This is a story from Mom, Mom said to Dad, Baby needs a new pair of shoes. Dad says, I will take baby shopping for new shoes. Dad and baby go shopping for new shoes. Baby walks in with her new shoes, they are not what Mom has in mind. The new shoes are snake skin cowboy boots. But does Mom get mad? No she looks at her daughter with this big grin and says those are nice shoes?????

This is a story from Dad, So there I was, minding my own business not bothering anybody and Mom comes up to me and says your daughter needs a new pair of shoes for school. So I said, Hey baby lets go buy some new shoes. So we hopped into the truck, and went to the PayLess Shoe store on 48th Street. We tried on all kinds of shoes, we tried on sandals, work boots, high heel shoes. tennis shoes, cowboy boots, etc. After a couple of hours I said, well that is all the shoes in the store to try on, which ones do you want? You said, I want the snake boots Dad. Well, they were pretty cool, so I said, Sure go get them, and we checked out. Then we got home and Mom said, what kind of shoes did you get, Anna? Of course you wore them home, so you stuck out your feet and said, I got snake boots Mom. Mom said, those are really nice shoes???? And Dad was never sent to buy school shoes for Anna again.

Tonight, another staff and I took six of our students into Christchurch to do prostitute ministry. This is not an easy ministry in any country, but something about being in a Western country makes it harder. With the earthquakes that have recently taken place, we know that most people in Christchurch are still having a rough time so we decided to make care packages to offer the women. We were all a little unsure about how to start conversation, but once we got out there things just seemed to flow naturally. We gave out six or seven of our care packages and most of the students got to talk with the girls for a good twenty minutes or so. My team found things a little more difficult. The first woman we approached would have nothing to do with us. We tried to offer our care package assuring her that we had no other agenda, but to no avail. So, we walked down the street a little way until we came across another woman. We could tell she had been crying and we talked with her for a few minutes. She was very kind and thanked us for the gift. She told us of her three children and even let us pray for her, but in the end we could tell that she wanted us to go so she could get back to work. It would be so easy to get down on our selves for not talking to her for very long. However, I know that God is proud of the deeper motives in our hearts and of our effort in going out there to do something uncomfortable for the kingdom of God.

In other news, we were finally able to announce outreach teams yestereday. I’m co-leading at team of five students to Nepal! I’m super excited. The contact we will be working with there is a YWAM Oxford DTS graduate. She visited Nepal on her outreach a couple of years ago and has since gone back full time to start a safe house for women brought out of sex trafficking. As a base, we have been praying for her regularly, and it will be an honor to work with her for three months. We leave the beginning of December and return to Oxford near the end of March.

I guess the biggest thing that God has been showing me lately is how proud He is of the little things that I do. Wether it’s praying for a student, talking to someone on the street, or just serving behind the scenes when no one is looking. I am so grateful to be back here serving in this mission. God has moved powerfully in my life in the last year and if I weren’t here pouring out again, I probably wouldn’t have realized the greatness of what He’s done.

But first, let me tell you a little bit about outreach. After Thailand, the team continued to travel throughout S.E. asia including Cambodia and India. It was exciting to see how God met us in each country with people we were supposed to meet. We were able to pray for people in local villages, encourage and be encouraged by other missionaries on the field, and get a better understanding of God’s heart for each of these nations. Most of all, I enjoyed watching the students step out to meet every challenge set before them. Personally, God taught me a lot about focus. In this season of staffing, I was challenged to take my focus off of myself and on to God and what he was doing in the students I was leading. When I did this it allowed God to do much greater things in me, than I could do focusing on my own problems. I’ve learned and grown so much more in this last season, than any other time in my life and its all through the grace of God.

Our last country was India. While we were there, YWAM Oxford sent out a call for help. A new Justice focused discipleship training school was being added to our line of up schools and they needed staff. I was instantly stirred and felt that this is where God was calling me next. This last season has really grown my passion for discipleship and justice issues. Now I get to do both. I’ve been back in New Zealand for a week now and the people here are as awesome as ever. Once again, God has hand picked this staff team and I am honored to be a part of what is going on here.

Last night was particularly memorable. The team split in two. Half went to a party sponsored by the Tamar Center. Every couple of months they hold one of these parties and invite all the girls they have made relationships with in the bars. More specifically, there were a number of girls that our team had met in the bars and in our English classes. Noelle, one of our students, got to share her testimony. Meanwhile, the rest of the team decided to continue with the bar outreach despite the fact that all the translators were at the Tamar Center party. We were a little hesitant at first, but we ended up having a lot of fun teaching four girls to play Uno. At the end of the evening, Carla got to share a very short testimony with the girls and we invited them to the English classes we teach. After all that, the team was privileged to take part in 24 hour prayer and worship with the Pattaya House of Prayer. We opted out of staying up ALL night, but we did take the 10-12pm slot. Over all, it was another great day here in Pattaya.

