FRISBEE!!

7:00AM

Staff Vs. Students

We may have lost 6-10 BUT....

We sure looked looked good.

OUTREACH!!!

I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING FOR OUTREACH!!!

On Thursday morning we were given 2 choices on which to pray about...

ZIPPERS

OR

BUTTONS

We had no idea what the places were or anything, we were just to pray and ask God which one to choose. Almost immediately, even before we all went out to pray, I instantly thought  - ZIPPERS - So I still went out to pray and I just felt like I knew it was going to be zippers and that was it.  I wrote it on a piece of paper with my name on it and handed it in.

So where is it that I'm going?!?!

SOUTH AFRICA!!!

Yep that's right - I'm going to South Africa with a fantastic group of people.  It was such an exciting time to find out where we were going and who it was going to be with.  It's so crazy how much things have changed in this group in the last month since I've been here.  I love it.  We have all been split into 2 groups and the other group is going to Tanzania.  So all of us are going to Africa!

For those that don't know, I'll explain a bit about what outreach is.  It is pretty much the whole purpose of the DTS.  It is an incredible opportunity to go to another place and take everything that we have learned here on the Oval during the lecture phase and put it into practice.  Let me tell you, at least for me, I have already learned so much since being here.  I have learned so much about myself and about God and just so many things and I know there is still so much more to learn.  I've already been able to see ways in which I can put into practice what we have talked about in lectures throughout my day.  It's pretty great.  

So for outreach, there will be 6 (I think) weeks of being in South Africa and another 4 weeks somewhere in the UK.  We haven't figured out where that will be for each of our teams...I have no idea what exactly we will be doing or where exactly in South Africa we will be but still - I'm going to freaking South Africa and that's pretty amazing.  

God speaks to me through my gut instinct.  I've been noticing this more and more with being here.  I think that almost from the beginning of being here, I just had a feeling that I was going to be going to some place in Africa.  We spend some time in prayer one day a couple weeks ago about where we should all go for outreach, waiting to hear from God where He wanted us to go and I saw 2 pictures in my mind of something that I felt was Africa.  I just kept thinking - I'm totally going to Africa and my heart started racing and got really excited.  And guess what?! I am.  God is speaking to me whether I realize it at the time or not but I know that He is and it's so exciting.  

  

Original Design

REST CONTENTED IN GOD'S LOVE

So one day last week, it was sunny.  Just the one day...So I decided to go for a walk in the woods.  There was a lot going through my mind about a lot of what we were talking about in classes this week and so I just went to get away and be alone and just think.  So I just kept walking not knowing where I was going but just sticking to the path and I happened to stumble upon this beautiful tree.  I was hooked. All I wanted to do was just look at it.  I don't know what it is, but I love trees.  I especially love the ones that are just in the middle of nowhere. There is just some kind of joy and contentment that comes from them. 

This past week was freedom week.  The basic premise of freedom week is simple - FREEDOM.  It is really looking into who God made you to be.  A big part of that is breaking down the strongholds that are created in our hearts by the enemy and allowing God to tell us who we are and who we will be instead of believing the lies the enemy tells us.  It really brought to light all the lies that I tend to believe about myself and it is so encouraging to know that those aren't true, that's not what God thinks of me.  So that is what we were prayed for.  We were able to all be prayed for in a small group in the chapel and just hear from God who He created us to be and what those strongholds in our lives are.  It's called "Original Design" and we've talked about that a lot here.  

Original Design - who God says that I am.  These are the things that God thinks of me, these are elements of the person that God has created me to be:

I AM RELIABLE, DETERMINED, POSITIVELY AGGRESSIVE

I AM COMPASSIONATE, EMPATHETIC, CONCERNED

I FEEL OTHERS PAIN

I WORSHIP GOD IN PRACTICAL WAYS

I SEE THE BEAUTY OF THINGS FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

I AM A BEAUTIFUL SUNSET - RELIABLE, DEPENDABLE

ALWAYS SETS IN THE WEST BUT ALWAYS A DIFFERENT COLOR

I BRING JOY

I CAN SEE GOD MOVING IN EVERY SITUATION

I AM A PEACEMAKER

I AM A SPEAKER OF TRUTH IN LOVE

I AM KNOWN AND LOVED BY GOD

GOD WILL PROVIDE WHAT IS PERFECT FOR ME

That is who God created me to be.  Now the important part is truly believing that all of those things are absolutely 100% true because they come from God.  It's so easy to lose sight of that.  It's so easy to sink back into the lies that the enemy tells because his plan is that we would not reach our original design.  But God's design is perfect and good and right.  Everyone has an Original Design.  It is different for each person but that is the beauty of it.  God created each one us differently and He knows what is perfect for each of us and He will give us opportunities to be that person.  I don't know if I became completely free from the strongholds in my life because as with everything else in my life...freedom is a process.  It will come.  I just need to wait.  REST CONTENTED IN GOD'S LOVE.  It is when I am in that place that I can be all of those things that He created me to be, because those things come from God.

I am here for a reason...I came to learn more about who I am and who God is and this is just the beginning of this journey and I can't wait to see where it takes me.