Back from Africa! :-)

Dear Friends and Family,

It has been a while since my last blog. I have arrived back in America and it has been a few weeks since. Many people have been asking how my trip was and about Africa. Just so you know Africa is an amazing and beautiful place. However it wasn’t till a few days ago that I realized my favorite part of the whole trip. “I found a personal relationship with God.”

Before leaving for YWAM I had this idea of Christ as this unobtainable entity. I knew he cared about us but I figured he was more of an outsider looking in at us, like ants in a jar. I thought of him as the God that just steps in when the mood strikes. I have been through a lot of things growing up in a broken family and struggling to break free. Many of us can sympathies with one another in life struggles. I know many people with what I would consider much harder life struggles than mine. I will not go into all the details at this time but I would like to share with you some of my journey in finding a personal relationship with our father.

Many Christians on first meeting tend to ask, “When did you become saved?”

I was baptized Catholic when I was a baby but my parents were the occasional Church goers. We went on Christmas and Easter mostly. Then My Dad found Christ on a different level. Many of us occasional church goers would call him an extremist. This was hard on my parent’s relationship. My Mother and father eventually divorced and he remarried a Christian woman with 2 kids. My mother also remarried and stopped going to church or seeking fellowship. My sister and I attended church with my Dad on the weekends he had us. I had accepted Christ as my savior when I was around 7 years. I was water baptized by my grandfather at the age of 12. I continued to go to church when I could but I had two parents giving different examples of how to live a good life with very different morals. My father and mother both eventually divorced again from their second marriage. My father stopped attending church. Intermittently I would attend church on a regular basis for a while and start going to bible studies but I felt like something was missing. Many of the things that turned me away from “church” fellowship are the same reasons non Christians today steer clear of the “Religious” scene. The word religion is no longer used by many Christians and instead they refer to spirituality. Do to my past a lot of times I felt judged by my fellow Christians and looked down upon for the lack of knowledge I had when it came to the bible. I was looking for comfort, support and acceptance in people and not in Christ.

What was truth? I had no idea and many of the churches I attended never spoke about subjects such as: sole ties, generational curses, speaking in tongues, the difference between knowing about God and having a personal relationship with God. These are topics I learned more about through seeking Christ, fellowship with other Christians and YWAM. Most churches I attended studied scripture from the bible but avoided controversial subjects. Throughout my life I prayed the sinner’s prayer many times and I still felt like I was missing something. I prayed like most do before meals, at bed time, and more often when life struggles seemed to peak. Looking back I can tell you I am here today because of the mercy God has shown me. Now looking back I can point out many ways God has been there for me throughout my life.

So when was I saved? Well I would say it is a journey with Christ. I believe we are saved as it is written in Romans 10 v 9-10: That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. There are many scriptures that God gives us to show how we are loved and saved by his sacrifice, mercy and grace (Ephesians 2 v 8-9, John 3 v 16).

I went to South Africa and joined the Jan 2010 WYAM J-bay team in search for a closer relationship with God. In Cairo God told me I didn’t have to travel across the world to find him and that he has always been there. I learned to listen to God and found a relationship with Christ that I never knew I could have. Many good and bad things happened during my DTS experience just as in life. My recent experience’s with our father has changed who I am and who I want to be. I am a sinner by definition and it is through Christ I am saved (Luke 18 v 9-14).

For those reading this that may not be sure about who Christ is I encourage you to seek a relationship with him (Jeremiah 29 v 13: You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart).

Cape Town

I left on Friday the 5th early in the morning heading out to Cape Town on the local train from Worcester. My initially intention was to get away and have some time to myself. Little did I know God had other plans. I was almost to Cap Town when I started into conversation with a business man on his way to work. He told me he felt called by God to the Nations but that due to his wife having a baby he was taking it one day at a time. He told me that just that week he had brought two people to the lord while living his everyday life. He said, “It’s about the journey.” As Christians we are all called to Love God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as our selves (Mark 12 v 28-31). God placed us here on earth, gave us his word and then said go to the nations. It’s not about going to another country or waiting for God to tell you who to share his word with. We have so many opportunities to tell people what we know about our savior Jesus Christ. The question is, “Do I reflect him in my life?

