Community Living Makes the Hard Times Easier & The Sweet Times Sweeter!!

This has been an incredible year for me, full of emotion and change; we said goodbye to my dad and hello to the new life in my belly. Chris and I live on a YWAM base, this means there are 75 other people we share life with on a daily basis. Every meal is eaten with at least 10 other people at the table, our front door is always revolving and our living room rarely feels like "ours". On the weekends if we go to the beach with 8 or so people, 2 car loads full, it is a "small" group of people. I am never in lack of someone to go on a hike with or grab a coffee with. Over the last 8 or so years of living this way there are days when I long for privacy but on the whole I am so thankful for my community. Over the last year I have realized what a rare treasure it is to live this way. 

When we received the phone call that my dad had passed away in a car wreck and we would be needing to fly home, $ was one of the last things on my mind. Our community made sure it stayed that way. The thursday night before we left YWAM Honolulu's staff and students took an offering that was enough to cover the airfare for both Chris and I to make the round trip flight to Oklahoma. Love and support was shown in countless other ways and I was overwhelmed by the outpouring during that difficult time!

Struggling with infertility in a public way is something that we really didn't have much of a choice about, therefore I decided to embrace it completely. Being a leader of a ministry means that dozens of people are watching and observing you at all times. I made a conscious decision to be open and vulnerable about not being able to get pregnant and my journey with P.C.O.S. My hope was that it would be beneficial to others to watch me walk through the struggle while still trusting God in the midst of it. What I didn't realize was how beneficial it would be for me.

Even though the doctor said there was little to no chance of conception without drugs, for over 3 years our community continued to pray for us to conceive. The 2 times I have gotten teary eyed about being pregnant are the 2 times I shared with our community about it (I'm not the crying type). The announcement that we were pregnant was a moment I will never forget. You would have thought we won the super bowl. It was a Thursday night meeting which means our meeting hall (the tin) was packed. Chris and I were at the front and when he made the announcement; it was like a heat wave of excitement and joy hit us. People jumped out of their seats, they were cheering and fist pumping, others were crying, it was a victory that was shared by so many because the struggle had been shared. Our friends and family at YWAM Honolulu shared in the joy and struggle and that made the joy so much sweeter for us. The gender reveal party was another electric moment shared with many. We didn't know the gender until we sliced the cake open in front of dozens of people. My reaction was shock to say the least. We are very excited about our little boy coming in February!

I am so thankful for our community. I imagine the new testament church being one much like what we have at YWAM Honolulu. Every believer should have the benefit of walking through life's hardships and joys with a community of people to help carry them through. Thank you for being a part of our lives and the joys and the sorrows that we carry together. 

Summer Update:

Typically summer is the best season for us to take a little break and spend some time on the mainland with friends and family. This year we felt the Lord leading us to stay put. I really had it on my heart to be a student in the first quarter of the Chronological SBS and it has turned out to be a fabulous decision. We are in week 8 of the school and I have learned so much! No one ever regrets setting aside time to study the word of God. It is hard work but to be honest it has been a season of rest for me just to focus on learning and studying the nature and character of God through the Old Testament narratives. I would love to continue and finish the whole Bible but we have too much coming up for me to do that right now. 

Chris has been diligently working and carrying the load of our other responsibilities. He has been planning and working out the details of the next year for the D.T.S. as well as the other random stuff that inevitably comes up every day. I am so thankful that he has given me the room and time to study, while he pretty much takes care of everything else. In just a few weeks we will transition back into crazy DTS mode. 

Upcoming Dates

Aug 28- Bangladesh Team returns for a week of debrief and graduation.

Sept 1st- April DTS Graduation

Sept 2nd-6th- Sept DTS Staff Training

Sept 9th-13th- Sept All Staff Conference

Sept 17th- DTS Students Arrival Day

We are looking forward to a big September quarter. Our 9 month School of Biblical Studies will still be running, as well as the School of Missions and Evangelism and of course the Discipleship Training School. This will be the first time in many years YWAM Honolulu will be running 3 schools simultaneously. We are needing to find classroom space off base, this is a great problem to have!

