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!