Fifth Week!

Emotional Roller Coaster.

This week I said goodbye to a good friend. My roomie Ashlin.

God has called her away from YWAM to pursue some other things. While I am extremely happy that she is following God's plan, it doesn't mean I am not hurting and missing her. It is now Elizabeth and Elby in my room and it seems empty without the beautiful spirit of Ashlin Horne.

Life goes on, and Elizabeth and I are continuing to become closer friends and learn from each other as we live in community together!

Life is a beautiful thing. Full of ups and downs that may seem confusing in the begining, but when we remember that God is in control we can completely trust in Him for the bigger picture. Ah, what a relief!

This week we were blessed to have Travis Newton speak with us the first 3 days, and our very own Chris Vengala the last 2 days. They spoke on many things, but focused mainly on the topic of evangelism. It was a really great time of learning, and it was all very practical and easy to apply!

Travis Newton used to be the youth pastor at Morningstar Ministries, and now is working as a general contractor and sharing Jesus with everyone he comes in contact with! It was really cool to hear all of his stories. Some cool points he made:

• Listen, listen, listen. No one wants to hear another sermon. Start a conversation, and don't be the one talking the whole time.
• (Not having to do with evangelisim, but just the Christian life) We are made from the earth (dust), in Genesis God tells men to subdue the earth. This means also to subdue ourselves: our flesh.
• The definition of ministry is meeting smeone's needs. This may be physical or spiritual.

There was much more he spoke about, ask me about it...

Chris Vengala also spoke to us. He is the co-leader of school, and is a senior staffer here at the base. He and his wife Megan have 4 beautiful girls who are full of life and a joy to have around the base. One thing i love about YWAM is how families are so valued. Our family meals together often have all the students and staff and also 8 kids 12 and under running around. Chris is from India and brngs such a cool culture to the base!

This week he gave us a lot to ponder:

• If your gospel isn't touching others, has it really touched you?
• Don't waste the one light you have by surrounding yourself with other lights, but take your ight and let it shine in the darkness.
• The root word of radical means roots. Going back to the roots. If Chrsitian means little Christ, then being a radical Christian is going back to our roots: Christ.
• We all have a different style of evangelism, we are not all evangelists, but we are all called to share Jesus with others in one way or another.
• We shouldnt be scared when sharing Jesus with others because we are going to talk to them with their creator along side of us!
• We sometimes want the legacy without being willing to pay the cost.
• "If there is nothing worth dying for we really have nothing to live for" Franklin Graham.

Also this week I was able to help with our afterschool program called Front Porch. It is a really great time to get to know the kids in our community and show them our love. More about that in one of my future blogs.

Free Weekend in Boone!

If you have never visited Boone Nc you are truley missing out. It is a beautiful piece of the earth! I enjoyed a weekend of relaxing with some of my friends, and drinking in the beauty of God's creation!

Fourth Week!

One month?! Are you kidding me?! The time has flown by so fast!

I miss home a lot, I miss every single person that is back in Lynchburg and around the world...

But this is becoming home too! This past weekend it was a free weekend and a small group of us went to Boone NC! It was one of the most beautiful places i have ever been. God's beauty was so evident in the mountains, but even still i found myself missing "home" here in Monroe...My family here is fantastic!

This week was really full of ups and downs, I wish ya'll were here because sometimes words cannot even describe all the different feelings and emotions of doing a DTS.

The Lord is so good. He is so faithful. He is so worth it.

He is above everything I could ever ask or imagine. He is restoring the joy of my salvation. The simplicity of all that He is. He is helping me regain child-like faith.

This past week we had Anna Cleghorn teaching us on the history of the Bible, and specifically on the inductive method of study. This is right up my alley because i love history, love studying correlations between the old and new testement, love breaking things apart and studying them piece by piece, love learning new things, love school, and love Jesus!

Besides simply the inductive method, the Lod spoke many other truths through Anna.

I was reminded of the importance to study the foundational truths about God's nature and character because we move toward our mentl image of God. We need to have a biblical view of who He is.

Another example that was given this week was that of the dollar and its value. Money has value because it has an image on it. The image of a founding father. Our lives have value because God stamped His image on us when He created us.

Through studying the story of the Bible i was re-reminded of God's perfect plan of redemption. God taught me things that i know i will be able to use in outresch as I share the love of Christ with those whom i come in contact with.

Speaking of outreach! I still do not know where we are going, but the leadership team has confirmed that we will know very soon! With this knowledge comes great excitement, because i am excited to walk out in all the Lord is teaching me.

In saying that i need all of your prayers. My support has come to a stand still, and i am currently revamping strategy to raise the funds  i will need. This will start as soon as i know the outreach location. Please be in prayer that I will be able to raise these funds in a timely manner.

Thank you for all of your support and love! Please look forward to hearing from me next week!

My roomies say hey!

Third Week!

Sorry this is late.

Life is busy, but amazing!

I have been learning so much!
Not only through the lectures and text, but through living in community!

Learning with and among people is such a learning experience in and of itself.

This is a picture of the students on our first sunday together....

It has truley become a family! We have become soooo close to one another. The conflicts as well as the family bonding have both taught me so much!

I am also blessed to have an extremely amazing staff that lives along with us. They have become just as close to us as the students.

This week we were blessed by having Christopher Hopper with us for three days. He became part of our family immedietely, and taught us so many practical things about the Lord and His heart for affecting the culture we live in.

Check him and his ministry out at christopherhopper.com!