After I left the train God led the way. My first task was to find a place to sleep and some breakfast. I found that many people in the city where very helpful, pointing me in one direction or another. I went into many hotels but they were too expensive. I prayed I would find a place for the amount of money I had available. By the grace of God the next hotel I ended up at was perfect. The cost per night was the exact amount I told God I could afford to spend. My next stop was Table Mountain for some quiet time with the Lord and a good hike. I ended up meeting many people on my hike who I was able to share my love for Jesus with. I barely made it back in time to catch the last bus back to the hotel. One of the employees for the bus company ended up being a pastor. He and I talked about ideas for missions, how his church is getting involved in the community and outreach projects. When I got back to the hotel the staff was setting up a party for some musician friends of theirs. I was planning to head to bed but I found myself mingling and before I knew it everyone knew me as the missionary. Once again I was given an opportunity to speak to people about Christ. The strange part was that they were initiating and asking me about my faith. I listened as they shared their understanding of Christianity, Jesus and life after death. I made many new friends and met some really great people.

The next day I was going to try and meet up with a friend but was unable to get a hold of her. I ended up giving up finding her at Green Square and headed down to the Water Front. On my way I met a man who asked me if I would like to buy some magazines. I told him I wasn’t interested in buying a magazine but that I was up for a good conversation. We ended up in a great conversation about Jesus and he told me how God had been working in his life. He said he always felt that God was calling him. He shared with me how he had asked a man the day before for money and the man had said, “No”. Later that day the man came back and told him he couldn’t stop thinking about him. The man said it’s wasn’t about the money and that he wanted him to understand that. Then he blessed him with a good amount of money. He said now he knows it was God. After talking for a while we prayed the sinners prayer together and he asked God to come into his life. He turned to me after praying and said that the prayer was powerful and that he felt different inside. I knew exactly what he meant. I told him, “That is the holy spirit.” All I can say is “God is Amazing and there are no words to truly describe him!”

I found myself speaking to random strangers about Jesus. Even when I was tired believe it or not God gave me a second wind and I could go on for hours about the Lord. I was taught so many lessons throughout my weekend in Cape Town. I realized friend ship, caring and respect are a big part of being able to share you testimony with someone. By listening to others they in return listened to me. Sometimes it takes many Christians to speak into someone’s life about Jesus before they come to Christ. As a Christian I have to ask myself, “Do I reflect Jesus?”

Philippians 2 v 1-4 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than your selves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

On my last day in Cape Town I was packing up and ready to leave. Then I overheard the one of the employees telling someone the price per night for a room and it was almost twice what I had paid. I then asked why I was charged so much less. The employee explained that randomly they do deals where they give out discounts and I was one of the lucky people.

I headed out in time to try and find a Church service to attend. I could hear the worship music of a nearby church from the streets. I followed the music and found myself in a small church many stories up above an old building. I walked in to find myself being the only Caucasian person in the room. Everyone turned to look at me. I was welcomed in with open arms and everyone was so friendly. One of the pastors up front started to translate in English and I didn’t feel so out of place any more. When they asked for the new people to raise their hands everyone looked at me. I couldn’t help but smile in humor at it. When it was time to greet people everyone came to hug and greet me. That day in church the pastor spoke on missions and how we are all called as Christians to tell the word of God. I could not believe it. It was the same message I had heard from the man on the train. One of the bible verses he shared that really spoke to me was;

Ezekiel 3 v 18-19: When I say o a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. Bu if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.

I had heard this verse once before by a friend but at the time had not known it was a bible verse. After the service I was introduced to the pastors and many of the church people. They gave me something to drink and we talked about life. I was then invited to go to one of the church members homes for coffee. She ended up paying for my train ticket to come to her house and back to Cape Town. I learned about her life, met her family and she shared pictures. She didn’t have much and was struggling to find work. Here home was build out of a cow stable but it was very clean and well kept. She offered me a shower and made me lunch. A friend of hers joined us for lunch and we spent the afternoon talking about God. I was able to share some of my testimony with them. Her friend had been questioning his faith and by the end of our talk we prayed. I could see God working in him. I felt so at peace and so happy the whole afternoon. I didn’t want to leave but I knew it was time. My new friends said they felt God had sent me there that day and I agree that I felt the same way. As we said good bye my new friend blessed me with a hat for shade, jewelry, and some food for the road. I wanted to bless her with something as well. She did not want any money for the ticket or food. All I had to give her was a pair of angel wing earrings I had bought at the Green Market the day before and it was perfect. My heart ached as I waved goodbye to my new friend.

