What's my summer been like? (part 2)

BAM! Here's part 2, coming right at you. So, this one goes over what's been going on during the past four weeks (I think, maybe more) for me. So right after the NOAH camp (see part 1 if you don't know), I went on a fishing trip. Seriously, about a day after we came back, I was invited to go on the trip, and the next day we were leaving. This wasn't some local, simple fishing trip. No, this was serious business... for fun. If that makes sense at all. About seven of us traveled in a van from Long Island to Virginia Beach. When we first went fishing, I realized that I had completely forgotten how to fish. The last time I went fishing was... many, many years ago, in a galaxy far, far away (I actually have been fishing before, but I don't remember how long ago that was). During this time, however, I came to really enjoy fishing. The fish usually feed a little in the late evenings into the night, and in the early morning. So, there were a few nights during this week-long adventure that we stayed up all

What's my summer been like? (part 1)

So, it's been awhile since I've last posted. Feels weird. When we last left off, I had basically just finished DTS, and was volunteering at a YWAM base in NYC. Well, I'm still here. At first, not a whole lot was happening, but then NOAH happened. NOAH is an acronym that stands for Network of Anointed Households. It's a program that basically tries to bring families that are involved in ministry together. It has a few different events, but the big one is the NOAH camp.

NOAH camp is a one-week camp for missionary's children, and pastor's children. The grade range is from 3rd grade, all the way to 12th grade. Each person will be put into two groups: a flock group, and a family group. A flock group is a 'horizontal' age group, so all the people will be in the same grade range, and same gender. This group will sleep together, eat breakfast and lunch together, and, in the older kids case, have

Final (maybe?) DTS thoughts, the Now, and the Future

So, now it’s time for my final thoughts on DTS. Should you/your child do DTS? I think that I can say yes. Not because DTS, or YWAM can save you/your kid, but because DTS is a powerful tool that God is using to draw people all over the world closer to Him. I think that it’s really important for a lot of people about to head into college to take some time off, especially if you’re trying to stick to your faith, because college will test faith more than most things in the world. Had I not gone off to do a DTS, it’s very possible that I could be walking away from the Lord now. For parents who are reading this, I am also not saying that everyone will walk away during college. I’m just saying that college will test their faith more than anything else they have experienced most likely. Nurture that faith, and encourage them in it. As for you young padawans that are about to head off to college, think about what's important to you. If school is important for you, and you've got a direction, then it's really important that you find a fellowship immediately. I didn't plug into one

Ch!n@ trip!!!!

I’m back. Now, time to tackle the whole trip. Oh boy. This update will focus on my time in Ch!n@, so it’s going to be a doozy. However, if you’re more interested on what I learned during my time there, and what my plans are for the future, I will put out another update (much sooner than it took for me to release this update, God willing).

Let’s start with some simple facts about Ch!n@. I think I mentioned this before, but here it is again, in case you forgot. I misspell the name of this country because the government tracks for the name of the country, and really doesn’t appreciate the kind of stuff that YWAM does. In fact, YWAM was named a terrorist organization a few years ago. Ch!n@ used to be extremely hostile towards Christianity (especially during the Cultural Revolution), but recently it has started to open up to Christianity. Perhaps the government realized

Week 10, & 11 - How did the end get here so quickly?

Wow. I'm leaving the country in just a little under 48 hours. Ugh, let's not think about that right now, I'll think about it later in the blog. Adrenaline ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-

Cool thing that happened- Road to Hana. This trip takes you along Hana highway, and all around Haleakala (the volcano in the middle of the island). The trip took all day, but it was very much worth it. Even though our trip began and ended with rain. A lot of rain. Now this wouldn't be a problem if we weren't traveling in the back of trucks, as opposed to vans. Our first stop was at this little cave. You jump into the water in it, and you can travel through a few caves, where it very quickly becomes pitch black. The key is to listen to the instructions of the people in front of you. My description hardly does the experience justice, but just know that it was really cool. The next thing we did was went to a place called Bunny Ears. Well, not so much

Week 7, 8, 9 - Annnnd we're back

So, I'll start this post with an update on some of my injuries. It started with basketball. I went for a ball, and fell on my head. Next, I got a nasty cut (shown in the picture below) whilst jumping through a broken window. Was it necessary? uhhhhh...

