Outreach!!!

   Well, it's getting to be about that time. In a month, the Priceless DTS will complete their lecture phase and begin the outreach portion of DTS. That means our team will be splitting in two, with one outreach team traveling to Cape Town, South Africa and Kolkata, India and the other to Katmandu, Nepal, Kolkata, India, and Bankgkok, Thailand.

   My team will be flying to Katmandu on September 28. We'll spend two weeks in Katmandu and a village on the Indian border before taking a train to Kolkata on October 12. We'll spend six weeks working in Kolkata through a ministry of YWAM Perth called Mega Cities. Each year, Mega Cities picks a city of several million to concentrate evangelistic efforts on, sending several waves of outreach teams into every part of the city to minister to practical and spiritual needs. Our team will be arriving on the heels of several other missionary waves, and I'm excited to continue the work that has been established there throughout the last several months. On November 26, our team will fly from Kolkata to Bangkok, spending three weeks in the city before returning to Perth on December 12.

   It's going to be a crazy busy time of ministering in some of the neediest parts of the world. The Priceless DTS will be focusing on combating sex-trafficking and ministering to exploited women as well as evangelism, building projects, supporting local missionaries, and lending a hand wherever we can help. I'm so excited to be a part of bringing God's justice to the nations, and I couldn't have picked a better group of people to do it with. I know I've already introduced you to my awesome Priceless team briefly, but I'd like you to get a better idea of who I'll be serving with for the next three months. Here's our team picture and a brief bio of each member of Team Awesome!

   David Dex Delgado is the taller half of our leadership team, as well as the only male Priceless DTS staff member. He hails from Los Angeles, California, which explains his tendency to use the word "epic" to describe everything from childhood memories to potato salad. The fact that he chooses to spend his Friday nights watching a "Cinderella Story" with a gaggle of angst-ridden teenage girls makes him one of the most thoughtful people I've ever met. He's always ready to encourage you with a well-thought word, has a voice that could literally melt butter, and puts Sriracha sauce on everything.    

   Samantha (not Sam) McQueen is our other team leader, as well as my ever-gracious housemate, one-on-one, and small group leader. From Alberta, Canada, she's a lone Canadian in a sea of smack-talking Americans. She is incredibly wise, always speaking the truth with love. She's so patient with our non-stop ridiculousness, is a queen of organization, and leads with authority and grace. Hilarious without even trying, she delivers perfect dead-pan jokes and then acts surprised when we all burst out laughing. Hey Samantha, "where'd the cheese go?"

   Tessa Noble is one of two kiwis in our group, and possibly the most hilarious person to ever walk the planet. She's the queen of pop-culture references, quoting entire Hilary Duff movies with a perfect American accent. She's amazingly loyal, a true friend who's always eager to make you a cup of tea and have "a wee chat." She cares about people, is an amazing listener, a giver of wise advice, and one of the only people who ever laughs at my jokes. Oh, and her eyes are the color of the sea after a storm ;).

   Jennifer Wamsley claims to be from Pekin, Illinois, but we all know she's just Jenny from the block. A down-to-earth diva, there's so much more to her than meets the eye. She shifts from hilarious alter-ego "LaShonka" to philosophical soul-searcher with an ease that always impresses me. She loves people, and has an amazing ability to make you laugh and think at the same time. She's a taker of many selfies, has great taste in music, is always immaculately dressed, and has a knack for making any situation, including cleaning toilets, into a dance party.

   Ariane Jean Pascal Paviani comes from Detroit, Michigan by way of Paris, France. My bunkmate for life, Ari is a master of all things technology. She's extremely observant, noticing both bad camera angles and the feelings of those around her. She's always ready to give you a hug, ask a penetrating question, and offer thoughtful advice. She can start a conversation with anyone, gets things done with amazing speed and efficiency, and wears snap pants better than Zac Efron. 

   Tabitha Mabus hails from my hometown of Galax, Virginia and has been my friend for many years. A talented musician, thoughtful writer, and gifted artist, Tabitha is one of the most dedicated people I know, approaching everything with a single-minded intensity that always inspires me. She's a joy to talk to, delivering both godly insight and well-timed sarcasm with equal precision. Always dignified, patient, and kind, she knows how to value people, and I can't think of a better person to travel halfway around the world with.

   To complete our team is the oldest, but not necessarily most mature, member of Team Awesome, Mark Jackson of somewhere in New Zealand. A true theologian, Mark listens to sermons for fun, enjoys discussing the differences between holiness and sanctification, and draws timelines of 2 Kings  in his free time. He's incredibly thoughtful, whether he's lending you his jacket or planning your birthday scavenger hunt, he's constantly serving people in practical ways.

   Well that's Team Awesome for you! I've already grown so close to each member of our team and I can't wait to spend the next three months getting even closer. Please pray for us as departure time gets closer and throughout our time on outreach. In addition, our DTS is in need of about $23,000 in outreach fees. If you feel led to support us, you can make a credit card donation to ‘Priceless DTS Asia Outreach Team’ on the YWAM Perth website, ywamperth.org.au. Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us!

Camping in Busselton

   The Priceless, Sports, and Music DTS's went camping in Busselton a couple weeks ago. The bus ride was interesting, not to mention really, really loud. Jen, aka the selfie queen took this picture, which properly demonstrates the madness.

 

  

   We stayed at a retreat center literally 30 feet from the Indian Ocean. We arrived just in time to snap some pictures of the sunset. 

 

   

   After breakfast each morning, we attended lectures by Pete Brownhill on the father-heart of God. After lunch, we played games on the beach, including a couple crazy rounds of what can only be described as human tug-of-war. Thankfully, no participants were injured, just a little sore.  

