I’m at home in Halifax, my feet on the heater, enjoying the Christmas music coming from the kitchen. Mom and Dad are out getting a tree, I’m about to catch up over coffee with a friend, it’s a sweet, chilly season.
I’ve been thinking back over the last three months, the September 2016 DTS, and also dreaming about this coming season of a school.
Just over a week ago, four teams headed off to start their Outreach Phase in the Philippines, Nepal, North India, and South India! The students spent over 10 weeks in Honolulu investing in their relationship with Jesus and learning more about who He’s created them to be. Now they get to go out and share how He’s impacted them with the world!
It was an absolutely amazing privilege to walk with these 36 students through their lecture phase and watch them be transformed by the truth they’re hearing every day. This last school taught me SO much. I honestly feel like I’ve learned more in the last three months than my entire six month DTS.
I’ve learned that, yes, being in leadership can be challenging but it’s also incredibly rewarding. I walked by some students having a conversation a few weeks back saying “man, I can’t ever go back to the life I was living before. Everything’s changed now.” It makes me go “YESSS you’re getting it!”. Each student grew in their own unique way yet as a family we grew together to further the Kingdom of God.
An important lesson I learned was that even though I’m constantly doing ministry and in an environment focused on serving Jesus, I still need to be intentional in my own walk with God. I can’t effectively lead students to dig deeper into God if I myself am not. It’s surprising how getting up early to spend time with Jesus can actually give you more energy and focus for the day!
As the teams are out serving the people of Asia, showing them the love of Jesus, pray for unity amongst the teams, pray for opportunities for them to see God move, and pray that the people they encounter would experience incredible life change. I’m excited to see how they’ve changed and grown and hear their stories when they come back to the island for graduation in February!
What’s next for me? Well in January, an entire new group of students start their DTS! I’ll be leading them through this school and then taking a team on outreach in April! I can’t share all the details just yet but stay tuned in the new year for more info on what I’ll be doing with this new school!