However, the cut didn't go all the way through the skin, so I didn't have to get stitches (Thank God). And, to wrap it up, an assortment of cuts ranging from knee cuts to several scratches going from my arm to my torso, because a wave washed me onto the rocks while I was climbing out of the ocean. Which I was in because of cliff-jumping. 'sigh', it's a hard life. I say that with complete sarcasm, and understanding that I am INCREDIBLY blessed to be here solely to deepen my relationship with God. So, let's get to the interesting stuff!

Week 4 & 5 & 6- Ooooooohh Loooooooord

As we are having a media fast this week (no phone/computer/ipod/cassette players/beepers/cd players/etc. for a week), I want to cover as many weeks as I can in this post. So, buckle in, this is gonna be a brief one.

So, during week 4 Maria Daughtry spoke on the Holy Spirit. After Donna Jordan speaking, and me crying, and whatnot, I was feeling pretty good. Man, I'm pretty good, and I'm pretty much set, and ready to tackle the world. Yeah, I wasn't ready for what was next. As the week started, Maria informed us that she was given the gift of prophecy, and throughout the week she had 'words' for people. The way she described it was that it was a letter from God that she was able to open for a person. Pretty crazy. At this point I remember something that I forgot from last week. I hate forgetting things.

Week 3- Surviving without napkins, and first tears in a year

Did you know that we don't use napkins here? I only realized it maybe two weeks ago. ONWARD WITH THE BLOG!

ah nuts. Totally forgot to talk about community outreach and my birthday last week. So, for community outreach I travel to a local area (usually a park, or a basketball court) with a bunch of others, and we play with the kids and spread the gospel to them. The goal of this is to bring the communities together, and try to bring Christianity into the homes through the children. Alright then, my birthday. I got an awesome brownie cake (I think it had some mint also), a card, fro-yo (frozen yogurt for those uneducated in the ways of frozen desserts), annnd I saw my first whale. Pretty awesome birthday.

Week 2- Outreaaaaach and the beginning of lecture

Halright. Here we go. Totally forgot to put the whole outreach thing in my previous post, sooooo here it is. In case I didn't put this earlier, I am spending the first three months of my DTS in Maui, Hawaii, and the next three months will be spent out on outreach, echoing the saying of YWAM- To know God, and make Him known. After Exodus, we had a beach day. (Actually, thinking back, I have no idea about the course of events, and it's all really jumbled up. Sorry about that.) We didn't stay around our base where there are a bunch of beaches with huge (meaning 3-5 feet high), vicious waves. We traveled to the other side of the island (the side that is much more touristy), where there were beaches that had finer sand on the beach, clearer waters, and much smaller waves. We spent the whole day there, but as the sun started to set, Matt Laskey (the DTS school leader) gathered everyone together. After a couple of delays, he started calling

Week 1- Welcome to Maui

Alright, the next day I wake up and meet some new people, and see a guy sitting in the back of a truck. After a little bit of talking, I find out his name is Brennan, and they're going to run some errands in town. With nothing else to do, I hop into the back of the truck, and spend the day going around to the different YWAM properties to take care of things, and then we filled up some propane tanks, and did a few other small things. As unique as I thought riding in the bed of a truck was, I'd be doing it many more times, and it's always fun. The next day we went to the beach, and the last of the students arrived. That evening was an event called Opening Night. The staff introduced themselves during this time, and then we had a time of worship. Afterwards, the staff introduced a 'camping trip' that they call Exodus.

Pre-Arrival and Arrival

I’d like to preface this blog with the fact that I am doing the first several weeks (about the first month) after the events have happened, so I am bound to forget things that I may put in later. I don’t know how I will go about doing this; I just pray that God will help me remember most things. Additionally, I will be splitting the first couple of weeks into separate entries to try to help prod my memory. So no promises that they will all come out relatively around the same time. Absolutely none. Another note, this blog will talk a lot about my walk with God. Now a lot of you are probably rolling your eyes thinking, "Oh boy, Tim's gone off the deep end and lost his marbles." However I challenge you to read through my experience with an open mind, and take what I have to say as truth. I have thought about Christianity for days upon days upon weeks upon months, and