What's Been Going On?

So I was thinking I should write about what we actually do here at our school. Since most people are probably unfamiliar with YWAM and a Discipleship Training School I thought I'd try to give a little realistic insight. Here's a little peek of the day to day routine.

7:00 is breakfast (usually Brenden goes and I sleep in)

8:00 - 8:30 student-led worship

8:30-10 we usually have Intercession, Bible Overview or Tracks.

Intercession is when we all get together and pray for either half an hour or an hour. Just a few things we have prayed for so far are... situations going on in other countries (political or injustices) , the media, single parents, people in prison, families, government, economy, education, celebrities, etc. Basically we just seek God and ask how he feels about issues and learn to grow a heart for things that you typically wouldn't think about.

Bible Overview is pretty neat because we are going through the gist of the whole entire Bible in 3 months. We move fast but it's good to learn more about the history of each of the books.

Tracks are chosen at the beginning of school. Brenden is in the "adventure track" and they have gone on hikes, archery, chopped wood, etc. I have been working with the music track and we have been split up into bands, played for a youth group, will do coffee houses, record and work on songwriting. The band I'm in is called "Heesoo and the Extras". We consist of Leah on vocals, Jay on electric guitar, Daniel on keys, Andrew on bass, myself on acoustic and vocals and of course Heesoo on drums. We have been meshing really well together and I'm pretty pumped about it. It's been great playing music almost every day and getting my voice back in shape.

During the morning we also have lecture. There are various speakers who come from all over and stay the week to speak on a certain topics. We have had people from the base speak, a man from California and another man from South Africa. Some of the topics we've heard so far are grace, prayer, relationships, and the character of God.

After lunch we have small group time where a staff member and 5 or 6 students just get to know each other and discuss the lectures. Sometimes instead of small groups we have meetings to prepare for our Outreach trip in December, for us, the Guatemala team. We spend time learning about the culture, talking about our fears and goals, praying for what God wants us to do there and just getting to know each other as a team instead of individuals.

From 3-5 Monday thru Thursday we have work duties. This is a base-wide cooperation in which everyone takes part in helping to maintain a functioning community. Brenden and I help clean the student center. Others clean dorms, bathrooms, cafeteria, help paint new buildings, basically anything that needs to get done will get done because of this time.

We have dinner at 5 and then after dinner is free. Tuesday nights we have lecture and Thursdays we have a community meeting where the whole base and any residents of Lakeside come and have a time of worship and teaching.

So that's what our life looks like right now. Hopefully this might help to clarify what we actually do at the YWAM base.

Tomorrow we head to Bellingham, WA for the week. It's called a "mini-outreach" so we will work with a local church and various ministries in the community as "Team Guatemala". It will be cool to see some of Washington and get to interact in real-life situations as a team instead of just on the YWAM base.

Sunrise fills my Eyes

Jackie:

Since we've been at the YWAM base we've heard lots of teaching on "hearing God's voice". This has been a tough one for me because

a) I am a somewhat skeptical person

b) people mis-use God all the time and what he has allegedly "told them to do" and

c) it's hard to believe he really can and does want to talk to me and tell me specific things.

The teaching has been excellent and there has been story after story about how God has spoken to his people, they listened, obeyed and then seen literal miracles happen. I'm not just talking about things that happened in the Bible but people our age who have witnessed things I never would have imagined. Even something has non-romantic as needing a new computer, praying for it, and receiving and email the next day from someone they haven't spoken to in years telling them they have just bought and shipped them a new computer.

Even being here for a month, I have already learned that one way God speaks to me is through nature. I've always known this but lately I think I have begun to understand it and pay attention to what He is saying.

This morning (Monday) I decided to drive down to the lake to catch the sunrise. I've been meaning to do this for a while now but when you wake up to 30 something degree air and darkness that even covers the mountains, you don't really feel so motivated to get out of the warm bed, much less de-ice your car to leave. After scraping the car and almost backing into another car from limited visibility, I made it down to the lake and waited eagerly for the sun to rise. It was completely worth it. My hands were going numb as I photographed the colors change and the lake illuminate. I felt invigorated and alive, giving thanks to God for that moment he allowed me to witness. I drove back to the YWAM base thanking God that He knows me so well and wants me to share a moment.

