Back home......for now.

Well it's been WAY too long since my last post, and I have to apologize for that. It has been a very busy last couple of months and things have been pretty much none stop for me, but I am back home in Canada now to rest for a few weeks before I leave again and am off to Taiwan.

The rest of our time in Varanasi was extremely busy, but absolutely amazing!! Varanasi was definitely an experience of a lifetime, and I am so thankful that God sent me there and for what He did in and through our team there. It was amazing how God showed up in everything we did and made them all successful. As I mentioned in my last post, we were given the River Ashram to use while our friends were on holiday, so we held 24 hours of prayer and worship there on the Monday to the Tuesday after my last post, with us all taking turns throughout the day and night, which was AMAZING. The presence of God in the room was awesome, and we capped it off with a time of corporate worship and had another YWAM team from Idaho join us. It was a great time of prayer and worship for our team, and being able to share it with another team was a great experience for us and for them. We also went to the Mother Teresa orphanage in Varanasi with Raul from the Care Centre (turns out it's the Care Centre, not the K Centre....I blame Josh on that one...lol) and spent time with the orphans there that are mostly mentally disabled children. It was a fantastic time of just spending time with the kids and showing the love of God to them. We also planned to have another Kashipalooza gathering for travelers on the Friday, but between the 24 hour prayer, going to Mother Teresa's, helping at the Care Centre and helping out Helga, we didn't really have any time to prepare for our second Kashipalooza until Thursday night. Thankfully, from our experience the last week, we knew that the Thursday night was the best time to hand out flyers since most people seemed to just stay in Varanasi a couple days, and since we still had most of the supplies from the week before, we decided to still do it and just see how many people show up. It was definitely one of our least organized activities that we did in our outreach, but it turned out to be one of the best things we did (in my opinion at least). We had even more people show up than we did the week before, including more musicians, and because the weather was a lot nicer there were multiple circles around the ashram instead of just 1 around the fire. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing, and everybody had a fantastic time. We all had so many different opportunities to share our faith and what we were doing with everybody, and we had some awesome conversations with so many different people. It was amazing how even though we didn't put as much effort into it as the week before, because we followed what God was telling us to do, it was a greater success than we could've imagined it would be. Our last few days in Varanasi continued to be very busy saying goodbye to everybody and continuing to work at the Care Centre. We also went to the Mother Teresa House and played some praise and worship for the people living there, and went to one last Wednesday morning Christian Meditation at the ashram.

We left Varanasi on January 20th and went to Delhi for a few days before we flew to Bangkok for a little R&R and debriefing before we went back to New Zealand. It was a good time back in Delhi. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for an amazing meal and had the best hamburger I had ever had in my life (or at least it seemed that way after not having beef for 2 months), and on Saturday night we met up with the other India team for the first time in 2 months. It was awesome to see them again, and it was even better spending the next 4 days with them in Bangkok! We had a great time in Bangkok seeing the city and experiencing the street markets there as well as the street food!! It was definitely a shock to us all being there and seeing how different it was than what we had experienced for the last 2 months, but we still were able to have an awesome time and I think we all enjoyed having nice hot showers and our own bathrooms again.

We got back to the base in New Zealand on Thursday Jan 27, and we took that day and the next to relax, adjust to the time difference and reconnect with the rest of our school. It was definitely a little strange for us all to be back together after spending the last 2 months with only your outreach team, but it was great to see all our friends and share about our experiences with each other. On the Saturday we went to the Parachute Music Festival and had an awesome time listening to some amazing music and speakers. The next few days were a little like being back in lecture phase because we had re-entry teaching and had some of our usual DTS activities like base worship and open meeting. Jake did a great job with the teaching, and I know that it was definitely helpful for me and I'm sure for the rest of my school as well. My parents got to the base on the 31st, so I got to introduce them to my friends/family that I had spent the last 5 months with for a few days before we all went our separate ways. It was definitely difficult to say goodbye to all of these people that I had grown so much with over the last 5 months, and I thank God for each and everyone of them because I know that each of us was brought to that school at that time for a reason. We all became so close during our school because God was moving in us and through us, and when God is there, everything changes.

The next couple weeks my parents and I traveled throughout most of New Zealand. We had some amazing times and saw some of the most beautiful parts of God's creation. If you ever get a chance to go to New Zealand, do it, because it is so diverse and has so many different types of beauty to see. It was awesome getting to see my parents again and travel with them, but it was also very difficult for me as well. After spending 5 months being surrounded by friends and not being alone, I was suddenly that loner guy that is on vacation in New Zealand with his parents. I could feel the devil bearing down on me and attacking me, making me feel like a loser and alone. It wasn't so much that I missed all of my DTS friends, even though I did, it was more just a feeling of aloneness and being a loser that I couldn't shake. I even had a hard time talking to my parents about it. It really made the re-entry teaching that Jake gave us hit home. Thankfully, I finally did talk to my parents and prayed with them about it, and from then on it wasn't a problem anymore. It is amazing how God answers prayers, even small ones like that, when we call on Him for help. It was really a testament to me about how the devil will attack you at your weaknesses, but he can't hold up against the power of God and the power of prayer.