God didn’t stop there. On my way back to Cape Town on the train, a drunken homeless woman asked me to pray for her and I did. Like I said, “God is Awesome!” I headed back to the YWAM base on the Gray Hound bus and made it back safe. I am blessed to have met so many awesome people and have made so many great friends in just one weekend. I hope this story of my weekend can continue to inspire others.

I end my story with another scripture spoken by the pastor in Church this past weekend;

Acts 4 v 12: Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (This is a powerful statement.)

Nations to Nations Week

From the 2/27/2010 to 3/5/2010 our DTS group went to Worcester for “Nations to nations” week. During this week God really spoke too many of us and grew us closer as a team. We were challenged many ways as individuals and a group. During the days we do our normal routine which involved the lecture week on “Worship.” At night there was worship with speakers to talk about different nations and we had intersession prayer for the nations. It was an awesome week.

Many times we were challenged as a group to do skits or performances on the spot without much preparation. This caused a lot of stress within the team. Initially however we grew through it and are becoming better prepared for outreach.

I myself was challenged with many personal conflicts. I was looking around viewing others judging one another, roomers being spread, distrust, favoritism, anger, resentment, and the seeds of sin had been planted. We were all looking at one another stating, “How can you not practice what you preach?” And it began to eat away at me as well till I found myself doing the exact thing that I was complaining about. Ever heard of that saying, “One finger points out but three point right back at you.” None of us are perfect and we all struggle. We learned to support one another when one person is struggling instead of turning away from them. We came together as a group to ask for forgiveness for assumptions and not bring our problems directly to the person we were initially sore at. We were challenged with forgiveness and understanding. As a group this verse really spoke out to us;

1 Corinthians 21-26: The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty. While our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

When one of our team members is struggling we all struggle and we need to be there for one another like a family. We are far from perfect but as a family we are there for one another in the good and the bad including when we annoy one another :-)

Other teams latter in the week expressed how impressed they were with our ability to perform on short notice and our togetherness as a team.

I thank those of you at home that have been praying for us. Continue to keep us in your prayers. He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world and we will not give him a foot hold.

What does it mean to “Fast?”

Recently in the last few weeks I have had to really challenge myself with this question. I feel many Christians and non Christians have asked this same question. When asking other Christians this question the common answer I received is that we fast for a purpose. I still felt I didn’t really understand what it meant.

In the Bible there are many verses that discuss fasting such as:

Isaiah 58 v 1-14 (In these verses the example of fasting is to be motivated by sincere faith and obedience to God’s moral law. In verses 6-7 fasting is explained not as a ritualistic obedience but instead to be an action such as feeding the hungry and clothing the poor and so forth).

Matthew 6 v 16-18 (Here fasting is an expression of our dependence on God. Fasting is described as an act of humility and submission to God’s will).

Matthew 9 v 14-15, Mark 2 v 18-20, Luke 5 v 35 (Christ speaks in these verses of how we shall fast when he is gone. Now that Christ is no longer physically with us we should fast because it aids in our spiritual development. Fasting increases our concentration in prayer as well as reminds us of our physical weaknesses and total dependence on God. Through fasting our spiritual awareness is increased strengthening our communication with God.)

Acts 13 v 2-3 (Fasting in scripture many times is described as a spiritual discipline. This may be to prepare people for ministry, symbolic of self sacrifices for God’s purpose, to better separate ourselves from concerns of the world and focus our minds on God).

(As you can see in many of the stories in the Holy Bible, one of the common reason for fasting is to be closer to God and open to his guidance).

