HI AGAIN!

Ok this whole having a blog thing is really hard when you're living in Hawaii and attending YWAM!! SO SORRY!

I am going to try to take a little bit more time out of my week to share a little bit of what's going on but this can be one big update!!

Last 2 weeks have been VERY good and amazing as expected. I have learned that Monday's are now my favorite day of the whole week because we have worship 3 times!! All so powerful and UGH just the best ever! We have worship on Monday mornings, after lunch, and then ministry night which is all worship too.

Classes have all been very impactful as well as worship. Last week was "freedom week" where we opened up old wounds from our pasts and laid them at the feet of Jesus and declared they have no power over us anymore! It has been so cool so see how much I have learned and have grown in the past 4 weeks, and then I realize I have 5 more months of this is blowing my mind.

The biggest thing that has happened in the last 2 weeks since my last blog update has been our lecture on Original Design. Which for those of you who might not know what that means, I'll explain!! Each of us are uniquely and wonderfully made by God and he has a specific purpose for you and a certain calling on your life. Your "original design" is basically just who God says you are!! So in our class last week when we were doing this lesson, there were staff grouped up in to twos around our class tent and each student was supposed to go up to the staff. Each student would go up to the 2 staff, say their name, sit down, and the staff would pray over you and ask God to show them your original design. They were going to share 3 things with you, also tell you what the devil is using to separate you and God. Since there are about 350 students in my school and not an equal amount of staff, we had to wait in lines. LUCKILY I had gone up to a couple and I was third in line. The 2 people in front of me sat in their chair for about 25-30 seconds before the staff would start sharing what the Lord was telling them.

So then it was my turn! I walked up to the chairs and they asked for my name and that was it. Like I said for the people in front of me in line, it took the staff probably about 30 seconds to start sharing. For me, it took about 5 seconds. I had Alex and Lydia as my staff and Alex shared first.

"Yeah I just kept hearing the word 'compassion' and I really feel like the Lord has given you a heart and passion for your family at home and everyone you come across. I just feel like the Lord has given you a huge heart to love people and to serve people and it's out of an overflow of revelation of what God has done for you so it's almost like you have an understanding of God's love for you and it is fueling your love for other people."

and this is what Lydia said.

"I just immediately saw a deep royal purple and I feel like God is saying that you are royalty. And the thing about royalty is that if you know you're royal you know you carry authority and so I feel like that is what the Lord was highlighting. That there is an authority that is naturally given to you because you are a daughter of the King and we all are but I feel like for you specifically there is an increase in authority that the Lord has placed over your life.

I also saw a field of wheat and the heads of grain were ripe and I really feel like there is a harvest over your life that is so huge and the Lord is really going to use you to bring a massive amount of souls into his Kingdom and to not doubt your place in evangelism and to not doubt your ability to be apart of seeing souls won."

I left feeling so encouraged!!! I love hearing what God is placing on other people's hearts about me. Which is why the rest of my day got even better! One of the guys on staff named Hunter came up to me during class and told me to find him on break. Soooo I did and he had a very cool word for me. He said the day before in our prayer set, he saw me worshipping and his heart was roaring and felt as if he NEEDED to share with me what the Lord was saying to him.

He said he felt as though there is a weight from the Kingdom placed on MY shoulders. God trusts ME with my words and has given me the keys to His kingdom. There are people watching me because of my hunger for Jesus and because of that I am called to a higher standard and I have the authority to walk in grace and holiness as a role model and bring people to Christ.

AND THEN..... that night at worship my outreach leader came up to me and said pretty much the same thing!!! That I am in a leadership position because so many people are watching ME and looking up to ME. She said I have a voice that people need to be hearing and I can't be hiding in the back.

WOWWWWW!!!!!! I finished the day feeling so encouraged. I had woke up this specific morning feeling very distant and just disappointed because I wasn't encountering Jesus like everyone else was. This was just so reassuring for me and UGH I AM SO THANKFUL.

SO

Now I encourage you to think about your Original Design. What purpose does God have on your life? What are you called to do? When God created us, he made us each with our own unique skill sets and unique passions. How can you use those passions he designed you with to share his gospel and bring the lost into his Kingdom? We've been talking a lot this week about preaching the gospel. We so often think evangelism is sharing your testimony and hoping people get saved. And sometimes it does, but we need to use the 5 finger outline which is what we've been learning in class and I want to give it to you so you can go about preaching the gospel and saving souls in your own little part of the world! :)

1. Creation.

Talk about how God has created us all so uniquely and he has a specific purpose for each of us!! We so often think that we need to be doing certain things in order to receive Gods love and blessing, but as our creator and our father he has been obsessed with us since before we were born!! He is so in love with each of us and just wants a relationship with us and we are the ones who tear the adoption papers and separate us from his love. We were created as image bearers of Christ and every time we dismiss that or degrade ourselves, we are insulting His creation that He called "good" (Genesis 1:27-31).

2. The Fall

Share with them how sin entered the world! Put yourself on their level. Share how you have sinned, how you're not perfect. By putting yourself on the same level as them, it creates a bond and intimacy with that person and humbles yourself and turns the glory to God.

3. Judgement

This is when we talk about how we have all sinned and because of that we deserve to go to hell.

4. The Cross

Here is where we get to the fun stuff!! The 4th point we talk about when sharing the gospel is about the never ending love God has for us. His love is RELENTLESS to the point where he sent his son to DIE for us. We say it all the time and I really think we need to focus our heart towards what that actually means. Like think about it!!!! He was NAILED to a cross for us! All so we can be free from sin and tear down the barrier we put up between us and God. This is where your heart should be literally burning to share the good news with everyone we know. We do not deserve the love and blessings the Lord has given us! He does not need us to be as glorious as He is, but because He loves us so much and wants a GENUINE relationship with us, Jesus came down and died on the cross for our sins to spare us from a life of destruction and give us eternal life.

5. Holy Spirit/Promise

The final point is where we talk about the promise that has been given to us through our salvation. God promises us to eternal life with Him when we choose to follow Him daily and lay down our lives for the sake of the gospel. After Jesus rose again and ascended into heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit down to dwell inside of us and move through us. The Holy Spirit is one in the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), and is alive and present in our every day. The Lord is moving everyday through miracles, signs, and wonders and He calls us to be ambassadors of His kingdom. He has given us the authority through His name to act and intercede on His behalf. Act in faith and not in fear!

One thing we value here at YWAM is getting out of our comfort zones to share the gospel. We believe in seeing lost souls found every single day and I encourage you to be doing the same wherever you are! We want to see revival and we want to see our world transformed into fiery eyed followers of Jesus.

SO LETS GO PREACH THE GOSPEL!!!! :)

love u hehe

-jam