Being back in Canada has been a little strange, but it is great to be back home with my family and friends. It has been amazing seeing my nieces and nephew and seeing how big they've gotten and how much they've changed. It was a little tough at times because Hannah and Bannon didn't seem to recognize me at first, but it has gotten better as I've seen them more often. It has really shown me and taught me part of the real and practical cost of stepping out and following God is the difficulty of the toll it takes on relationships. Not just with missing out on holidays and birthdays and spending time with your family, but also the difficulty of knowing how hard it has been to get so close with my DTS family and then having to leave them, knowing I may never see some of them again. It is also hard knowing that I am going to get very close to the people that I meet at School of Biblical Studies and have to leave them in 9 months - 1 year after too. I absolutely love what I am doing and know that it is exactly what I am supposed to be doing, but coming back home and re-entering my life here has helped me get a better realization of the practical/relational cost of what I am doing. So please be praying for me as I continue to follow God that He will be lifting me up, especially in the times when I'm missing my family and friends.

As most of you know, I'm going to Taiwan for the School of Biblical Studies next. I fly out of London on March 22, and will be gone for 9 months - 1 year. I am so excited to be doing this school, not only because I know that it is something that God is calling me to do and is an important part of the equipping process that He is doing in me, but also because this is like a dream come true for me! Ever since I started thinking of getting involved with Youth with a Mission I wanted to do this school, so I guess this is part of God showing me that He meant it when He said that if you delight yourself in Him and He will give you the desires of your heart. Unfortunately the base has been having some problems with the Taiwan Government and have had troubles with getting us our visas, so if you could all be praying for favor with the government so that we can all get visas without a problem I would appreciate it. Thankfully, we can still get a shorter term visa and hope that all the problems get resolved before our visas expire or we'll just have to leave the country and go to Hong Kong and go back to reset our visas. It isn't ideal, but at least we should all have no problem getting into the country. Speaking of government, I was able to do my taxes this past weekend and I am getting about $2300 back in taxes, so I almost have enough money to cover me tuition (which includes my room) for the entire 9 months of the school! I still have to pay for my own food, but I should have enough money from the ongoing support that I am receiving. The only thing I'm not sure of is how much the Titus project costs, which is a 3 month optional outreach after SBS where we go and teach what we have learned, but I feel that this is something that God is calling me to do as well so that I can share with others what He has taught me, so I am confident that He will provide the funds I need to do that as well.

As for the future, I'm still not sure what God's bigger plan is for me at this point. All I know is what He has told me to do as the next step, and I believe He is teaching me to trust in Him and to not look too far into the future. I know that He has plans for me and I know that I am doing what He wants me to do right now and that He will reveal the next step to me in His timing. Please continue to pray for me for guidance as well as provision as I follow His call.

If you would like to learn more about the base and the school that I'll be going to in Taiwan, their website is http://www.ywamtaiwan.org/. If you have any questions or if you'd like to get together while I'm in town give me a call or send me a message on facebook or email me at stelps1@gmail.com.

I am also planning a barbecue at my parents house on Saturday March 19 starting at 5:00 to say hello and see ya later to all my friends and family before I leave for Taiwan. Unfortunately I don't think the weather will be as nice as it was for my last barbecue, but we'll make due. If you plan on coming, please send me an email to RSVP so that we can have an idea of how many people to expect.

Thanks for reading my long post, and God bless,

Matt

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Hello everybody, I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Years! Things were really busy and very different than I'm used to for the holidays, but it was amazing. I must admit, I know it has been way too long since I posted something on here and I actually started writing this post originally between Christmas and New Years, but things have been really busy and I wanted to make sure I gave you all a full update.

It's hard to believe that we've already been in India for over 6 weeks now, Varanasi for over two and a half weeks and will be leaving to go back to Delhi in less than 2 weeks. It has been a busy time, but has been an amazing time and we've really seen God using us here.

The rest of our time in McLeod Ganj was amazing. We definitely picked up momentum the last half of our time there as we got more comfortable with our surroundings and activities and got to know people better. Matt Nicholson and I were teaching a conversation class that was held in a small monastery in McLeod Ganj and had an amazing time there with amazing results. The people there were so open to talk about religion, and we ended up basically preaching the Gospel there multiple times and gave out a lot of literature as well as some Tibetan bibles. It was amazing to see what God can do when you give Him room to move, even in a monastery! We even had one of the monks that was a regular at the conversation class come to send us off! It was definitely a blessing to be a part of, and it made a lasting impression on us and I know on a lot of the people that attended the class too. We even had one of the monks that attended our class come to see us off at the bus station.

