Graduation and Olympic Activities

After 12 intense weeks, on the 6th of July, the School of Design had their final exhibition to show off all their hard work, graduated, and the SoD came to a close.

Both Robyn and Simeon will be joining us this summer as volunteers to help out with the Olympics.

2 weeks of 'The School of the Circuit Rider' has just finished. My Fiancé, Phil, was a participant along with the Discipleship Training School (DTS) he is currently staffing.
This is what he had to say about it:

"This was a two-week course aimed at greater freedom in Christ and intentional evangelism (www.ywamharpenden.org/training/circuitriders). We had about 200 people join us here in Harpenden for this, which was pretty intense. We spent time in worship and intercession everyday, as well as receiving teaching focusing on our relationship and identity in Christ. We also went into Harpenden, Luton and St Albans to offer prayer and talk to people about God and life.

I really enjoyed the two weeks and felt like I gained a much better understanding of what my faith means to me and why I do what I do. We had a really great time, and were challenged a lot in whom we are.

Our times out in the different towns were also amazing. I got to have a number of really good conversations with people about what it means to live a life after Jesus, and to pray for a number of people. I am not sure that the area really knows what hit it, with over 200 young people dividing between the three locations and sharing the love of Christ in each different place over the two weeks. God was amazing over the time and we ended up seeing over 70 healings (from sprained ankles, to a lady who was partially sighted getting full sight back). We also had 129 people invite Christ to be their saviour over the two weeks.

I am sure it will be one of those times that I remember, and I know it has helped to give me a push into more of seeing God’s kingdom come."

What a great way to start off the summer of the Olympics! I hope you are as encouraged by that as I am!

Here are some photos of how our campus has/is changing to accommodate the 600+ people expected for these 8 weeks of the summer!

Signs my team and I have made so that everyone knows where they're going!

Tent City












Up Next: Go 4 Glory, an Arts and Sports celebration 20-25th of July. 300+ Artists and Sports people from around the world all gathering here to worship God using the Arts and Sports to glorify Him! I will be helping out and participating, I'm so excited!

Blessings :)

School of Design 2012

We have just finished Week 8 of the School of Design. This year we have two wonderful students, Robyn from Canada and Simeon from Nigeria, and 4 staff. The students have been working hard and learning a lot about graphic design and how to glorify God through their creativity.

Simeon finished taking the Documentary Filmmaking School here this past fall and is now rounding his talents with graphic design. This course will help him in his desire to go back to Nigeria and use what he's learned to positively affect the area of media. Simeon is a very talented and persevering man with a wonderful heart for God.

Robyn has a dream to become an Illustrator, working with non-profits to help them by creating their logos and corporate identity. (Which they will be learning about in the next two weeks) At just 18 she is a wonderful Illustrator already! Her passion to do things with excellence and her love for God will take her far.

Please be praying for them

* that they would grasp all the new concepts, ideas and skills easily and well.

* for continued inspiration from God

* new ways to show God's heart through their projects

* good rest so that they will learn well

Thanks so much, God bless you :)

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.