near her hometown of Guildford to help with a human trafficking awareness workshop. We started the day listening to a guy named Ben who started Hope For Justice.  Then we split into different groups, and Lucie and I lead a session on photography with 15 and 16-year-olds. We got to share what we do and since none of them had taken any photography courses, we gave them some tips. It was very cool to see how much they were into it. We also looked at some images already used for awareness and critiqued them together.  They had a lot of really great observations. After, we gave them time to come up with some of their own photography ideas, then sent them out on their own to take photos. They did a great job. We edited the photos together, and they will be going up in a local prayer room for trafficking awareness.

2 weeks left!

For the last two and a half months I've been staffing the School of Web Design and Communication. Helping with design consultation and other various bits and pieces. We are in our last 2 weeks! We have 6 students - from L to R Kokwain from Nigeria, Nathan from Holland/UK, Fred from Tanzania, Seun from Nigeria, Ross from Ghana and Martine from South Africa. They are a great bunch with a wonderful sense of humor, a huge heart for worship, and are working very hard and excited about learning web design. They will use these skills in their respective countries and throughout the world to broadcast the good news of Jesus Christ! After the Christmas Holiday they will be starting their 3 month internship where they will get to use the skills they've learned these past 3 months to do some hands on practical web-design, helping other Christian ministries. I'm so excited for them! Please pray for them as they finish their last project and will have an exhibition of all they've done at the end of next week.