It’s hard to believe. The students continue to be amazing: working hard in continued earthquake relief and pressing into to get the most out of each lecture. We just finished a week on the “Lordship of Christ.” This is a big we for the students. On Friday we have a ministry day where students and staff are asked to lay down all things in our lives that keep us from truly seeing God on the throne of our lives. We laid down sin, which are the negative fruit, but more importantly we lay down the root of our sin: unbelief, pride, fear of man… The freedom we gain from completely surrendering to God is phenomenal. Everywhere I look, the students smile back at me with brighter faces and bigger smiles.
The cool thing is that we don’t go though all this just for ourselves. In everything we do, we are looking forward to the nations we will be visiting in less than a month. I will be co-leading a team of four girls to S.E. Asia. We will be visiting Thailand, Cambodia, and India. Some of our main ministry focus will be on girls saved out of the sex-trafficing industry, teaching english, and discipling new believers. I have been having a blast getting to know the team. All of them have such hearts for this ministry and are stoked to be able to get out there and make Jesus famous!

Click to view slideshow.

Now Listening: Manifesto, by The City Harmonic

Along with all the amazing ways God is moving in the lives of the students, He is also moving in my life. Coming into this school a month ago, I was freaked out, wondering how I was going to be able to step out in leadership in such a big way. But just as He gave me peace in Auckland about the road ahead of me, He has miraculously taken away most of my fear, anxiety and shyness with these students. He has given me new eyes for seeing His world and His children just as He sees them. I find that I have a deeper love for everyone around me that I don’t have to strive for, it’s just there. I know this is God, and I can’t wait to take these news eyes on outreach, and begin loving “all the children of the world.”

My meditation for today:
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.” Joshua 1:6

Two weeks ago, I timidly set forth to Auckland for the beginning of staff training. The only AW80 staff member up there I really knew was my staff leader, Julie Anna. Now, two weeks later, I return with 10 new friends and a deeper sense of God’s nearness. When I look to the future, all I see is myself struggling to make it though what will be some tough situations. When I focus on today, I feel God’s presence and know that he will get me though.
“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:34

A little bit more about what I’m going to be up to over the next six months. I am school staff for our Around the World in 80 Days Discipleship Training School. This means that I will have various staff responsibilities during lecture phase, including running a small group of about three students and having weekly one-on-ones with those students. Lecture phase will run until May 14th when we will leave for outreach. On outreach I will co-lead a team of about 5 students to various ministry opportunities in four different countries. Then on August 12th, all five teams will meet back up in Israel and graduate on the Mount of Olives.
We have another two weeks of staff training, and then on February 27th all 26(ish) students arrive. In addition to the AW80 DTS, our base will also be running a Crossroads DTS (intended for people 35 and older) and a Bible Core Course during this same time frame. This means we will have around 100 people on base, staff and students included. This is the busiest our base has been since I arrived last June, and I’m going to be right in the middle of all the madness. I have a little trepidation, but mostly I’m just excited to see God move in the lives of all these awesome people He has gathered in Oxford, New Zealand.

AW80 Staff Team

(From Left to Right) Nelson, Justin, Me, Grace, Kim, Sarah, Kadi, Julie Anna, Joe, Kari, and David

“At bottom, becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is precisely that simple, and it is also that difficult.”
~Warren Bennis

The Time Is Now
by: Phil Wickham

The battle line is drawn, it’s all in black and white.
Hope is pulling forward, and fear from behind, it’s time.
It’s time to make a move, so what will you decide?
The clock is ticking on, don’t let it pass you by, it’s time.

The time is now, for lifting souls.
The time is now, for letting go.
From your skin, to your core.
Let light, and love, come rushing through the door.

You’ve learned every song, memorized the verse,
Took the bread and wine, and even bought the shirt,
It’s time.

It’s time to hold your shield,
It’s time to draw your sword,
Let’s lead the resistance,
Oh Lord, oh Lord, oh Lord, it’s time.

The time is now, for lifting souls.
The time is now, for letting go.
From your skin, to your core.
Let light, and love, come rushing through the door.

It’s time to make a stand, so put your heart in greater hands,
From your skin, to your core,
Let light, and love, come rushing through the door.

Sisters, Brothers, thieves, and lovers,
Come uncover, eternity
Turn your faces, from fine eyed places,
Heaven’s grace will set you free.

The time is now, for lifting souls.
The time is now, for letting go.
From your skin, to your core.
Let light, and love, come rushing through the door

We’ve spent the last two weeks in Rattanakiri, a rural province in Eastern Cambodia. Our time there was spent evaluating an agriculture flood relief project started in several villages, after their rice harvest was wiped out last October. Two nights were spent in the village; living up close and personal with the way indigenous Cambodian’s live. It was very eye opening, to say the least. Our contacts there were two missionaries: Bi, who we stayed with and Gordon. The days were as hot a usual, but the nights were much cooler. And, as usual, we stayed well fed.

Tomorrow we head off to Sihanouk Ville for debrief. We return to New Zealand in about a week for wrap up and graduation. Thank you again, for all your prayers.