"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." - Matthew 5:16
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Love Feast
When we arrived at the church and made our way to the front doors, they busted open with some bumpin music and loud cheering. At that very second I started to scream with shear relief, because even though we were led to believe that Exodus would last three more very long days, it in fact was coming to an end. Every single staff member was there dressed in there best greeting us as we walked in dirty and smelly. I just couldn’t believe how happy I was. We all found our way to our designated seats as the music continued and announcements were made. We then were dismissed to eat… the moment all the students had been waiting for; REAL FOOD! They served us steak, salmon, rolls, salad, fruit, punch, coffee (oh yes), and dessert. Tears seriously welled up in my eyes as I began to eat it tasted that good. In fact, I will never forget how delicious that meal was.
The night transitioned into a little speech on the last supper, the love feast, where Jesus broke bread and poured wine asking the disciples to do this in remembrance of Him. It then continued on to how He washed His disciple’s feet, and at that instant I knew exactly where this was going. I started to cry. The staff was going to wash our feet, even after what we went through, and how dirty we were… I literally melted and started to heavily understand the heart behind YWAM. After having my feet washed, and being prayed over, the night ended with an amazing time of worship, a long shower, and a pillow to lay my head.
You're Only Allowed to Bring...
My first hitch - it was a blast! |
When we stepped foot outside of the mall I prayed that the Lord would provide a vehicle after having such a difficult time earlier, and being exhausted and hungry… and Iao Valley was not necessarily close by. Sure enough after a couple minutes of walking the Lord provided that vehicle, and sure enough the guy driving loved Jesus! This was the hitch we had all been waiting for… We sat in the bed of his truck as he had his arms folded over the tailgate, and he blessed us with a 10 minute conversation about Christ’s love. He told us that he would take us all the way to our final destination, the top of Iao Valley … and even offered to buy us food!
We had three responsibilities to take care of: put up tents, collect firewood, and make squatty potties. Yep, this was real camping J. We built up an appetite after our duties, and were informed that Ramen noodles were for dinner. Unfortunately, two of the four teams had to eat it plain after the results
of the scavenger hunt. Apparently it wasn’t exactly tasty. Our night came to an end with sharing testimonies around the campfire, and hitting the sack early (we didn’t have cell phones or watches, so the majority of us never knew what time it was – sometimes I think we went to bed as early as 8:30).
After our quiet time and breakfast we were instructed to change into shorts and a T-shirt, and to follow the leaders down the road barefoot. It rained the night before, which wasn’t exactly pleasant I might add, so we trudged through muddy gunk to find out that were going to be playing games in it. Like I said, I was wrong about getting dirtier. I remember at one point I just had to embrace our situation, and that afternoon was when we all had the most fun. The refreshing part was that we walked further from camp to a freshwater spring and got to “bathe”, so to speak. All the while I keep thinking to myself, “how much longer might this go on for,” but trying to keep a positive attitude at the same time.
When we got back to our campsite the leaders announced they had some good news for us. We had 45 minutes to pack up camp, and head to a new destination for three more days. At that moment my heart sunk and I truthfully almost got upset, but then I gathered my emotions and reminded myself that I wasn’t going to die. On our way to this new destination we stopped at this amazing forest that almost reminded me of home; more pines. We hiked down into this canyon and explored caves in the surrounding walls. Despite the fact that we were all exhausted, it was still really cool. When we made our way back to our vehicles our leaders had yet another announcement that a church down the road wanted to house and feed us for the night. I can’t express the joy that filled my heart…
Come Away with Me!
Before I hit you with a ton of updates... I'll have you know that I did in fact write this blog entry over a month ago, and am just now putting it up. Haaa... I'm telling you, life is hectic over here for me, but in so many beautiful ways! With this new post expect more to come so I can catch you up and keep you steady with my short life in Maui .
Flyin Hawaiian |
As Jasmine and Ashley drove me to the base in Haiku we left the airport in Kahului, which everyone calls “town”, and drove through Paia, a cool little hippie town below Haiku. In Paia we stopped at this awesome coffee shop, Anthony’s, which is well-known to all of YWAM Maui … delicious! Once at the base, Jasmine showed me around and alas I came to my room with a “welcome” package on my bed, and I began unpacking. I also met two other students; one from South Dakota , and the other from Germany . It was nice to get cozy and relax the rest of the night. The next morning on Friday we went to worship, which they do on Monday and Friday mornings every week… I love it! The rest of the day and Saturday we just relaxed as waves of more students arrived. We did make a beach trip, too… amazing!
Goodbye Westcoast... |
...hello Hawaii! |
DTS Staff: Ashley & Jasmine |
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Time Seriously Flies!
Hey fam, friends, and church. Things here at the YWAM base in Maui are nuts! I'm not kidding when I say that my schedule starts the minute I wake up until the moment I lay my head down. The last three weeks in lecture I've learned about the intimacy of God, a Bible overview, and the Holy Spirit. Let's just say that Jesus has been blowing my mind! That being said, I have so much to update you all on and when I get a grip on my schedule, I will be sure to follow through with my commitment. Hope you all are doing well, and don't forget how much Jesus Christ does truly love you. We honestly can't really fathom it.
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