On our last night in McLeod Ganj, we rented out the movie theatre in town and put on a showing of the Hope video, which is the story of the bible from beginning to end in Tibetan and using Tibetan actors and style of storytelling. We handed out flyers to people in our conversation classes and other Tibetans we had connected with and prayed that some of them showed up. It ended up being a huge success! The theatre was pretty much packed (of course it isn't very big, so that's only about 20-30 people), and people seemed to enjoy the movie very much. Overall, our time in McLeod Ganj was amazing and although we didn't see any radical conversions and it may have been different than we had expected, we definitely saw God move in that place and in people's hearts. We made many connections with all different kinds of people, and we definitely all had an amazing time and were amazed at how God worked in us and through us.

Coming to Varanasi, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard many different stories about this place, some good, some bad, and I felt that my highlight of outreach probably had passed and that I wouldn't like this half as much as McLeod Ganj. After spending half a month here, I can definitely say that I was wrong. In the time we've been here, I've definitely fallen in love with this city. It is a city like no other, and it's hard to even begin to describe it. The city can be a little overwhelming at first, mentally, physically and spiritually, but after a the initial shock wears off and you get a little more acclimatized to the city, you can really start to enjoy it. The city is definitely a barrage to the senses, to give you a bit of an idea of the city: there are people using the streets as a toilet (both #1 and 2!); there are cows, dogs and other animals everywhere, so you can imagine the sights and smells from that; there are people everywhere and half of them are trying to sell you something or to take you on a boat or rickshaw ride (which are absolutely everywhere); there seems to always be some sort of religious ceremony going on, usually with bells; there are bodies being burned 24/7 at a couple places along the Ganga (Ganges); you always have to be watching where you step because there may be a cow pie under your foot if you don't; and the city is essentially one big maze of small little side streets and alleys running off of some main streets. just to give you a bit of a glimpse of what the city is like. The spiritual atmosphere here is obviously pretty crazy with it being the holiest city of Hinduism, but for the most part, this causes a lot of the travelers to be very open to talking about spirituality and religion.

The main focus of our outreach here has been at the K Centre, which is located right beside the train station, and is basically a drop in centre for kids that live in and around the train station. These are kids that live in terrible poverty and are basically thrust into making money somehow from a very young age. The centre is run by an Indian man named Raul, who is actually from Southern India, but has lived in Varanasi for a while now. His vision and purpose for the K Centre is to give the kids a chance to be kids, to spoil them, and to possibly give them a chance to get out of the slums/train station. Three days a week the kids are given basic math, english and hindi classes (they haven't had them while we have been here though because the schools are on a break), and Raul also helps send 8 of the kids to school by paying for 80% of the costs of tuition and uniform and whatever else they need. On Tuesdays and Fridays, they just have free days where the kids can just play and have fun. The kids love to play cricket, carrom board, badminton, swing on the swings, and really whatever you are willing to do with them. It has been a huge blessing and an amazing opportunity to work at the K Centre, and we have all definitely enjoyed it.

The rest of our time has mostly been spent reaching out to the many travelers that are here in the city. We spend many of our afternoons or evenings walking the Ghats along the Ganga or in cafes connecting with and sharing with travelers, who for the most part are spiritual seekers drawn to the spirituality of the city. We have connected with an amazing group of people that run a Christian ashram in the city that they use specifically for reaching out to travelers. It is really a unique place, on a beautiful property that gives them a place to meet travelers in a way that isn't intimidating because they are comfortable with the idea of it being an ashram and not a church, even though they make it very clear that it is a Christian ashram where Jesus is the "guru". It  is run by an Australian couple named Brendan and Leaf and a German woman named Ute. They have had the ashram for about 5 years now, and run Christian meditation Wednesday mornings, as well as other social gatherings to reach out to the traveling community. Unfortunately, they left to go on a much needed vacation shortly after we arrived, but they have opened up the ashram for us to have social gatherings and outreach opportunities, which has been a blessing.

We are also speaking at 2 different churches every week (I'll be speaking this week), and have been involved with a youth group and a cell group from one of the churches through our friend Helga, who is a German woman who has been living in Varanasi for almost 10 years or so. It has been an amazing blessing having Helga around, especially since she lives very close to the K Centre, so we tend to go there for lunch after we finish, but also because we have been able to connect with a few children from her church that she plays a very active roll in their lives. She is an amazing woman, and is definitely an encouragement and blessing to our entire team.