Of course the most exciting part of our summer is the much anticipated blessing of the growing baby in my belly. Just today I got to hear the heart beat and we will find out the gender in 3 weeks. Can’t wait, although I think I already know...

9 Week Ultrasound Pic

Prayer Points

*First and foremost that we would honor God in our leadership. Everyday many decisions big and small are made and we do not want to get ahead of God or rely on our own gifting to lead the ministry. 

*Health for our growing baby.

*We are in need of more financial support. We feel out of ideas on how to generate more support, so we are praying God will open our eyes to how He wants to provide and that He would lay it on people’s heart to partner with us in ministry.

*Our upcoming schools would be fruitful for the students and the the people they are reaching out to. 

*We would grow as a ministering community to love the Lord and each other well.

Thank you for all who stay connected with us. We so appreciate the love and support and could not continue in full time ministry with out it!!

A Long Awaited Opportunity

I fell in love with the Bible during my SBSCC (School of Biblical Studies Core Course) in 2005. The SBSCC is a shortened version of the SBS which is a 9 month Inductive Bible Study Course. That time of study radically challenged and transformed my understanding of scripture and of God. The SBSCC was foundational for me and set me on a path of teaching that I would never have started otherwise. 

Finishing the SBS has ALWAYS been a desire but being so busy with ministry I didn't think I would get the opportunity. God has made a way! I will be a student in the Chronological SBS starting next week. I will do the first quarter of the school and study through all of the Old Testament Narratives. I am so excited and probably crazy to be taking this on right now but it is an opportunity I can't miss out on. We will not be going home this summer and we will not be running a summer DTS (we never do) therefore this is my perfect timing to be a student again. 

I am in need of financial support to help with my tuition fees. Because I have been on staff with YWAM Honolulu for many years I am taking the course a discounted rate but I still need an extra $600 to pay for my school fees. As Chris and I live on a limited budget this is a challenge for us to meet. Therefore I am trusting God to meet this extra financial need. If you would like to support me in following this dream of studying the Old Testament I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much for your prayers and support and for staying connected with us. 

Almost Home

I just wanted to send a quick update and say thank you to those people who have been praying for myself and Chris on our trip. I am currently on an airplane headed to Ensenada, Mexico where I will teach the book of Hebrews in the very first bi-lingual Biblical Core Course in Ensenada. In the coming days I will be sharing blogs about our trip. It was an amazing journey for us. I learned an incredible amount about the world that I didn't know I didn't know. 

We loved seeing the students in action. In the Philippines our DTS students were running a Discipleship Training Week for 60 Filipino youth.  In Cambodia the students were working in village schools teaching English to the cutest kids you've ever seen. While there I meet a man who had been apart of the Khmer Rouge army. After a few years he said he realized it was foolish to fight and fled from the corrupt military regime that was destroying the nation.  He escaped to join a refugee camp on the boarder of Thailand where he lived with his family for 12 years.

The Call2All conference in Chaing Mai Thailand was mind opening about the task to reach the lost, the least, and the last. Seeing 300 organizations join together for 1 common goal was inspiring. I love facts and data and thoroughly enjoyed hearing the stats from the experts on what needs to be done to finish the task of fulfilling the great commission.

 Korea was unexpectedly one of my favorite legs of the journey. We were surprised with the opportunity to go to the boarder of North Korea and the DMZ. The DMZ stands for de-militarized zone, which is ironic because it is the most militarized place on the planet.  It spans a 2 and a half mile wide gap between the boarder of the North and the South created to keep peace between the 2 nations. Filled with explosive land mines and electric fences it is designed to  keep the citizens of the North from escaping the communist military rule to the free South.  N. Korea has dug invasion tunnels under the DMZ. These were discovered by the South's military and blocked off. We had the opportunity to travel 100 meters underground into one of the discovered invasion tunnels. While there we also attended the Korean DTS graduation. I loved hearing the testimonies from the outreaches and enjoyed being apart of the finish line of their DTS experience. 

