Hi, friends and family...it’s been a long time!
Let me fill you in on what God has been doing in my life. I’ m back from my 5 month adventure at YWAM Tyler. It’s hard to sum up 5 months of change into one letter, but I’ll give it a shot.
I left for the YWAM campus in Tyler, Texas the same day that my family moved to Kansas City. It was hard packing up my life into boxes and saying goodbye to my house and all the memories I’ve had growing up there. I was a soggy mess of tears when I said goodbye to my family. It was hard, but I knew that I had to go where God was leading me.
The first few days were difficult. I didn’t know anyone. I felt homeless when people asked me where I was from, because at that time I didn’t have a place called home to go back to. The awkwardness only lasted a little while. I made friends in no time! I never thought I could become so close with 41 people from so many different backgrounds. We had married couples with kids, Koreans and a grandma. We became a family.
Lecture phase was different than I thought it would be. I thought the teachings would be incredibly hard to sit through, but God always knew what I needed to hear. I loved taking notes and just soaking in the wisdom that God gave to whoever was speaking. God revealed to me a lot about myself that needed to be dealt with, good and bad. My relationship with God grew as well as my relationships with those in the school.
One thing that sticks out to me the most is when I realized how personal God is. I always thought hearing His voice was so complicated, but He is always speaking to me. All I have to do is stop and listen. He has blessings He wants to give to me, but sometimes He’s just waiting for me to ask. God is faithful!
For Stateside outreach we went to Palm Springs, California. We did a lot of prayer and intercession around the city. We know that there is a real spiritual battle going on and prayer is a powerful weapon. Children’s ministry, street evangelism, and volunteer work are other things we did.
Next stop on outreach was Kenya!
It was my first time to Africa and definitely a life changing experience. It didn’t look anything like I pictured in my mind. It was green and beautiful. Apart from speaking their tribal language and national language, most people spoke pretty good English. That was really helpful during ministry. We spent 10 days in the African Bush with an unreached people group. We traveled in a little van called a matatu for 8 hours. It was a long, cramped, bumpy ride, but the scenery was beautiful! We arrived in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by mud huts and ostriches. This was Africa. I felt like I was in the movie The Lion King.
Every day we walked to the local school and taught different classes. The kids would run to us on hot sand with their bare feet. Their clothes were torn and dirty, but that didn’t even compare to the smiles on their faces. At first I was overwhelmed with everything: the heat, food, and the language barrier. But once again God showed His faithfulness and gave me a heart for the school. I realized that these kids are the next leaders of Kenya. They are the ones that can change their nation. That is something I want to be a part of! I know that even by just showing them how much Jesus loves them made an impact. I loved teaching my Kindergarteners!
Overall DTS was a great experience. It was life changing and is still challenging me to pursue God more than ever before. I feel like God still has more He wants to show me. Since I feel God is leading me into full time missions, I want God to prepare me as much as possible. I am pursuing the School of Evangelism (SOE). Some people like to say that it is a continuation of DTS. I want to learn how to be effective in our world today and I feel like this is the next step God is calling me to.
The school starts January 2nd and I am taking this month to fundraise. I know that there is no way I can come up with all of the money on my own, but God is faithful and will continue to provide for me. I ask that you would consider supporting me in the continuation of what God is doing in my life. Thank you for your prayers and support!
-Ana