I would like to share my personal experience with doing a water fast for two days last week. A water fast means you drink only water. During the times I would normaly being eating I use to just be with God. I talked to God, prayed, gave thanks to him, read some scriptures, wrote in my journal, asked for guidance and strength. I admit that I have not had many prior personal experiences with fasting. I have felt in the past that I could not fast because I am hypoglycemic, which means I have to eat regularly small snacks to keep my blood sugar in normal range. I knew that without the strength of God I personally would not be able to do this fast. I decided to fast because I wanted to be closer to God. I know in life God asks us to do things we think is impossible. We try to rationalize things instead of trusting in God (James 1v6). Only through the strength of God can we over come crises in our lives. Although many of us tend to want to hold the weight of the world on our own shoulders in all reality it would crush us. So I started my fast to lay down my rights as well as trusting in the Lord for strength and understanding. My first day of fasting was difficult at times. However it was waking up the second day that was the hardest. I was weak, nauseated and dizzy. God gave me strength to pull through the morning. I have never felt so close to God than during these times. I had to rely on him for strength and encouragement. I felt he was there with me, and at times I felt very emotional. God placed many things on my heart that I latter shared with our DTS team and leaders. I now know the importance of fasting and how significant its use can be in our lives.

Plumb Line and "Sole healing"

“WOW!” Where do I start? “God is AWESOME!”

So many great things have happen in the past 2 weeks I don’t know where to start. I will start with a verse of encouragement provided to me by a friend back in California just a week before plumb line when I needed it most. That day I wasn’t feeling well and became very emotional for no particular reason. I had to go back to the girl’s dorm. I felt like I was falling apart. I had muscle, head and stomach aches. I felt extremely tired and dizzy. When I got back to the room I felt I should check my email and when I did I found these words of encouragement.

Romans 5 v 2-5 And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

For me this is significant more than just routine encouragement. In the week prior to my coming to YWAM a friend in Taiwan referred to me as having perseverance. He didn’t even really know me, so at the time I just thought of it as being something nice that someone says about your character. Suddenly I knew God was rooting for me.

Let me just say in the past weeks God has been really working on my Character.

When I asked him for an answer he gave it to me. Not exactly what I wanted to hear but “Man, he heard me!”

During worship in the hall this past Friday we were all praying. I was trying to listen but then I began to think of other things that were on my mind. I started to pray about questions I had been asking God since I got here. I wanted to know things like: “Where I am I suppose to be?, Where am I suppose to go for outreach?”, and I wanted peace between me and the other student about dorm rules. I felt so many things. And I wanted confirmation because I didn’t feel like I was hearing God.” I prayed silently; while everyone else was praying about other things, that he would send someone to confirm what I was suppose to be doing. At the end of worship one of the staff members came up to me and read me a verse she felt God wanted me to hear:
James 4 v 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you.

She said she felt God wanted me continue to draw near to him and he would continue to draw nearer to me. I thought over if for a while after. I was sort of hoping for someone to come up to me and tell me, “You are suppose to go to Haiti or yes, you are suppose to stay with the team for outreach. Or maybe he would tell me his plan for me.” But I realized his answer was that I am right where I need to be. Once again he was telling me to focus on this time and that this time was for me and him to grow closer.

So you are all probably wondering what plumb line is. A plumb line looks like a string with a weight at the end. It is used to measure how straight something is such as a wall during construction. The following are some verses where the Lord uses the image of a plumb line.
Amos 7 v 7-9: This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” “A plumb line,” I replied. Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. “The high places of Isaac will be destroyed and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined; with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.”
Isaiah 28 v 17: I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place.

The plumb line study is to find out where we are out of line with God’s truth, love, acceptance and righteousness. We asked ourselves questions such as: When did we start building irregular walls and where they are in our lives. Questioning where we have we been deceived and then work on it with the Lord. In short it’s an intense week of discovering who we truly are, how we have been hurt, what kind of destructive coping mechanisms we may been using, and then how to repent. It’s hard to explain in just once sentence but trust me it is so much more. Throughout the week God has revealed places in my life where by not addressing it I had held onto something which could hurt myself or future relationships with others. By the end of the week we all shared our testimonies. I can’t stress enough how truly amazing it was. During many of the others testimonies I saw many of my own difficulties in life. When it came to my turn what I shared, was not what I thought I would say. It felt so good to deal with things I had held onto for so long. I tell you that night something in my soul was healed. I felt at peace. I know life goes on and there will be more troubles and my plumb line will swing, but now I feel more equipped to deal with those moments when they come.

I would like to share some of the verses spoken to me as encouragement during this time:
(This verse was spoken to me on two separate occasions; once when I was speaking to one of the staff members about life, then again by one of the plumb line lecture leaders after I gave my testimony.) Jeremiah 1 v 4-5: The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Isaiah 61 v 3: and provide for those who grieve in Zion- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of spirit of despair.

