DTS GRADUATE

I am a DTS graduate!!!

 

 

              This last week has been a whirlwind. We arrived in Bangkok from Malaysia and jumped right into Nak Suu awards ceremony. It was so cool to have this big ceremony with prizes for the kids that we have invested in during our time in Thailand. We had trophies to hand out as well. It meant so much to these kids. One kid said he couldn’t believe he got a trophy…”I am good. I am a good person. I can do good things. I didn’t know this before.” Crazy how something as simple as being honored with a trophy gives these kids hope. Hope. It was hard to officially say goodbye to them.
        Sunday was the beginning of our debrief week. We had worship (last one with Lea leading), Nicole spoke about sharing about our story on the mission field, and then that afternoon we had interviews. Sopo was interviewing me. It was great to talk about my DTS time with someone who knew everyone but wasn’t in the middle of everything. Shaneen and I had offered to take over dinners up until graduation. Cooking for nearly 30 people is a mission and a half but we managed to survive (bonus: I learned how to make tortillas!). Sunday night our group got together to play the games that we would teach on outreach (but added about 10x more aggressiveness). It was a blast although a few of us ended up with some bruises. Monday we had lectures in the morning and then that night we had a roommate movie night (Megamind and The Proposal). Tuesday we had an encouragement time, lectures, and prayer time. We had a enouragment time for our fearless DTS school leader, the lovely Rachel. We were all holding it together then Sarah broke into tears part way through her encouragement. After she broke a good majority of us followed. We are definitely an all girls DTS ;) That night a few of us gathered together to watch videos we have from throughout the DTS. So many hilarious and good memories.

 Then came Wednesday…

Our last day of DTS.
Our last worship time.
Our last morning chore time.
Our last time in the classroom.
Our last morning tea.
Our last lunch together.

It was a very weird day; it totally snuck up on us. Although it was sad to be at the end it was a wonderful day.                                                                                                                            Game TIME!!!

We had our last morning chore time while dancing to and singing to music, we played our favorite outreach games in the classroom, and had our final morning tea. We wrapped up our morning session with an encouragement time for our leaders and then LJ gave a final word. I am going to miss our leaders so much. That afternoon I walked with Kayla to a convience store at the front of Bangavilla to get soda in a bag for the last time.

     
 Kayla and I finishing the kitchen cleaning for the last time.                                                        

                     Last soda in a bag!


                     CAR DTS leader: Rach and Music leader: Lea



         Then came graduation. Our leaders couldn’t of put together a better night. Three students shared testimonies, I being one of them. Rachel gave us a wonderful send out word, we received our certificates, and then Pi Gan (from YWAM THAILAND) prayed over us. After that it was dance party and karaoke night! It was such a great way to end our DTS J We managed to avoid tears until we all sang “My heart will go on”…that choked up a few of us. Lots of hugs at that moment.
                                                                                                        LJ (DTS STAFF)

That night a group watched a movie while Kayla, Val and I stayed up talking. At 2:30 am Dillon, Jerome, Andi, Amanda, Shaneen, Val and I took Kayla to the airport. It was hard to say goodbye…and completely strange. I lived with these 11 girls for 5 months, seeing all the ups and downs. But now I don’t know when I will see them again-or if I ever will see them again. Kayla truly is a sister and amazing friend to me and I hope I will see her again soon. Shaneen was saying that every year one of us has to get married so we can have 11 DTS reunions ;)

The house has been really quiet today. I am nearly done packing and getting ready to head to Chiang Mai tomorrow. I will be in Chiang Mai until the 14th then I come back to Bangkok for a night then Sunday morning (15th)…I FLY home!!!! I am so excited J

Gabie-
DTS STAFF
My wonderful one-on-one :)

 

DTS,

Thank you for the memories. For the challenges. For the friends/sisters. For the knowledge of God. For taking me to 4 countries in 5 months. For the worship. For the laughs. And for the adventures.

I will miss this season but I know God has many more awesome things to come!

Nothing is impossible for those who believe in Christ Jesus.
Dillon and Jerome (DTS STAFF)

                                                               Sharing my testimony

 

                                                                        Class of 2014

                                                            I promise, we are not that creepy in real life

 

 

Malaysia!