 

    We took a trip into the little town of Busselton. Some insane folks payed for the opportunity to jump off a jetty into shark-infested waters, while other, tamer souls bought ice cream. Afterwards, a few of us explored the downtown, popping into a Salvo to buy a sweater that cost less than the ice cream. 

  
  
   On our last day, a few students were baptized, including two members of the Priceless DTS! I've watched Hannah and Maddie grow so much over the past few weeks, and I was so excited to witness this public testament to the work God's been doing in their lives. I can't wait to see what the future holds for them all!

  








   Busselton was the perfect environment to learn about God's father-heart---it's impossible wake up to the sun rising out of a clear, blue sea and not know God is good. It was great to have a break from the daily routine of YWAM Perth, and I can now say I've put my feet in all the oceans (not including the Arctic, but who cares about that one anyway?)!

A Tour of the Base

   Watch this video for an insider's tour of YWAM Perth, hosted by Daniel, Tessa, and myself, and filmed by Ari the film guru. Enjoy!

King's Park

   Last Sunday, a few members of the Priceless DTS and I explored King's Park, which is famous for being one of the largest inter-city parks in the world. We started out at Jacob's Ladder, which is a set of just under 300 steps that climbs 43 meters from Mounts Bay Road to Cliff Street. Although you're sweaty and winded by the time you reach the top, the views of Perth's business district and the Swan River make the climb worth it.

 Afterwards, we trekked across the park to Synergy Parkland, which is one of two children's park's within King's park. Seeing the kids playing on the island and climbing on the life-sized dinosaurs made us all wish we were 5 again.

   Dinner was calling our name, so we walked back across the park, stopping to climb the DNA tower, a 101 step spiral staircase that looks just like, you guessed it, the deoxyribonucleic acid molecule. The tower is 15 meters high, which was just enough to make me feel a little shaky standing at the top. The shakiness hit me again when we crossed a bridge that overlooked the river, but I did brace myself long enough to snap a picture.

   All in all, I would suggest a trip to King's Park as a beautiful way to find a little bit of greenery in the midst of an urban jungle.  But don't forget to watch out for snakes!

Holiness: To Be or Not to Be?

  “There is no sin that doesn’t start with us buying into a lie about God‘s character.” This past week, the Priceless DTS learned about repentance and forgiveness. For 4 days, we attended lectures by Caleb Brownhill, who serves as the director of YWAM in the Asia-Pacific region. Day 5 was application day, and our class spent roughly 8 hours repenting of our sins and committing to forgive those who’ve wronged us before God and each other.

    I learned a lot about myself in those 5 days. I’ve always been keenly aware of my struggles, and I’ve spent the better part of my Christian life trying to free myself of them. For years, I’ve clenched my fists whenever a bad thought popped into my head, I’ve tried to convince myself that other people’s opinions of me don’t matter, and I’ve confessed my pride to God more times than I can count, but honestly, it didn’t do much good. It was exhausting, and as years passed, I found myself getting frustrated with God for not fixing my problems. I tried many tactics and made lots of promises, but I always found myself backsliding, and I ultimately came to the conclusion that some things can’t be changed: I’ll always struggle with my thoughts, I’ll always be insecure, I’ll always want my way more than God’s, in other words, holiness is just a bonus for the super-Christian, something for the Peter’s and Paul’s of this world but not something for an Achaicus like me.    

    In some ways, thinking this way was a welcome relief. It took the pressure off me to perform at what I believed to be a super-human level. Slowly however, so subtly I never even knew it was happening, I began to develop a tolerance of sin. Having a bad day? Go, ahead, take it out on your brother, after all, you can’t be expected to be in control all the time. Watch that movie? Hey, why not? You deserve a break and it’s probably not that bad anyway. Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” God hates sin, He can’t tolerate it in any expression or form, even if it's attached itself to the heart of someone He loves. God created me to be in a relationship with Him, but through my tolerance of sin, I built up a wall between me and God that prevented me from knowing Him on more than a superficial level.

    Somewhere around week 2 of my time at YWAM, I realized something: I don’t trust God. I’ve bought into this lie about God’s character that says He’s not who He says He is, that I can’t trust Him to keep His word. Sin grieves the heart of God because it stifles my relationship with Him. I know that. I’ve heard it in sermons, I’ve read it in the Bible, I’ve studied it in apologetics courses, but do I believe it? Do I believe God’s serious when He says “don’t sin because it’s going to ruin your life, and I’ve got something better for you. Don’t sin because it stops up your ears so you can’t hear me, it hardens your heart so you can’t feel me, it blinds your eyes so you can’t see me. Don’t sin because no one’s ever going to love you as much as I do. You can trust me?”

 You can’t hate sin unless you believe God is who He says He is. You can’t hate sin unless you’ve caught a glimpse of just how loving, how holy, how infinitely worthy God is of our wholehearted obedience. Holiness isn’t a medal reserved for the Olympians of Christendom, holiness is the only fitting response for Him who for our sakes was made to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
 
  So did spending a week learning about the devastating affects of sin give me a hatred of sin? Did I wake up on Saturday morning free and clear of any desire to taste its fleeting pleasures? Do I no longer feel tempted to think a bad thought, compare myself to others, or walk in disobedience? No. But I am beginning to understand that repentance is a lot less about my problems and a lot more about my relationship with God. The more I learn about God's character, the more I realize sin isn't worth separation from a God who truly loves me. That's why holiness is important, not because we're afraid of the consequences or we're looking for brownie points, but because our relationship with an all-holy God is too important a thing to risk on a few gossip sessions. Holiness isn't a question of, "to be or not to be," it's the tangible expression of a life touched by Christ. Holiness isn't an option, it's the only fitting answer to the words, "follow me."