My point is this, we don't always have to be in a church, or in a worship service, or at a Bible study to hear God. We tend to find him in the places that we find ourselves. For some it's nature, for some art, music, or maybe it's your thoughts and ways you analyze the world. Or maybe God uses another person to speak to you, gives you an image, a movie scene or a verse. He has designed us so uniquely and does not want us to just all imitate each other. I am finding that even in our church settings we do this. There is freedom that comes from knowing God is not tame and will not always fit within our constraints of how we think He will communicate with us.

Just an Update.

Jackie:

Well it's been 3 weeks since we've been here at the YWAM base in Montana. I feel like we're just now starting to settle in, really get to know people and become more comfortable (aside from the primarily cold showers).

Something that has been really neat for me is to get to be around so many different people from different countries. It's weird to think that there's an old air force base hidden at the bottom of Blacktail Mountain filled with people from all over the world, all congregated for the same purpose- to learn more about Jesus. On our Guatemala team of 8 students and 2 staff we have 2 people from Norway and one girl from Germany. It will be so fun to get to travel as a team even though we all come from such different places. Just now as i'm writing this blog I am listening to a father speak german to his 2 year old boy who is replying in english. The girl across the hall is from Thailand and two of our best friends here are from our neighbor country, Canada. Also, there is something very moving when you hear people pray in their native language. I wish so badly that God could just give me the gift to just translate but it doesn't happen.

Most people might be wondering what we're learning about in our classes. Each week we have a new topic and a new speaker. This past week we listened to a guy teach on grace and he flew all the way from South Africa to come speak at our school. He was very good at answering hard questions and helping us try to understand what grace is and why we need it. The week before him we learned about the characteristics of God, pulling from old and new testament scripture. This week we hear about relationships, spiritual warfare, prayer, the holy spirit, missions and evangelism. We will also be going to Seattle in a couple of weeks to work with our outreach teams (ours being Guatemala) and do anything from meeting people in the city to working in a soup kitchen. It will be an exciting challenge to see how we all work together and how we will all use our different strengths.

The fall is setting in and the scenery is beautiful. The air out here is crisp and pure and the leaves are golden. The lake is always stunning and I try to get down there as much as possible to take a walk. I pass by little mountain homes with apple trees in their yard and fireplaces burning. The water is turquoise and clear, seeing straight to the bottom. I think if I ever live out west and can't be by the ocean this is where i'd be.

Guatemala!

Last week Brenden and I found out we will be going to Guatemala on our Outreach in December. We were given 5 choices: Haiti, Turkey, Brazil, Thailand and Guatemala and we both quickly agreed that we wanted to go to Central America as our first choice. We are really excited to get to go with this team of 8 students and 2 YWAM staff. We will be going to Antigua for a bit and then staying in a smaller village a few miles outside the city. We will find out more about what we are doing in the weeks to come. One thing that we discussed is just building relationships with people down there and immersing ourselves in the culture. Brian and Mackenzie, the married couple who are leading the trip, are very relational people and feel the best way to do ministry is just building relationships-which is right up our alley. Anyways, more to come on all of that. For now, we have enjoyed Montana to its fullest before the snow starts coming!

a few pics from a hike in the eastern side of Glacier.

Glacier is Magical.

Jackie:

Last Sunday Brenden, myself and three other friends went to Glacier National Park for the afternoon. On the drive up the sky was gray and there were a few sprinkles here and there. I quickly prayed in the car that on our hike in the park we'd have a few solid moments of sunshine...although it wasn't really looking too promising. We hiked a short trail to Avalanche Lake where the mountains seemed to create a large bowl with a lake in it. We couldn't believe that this was only a small portion of the park...how beautiful. We also saw a big black bear up on one of the cliffs. Here are some pictures which are better than my words to describe the view.

Oh also, the sun did come out right when we reached the lake. The prayer worked.

Brenden-

Jackie and I have made it through our first week of dts. At first it was a little rough getting used to living in a much different environment than we have for the past three years, but after a week I have really begun to enjoy the simplicity of life.

We live in one room. We brought only the things we need to live on the base, including clothes, books, backpacks, things we will need on our outreach trip overseas and a couple other small comfort things. However, all together we have drastically minimized the amount of stuff we actually have to live. It is great. I have really loved pulling physically away from possession. It is so awesome how little we need to truly be happy.

It has also been nice to not watch tv. I am amazed at how many hours we waste letting our brains go numb. Life really begins to open doors into new creativity when we are not trying to cram it full of crap to keep us busy.