When we first got to Varanasi, we started quickly and really hit the ground running. Since we got here right before Christmas, we had 2 Christmas parties to help with, one at the K Centre and one at the ashram. So our first few days here were filled with helping at the K Centre in the morning, then helping get the food ready for the party at the ashram, helping Raul prepare for the party at the K Centre, and anything else that any of them needed help with. It was extremely busy, but was definitely worth it. The party at the K Centre was on Christmas Eve and it was awesome! The kids were super surprised to see a big bouncing castle that Raul rented for them (especially since they had never seen anything like it), they had a lunch with chicken in it (which is a huge treat for them), and they all got to open a present (shoes and socks for the regular kids, as well as a toothbrush, soap, shampoo and a chocolate bar for everybody). It was so amazing seeing how thankful and happy they were with simple things that Western kids wouldn't care about, let alone be absolutely thrilled about. The party at the ashram was on Christmas day, and went amazing as well. We were all really busy running around and making sure that all the food was ready, that there was enough Chai, and anything else Ute, Brendan or Leaf needed, but that was awesome because it allowed them to go around and actually socialize with different people and to really be a part of the event instead of being crazy busy like most years. They actually said it was their best year yet because they didn't have to worry about the little things that we were taking care of, so that made all of our work worth it. We all had a great time, and once things settled down were able to connect with a lot of travelers and enjoy some of the music and fellowship that was happening around the ashram. Overall, it was an amazingly busy Christmas and was like no other Christmas I'd ever had, but it was one of the best Christmases ever! It was so rewarding to be able to give and serve instead of thinking of ourselves and being served.

New Years was a lot more low key and easier than Christmas. It ended up raining on New Years Eve here (which is very unusual for December/January here), so all of our plans were basically washed out, but we ended up having a great time anyways. We spent some of our evening, relaxing in the lodge, listening to Josh play the guitar and provide the musical entertainment for the evening, and then went to a restaurant close by and spent the rest of the night dancing with some drunken Indians. lol. After, we went to the roof of our guest house and watched the fireworks show (which was surprisingly amazing) which was put on by random people on different rooftops around our guest house.

Lately, we have really been focusing a lot of our effort on the K Centre, as well as reaching out to the travelers around the city. We have had some awesome conversations, and have made some amazing connections during the last few weeks. God has definitely been moving through us, and we have seen Him working in people's hearts and lives. Last night we held Kashipalooza, which was basically a hang out night with music and chai at the ashram. We invited a ton of people and just hoped and prayed that people would show up, and it ended up being a huge success! Everybody had a great time, and we had about 40 people come out. Having the ashram is definitely a blessing, and we hope to have another event there next weekend too. We also had a pancake breakfast for everybody staying at our guest house this morning that was awesome as well. We had just enough pancakes, and we ended up hanging around talking with people for at least an hour after breakfast. All in all, it has been an absolutely amazing outreach, and God has definitely been guiding it from the start.

I hope this post has all made sense since I kinda wrote it over a couple weeks. I hope and pray that you all had a fantastic holiday season, and that you are enjoying 2011. Please continue to be praying for us for protection and good health and that our outreach will continue to be a huge success. I miss you all, and can't wait to see you in March.

God Bless!!

Namaste and Tashi Delek

Hello everybody from up in the mountains in Northern India. For those of you who don't know, Namaste is Hindi for hello and Tashi Delek is Tibetan. We've been up here in McLeod Ganj, which is just up the mountain from Dharamsala, for 12 days now, and it has been awesome so far. Unfortunately we've been battling some sickness in our team, including an unsettled stomach for me, but things are starting to get better for all of us. Please be praying for us all for health as well as safety as we are here.

It has been a fairly exciting time here so far. When we got here, the Dalai Lama was teaching for the first week we were here, so it's been really busy here with a lot of monks (even more than usual) and tons of travelers who are pretty much all spiritual seekers. We have had some amazing conversations with both the travelers and monks, and have been interacting with as many people as possible while we are here. I have been helping out at a free childcare centre for Tibetan refugee children up to about the age of 4 every morning with the 3 girls in our group. It is not really something that I'm terribly comfortable with, but it is an amazing organization that really helps out Tibetan refugees as well as single mothers, so it is definitely worth it. The children are absolutely adorable, and half way through, I haven't had to change a diaper yet!!!! lol. In the afternoons we tend to do some street evangelism, go on prayer walks, meet people in cafes or do conversation classes. I try to do 1 conversation class every afternoon because it is a great way to meet the monks and other Tibetans that have come here and to hear their story. They tend to be very open to talk about religion too, so we've had some amazing conversations about Christianity and its similarities and differences with Buddhism. It is very interesting talking with the monks, and some of them speak very good English.

It is absolutely beautiful here, but can get pretty cold when it is cloudy and when the sun goes down. We are staying with a Tibetan family in some of their guest rooms, and it is awesome. They are a very friendly family and it is absolutely awesome staying with them. When Emily and I were sick in bed the other day, they came up to check on us a few times and to offer us tea, porridge and bananas. It is very secure because they keep the entry to the balcony that gives access to the rooms locked at all times, and we have locks on our rooms. The only downside is that they have to be around when we need to get in our out and we can't stay out too late, but it hasn't been a problem yet and we don't stay out too late because we're all pretty tired after the long days. Our place is up the mountain a little above McLeod Ganj, so I wake up every morning to the sunrise streaming in through my window. It is absolutely beautiful. The mountains and scenery here are breathtaking, and the people are so polite and kind. It was a nice change from Delhi which was so busy and you had people flooding you at all times.