We were incredibly blessed by every leg of the journey and I will be updated my blog with posts about each stop. Our DTS staff and students are doing an incredible job of loving on The Lord, each other and the people of the nations they've been sent out to. Our job was to go and be an encouragement as well to form stronger partnerships with our long term workers.  Thank you again for partnering and praying with us.

Thank You for Helping Us Say Goodbye!

We had an incredible memorial service for my dad last week. I can't begin to express the gratitude I have for everyone who loved on us during this time. Friends flew in and drove in. Our YWAM family took a offering to help with travel expenses. We were given a car to drive while in town, beds to sleep in and so much good food I gained a few pounds while in Oklahoma!  Thank you to everyone who truly made the burden of saying goodbye to my dad a bit lighter and our days a bit brighter.  Here is a link to the memorial video slideshow of my dad.  A Life Well Lived!

We Don’t Mourn Like Those Who Have No Hope....

On Monday Feb 11th my Father passed away in a fatal car accident. He was 63 years old and could have possibly had a heart attack, we will never be sure. The police reported that he was killed instantly and for us that is a comfort. 

Here is how the conversation with my mother went...

Me: “Hi Mom”
Mom: “Where are you?”
Me: “In my kitchen”
Mom: “You need to get by yourself, I have bad news to tell you and you are going to want to be alone to hear it”
Me: “how bad?”
Mom: “BAD”
Me: “Okay, I’m by myself, sitting down....I’m ready”
Mom: “Your dad was killed today in a car accident”

That conversation will be forever seared into my memory, after that it’s pretty much a blur. There were details she told me that I had to re-ask about later because I had no idea what she really said. 

I have been crying since I heard the news. It is just so shocking that someone can be here one minute and gone the next. How can it be that I can not pick up my phone and call him? It is nearly incomprehensible. I was however given a gift last week and that is what I really wanted to share with everyone because it speaks of the kindness of our Lord.

God often speaks to me in my dreams. One week before my Father died I had a dream about him. I could not remember the dream but I woke with a heavy burden to call him and tell him that I loved him and appreciated him and that I was glad he had been my father. It took me three days to do it but the burden was so heavy that the thought ran through my head, “if my father dies this week and I didn’t call and tell him, I will regret it for the rest of my life”. 

 On Wednesday Feb 6th I talked to my dad for the last time. I cried on the phone while I told him what a good father he had been and how grateful I was that he had been my dad. I thanked him for being a good dad and for always being there at all my basketball games as a kid and that sort of thing. I have never really had that kind of conversation with my dad, I am so glad I did it! He told me how proud he was of me and my sister and the lives we have chosen. He told me how happy he was with both the men we chose to marry. He also expressed how thankful he was for the marriage he has had with my mother for 36 years. We talked for about an hour and if you have to have a last conversation with your father without knowing he will be gone in a few days, I had it.

Even though his death came as a shock to us, I am certain it was no surprise to the Lord. The Bible says that not one sparrow falls to the ground with out His knowing. My dad’s passing was in God’s timing, I’m certain of it. He gave me the gift of the dream and my last conversation for my comfort. The Holy Spirit being our comforter has never been more real to me. I am so thankful for the kindness of our Lord. I cried for a few hours that first night and after finally getting to sleep I woke up at 3 in the morning with a strong peace overwhelming me. Either the Lord was speaking it or my imagination was running but either way I felt the Lord tell me that he had my dad. He said my dad had a place of honor and was one of God’s chiefs, governing. I thought that was very fitting. My dad cared more about the Lord than anything else. My sister and I joked about him being up there getting all of his questions answered. He was working on his masters in apologetics, I suppose he has it now. 

I will miss my dad an incredible amount in the years to come, but I am so happy for him that he’s finally home. I imagine him young and vibrant and as alive as ever. It will be a grand reunion to see him again. 