Isaiah 60 v 19-20: The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the Lord will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.

I felt so loved by so many and accepted for who I am. I felt understood and the words of God spoke healing to my sole.

I could share so many small times recently that God has been speaking to me. I am so thankful and blessed. Thanks for listening.

Dear Family and Friends,

I am writing this letter due to something I felt was placed on my heart by God after praying as a mission team for opening doors to financial support and outreach opportunities. As many of you know I am currently in Jeffrey’s Bay South Africa. My fellow students and I have been called here by God to be a part of the January 2010 Youth With A Mission (YWAM) disciple ship training school. We are here to, “Know God and make him known.” In June 1956 God spoke in the form of a vision to a man known as Loren Cunningham. He envisioned a map of the world being covered with waves. Suddenly the waves began to change into young people covering the glob to preach the Word of God. Eventually that vision became a reality now known as YWAM.

For the first eleven weeks we gather as a team to work on strengthening our personal relationship with God. We are preparing are outreach team to carry a message to the communities of South Africa, Kenya and many other ministry opportunities. That message is that Jesus wants a personal relationship with each and every one of his people. Currently we are reaching out to the Jeffrey’s Bay community. There are many mission projects we are able to get involved with. Some examples are: The Joshua Project which focuses on feeding and preparing homeless or disadvantaged children with adult basic education. Victory for all is another organization that provides foster homes and a primary Christian school education. Seventh Heaven provides foster homes for kids that have been abused or neglected. Ithemba is a pre-primary and preschool for 60 plus kids. They also run after school programs for 45 plus children and are also providing a foster home for 2 children at this time. The Rainbow project provides care for children who are mentally and physically challenged. The organization On Eagle’s Wings reaches out to women and children who have suffered abuse. They also provided care and counseling to rape or trauma victims. The Mercy clinic offers mother and child vaccinations. They also provide a baby safe device where unwanted babies can be dropped off safely, thus decreasing the abandonment of new born babies in trash cans or plastic bags. The HIV/AIDS awareness group provides food, HIV/AIDS information and support groups. As YWAMers we also do Door to Door evangelism and work with kids in the community to teach them about Jesus.

Our January 2010 YWAM DTS team needs your support. We need your prayers for strength, togetherness, and financial support. Many of us have been faced with physical ailments, overwhelming emotions, and issues at home. We need your prayers for outreach opportunities and safety durring our outreach. Prayer is also needed for those people we will be encountering during our outreach. Please pray that their hearts are softened and open to the word of God. We thank you for keeping us in your thoughts, prayers, and for your words of encouragement. Please spread word to your churches, friends, and family to join in through prayer. Any financial support received will go to the outreach team to help those who are still working on gathering funds. We trust that God will provide and our team will be going on outreach together to tell the world, “Through Jesus Christ it is possible to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves.”

One of the verses that have really spoken too many of us on the team is Matthew 28 v 19-20: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Thank you again and God bless.
Love,

Brandy Friday

Outreach financial support information:

Send support for outreach to: Brethren In Christ Church 845 W. Arrow HWY, Upland, CA, 91786. Office number (909) 982-1016. Please write checks out to Brethren In Christ Church. (Make sure to note at the bottom of the check that it is for the Jan 2010 YWAM outreach team).

Or you may transfer the funds directly to:

Account Name: Destiny Ministries International, Checking Account Number: 404 9420 803, Branch Code: 334515, Swift ABSA: ABSAZAJJCPE, Address: ABSA Bank, 29 Da Gama RD, Jeffery’s Bay, 6330, South Africa. (Make sure to note on the transfer that the funds are for the Jan 2010 YWAM outreach team).

The 1st Two Week of Our DTS

Ello,

It’s been 2 weeks now since the beginning of our DTS portion of YWAM. To tell you the truth it has been difficult. Erich shared with me one of his favorite bible verses that has really helped me when thing get difficult. I would like to share part of it with you: Isaiah 41 v 10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