Wow this week has been fantastic! It was my highlight of outreach. Our team got to team up with Rina (from Madagascar and she was one of our speakers during lecture phase) and a DTS from YWAM Perth to run a teen mini DTS camp. What is that exactly? It's taking a few topics from a normal DTS lecture and condensing it to 2 days. Our speaker name was Mirisha (from South Africa and working at YWAM Perth). She did a wonderful job speaking on Repentance & Forgiveness and Lordship. My small group was legit...for adults it was: Aiden (from Malaysia), Silas (from Switzerland and on the Perth DTS), Andi, Oy, and I. For students there was Trisha (16) and Nigel (14). Let me tell you a little about Nigel...this kid is a genius. He has built his own computer. No lie. Seriously though our group rocked. We conquered for the talent show and dance off (basically Aiden, Nigel and Andi are amazing). Our last night we had clean up and our small group was assigned to clean the kitchen. We ended up having a leftover noodle mini disaster but it even though it took longer then planned we had some great laughs. Since we are talking about food: I have NEVER been to a camp with this good of food. And it felt like we were eating all the time-cause we were. Shaneen and I soon came to the conclusion that the camp had a Hobbit (Lord of the Rings) meal plan...breakfast, 2nd breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner and supper. During our game time it started to pour so we all got absolutely soaked :) I was told that I have a strong American accent by a Canadian (whatever that means). And eventually people began to point out that I have my own accent. I think every word I have a hard time pronouncing came up that weekend. After talking to a group of the girls at dinner I discovered that nearly every zoo, theme park, museum in Malaysia is attached to a mall. For real. The last night of camp (and the last morning) we had spontaneous dance parties! It was hard to say bye to the teens, I really wish camp was longer.

After arriving back to KL Val, Santy, Amanda, Kayla, and I headed to the downtown area to shop and go to a place with authentic Malaysian and Chinese food. Downtown is pretty at night (they still have Christmas decor up lol). We managed to run into Rina and our camp speaker while we were there too.

The next day (Wednesday-only a week until graduation!) was our day off. So our crew along with the other Perth DTS took a unexpected 4 hr bus ride that Rina rented for our group and 30 min ferry ride to a island. We camped out on the beach. It was BEAUTIFUL and so worth the trip! Kara (Perth DTS-American but grew up in Kirgiztan as a YWAM missionary kid) and I kayaked to a few little islands nearby. It was so much fun to dock and climb on the rocks, watching different sea creatures in the water (the water was really clear!) and get out to swim (the water was the perfect temp). It was a good last day in Malaysia :)

So quick update of what my life in Malaysia was like last week:
The flight to Malaysia was super relaxing actually. Bonus! Malaysia is a Muslim country which added a different feel to trip. When we traveled to our accommodations we traveled in separate groups so we wouldn't attract attention and be followed. There are a LOT of Muslims but Malaysia is full of different people groups. A large majority are Indian, Malay, and Chinese (Malays are the Muslims). Our first full day we were taken to the KL Twin Towers to pray and then we hung out in the mall (and went to see X-Men!!) until we had to be back for a meeting. The next day we were off to a Burmese refugee youth centre. It was a pretty nice place that the teens are able gather at. The centre is supported by the American government! I have to say America is really doing something good by investing in these students-they are so amazing :) We had lots of fun playing games with them. Our music team joined us later and did a music workshop and concert. The next day we got to go to another refugee teen centre. Thankfully we got to hang out with these students a little longer, playing games and playing music :) Friday was just a prep for camp day with Rina. I totally loved getting to work with Burmese refugees again (I got to work with a people group from the country when I was in Thailand last summer)!

On my way to the airport. Debrief week in Bangkok here I come! 10 days until I am home :)

End of India-Kolkata

We arrived in Kolkata safely! Taking the sleeper train is a very different experience and although it was a little awkward it went well. So what is a India style sleeper train? You have a little compartment (off the main walkway no door or curtain separating it) with 6 bunks. 3 on each side. In our compartment was 4 of us girls and 3 men (take not that there was one extra man). Anyway I was freakig out a little about that (compartments are small and we are always warned to be weary of Indian men). One older man was quite the talker. He worked for the government and was telling me all about India and how important it was to talk to the people to learn about the country and culture (I don't think he realized that I wasn't just a tourist and that I had been working with locals for 3 weeks haha). I have to say that's one thing I love about missions is that I get to know the people and not just see the sights. He also had family in America and Canada. He also informed me that the British have the best manners.

Anyway sleeping that night wasn't the best sleep I have ever gotten...heading back to hot weather, train zooming by (makes the loudest noise in the world), abrupt stops , people coming through selling chai, yeah everything in India is just loud.

We arrived at our hotel (we are staying at a YMCA-cue song!). First thing I did was shower! It felt so good to shower without feeling like you are going to have frostbite afterwards! That AND there is a shower head-no more bucket shower!! After that Val, Kayla and I headed to McDonalds to get fries and ice cream. So good! I have missed western food haha.

I hung out I my room that afternoon and then went to a cafe with Kayla. This cafe is AMAZING!! We spent the rest of our afternoon and evening there just journaling and having quiet time.

We are having a wrap up day today. We had Devo and worship this morning and the. I am running around Kolkata with Gabie to exchange money. We leave for the airport at 4pm. Our flight leaves at 8:45pm.

