And so it begins!
Airports, taxis, new friends.
Dorm rooms, bunk beds, early mornings.
Gods presence, powerful worship, grateful tears.
Favorite foods, lunchroom laughter, bilingual introductions.
New sounds, big city, beginning exploring.
Small classroom, big class, amazing leaders.
Confusing exchange rates, thrilling shopping ventures, lots of pesos.
Breath-taking beaches, warm breezes, red sunburns.
Long bus rides, wandering strolls, oceanside quiet time.
Deep exhaustion, language barrier frustration, cultural confusion.
Lots of fellowship, big parties, great music.
Violent field game, aggressive tackling, sore muscles.
Grateful, relieved, excited.
Expectant, uncertain, hopeful.
I think that pretty well sums up this first week spent in Mazatlán! But perhaps more detail would be good, too. :)
What a fantastic seven days. I am grateful beyond words; God has blessed me, provided for me, encouraged me, admonished me, and already He has begun to open my eyes to the things He wants to do through this DTS.
I dreaded the travel and God said ’No sweat, I got you.’ Everything went smoother than I even hoped and I arrived to the base at the perfect time with two friends already in tow. God knew I would need a few buddies to help stay afloat and stay sane, so He put me in a taxi with two of the loveliest humans. He brought us three to the base where He also put us all in the same dorm. He doesn’t do coincidences, He just gives us gifts.
This first week has been one of orientation, adjustment, celebration, introductions, and generally finding our balance in a new place, new pace, new community, new schedule, etc. We’ve gotten tours of the base and been given rundowns on everything from YWAM vision and values to where not to swim and how not to drown in a riptide. We’ve had taco parties and pizza parties and dance parties and worship parties and generally, I think these people just like to party. :) They have celebrated us, we have celebrated each other, and it is part of what has made this first week (our first impressions) so delightful and full.
This week we also got to choose which ministry and which elective we’d like to be a part of. I prayed and asked for direction and I’m mildly amused at Gods response.
Ministry - I’ve always worked in kids ministry and so when I heard about Cerro del Ocho, a group that goes into the most dangerous part of Mazatlán and ministers to the children there, I almost immediately felt like it was where I’m supposed to be. After some prayer God confirmed that yes, He has given me a heart for kids and for that type of ministry, and that’s where I’m supposed to go.
Elective - Electives are essentially an extra course you can take if you would like. There were several to choose from, and we were first introduced to the Spirit of Truth elective (which is a class on how to study the Bible more deeply and glean more from it) and I thought it sounded amazing as I had just been praying that morning for a deeper hunger for the word. But I also knew there was a worship elective, and when it was presented, it sounded like so much fun, I prayed ‘God which should I do? I would enjoy the worship elective so much, it’s something that is so close to my heart and I love doing it so much!’ God immediately responded with,
‘You only want to do that elective because of pride; you want to show off your music and worship skills and knowledge and you want a chance to sing in front of others and be praised. No. You’re doing the Spirit of Truth elective.’
I’ve heard God speak to me clearly before, but this was like being hit in the head with a two-by-four.
‘Okay God! You got it! Spirit of Truth it is!’
God has also spoken a theme to me for this season of DTS and I’m so grateful and very curious to see how and what He’s going to teach me in this:
I arrived on Sunday and Sunday evening there was a worship time. It was wonderful but I was so tired I was struggling to focus on worshipping - I couldn’t seem to work up any good ‘worship emotions’ (haha lame, yes, but you know the feeling). I apologized to God and He said ‘Stop striving and just enjoy being in my presence; enjoy being with me as my daughter. Just rest in my presence.’ This was such an encouraging word to hear and it immediately changed my approach to worship that night.
Monday mornings there is always a time of Base Worship, where the entire base, staff, and students come together to worship. At one point they encouraged people to raise their hands if they needed healing for something. I raised my hand, thinking of the ever-changing and ever-persisting back pain I’ve dealt with over the last few months. Several people came and prayed for me, and then one woman (who I had not met yet) came after everyone else was done and asked me more specifically about what I needed healing for. She prayed for my back and then she said ‘I feel like this new season is meant to be a season of Rest, that God wants to teach you rest.’ Instantly, tears began to fall because it was a direct confirmation of what God had spoken to me the night before. I can’t wait to see what other themes He shows me and speaks to me as we really dive deep into classes and our normal schedule this week.
There‘s more, SO MUCH MORE to this week, but I’ll leave it there. :) Thank you so much for praying; I’ve seen the answers in so many big and little things!!
PRAISES:
•Travel was easy and I arrived with no hiccups!
•I am healthy!
•God has provided friends and is already knitting our team together in unity! •So far, I have been able to get enough food despite my many diet challenges!
REQUESTS:
•I sprained my finger in a crazy game of capture the flag and would very much like it to be healed so that I can take *legible* notes this week during class!
•I’ve had headaches come and go, which is very abnormal for me; pray that I drink enough water and that they’d go away!
•One of our DTS staff is recovering from major surgery right now; pray that he (Bryan) will recover quickly so that he can be with us! •Pray for continued unity and friendships to be built within our team
•I want to have an open and ready heart and mind for everything God wants to teach me. I want to love Him more and I want to hear Him more!
I wouldn’t be here if not for Gods provision, which has come through YOU. Thank you. 🖤
Much love,
Em
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