We will be here until the night of Saturday the 18th, when we will get on a 12 hour bus ride to Delhi (the craziest, windiest, bumpiest, longest bus ride ever), then hang around Delhi for the day and leave on a 12-18 hour train ride to Varanasi that night. Needless to say it will be a long as day, and we will be a little tired and probably rather sore after. Varanasi is going to be a whole different experience from McLeod Ganj, but we found out that the Dalai Lama actually is doing a teaching there as well while we're there, so there will most likely be a lot of monks there again for the first part of our trip. I'm not exactly sure what we will be doing there, we will have to see exactly what opportunities will be available when we get there, but we will definitely be helping out with the railroad kids at the K-Centre, which will be awesome. They are kids that need to be loved and played with so badly. There is a huge Christmas party for the kids that we will be helping out at that I'm really looking forward to. I'm really excited to go to Varanasi because we will be there for about 5 weeks, so we will have a lot of time to make an impact and get involved there.

In other news, I have been accepted into the School of Biblical Studies in Taiwan starting in March. There are still some hurdles to get by with getting my visa letter so that I can get my visa, so please be praying for that, but I know that this is where God wants me to be so I am confident that He will make it work out. I will be there for either 9 months or 1 year, depending if I do the Titus project afterward which is a 3 month teaching outreach to teach what we have learned in the 9 months. It will be an intense time and will be very busy, but I am extremely excited about it. We will be reading through the Bible 5 times in the 9 months and will be digging into the context and culture that the different books were written in. I've heard it described as a treasure hunt through the Bible digging deeper to get a greater understanding of what the text means. This is a dream come true for me to be able to spend 9 months doing nothing but studying and getting a fuller understanding of the Bible. I believe this is an important step in the equipping process that God has me in as He prepares me for what He has for me.

Please be praying for me and our team here in McLeod Ganj as well as the other teams that are in Orissa (India), Fiji and Rotuma. We can all use prayer for healing, as well as safe travels and protection. I will try to write another update soon after we get to Varanasi. Thank you for all your love and support.

God bless.

And we're off!!!

The day has almost come, I'm getting ready to go to sleep, and at 8:30 in the morning, we will be leaving Crystal Springs and heading out on outreach for the next 9 weeks! It's hard to believe that it's only been 12 weeks since we got here. So much has happened in those 12 weeks that it seems like a lifetime ago that we all piled out of the van into our new home, but at the same time, it's still hard to believe that it's already over. It's definitely a bittersweet feeling around here; so exciting to be going out to Fiji for some and India for others, but so difficult to be separated from our brothers and sisters that we have laughed, cried and grown with.

Living in a community like this and going through the lectures and experiences that we've had here has been like nothing I've ever experienced in my life. God did a huge work in my life leading up to me going here, and He continued it and enriched it big time during my time here. He has done an amazing work in my life and in the lives of the other students here, and now it is time for us to go out and put the gifts that He's given us to work and to share with others the life that He has given all of us. I went here having no idea what God has for me in the future, and although I still don't know exactly what the future holds, He's definitely confirmed multiple times that He has plans for me and that they are big plans. There is a reason that He never gave up on me during the years that I was living for myself rather than for Him, and He is definitely preparing me to bear fruit for Him and to reward Him for His faithfulness.

Today I sent my application into the School of Biblical Studies in Taiwan, and I am 100% confident that this is what God wants me to be, and that this will be a huge step to becoming the man He wants me to be and is vital to the equipping process that He is doing in me. It is so exciting to finally know that not only am I doing what God wants, but that He has plans and a purpose for me and my life. Please be praying for me as I go out. I will try to post news and info while I'm in India, but I'm assuming that things will continue to be extremely busy, so I'm not sure how much time I will have to write. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support, they are definitely needed and appreciated.

God bless.

Almost 3/4 done!

Well it's Wednesday night here in New Zealand, so we're just over half way through week 9, which is the 3/4 point of our DTS. I must apologize that I haven't really sent as many updates as I feel I probably should've. As most of you probably know, I'm not the best communicator, and I tend to forget that people back home (hopefully) want to hear about how I'm doing a little more often that I tend to tell them. So I figured I would write a blog post tonight, since it is a free night, and I actually felt that I had something to write.