I would like to give you an idea of what are day is like as a DTS student. Our day starts out with breakfast at 6:30am. Once in a while some of the students and I will get up at 4:45 am to go for a run in the mornings. Breakfast is till 7am then it is quiet time for one hour. During quiet time you can pray, read the bible, journal, or do devotional time. Then we meet at 8am for base clean up, base worship, accountability groups, intercession or base prayer. Then we have lectures from 9:30am to 1pm. We get about 2-3 bathroom breaks in between. Lunch is at 1pm. Work duties around the base including clean up and garden duties start at 2pm. We work for about 1 ½ hrs then head over to different ministries to help out in the community till 4pm. Ministries can involve interacting and playing with disadvantaged children, assisting with the Aids health and awareness outreach program, or many of the other ministry programs in the community. Most of the time we have a break from 4pm to 5:30pm if you are not on dinner preparation or if there is not base sports time. Then dinner is at 5:30pm. At 7pm we have lectures, small groups, community meetings, prayer time, and sometimes free time. Everyone is responsible for meal preparations and clean up at different times. We also have a journal we must write in for home work as well as two book reports on provided reading materials. So you can see how full our schedule is. Weekends are less packed but still consist with prayer time, worship and meal preparations. On our free time last weekend a group of the students went down to the beach and I surfed for the first time. The beach is beautiful and the dolphins come so close to the shore line you feel like you could reach out and touch them. There were a lot of things I did not expect when I arrived. I was a little worried because of the difficulty with communication prior to my arrival. Upon being greeted at the airport by some really friendly faces I became more at ease. I now realize that most of the miss communication is cultural misunderstanding. Such as when I say see you at noon I might mean 12pm but the person I am speaking to might show up at 2pm. So miscommunication has been a big struggle for me here. I do know that we are all working hard on being better communicators. I also was not prepared for many other things. I did not realize I would be washing my clothes by hand with the chance someone might steal my clothes off the clothesline. The internet is very expensive to use here and is not ready available. Most stores close before we have free time and leaving the base alone is not aloud. There is never really alone time which is also very hard for me. Due to low funds and high living coast for the base the food we eat is mostly starch, such as, bread and peanut butter. On occasion we do have some really nice meals. I got to experience what South Africans call a “Braai” which is really like a BBQ but don’t tell them that.  There are many dynamics as a group we are struggling with as far as missing family, friend, boyfriends, the comforts of our culture, and what we think is right or wrong. I feel there has been a lot of spiritual warfare and many individual have been faced with hard times of sickness or injuries already. Everyone is holding in a praying for God’s guidance, protection, and to help us grow in our relationship with him as well as walking the path he has planned for us. In these past weeks our lecture focus has been about strengthening our relationship with God through prayer and hearing the voice of God. Every Wednesday we fast from the end of breakfast till dinner to save money to feed those that are going hungry on the streets. On Jan 22nd we all participated in a 24hr prayer to pray for those in need such as the crisis in Haiti, schools that need support, people that have prayer request, and just listening to anything God has to tell us. Everyone helps out by signing up for one hour to pray. It was a very “awesome” spiritual experience. These last few weeks have been very humbling. One of the verses that reminded me of why I am here and has helped me come to peace with many of my struggles in the program is the verse Philippians 1 v 5-8. I know I am here because God called me here. Keep us all in your prayers. Pray for us to have protection, strength, focus, and the ability to hear God’s voice. Thanks you guys. We find out about where we will be going for outreach next week. I will try to keep you posted.

Love,

“B”

