Hi! I'm still alive. This last week has been about Relationships. While the last week, on Evangelism, was intellectually intense, this week has been emotionally intense. It's really neat to see how what each speaker says prepares us for the next week, and ties up things from the previous week. And the speakers don't talk to each other beforehand! What God has to say comes out loud and clear. Funnily, each speaker has mentioned the Fish Barbeque in John 21, so maybe God is saying barbeque some fish? :)
Actually, here's what the speakers said about the Fish Barbeque:
Recognizing the Voice of God: When Jesus asks Peter, "Do you love me more than these?", "These" refers not to the disciples, but the fish, and thus, Peter's job.
Evangelism: We can spend amazing time with Jesus, but that doesn't mean we're going to automatically be radical for Jesus. Peter went right back to fishing after Jesus died. But after he met the resurrected Jesus, he changed.
Relationship: Jesus cares about his disciples, and wants to spend time with them. He was cooking breakfast for them on the beach, so they could all enjoy fresh fried fish together.
I would also like to give you an overview of what a normal week looks like here at the base.
A normal weekday is class from 9:30 (or 10am) to 1pm.
After lunch is 'creative release' time. This is when we're encouraged to go do creative stuff in one of the studios (dance, recording, visual art, sewing, etc.).
Then we have 'home projects', aka work duties. This lasts for two hours, but since I'm on the supper dishes team, I have free time. Yay! It's a great time to think, or do artsy stuff, go for a walk, or just have quiet time with God.
At 5pm we, the dishes team, clean a bit of the kitchen. Then we have supper at 5:30. After supper I do dishes with Shaynna, Anna-Elisabeth and John. We turn music up loud and generally have a good time singing at the top of our lungs while cleaning dishes.
Free evenings involve hanging out with friends, maybe playing games, or working on projects, or having quiet time.
Monday: We have cultural breakfast! We have to get up early, but it's worth it. Each week, people from certain countries make traditional food from their culture. So we've had Mexican bean sandwich things, Australian cheesy-vegemite scrolls, Tunisian Ojja (tomato-ish sauce with egg, eaten with bread), and South African pannekoeks. Swiss breakfast is next week!
Then we have a worship time with everyone on the base before class (DTS, staff, hospitality and maintenance people, french students and more. About 50 people total.)
Tuesday: First off is home cleaning. I clean the third floor of the old wing with one of the base staff. (I've now learned how to clean toilets. . . Useful skill to have.)
Next is an intercession time specifically for our DTS. We adopt an artist to pray for each time. Last week it was Tom Hanks, a couple weeks ago Cirque de Soleil.
Instead of 'creative release', we have community outreach. Stephanie, Céline, John and I go to the local home for aged persons, Residence Dunham. We play music and deliver snacks and chat with the peope there.
In the evening we have small groups, where we discuss books and life and eat snack food.
Wednesday: First thing in the morning us girls have Hawaiian Dance Workout with Jordan. Yay! So much core strength required.
(Also, speaking of Jordan, she and I usually on Wednesdays have a time where we get together one-on-one, just to talk and see how the DTS is going.)
Thursday: We have intercession time all together as a base in the morning. Our focus in February is Africa. Though this week we had a special time to pray with YWAM all over the world about visas and open borders.
During creative release time, we have art workshops. So far, we've learned about Biblical Warrior Worship, Sculpting, and Singing. Photography is next week.
In the evening we have Accendo, which is where we all go to the pub, have drinks (don't freak out, I drink juice), listen to live music, and then hear stories from our speaker of the week. It's a cool time to meet people from the community too.
Friday: We have home cleaning again, and then a worship time with just the DTS. Most of us in the DTS signed up for worship teams, so I'm making music with Stephan, Nicolas and Aurelie next Friday.
The class on Friday is also an application time, where we do more practical stuff, like make lists of people to forgive and then burn the list, or come up with a creative way to bless people in the community (like going to the corner store, buying chocolate and leaving it on the counter for the cashier. John did that, and I was with him, and it was fabulous).
On the weekends we rest, have Brunch on Saturday morning, and work on our journals. We also hang out and play games. Or go places. On Sunday, most of us go to churches in the surrounding area. I'm part of a very small church that meets in a community centre. We have testimony times, and sing along with YouTube videos, so it really feels like Haynes Community Church back in Alberta.
So that's a bit of what a normal week looks like here. The weeks are so full, but they fly by way too quickly! I've now officially been away from my family for the longest time in my life, but I'm only microscopically homesick, because my time here so far has been AMAZING.
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