Winter Quarter sum up

Alas, we're rapidly approaching the end of the Winter Quarter here at YWAM Maui which means job changes for some base staff, new staff arriving, less rainy weather (hallelujah!) and most of all Outreach for our Winter DTS students. It's amazing to see how far they've come in only three months and so exciting to see their fiery anticipation to "go and make disciples" and pour out just as we as staff have poured into them.

-team Borneo-

It feels like just the other day, we were running to and fro from the airport to pick up 30 or so terrified twenty-somethings and now they're headed into the core of Southeast Asia. I'll provide a brief aperçu as to what the last three months have looked like.
At our Maui YWAM base and at every YWAM base throughout the world, we accept students, also from all over the world, to come and train. Our primary school is called a Discipleship Training School (DTS). It boils down to three months of intensive spiritual cultivation in the students followed by a three month outreach to "put feet to the faith" they'd just invested themselves in. So in the several months, the lecture phase, we bring in speakers also from all over the world to come and share what God has shown them. We cover topics ranging from pre-evangelism and basic Christianity, to Hearing the Voice of God (take it from a born-and-raised southern-baptist, prophecy is always an... "intense" topic, much like dancing probably would be, hehehe...) and Godly models for relationships (platonic, fraternal and romantic alike).
Believe me when i say it's an intense schedule. There's only a little time each weekday that isn't fore-ordained for ministry.

-team China-

This group of students is particularly close to my heart. I've been so blessed to work with them in the kitchen, or help to hone their gifts in musical worship, to spend my weekends with, or just stay up late in the guy's house (the "Testoster-home") and talk to. They came to the base already annointed people and after three months, you can see such visible changes in their walks with the Lord. It's so amazing to see people that you've spent so much time praying for laying hands on you and praying for you because you're sick or look sad or simply because they felt like the Lord asked them to.
Not one of them isn't going on Outreach which in itself is a miracle as there was a huge financial need (thankfully God operates from a seperate economy). We saw thousands of dollars come in for these students, some of which may have been the Lord's physical hand directly (if you haven't read my previous blog "hilarious givers", check it out, sweet stuff!).
Every second of time spent on these students has come back ten-fold (turns out investing in people works every time... well unless you're Madoff...).

On Tuesday, we send out the three teams of students to their outreach locations (China, Borneo and Bangladesh). For the next three months they'll be trekking through jungles and sharing the gopsel, or teaching in underground churches (which, much to my dissapointment and possibly yours I'll inform you, are not typically "under" ground). = )
So keep them in your prayers, that God would strengthen them and bless them, that He'd give them His words and His hands to serve, that many would come to know the infinite and personal God of Heaven and that above all He'd receive all the glory.

As for me, this next quarter means a much-needed season of rest on the base. I'm still working in the kitchen however the mouths to feed have dropped for 60+ down to 12 or so. This also gives me more time to serve the base in worship and our local churches, to soak up and pour into the other staff here and also to work more with Revival Maui (also some blog stuff you should check out, "Purity Siege").

-Chelsea and I's birthday Thai food excursion extravaganza!-

I also have some very exciting news to share with you for upcoming days in my YWAM life but that can wait for now.
love you all and i miss you.

Because of the Cross,
Samuel