ABOUT ME

In October of 2022, I joined an organization called Youth With A Mission and went through a school called Discipleship Training School at Marine Reach NZ. The school's goal is to train and equip young people to step into the world of missions. During the first three months of the school, we had speakers each week who would teach a different aspect of ministry or missions: Hearing God's Voice, God's Character and Nature, Holy Spirit, Prayer and Worship, Evangelism, Lordship, etc. We went through discipleship, growing, learning, and changing during this time. It was a fast-paced season with full days, and it went by fast. There were around 40 of us in the school together, and we all grew very close together during this time. You can read more about the first three months of DTS in my blog post "October 2022 DTS - Lecture Phase". 

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After the first three months of training, we were separated into groups and sent out on our two-month missionary journies. I went to Tasmania, Australia with a team of two leaders and five other students. We stayed on a YWAM base near Hobart for most of the outreach. It was a time of growth, learning, and living in community. We were a family, and I will cherish those memories forever. If you'd like to hear more about my mission trip, find my blog post titled "October 2022 DTS - Outreach". 

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During the time I was in New Zealand, my DTS Staff asked me if I would pray about returning the next year to staff the October DTS. I was quite surprised that they would ask me, and it seemed like a really big step that I wasn't ready to think about. So, I didn't think about it. Lo and behold, while our team was on outreach, we were asked to help run a weekend camp...with the focus being "Trusting God and Surrendering to Him". During this weekend, I was convicted of my lack of trust in God - I didn't believe that He truly wants what's best for me, and I didn't believe that He would take care of me in the ways that I needed. I realized that I needed to face the next step head-on and decide whether or not I would be returning to New Zealand to staff the October school. Through the weekend, I continued to seek God and His leading and felt strongly that He was asking me to return to New Zealand and staff at Marine Reach. The timeline He gave me was around 2 years. 

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After finishing my DTS, I stayed at Marine Reach and did a secondary school called Discipleship Bible School. In this school, we read through the Bible in three months and received teachings on how to read the Bible in its historical context, the culture of the time, and introductions to the Greek and Hebrew languages. If you want to read more about my DBS, find my blog post titled "March 2023 - DBS"

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I flew back home after my DBS at the end of June. I spent some time in California with my family and a close friend and then drove back to the Ranch. I spent about a week resting and then hopped into a full-time volunteer position on the ranch. At the end of July, I was a leader for my Young Life area and went to camp with some high-school-aged girls to experience the best week of their lives! One of the girls that I really connected with decided to invite Jesus into her heart on the last day of camp. Hallelujah! August was kept busy with my volunteer job, visiting family, and hosting desert parties to raise support for my next step. To learn more about my summer back home, find my blog post "2023 Summer - Back Home"

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On September 6th of 2023, I flew back to New Zealand and arrived at Marine Reach early morning on the 8th. It's been so good to be back with friends, and I'm looking forward to this next season. I will go through around 6 weeks of staff training, and then the school starts in late October! To receive email updates on my when I post a blog, make sure to subscribe!