They think they have an idea...but they really don't

Hello everyone!

We meet again! This is now my second blog update regarding this school.  I hope all y’all have been doing fantastic.

We just began our first week of Lecture Monday morning.  We have the awesome privilege of having Kristy Wilke from YWAM Montana.  She is bringing an amazing word on Hearing the Voice of God and Intercession this week.  Which to me, is the best first week topic ever.  This week will kick off the roller coaster of a ride that DTS is.  The students have absolutely no idea what’s in store for them.  A lot of them think they have a slight idea, but in reality, they have no idea.

One thing that I’ve noticed in the two weeks since students have been here is that while praying over the applications of the students, the staff had more or less tried to figure out who would be friends with one another, and a really awesome thing has happened.  Friendships that we didn’t even think about are forming.  The least likely people to be friends are becoming friends.  It’s awesome to see what God can do when we put things in His hands.

Just in the three days that Kristy has been here, my mind has been blown so much.  Even though this is my second time hearing her speak, and now my third lecture phase with YWAM, I am continuing to learn more and more about God, and how He speaks.  Without realizing we do it, we put God in a box.  A box of how He can, and cannot speak. But God being how amazingly awesome that He is, speaks differently to each every person.  Some people are more pictorial than other people. And others are more verbal than others. Then you have those that can be either.  Or some are spoken to completely different if that’s how they respond best. Yesterday we had a little exercise to practice hearing God’s voice.  And some AWESOME things came out.

It’s crazy to think that this is only the beginning of what will no doubtedly be an amazing five months for everyone involved.  The students are thoroughly enjoying it so far.  And they still have sooo much to learn and to look forward too!

Thank you to everyone who has been supporting me, whether it be financially or prayerfully, it is very much appreciated!

With the wind,
Mark

Smithtown, Bellport, the City, and back to Smithtown...and so it begins

"Okay, so here's the list of what needs to get done before the start of the next DTS" says the director of the school in our weekly staff meeting. "We need to touch up paint in the theater, the dinning room, the lobby.  We need to paint all the doors in the girls wing." I'm sitting in my chair at the table thinking that I really shouldn't be surprised by this list that will no doubt be growing and growing and growing...did i mention the fact that it'll grow? We are in pre-hell week mode right now.  Pre-hell week is the week we begin the swarms of lists of stuff to do, and fix, and buy to get ready for the up coming school. Next week we have the joy of entering hell week.  The week where we tackle all of the above said lists.

You're probably wondering what I've been up to these last 6 months since the last school ended.  I know i would be.  And I'll tell you exactly what I've been up to.  Nothing.  I mean, yes, I've been here at the base doing whatever needs to be done.  But that's it.  Nothing exciting has happened.  We were all prepared for a crazy busy summer of summer teams.  We were all geared up to be swamped, and we had...one team.  The entire summer.  But that one team was AMAZING.  They were a BLAST to hang around and get to know. We spent that week in the city doing Prayer Stations, and helping out with a mobile food pantry, The Relief Bus.  We also spent one day at Lighthouse Mission in Bellport. Lighthouse is also a mobile food pantry focusing on Long Island, mainly Suffolk County. Aside from that, during the summer, us, as a staff, would try to do one ministry day a week.  Whether it be Prayer Stations in the city, helping out Relief Bus, or helping out Lighthouse Mission.

Alright, back to what's going on with the next school.  As of right now, we have 19 accepted students.  4 guys and 15 girls (quite the ratio, huh?) But with that said, it shall be an amazing time nonetheless.  Both for the students who are about to have their worlds rocked, and the staff, who know kind of what to expect, but at the same time, not at all.  Every school is COMPLETELY different from the previous school.  There's always that fleeting thought in the back of your mind when every school starts, "what if this school doesn't get along with each other". Well, for one thing, it will definitely make for some interesting dynamics during lecture phase, and certainly outreach. But from all the stories I've heard here, and at varies YWAM bases in my travels, I have yet to hear a story where that was the case.  The norm for DTS's is within the first week to two weeks, people become best friends with a select few, and just "normal friends" with a bunch of other people.  I say "normal friends" cause let's be honest, who is "normal" nowadays? No one...and it takes a special kind of person to do a DTS.

This is just the first of many updates to come.  I'm hoping to send out updates at least every two weeks. But I am going to try to send them out every week.

With the wind,
Mark