In a nutshell, things are going absolutely amazing here!! God has been pouring into me like He never has before, and I know it's because I have been pouring into Him like I never have before. I would say that the number 1 thing that I have learned in this DTS is the importance of prayer and fasting, and my prayer life has been stepped into overdrive because of it! My goal has been to spend at least 2 hours each day with God, and so far I meet that goal most days and it has definitely been worth it! We have 6am prayer that I go to most days, gotta admit I sometimes sleep in, and every night during the week I go to the prayer room for an hour before bed. We also have intercession on Tuesday and Thursday morning. I have made it a priority to pray in tongues as much as possible, especially since I have been focusing and meditating on Ephesians 6:10-20 and the call to pray in the Spirit at all times. God has really put it on my heart to ensure that I am putting on His armour and learning how to use it effectively, which is one of the reasons that I feel called to the School of Biblical Studies in Taiwan. I also felt God was calling me to fast regularly, so I have been fasting every Tuesday and Thursday. This got to be a little more difficult because our leaders imposed a school-wide Wednesday morning fast, but it's not too bad and I figure God's worth it. lol. I had never really been one to fast much before I came to this DTS, but as I learned more about the power of fasting, the importance of fasting and how it is a way to honour God, I knew that I had to follow God's leading and make it a regular part of my life. God confirmed to me that He was calling me to fast when I was reading the book of Ezra. I was really struck by chapter 8 verse 21, when Ezra is leading the people the exiles back to Jerusalem, he proclaimed a fast so that they may humble themselves before God. I had never thought of fasting that way, and my pride is something that I believe God has been working on in me, so I knew that He was giving me yet another reason to fast for Him.

During my time here God has really gotten me excited about reading His Word and about learning more about it, which is part of the reason that I want to do the SBS after I'm finished here. I have been reading more and more as the school has gone on, not just the Bible, but also some amazing books too. The two that I enjoyed most were Chasing the Dragon by Jackie Pullinger, and the Heavenly Man by Brother Yun. They are both amazing books and they both confirmed in me the calling that God has put on my life to be His messenger and to go out to the nations. They also have helped confirm that I am to live a simple life and that I may not have a home for a long time. Brother Yun's story has really confirmed that I am willing to preach the Gospel and to speak God's name wherever He calls me to, no matter what that means, even if it means I suffer persecution. His testimony deeply impacted me. He truly is a man of faith that has shown me how important it is to trust God and praise Him no matter what your situation is. He endured more torture, pain and suffering than I thought a man other than Jesus could endure, yet still pressed on and trusted in God and even praised him for the opportunity to minister to his cell mates when he was in prison. I definitely recommend this book to all of you reading this. I believe it was an important book to prepare me for the possibilities of what lies ahead as I am called out to a life of missions in Asia. I hope and pray that I don't have to endure even a fraction of what Brother Yun went through, but I am still willing to go, even if it means I suffer for God. As long as I am following Him, it is worth it. It's like our speaker in Week 6 Cindy Ruakere said about following His call, "it will cost you everything," but you can tell from her story and her testimony, as well as from Brother Yun's testimony, that it's more than worth it. Cindy wrote a song and the main line in it is about living your life so "that the Lamb may receive the reward for His suffering!" It is such a powerful line, and I definitely desire to and am willing to live my life so that He may receive some of His reward. 

Well, I think that's about all I have for you all tonight. I hope you enjoyed a little insight about what is going on in my life, as well as in my heart and spirit. I will leave you with a couple closing thoughts from the last chapter of The Heavenly Man that really spoke to me, and were actually the thing that made me think about writing this post so that I could share them with you all. The first is Brother Yun's response to the fact that people will call him stupid because he would return to China if God told him to go, even though he knows that he could face the death penalty. He said "We're not called to live by human reason. All that matters is obedience to God's Word and His leading in our lives. If God says go, we'll go. If He says stay, we'll stay. When we are in His will, we are in the safest place in the world." Also, his wife Deling gives an example of his humility when she tells that he often tells her that "we are absolutely nothing. We have nothing to be proud about. We have no abilities and nothing to offer God. The fact that He chooses to use us is only due to His grace. It has nothing to do with us." And finally, the final paragraph in his book reads: "Jesus is truly worth knowing. He is worthy to receive our whole lives. If you do give Him your whole life, you'll surely never regret it. Will you follow Him?" These are some amazing words from an amazing man, and show just how truly surrendered he is to God and how much he understands that we are nothing except what God has done in us. I love you and miss you all. God bless.

1 John 4:19 - "We love because He first loved us."

Mid-School Newsletter

Greetings from Crystal Springs!!
It's hard to believe that I'm already through 6 weeks of my DTS here in New Zealand. It feels like it was just the other day that we were all together at my going away barbeque. These past 6 weeks have been such an amazing time for me learning more about God and getting into a deeper and more intimate relationship with Him. I am absolutely loving it here, it is awesome living in a Christian community! The people and the country are amazing. We live in a beautiful area with the Kaimai Mountain Range beside us, and a beautiful waterfall only minutes away. The vegetation here is so vibrant that it's like life in HD. We have an awesome group of staff and students, and we have really come together as a group and a family during our time together.

