My prayer was to be available and obedient to God during D.T.S. I knew this was how I could give God the opportunity to work through me in every situation. I have been learning that God desires to demonstrate His power and love though me, but if I hold back or am unwilling, all that is demonstrated is my own ability, be it my weaknesses or my strengths—and I miss an opportunity to glorify Him! I don’t want to do that! I desire to have the glory go to God in all my experiences. But this being available and obedient meant stepping out of my comfort zone many times!One of these stepping out experiences was in my dance track. My team taught a dance workshop at a local middle school. As this was the first time the YWAM base had done this, we were able to establish a good reputation and were invited back again. Most importantly, we were able to establish relationships with the students, listen to them, love them, and be a positive influence to them.
Mini outreach in Spokane, Washington was one of the most stretching experiences of lecture phase. Several times we walked around the city and asked to pray for people. I had never done this before, and even though I was shaking on the inside, I thought, “Okay, God. Please use this to bless people through prayer and that they would feel Your specific care and love for each of them personally.” I believe that many of the people we prayed for saw that our intentions were sincere, and I prayed that this would subconsciously invoke a desire for “Someone” more, the Only One who truly satisfies. On Halloween night a girl on my team stopped and asked to pray for a group of three people. Now my first inclination would have been not to speak to them because, well, they looked scary. Immediately one person took off into the bar, another just stood and snickered at us, and the third said that she didn’t need any prayer. She was dressed in a Halloween costume, including a long black dress, white paint over her entire face, and red paint made to look like blood was dripping down her face, and her demeanor was not open to God. Then I asked if we could just pray in general for her, not knowing anything specific. She gave a hesitant yes to this. So I began to pray for her, especially about how she is uniquely and specially created and how much God loves her. Afterward, I could see that her demeanor had changed as she realized that we were not there to judge but to love her with the love of Christ. I believe that I could see an openness and connection with her through her eyes. She even thanked us before we left.
My mission’s trip to Uganda was unlike many of my previous missions’ experiences. On my past trips I had done a lot of hands-on service and friendship evangelism. However, our main focuses in Uganda were door-to-door evangelism, open air programs where we shared the Gospel in communities, in prisons, and in an orphanage, teaching seminars in churches, and preaching in churches on Sundays. I did not have experience evangelizing or speaking much previously and do not believe it comes that naturally as I have a harder time talking to strangers, but I like to get to know people over time. So this was a huge step for me. Again I would pray much like at mini outreach, “Here I am, God. I’m going to open my mouth and speak about You. Please give me Your words to say because I don’t know what to say or how to do this.” And God did—all the time! One time I was sharing the salvation message through my interpreter to a group of ladies, and more and more children began to gather round. I had a baby sitting on my lap. One of the ladies and several children asked to receive Christ. Her eyes went from looking so lost to lighting up with hope! It was amazing how many times I saw this—a physical change in a person’s countenance when they came to Christ! I felt like I could relate or maybe understand a little of Jesus and the early Christians as I also ministered to some people who did not even know the name of Jesus.
When I contemplated what I had learned the most from my D.T.S. lecture phase and outreach, I believe there are two main things. One is that God is Alive; He is the Living and Active Word as Hebrews 4:12 states. His Word was alive, impacting, and specific to each person I spoke to, as to the lady and children that came to Christ in the previous story. My own words don’t do that, but God’s words touch people to the depths of their souls, and He will meet them there. The other thing I have been learning is that God is Faithful! He is the Master Builder, putting blocks or experiences of faith underneath me so that I can stand strong and solidly on His Firm Foundation! He has done this in various ways: my previous missions’ trips, youth internship with my church, providing employment at Simpson University, and a place to stay in preparation for YWAM… I left in September with only half of my funds for YWAM, praying that God would provide the rest—and He did through faithful prayer partners. My faith became stronger as I saw Him work in my life and radically in the D.T.S. students’ lives, and I saw many Ugandans’ lives transformed as they came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. I can take these lessons with me each day as I live in the presence of the Living God, remember His faithfulness, and that He is actively working in my life and in other peoples’ lives!