A few topics and points from this weeks lectures:

• You + Jesus= The impossible becoming possible
• If you knew what you were destined to do would you want to take that journey?
• The key to a good relationship (with a spouse, parent, or friend) is loving Jesus more than that person!
• Let Him have control over your pen. Let Him write your story.
• God calls us in seasons, be true to the season God has put you in, and listen for when that season is over and the next one is beginning.
• There is a difference between having a visit from the Lord and having Him inhabit your life!
• God’s perspective of you is not your perspective of you!
• If what you do requires divine intervention, it is probably from the Lord! Dream so big that heaven has to back you up.
• When hearing from the Lord it as all about life. God’s voice creates life, sustains life, and releases life.
• Unity is not uniformity; it is having the same heart. It is having love, and God is love.
•  If you are not the one being worshiped, don’t judge the worshipers.

This is even later than I thought it would be! We in fact just finished our fourth week together. Will be writing about the fourth week and all it brought with it this evening..so look forward to it!

2nd Week at YWAM!

I have offcially been here for 14 days.

It feels like I have been here 2 months instead of 2 weeks.

It also feels like the past 2 weeks have gone by in the blink of an eye. Wierd.

Monday we started our first lecture series by Vickie Hedgepeth on hearing the voice of God. God spoke so much through her! She is the co-director of YWAM Charlotte (along with her husbnd Todd), and she has so many stories of how God was faithful to speak to her and her family during the struggles of her son's immunization-induced autism, the near 4 year process of adopting ( and changing the laws forbidding adoption by families with biological children) of her daughter Gabby from Togo, West Africa, and of the 7 year process of owning the historic Blakeny House that is now the base of YWAM Charlotte. Her love for the Lord truley showed through as she focused on reltionship with the Lord, the fear of the Lord, and the power of intercession.

It is amazing how over the past few weeks I hav found the Lord speaking to me in ways i couldnt have imagined. He is faithful to share His heart when I just take the time to lay down my pride and listen to His will.

He knows the big picture, and we never will! Isn't that beautiful?

Trusting Him, when nothing makes sense, is actually a refreshing feeling...

God is restoring so much in me! Growing up in a large Christian family like mine is a blessing, but there is no a lack of hurts that have come along with it. Being involved with church-splits, people so "unreligious" they are religious, emotional immaturity, and my own pride about my background are all sure-fire ways to become doubtful and hurt by many things "of God," but He is restoring the joy of my salvation! He is restoring the way I look at people. He is restoring the judgement i have felt (and that i let influence my walk with Him) towards people, He is restoring my prideful heart, and He is bringing me into a place of mere joy at the fact that He loves me.

He wants to be in relationship with me, He doesnt just want me to do "the right things" for Him. He wants me to listen.

I am taking off my mask for you. My family. My friends. I am learning more and more about the Lord, and i have so much more to learn. If you ever thought Victoria had it all together, I don't. I have had a negative attitude toward the church, and have judged the intentions of those in it.

And I am sorry.

Continue to pray for me as i learn more about the Lord and His heart...


More in Monroe:
This week we had a birthday party for Nicole Botha from South Africa. This included waking up at 2am, singing the birthday song 18 times, and about 20 people get 18 and up watching the lion king together as a family

I was put on the hospitality team, and i get to help welcome speakers as well as put together bdy parties and other YWAM family functions!

I wrote a rap about the foundational values of YWAM, and now have the rep of being pretty G.

A few staff families have children, and the four Vengala girls were happy to learn some ballet this week, and it may be a continuing thing!

I still don't know the country we will be going to for outreach, but I do know that I still need $4000 before Thanksgiving, so please be praying tht the Lord will provide!

I love you all, and will look forward to another post next week! More pictures will be posted soon too!

First Week at YWAM!

So I am here.

After months of preperation and prayer, I am finally here.

I am sitting in my dorm room thinking over the past 6 days, and it has been surreal.

Welcome to my world, I live in an historic house in downtown Monroe, NC that YWAM Charlotte has slowly been turning into the center of its ministry. It is a home. All the girl students live here, spread out between 4 "dorm" rooms, and the offices, dining area, and family living room are also here. The 2 boy students live in a small house with the male staff in the neighborhood behind the house. Living with 22 girls in a house has been interesting, but really fun! I live in the smallest room with my two amzing roommates Elizabeth ( Simba) and Ashlin (Eeyore). Also the beautiful staff member Elby lives with us in that room! It has been great getting close to all of them, as well as all of the girls in the house!

The schedule is monday-friday breakfast at 6:45, walking to the church down the road for quiet time, worship/prayer, and then lectures (classes). The rest of the day either consists of outreach, work duties(chores), homework, or chilling. Another important part of the day is meals, which we are required to eat together as a family. The community living experience has been interesting, but nothing too new for me because of the family environment i grew up in. There are a few places in the house where i can find solitude, but not many.

One great place i love is the attic, which includes 5 curtained cubbies (which used to be servant sleeping quarters) that are decorated with pillows and art. These are great places to get alone for som peace and quiet. I must say, at least at this point, it is nice being surrounded by people all the time! We all have become very close, and share in similar struggles, experiences and journeys. Our differences help make us grow stronger s a group.

I already feel like we are becoming a family, and i am so thankful for the life-long friendships developing. In the past week we have become very vulnarable with each other, taking off our "masks," and being honest about our pasts. I know that the Lord is strengthing us for the time we will be spending overseas together during the outreach phase starting in January. Speaking of that, the staff is currently prying about where we are to go and i should know where within about 2 weeks! I need $4000 more for that phase. Trusting the Lord that He will continue to be faithful for those funds!

Monday we are starting the first week of topical lectures, and this weeks tpic is hering the voice of God. I am excited to share witth all of you what i will be learning, so look forward to next week's post. Thanks again for all your love, prayer, and support! I know that this will be such a growing experience for me, and each and everyone of you are an important part of this!