Since Bangkok has been going through a lot of political changes there is a 10 pm curfew throughout the country. There was a possibility that we would have to sleep in the airport but thankfully there is a curfew expectation for those traveling from the airport!

I really can't believe my time in India is over. Malaysia here we come!! 

Last week in Darj

The village was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I seriously could of lived there. The pastors family was so kind and caring (also made AMAZING food). The drive resembled a jeep run at home...expect the roads were paved. Once in the village you walked everywhere! After our arrival we walked 15-20 mins on a hiking trail (except what I would consider a hiking trail was a sidewalk to them) up the mountain to a house fellowship. It was a couple, grandma and aunt. After having a little service in their house they asked if we could pray for some other family members that lived nearby. It was awesome to bless this family through prayer :) on our way back that night a neighbor hood dog randomly followed us home. We named him Mufsa. The dog ended up waking us all up at 1am with his barking.

The next morning Lynne, Andi and I set out to find water bottles (which apparently do not exist in this village). Just to clarify we did have water in the village they just boiled it to make it safe (for some reason at the pastors house the water always had a smoky taste). Anyway we ended up with another neighborhood  dog after that walk...we named him Simba. That afternoon we took a 30 minute walk to another house fellowship in a different part of the village. This house fellowship was much bigger and included a lot of teens. After that was over we went and prayed for a few people in the community. Later that day we had youth group at the church that the pastor we were staying with led. We played games which everyone got into. I gave the message. I spoke on "Why God wants our hearts." That evening Melinda, Lynne, Andi and I all hung out in my room playing cards. Side note: tea is a big deal in this part of India so in just one day we had 5 tea times.

Sunday was a nice chill morning (church doesn't start until 11am). It was fun being a part of their service :) Afterwards we had tea time and talked with a few of the church attendees. We had a couple of hours to ourselves while we waited for the jeeps to arrive. Right before we left we were invited to tea at our guide's family's home. It was so sad to leave such an awesome place...I really wish we could have been there for a week! We stopped by the tree line on our way back to Darjeeling and while we were there Oy and I were asked multiple times to take a picture with people (being foreigners makes you a celebrity)

On Monday we made and took sandwiches to the beggars again. I love doing this so much! That afternoon we had debrief time with Mel (base director). It was good to think through all the great things we have gotten to do in Darjeeling :) Auntie (the wife of the pastor who we did the prayer walks with) taught me how to tie a sari! That evening a few of us went out to get egg rolls (so good!). First of all I will say that Darjeeling is a pretty safe place (definitely much safer then Kolkata). But for the first time I had a somewhat freaky moment. I was with Kayla and Andi when we got the egg rolls and about that time a beggar came up to us (I am pretty sure this beggar wasn't from here because his begging tactics were very different-more like Kolkata). Anyway we had our back to this guy (I thought he had walked away) when all of sudden I felt hands trying to slide into my front jean pockets. I jumped and yelled "what the heck!"  By the time I had turned around, ready to backhand, he was gone. I thankfully didn't have anything in my pockets not that it would of mattered cause his hands missed my pocket.
After that little adventure we walked back to base. On the way back a family stopped us and asked if they could have picture with us. We started taking pictures and next thing we knew we were stopping the flow of traffic because other families has joined in the picture. As we walked away a random guy walking in front of me asked where I was from and after telling him he wished me a nice day. That night a few of us attempted to have a movie night but It ended up turning into a game night with cookies and yummy chai tea :)

On Tuesday we went back to our weekly ministries. Oy and I went to help kids with homework at the orphanage. They didn't end up having homework so we just played games. At the end we took pictures and then the kids gave us a big group hug! I am going to miss those sweet kids so much. It was pouring on our 20 min walk back to base...thankfully I am finally getting into the habit of carrying an umbrella! Gabie and Val left in the afternoon for Kolkata. They left early so Gabie would have time to apply for a Thailand visa. That evening I made the chai tea for the first time (even the base locals approved!). Then Kayla and I joined the staff in watching a movie. Of course that was after The base leader had to read every movie he had on his computer..."if you are holy...I mean if you are Christian...I have lots of Christian movies...*reads list* Book of Eli, Machine Gun Preacher, Because of Winn Dixie." We ended up watching "Million Dollar Baby"...so depressing.

Today is a free day. We had pancakes for breakfast and then I walked around Darjeeling for a little bit. I am unfortunately starting to feel sick again (cold) so I have been taking it easy all day. Fun night was dinner (great pizza) and game night.

Side note: I am not the only one feeling ick. We have had a couple of people who have been fighting coughs and colds and even had a few people who have had upset tummies. Poor baby Amy has been running a fever and throwing up off and on. Please be praying everyone feels better very soon!