Matthew 6 v 25-34

So many of you would like to know why I cut my hair off. “Good Question.” Well through my life many things have happened. I was baptizes Catholic as a baby and re-baptized by my grandfather as a teenager. God has been in my life since before I was born. He knew me before I was in my mother's womb. As a child my parents were divorced and remarried. I went to many schools as and had many significant difficulties in my life; however I won’t go into detail at this time. Looking back, I thank God for his mercy. When I felt the most alone I know he was always there even when I ignored him and only called on him when I needed him. He still believed in me. As a child I attended church when I visited my father and accepted God into my life many time. Growing up there were years I would attend church and years I didn’t. I did many things that I am not proud of. And I know I will always be a sinner because I am human but through Jesus Christ I am forgiven. So about now you are still wondering about the hair ;-) That explanation is coming shortly. I can remember back before nursing school when I was struggling with multiple jobs and full time school. I did not know how I was going to be able to go to nursing school. The program is too intense to work outside of school once you start the program. I was having a hard time getting a student loan and my living environment was not safe. I was living in a small studio apartment in a bad neighborhood with one of my close girl friends from high school. We shared a futon which is a mall couch that folds out into a bed. We usually had a different schedule which helped the sleeping situation. She was a big party person and I found myself drinking and partying with her. One night I woke up and she had a married guy over. I asked her what he was doing here and latter she told me they had sex in the restroom while I was sleeping. I was so discussed and could not believe it. I looked around and realized this was not good. At this time God used my situation to rekindle my relationship with my father. During this time I did not have a good relationship with my father because of the hurt and abandonment I felt as a child in a broken marriage. God opened so many doors for me. I met a kind hearted woman named Betty who shared her home and family with me. My Dad is now one of my best friends. The week nursing school was starting I still had not been accepted. I prayed to God and promised him that I would join the Peace Corps after 2 years of experience once graduated from nursing school. With a few days till the start of the program I continued to visit the school office and inquire if I had been accepted. The woman at the counter said no and then asked me again what my last name was. I told her “Friday.” She said wait here and then went to the back of the office when she came back she stated she accidentally shredded my acceptance letter. I couldn't’t believe it! She told me just to show up for orientation. I never did receive an acceptance letter. I was also given the opportunity to add an elective student nursing hands on class which also paid students. I did not know how I was going to make it. During the last semester I was also granted a student loan which helped pay for Boards and other expenses. I graduated and became an emergency room RN. For two years I worked to gain experience however in those two years my relationship with God became less and less of a priority. I was finally able to eat good food, go out with friends, live in a big beautiful apartment, buy and new car, buy nice expensive bicycles, and do whatever I wanted when I wanted. I was living what I thought, “Was the Life.” I could go anywhere in the world and if I wanted I could save up and buy a house. I was set. But something was missing. That is when I met Erich my boy friend. He went to church every weekend, “I was amazed.” I however was into bicycle racing and sports that took place on Sunday mornings. Erich would ask me to check it out but I was stubborn and felt if I wanted to go I would and I would go where I wanted. I didn’t feel like I had to go to church to be with God, but at the same time I wasn’t making time for God. Then it was like everywhere I went people where talking about God. I was surrounded by preachers! I was invited to many youth group settings but continued to ignore God. Then I gave in. I finally went to church with Erich one day and God spoke to me. Each week he spoke to me and softened my heart. I heard many people talking about missionary work and people in need and I felt a draw to it. I started researching different ministries. At first I thought a medical ministry would be my best setting. Then God open my eyes to YWAM. Erich had also done an YWAM which I had not known initially. I started meeting people all over that new about YWAM. I would meet people out hiking, on the street, or at a random group meeting that new about YWAM. “Everyone knew about this YWAM thing, but me!” So I looked into it. There are bases all over the world! YWAM is founded by Loren Cunningham and you can look him up to find out more about his story. So I prayed and wrote to different YWAM bases but still had no idea where to go. I did however know when I was going to go and for how long. So I look up different DTS times. One of the many was the J-bay base. I found myself constantly looking back at the website. I love what they stand for. There purpose is to strengthen relationships with God and spread the word of God. I felt that if I had chosen to do a medical mission that I would have been more focused on physical healing and not spiritual. I knew I needed time to work on my relationship with God before I would be ready to help others find him as well. So here is the answer to the big “Question” if you haven’t got it yet. Cutting my hair was when I truly excepted God into my life and decided I am ready to follow his plans for me. I gave up my hair for God. For me it is symbolic of a change in my life. I have been very materialistic and for me my hair like many women is a big part of being beautiful in my culture. I spent lots of money to color and fix my hair. But it’s not just about the hair. It’s about life. It’s about forgiveness, change, and growth. My cut hair represents the past, cutting it off represents forgiveness, and the new hair reminds me of growth. I realize that God forgives but that we also must forgive ourselves. (Luke 18 v 9-14) My hair in fact is just hair and for me this is a very humbling experience. Since I cut my hair in many situations I feel more approachable, less worried about physical appearances, more aware about whom I am as a person and more focused on my relationship with God. I am not saying we should all go out and shave our heads. But I do think God asks us to do thing we don’t want to do sometimes. Whether it is giving our time to help someone else out, donating money to an organization, or putting others first before ourselves. Through this experience God has helped me grow as an individual. I will update you as soon as I can on my experiences here at the YWAM base. I miss you all. Keep me in your prayers.