Teaching
The teaching has been amazing so far, and has really been a blessing to me. The first week we shared our life stories with each other, then had 2 days of teaching on the character of God.
In week 2 we had Dr. Bruce Thompson speak to us on the father heart of God, and it was like nothing I've ever heard on the subject before. He helped me gain a better understanding of how love works, where love deficits come from and how the enemy uses them against us.
The next week we had Sam Hoffman speak to us about prayer and intercession; it was a very powerful week. Sam is on staff at the base working with the Family Ministries DTS, and is a very anointed and radical prayer warrior. He helped me gain new life in my prayer life and really helped me better understand the power and necessity of prayer and fasting, especially when it comes to intercession. On the Wednesday, we had an event called Big Wednesday, which was basically a big worship and prayer service that went from around 7 until 11. It was an amazing time of praying and worshipping together, and you could really feel the Holy Spirit's presence. It was awesome to see the love of God being poured out through all of us. People were crying, praying, laughing and worshipping together all around the room.
In week 4 we had Mark Parker come and speak to us about the Lordship of Christ. He is one of those guys that you either love or hate, and I loved him! He really challenged us to give everything to God, our hopes, dreams, guilt, shame, bitterness, hate, comforts, sins, everything. On the Friday, we had a day where he took us through the “tabernacle” where we first entered into worship and praised God, then we offered sacrifices to God in the form of things we were holding on to, such as comfort, travel, dreams, etc. After that we made our sin offerings and confessed sins, both old and new, to each other, which was a difficult but amazing time for all of us. We spent some more time in prayer and worship, broke bread and had communion followed by a small feast. It was such an awesome time; it really brought us together even more as a family, and was very healing for everybody.
The topic for week 5 was evangelism, and we had multiple speakers this week. The first couple days were mostly a review of things that I had heard before, but the last day Sam spoke again, this time about reaching out to Muslims and Hindus. It was really interesting, especially since we will be encountering a lot of Hindus during outreach in India and because he lived in Northern India for a number of years, so he could speak from experience.
Finally, last week we had 2 speakers, Shaneane Totorewa and her husband Ray, who are the YWAM New Zealand directors, spoke about relationships, and Cindy Ruakere spoke about your highest calling. Shaneane and Ray were both great speakers. Shaneane was the main speaker, and Ray just spoke a little here and there. They were so real with us about their relationship, their past and basically everything, which was really refreshing. They talked about relationships in general the first 2 days, then spoke about romantic relationships on their final day. They definitely gave us all a better understanding of how relationships should look and work.
Cindy was a lot more intense and in your face about following God's calling on your life, no matter what. The tagline of her message would definitely be “it'll cost you everything.” She's been living by faith for over 12 years now, and she says it's definitely worth it. She really pushed us to lay it all down and put our money where our mouth is. God really spoke to me through her, and I once again laid down my life to Him, including my finances. He led me to put my money where my mouth is by emptying my bank account to pay for my outreach. So I'm into week 1 of living by faith, and I am fully confident that God will provide for all my needs. It's kinda a nice feeling actually!

Music and Worship

As you know, I'm a part of the music and worship DTS here, and I know that some of you are wondering what we do for the music and worship part. There are 3 different schools here, M&W, Surfers and Outdoor Pursuits. We all learn together during the week, and then have weekend activities for each of the different programs. As Musos (our nickname) we spend a lot of time out in nature enjoying God's creation, since that is a way that a lot of people are inspired, but we also have teaching times for how to lead worship and write songs effectively, and activities to spur our creative juices, like writing a psalm or song or poem to God. We are also creating a CD at the end of the school, right before we go on outreach, which will be a compilation of songs that each of us have written.

Outreach
We are now less than 6 weeks away from going on outreach. I will be going to Varanasi, India, which is the holiest city in Hinduism. We will be staying about 100m away from the largest temple in the city. Varanasi is one of the oldest cities in the world, and is on the Ganges River, which acts as a place of cleansing for the Hindus sins. Varanasi is a place that Hindus come to die, and their bodies are burned 24/7 in front of the temple we will be staying near. This is one of the darkest spiritual places in the world, and we will be coming to worship and praise God in the streets and to bring His light to this place. Please be praying as we go for Him to protect us and to light our path in the darkness. After 4 weeks in Varanasi, we will be going north to Dharamsala, which is in the Himalayas, and is where the Tibetan government is in exile. We will be ministering to Bhuddist monks and teaching English conversation classes. We leave for outreach at the end of November, and we come back at the end of January, so please keep us in your prayers.

What's Next?
As I've been learning more and more about the Bible and spending more time praying and listening to God, I really feel He is calling me to gain a better understanding of His Word and to learn how to use my sword (His Word) more effectively. So I have decided to apply for the School of Biblical Studies in Taiwan starting in March. The Taiwan base comes highly recommended by my one on one, Josh, who has been with YWAM for 4-5 years now. He knows multiple people on the base including a couple that have done the SBS. He told me that it is considered one of the best bases to take the SBS at. I feel called to this base because they are on the doorstep to China, which is a place that I feel called to, and they offer a School of Frontier Missions that specifically focuses on China that I would like to do in the future. I believe that God has me in a season of learning for 2-3 years to equip and prepare me to be sent out into His mission field long term, specifically in China and Asia reaching out to the lost, the broken and the least. Please be praying for His continuing guidance, provision and protection for me as I follow His call. God bless!

