A God of Hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

During the past few weeks, this verse has been randomly given

to me twice from two different people. And it is exactly the encouragement I needed. I have a hard time trusting God in regards to the future because it is so easy to fear the unknown and to fear change. I easily fall into dismay when thinking about the "what ifs" of the future instead of holding fast to the truth that God will never forsake me and that He is good and faithful to provide what I need. I would appreciate prayer for this - that I would be full of joy and peace as I trust in the God of hope for whatever lies ahead in my life.

The weeks in Hawaii have just been flying by like mad. As I prepare for week 8 to begin, I think back to the many things I have learned and the ways I have changed. I feel like much has changed in my heart, my mind, and in my spirit through the teaching and through my times with God here. I have begun to seriously consider the possible choices for my life post DTS. I have gained many new friends from all over the world, some of which I believe will be life-long relationships. I now have experience in hitchhiking, operating heavy machinery (other than a car), and hanging out at Wal-Mart for fun on Friday nights :)

The preparation for our three months in Cambodia on outreach is underway, too! I have been asked to be one of two student co-leaders along with my DTS staff leader. In just one short month I'm going to be saying goodbye to Hawaii for three months. On December 15th we will fly out and travel for two days to reach our destination in Cambodia. It's going to be an interesting Christmas this year! I've never spent it away from my family, let alone in a hot, humid, tropical setting. As we prepare, we are praying that God would show us what to do during our time there. The focus will be mainly upon working with children, which includes individuals ranging from infants to 18 year olds. Two of the cities I know we will be going to are Siem Reap and Battambang in Cambodia. Both locations have established YWAM bases where we will be staying. Travel into villages outside of the city are very likely, too. 

And the excitement continues as I await the arrival of my dad, mom and brother from Seattle and LA! I'm blessed to be able to spend Thanksgiving with them and show them what is going on here. Anyone else want to come and visit??!!

"Ding Repair" in Hawaii isn't for your car.

Turtles, Ears and Clowns

I successfully snorkeled for the first time yesterday! It was probably one of the most exciting days of my life as I dunked my head underwater and immediately looked at dozens and dozens of sea animals hanging out all around me. I felt like I was swimming in the tank at the aquarium! Sea turtles are common at Kahalauu Beach where I was snorkeling - throughout the course of my time in the water I saw and swam around six different sea turtles ranging from 1.5 - 2 ft long. And every time I looked or swam in another direction I would see another species of fish that I hadn't seen yet. Little ones, striped ones, big fat ones, skinny yellow ones, iridescent ones, spotted ones...it was probably one of the coolest things I have ever done in my entire life. I think God had some fun while he was creating the fishies underwater. 

As far as the actual school goes, its been good, great, challenging and sometimes very intense. I have been told that it is around this time during the DTS that it gets challenging for people as the honeymoon period of being in Hawaii dissipates a little and the emotional and spiritual intensity of the schooling keeps building. I'm sad to say that not everyone who started this DTS journey with me is still here. But I must say that those of us still in this DTS have really bonded like a family - it is a privilege for me to be a part of such a loving and compassionate group. 

Awesome testimony: Last week a man at YWAM had his hearing healed during a worship/prayer session. He had been using hearing aids for years and was prayed for early last week and was completely healed - no more hearing aids! So cool.

Here are some picts from the volunteer night at an event a local church was doing for the community on Halloween.

Everyone in my DTS raided the YWAM costume trailer and came out looking pretty amazing.