As well, the over use of sugar and salt in food in general seems to have made our taste buds ache for things that are unhealthy. But when you begin to cut a lot of that away it makes little things seems so much greater. I have been drinking coffee and water everyday with no sugar or flavoring. Much to my surprise, having a cup of pink lemonade made my taste buds freak out. It was seriously the best cup of lemonade I have ever had. As well, Jackie and I and another couple went to McDonald's a few days ago. Best Big Mac and Fries ever (I must say they were also made exceptionally well). I know it sounds a little intense, but we have really just been experiencing some freedom from typical western American culture and it feels great.

Lakeside

We are now here in Lakeside, MT living in our little dorm room on the YWAM base. We have befriended our neighbors Alyssa and Jay- a Canadian married couple. Everything else is going well...just getting through all the introductions and trying to remember people's names. It seems like we have a really neat group of people in the DTS this fall so it will be refreshing to get to know some new people from all over the country and the world.

The Hot Sun's Last Chance

Jackie:

As I mentioned before, Grandma Koenig passed away last week. Brenden and I decided it would be just as easy to drive from Montana to Arizona as it would to get a flight. Mainly, I hate flying, airports and all that it involves and would much rather be confined to the ground.

Today, Wednesday, was the funeral and it was very beautiful to get to be there with everyone and to put Grandma head to head with her husband, reunited for eternity.

YESTERDAY was quite a different day. Dad Koenig and his brother decide we should go to a famous place called "Heart Attack Grill". We get to this white building with ambulances parked out front and realize what we're about to get into. The servers are dressed as doctors and scandalous nurses tend to the bar, which has a mirror below for the bending-over view of their rears. Luckily we were with my sister-in-law, Sister Mary Ark of the Covenant, to make sure we could vigorously pray against the despicableness of this place. Just kidding. But, we did have an undercover-nun with us!

After we ate pure lard fries, burgers and buttermilk shakes we (Brenden, Sr. Mary and I) decide to go on a hike in the Arizona heat of the day. With our "bypass surgery" wrist bands on, we made it to the top of the rocky CamelBack mountain. I'm confident to say that I think we might have burned off all the fat we ate earlier that day.

And we're off- en route to Montana to get ready to start school at the YWAM base.

Notch Bottom

Here's some photos from southwestern Montana.



Jackie:

Before we head to northern Montana we stayed with my aunt and uncle for about a week. Unfortunately, we had to make a detour-drive to Phoenix, AZ to attend a funeral for Brenden's 91 year old grandmother who just passed away. So here we are in AZ. We started out yesterday morning chipping the ice off the Saturn and ended up here in Phoenix 20 hours later with the palm trees swaying and the sunshine shining.

Rocky Mountain High Colorado

Jackie:

Thanks Kathleen McCormack for letting us stay in your rad old mountain house and for being an excellent driver.

Brenden:

Last year in the middle of the summer Jackie and I drove around the country in our little Saturn. It was filled to the brim with crap we didn't need. Two things included a tent and stove. Our plan was to camp out at a few different destinations like my parents used to do on their ridiculous odyssey road trips. Unfortunately we discovered it was much different then we had anticipated. The camp sites we stayed at were always considerably lonely, beautiful, but lonely. It didn't have anything to do with the environment or layout of the camp. It had to do with people or lack there of. We discovered that often it was very difficult to start relationships with people at a campsites. Typically we were arriving late and leaving early and we didn't spend more than a night at one site. Even if we had, we didn't expect our neighbors to do the same so we always felt like a relationship might be hard to foster.

Before driving out to Montana this time, we tossed the tent. Our goal was to be anything but non social. I am not saying that staying at a campsite does not give you the ability to make relationships. Some people flourish in an environment like that. But we wanted to actually stay with people. Our line of thinking was that when someone invites you into their home there has to be some kind of investment made on both ends. We didn't want to force that but we believed that relationships can be more accessible when both sides are already willing to commit to some level of discomfort. It is amazing to see how generous everyone has been. Truly though it has been a far richer experience this time around.

In the end, I don't necessarily believe it has anything to do with how much time you spend with an individual it has to do with the quality of that time. Since driving out here we have had the privilege of staying with many different types of people, all unique but all equally great people. We have also had the opportunity to meet people who are friends of a friend, which is at times the best thing because eventually they become our friends as well. And finally we have met the randoms on the street corner who have offered to give us a piece of their life if only for a few seconds to have a small conversation. This country we live in is beautiful and God has made an incredible creation, but in the end we see that the beauty is something to be shared. Thank you to all those we have stayed with and the relationships we have made along the way. We are truly thankful for you guys.