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” - Matthew 25:40

Outreach

Happy Thanksgiving to you all back in Canada!!! I hope you are all enjoying the long weekend, and are spending time with family and friends!! Although I do really miss the turkey and pumpkin pie, things are awesome here in New Zealand. We just had our free weekend, so 10 of us split on renting a van for the weekend, and we went surfing in Raglan, which is on the West coast, about 2 hours from Matamata. We were able to pick up the van early, so on Friday I went rock climbing with my roommate Joep and one of the staff, Epelli. We also spent Sunday down in Rotorua checking out the hot springs and being tourists.

This past week was pretty exciting too, because we found out about our outreach destinations. There are 4 teams going out:

1. Operation: Love Lovu is going out to Lovu seaside village in Fiji for 4 weeks to minister to the least and lost through friendship, service, prayer, evangelism and Children's programs. Lovu is one of the poorest parts of Fiji where people can go without food and water for days, and sometimes even weeks. Our base has reached out to this area a few times in the past, so they are looking to deepen the connections that they already have, and make new connections as well. After 4 weeks, they will be returning to New Zealand to go to drunkfest, which is a yearly festival where over 1000 youth from ages 15-30 come to Northern New Zealand to ring in the new year from December 27 - January 2. It is a place that is rampant with sex, drugs and alcohol, so we are sending in a team to worship and evangelize during this time of debauchery and be a light in the darkness. After drunkfest they will spend the final 3-4 weeks of outreach in Kaitia to work with a church and community there.

2. Operation: Rotuma Restoration is going to be spending 4 weeks in and around Lautoka, Fiji to evangelize, pray and church plant. They will also be spending time working with children and running discipleship camps. After 4 weeks they will then spend 2 days on a boat to go to a small island off of Fiji called Rotuma. This island is a place that our base has reached out to before, and is a 9km x 9km small island that is so small and tight knit that you need to be invited in order to be able to come there. They will be spending 2 weeks there facilitating a discipleship camp and fellowship gatherings, after they will return to New Zealand to join the Lovu team in Kaitia.

3. Operation: Faith will be going to Jharsuguda, Orissa, India to work with Faith Outreach International for 4 weeks to work with the orphanages as well as a bible and worship school, and doing mercy ministries working with the poor and needy. After 4 weeks, they will then either be going to Darjeeling or working with Missionaries of Charity, which is Mother Teresa's ministry, where they will be caring for the sick and dying and the least.

4. Operation: Hope will be going to Varanasi, India, which is the holiest city in Hinduism and is a very spiritually dark place. It is located on the Ganges River which acts as a place for Hindus to be cleansed of their sins. It is also a place where Hindus come to die to achieve spiritual freedom, and bodies are constantly being burned in the street and then dumped into the Ganges. The team will be staying approx 100m from the largest temple in Varanasi, which is also where they burn the bodies day and night. The team will be focusing mainly on evangelizing to the locals on the street as well as the many tourists that come to the area due to it's spiritual significance. They will also be working with Harvest Now, the 1000s of railway kids that are orphans that ride the railways as pickpockets, prostitutes and beggars and working with churches and mercy ministries around Varanasi. After 4 weeks, they will then be heading north to Dharamsala, which is where the Tibetan Government is in exile, and will be working with Tibetan Monks there. They will be connecting with them and witnessing to them, as well as teaching English conversation classes to them.

After hearing the options, Operation: Hope was definitely the one that I felt called to, but I also wanted to be open to wherever I could be used and wherever God wanted me to be. So I put down that my preference was to go to Varanasi, but I would go wherever they needed me. Unfortunately a lot of the guys all wanted to go to the same outreaches, so the staff had some hard choices to make. On Thursday, Josh pulled me and Joep aside and told us that he wanted one of us on the Lovu trip and one of us on the Varanasi trip, and it was up to us. The cool thing, was that that morning, Joep and I had been talking and he told me that if it came to one of us going to Varanasi, and the other not, that he would give up his place for me because God is calling me to Asia, even though Varanasi was his first choice. So when Josh asked, he immediately said that he would go to Lovu, and that I could do Varanasi.

So at the beginning of December I will be flying to India to reach out to the lost in Varanasi as well as to the monks in Dharamsala. Please be keeping us in your prayers as we prepare to go out, as well as while we are gone. Like I said earlier, this is a very spiritually dark and heavy place, and we will definitely need God's protection as we go. I'm not sure if I'll be able to update you all much while I am there, but I will definitely keep you up to date as we get closer to going.

I hope you all are doing great, and I'll see ya in the future.

God Bless!