We will be having a memorial service for him in a few weeks in Oklahoma. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and celebrating his life. Here is one of my favorite pics of him.

Commissioning Night & Darleen Cunningham

Darleen Cunningham (co founder of Youth With A Mission) came to share with our base in the morning of January 18th. Personally I felt completely infused with faith by her. Darleen's life is a testimony to the faithfulness of the King. As I sat and listen to her tell the story of the beginnings of YWAM I couldn't  help but think, "I can't believe it worked." It worked because a group of young people had more faith in God than their own strengths or abilities. They had confidence that He was on their side and that faith in God has sustained the Mission for more than 50 years. 

That evening people showed up from all over the island to partner in commissioning us into the the next season of YWAM HNL. It is difficult to describe how grateful I am for the people who have gone before us in this mission. So many men and women of faith have laid their lives down for the calling of fulfilling the great commission and to have many of those people lay hands on us and pray for our future was overwhelming to say the least.

We felt loved by not only the people who have gone before us but also the many staff who are currently on this adventure with us. Chris and I were pretty blown away by how hard the staff worked to pull off the night and by what a fabulous job they did. I have never had so many leis placed around my neck. We definitely weren't expecting such a display of love and were incredibly humbled by the honor that was shown to us. We were both crying, something I had never seen Chris do!

Thank you to all of those that were a part of making this night so special and memorable for us. We will always hold January 18th, 2013 very near to our hearts. It will be a stone of remembering for us! 

Here is a video link to.....The prayer section of our Commissioning

ALOHA DAY...and so it begins again

1-10-2013 

48 amazing young people in 4 counties in Asia on outreach
26 new students joining us this week from all over the world to begin their DTS journey.
1 Korean Speaking DTS running along side our English school
3 years of marriage
billions of people who have not heard the gospel
1 small ministry on 2.74 acres of land in Manoa Valley trying to make a difference


How can you pray for us?

*Integrity in character- This morning as Chris and I prayed I felt lead to pray that God would continue to refine us. As we take on more and more leadership I pray that our sphere of influence would not outgrow our character. Pray that we get the right tools and training we need to do our job well.

*Training Schools- I believe DTS is more needed now than ever. I am continually amazed and saddened by the stories we hear from our incoming DTS students about their life before DTS. Youth are exposed to way too much at earlier and earlier ages. Our only hope is Jesus! Our prayer is that our training schools equip students with the truth that they need in order to be prepared for life after YWAM or as staff in YWAM. Either way we want to make disciples who are rooted and grounded in truth.

*Community Outreach- God has called us to be a light in Honolulu. For many years YWAM Honolulu has focused on unreached people groups in Asia and the South Pacific. Frontier Missions has been our strength. In moving forward we want to hold onto this strength and add to it  a focus on the city of Honolulu and community outreach. Pray that we are able to effectively minister to people of all ages and backgrounds in Honolulu.

*Member Care- YWAM Honolulu processes support for hundreds of missionaries around the world. Our desire is to stay better connected with the missionaries we send out. There is a depth of wisdom from them that can help our young people grow. Our desire is simply to bless our long-termers in whatever way is most tangible to them. It will take many hours and much effort to find the best way to serve our long-termers. Pray for us as we strategies with the Lord on how to serve them. 

*Financial Support- We have been very busy lately and have not done a good job raising personal financial support. We are in a season of need, most likely due to not communicated our need well. We are praying that God will give us new strategies on how to build a better support system. Pray that God will bring a team along side of us that can help carry this aspect of our ministry.


I stole all of these photo's from our staff/student's facebook pages. I just couldn't help it, I am so proud of them and love seeing pic's of them in the nations. I love the digital age, I get to see pic's daily of what our team's are doing on outreach. It warms my heart to see these smiling faces sharing the love of Jesus. He really is the only thing that can change the world!

Cambodia

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Cambodia

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