We leave Darjeeling tomorrow afternoon and will be taking the night train to Kolkata. Please be praying that our traveling will go well! We will arrive in Kolkata the morning of the 23rd and then flying to Bangkok the night of the 24th :) I can't believe my time in Darjeeling is over! :(

Farewell Darjeeling
Thank you Lord for the wonderful weather! I loved not sweating for 3 weeks. It was great to look at the  majestic Himalayas daily. Your are such an amazing Creator! Getting to meet the amazing Nepali and Indian people, especially the sweet kids that stole my heart. This has to be one of the best outreach locations! Thank you Lord for bringing me to India :)

Last week in Darj

The village was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! I seriously could of lived there. The pastors family was so kind and caring (also made AMAZING food). The drive resembled a jeep run at home...expect the roads were paved. Once in the village you walked everywhere! After our arrival we walked 15-20 mins on a hiking trail (except what I would consider a hiking trail was a sidewalk to them) up the mountain to a house fellowship. It was a couple, grandma and aunt. After having a little service in their house they asked if we could pray for some other family members that lived nearby. It was awesome to bless this family through prayer :) on our way back that night a neighbor hood dog randomly followed us home. We named him Mufsa. The dog ended up waking us all up at 1am with his barking.

The next morning Lynne, Andi and I set out to find water bottles (which apparently do not exist in this village). Just to clarify we did have water in the village they just boiled it to make it safe (for some reason at the pastors house the water always had a smoky taste). Anyway we ended up with another neighborhood  dog after that walk...we named him Simba. That afternoon we took a 30 minute walk to another house fellowship in a different part of the village. This house fellowship was much bigger and included a lot of teens. After that was over we went and prayed for a few people in the community. Later that day we had youth group at the church that the pastor we were staying with led. We played games which everyone got into. I gave the message. I spoke on "Why God wants our hearts." That evening Melinda, Lynne, Andi and I all hung out in my room playing cards. Side note: tea is a big deal in this part of India so in just one day we had 5 tea times.

Sunday was a nice chill morning (church doesn't start until 11am). It was fun being a part of their service :) Afterwards we had tea time and talked with a few of the church attendees. We had a couple of hours to ourselves while we waited for the jeeps to arrive. Right before we left we were invited to tea at our guide's family's home. It was so sad to leave such an awesome place...I really wish we could have been there for a week! We stopped by the tree line on our way back to Darjeeling and while we were there Oy and I were asked multiple times to take a picture with people (being foreigners makes you a celebrity)

On Monday we made and took sandwiches to the beggars again. I love doing this so much! That afternoon we had debrief time with Mel (base director). It was good to think through all the great things we have gotten to do in Darjeeling :) Auntie (the wife of the pastor who we did the prayer walks with) taught me how to tie a sari! That evening a few of us went out to get egg rolls (so good!). First of all I will say that Darjeeling is a pretty safe place (definitely much safer then Kolkata). But for the first time I had a somewhat freaky moment. I was with Kayla and Andi when we got the egg rolls and about that time a beggar came up to us (I am pretty sure this beggar wasn't from here because his begging tactics were very different-more like Kolkata). Anyway we had our back to this guy (I thought he had walked away) when all of sudden I felt hands trying to slide into my front jean pockets. I jumped and yelled "what the heck!"  By the time I had turned around, ready to backhand, he was gone. I thankfully didn't have anything in my pockets not that it would of mattered cause his hands missed my pocket.
After that little adventure we walked back to base. On the way back a family stopped us and asked if they could have picture with us. We started taking pictures and next thing we knew we were stopping the flow of traffic because other families has joined in the picture. As we walked away a random guy walking in front of me asked where I was from and after telling him he wished me a nice day. That night a few of us attempted to have a movie night but It ended up turning into a game night with cookies and yummy chai tea :)

On Tuesday we went back to our weekly ministries. Oy and I went to help kids with homework at the orphanage. They didn't end up having homework so we just played games. At the end we took pictures and then the kids gave us a big group hug! I am going to miss those sweet kids so much. It was pouring on our 20 min walk back to base...thankfully I am finally getting into the habit of carrying an umbrella! Gabie and Val left in the afternoon for Kolkata. They left early so Gabie would have time to apply for a Thailand visa. That evening I made the chai tea for the first time (even the base locals approved!). Then Kayla and I joined the staff in watching a movie. Of course that was after The base leader had to read every movie he had on his computer..."if you are holy...I mean if you are Christian...I have lots of Christian movies...*reads list* Book of Eli, Machine Gun Preacher, Because of Winn Dixie." We ended up watching "Million Dollar Baby"...so depressing.

Today is a free day. We had pancakes for breakfast and then I walked around Darjeeling for a little bit. I am unfortunately starting to feel sick again (cold) so I have been taking it easy all day. Fun night was dinner (great pizza) and game night.

Side note: I am not the only one feeling ick. We have had a couple of people who have been fighting coughs and colds and even had a few people who have had upset tummies. Poor baby Amy has been running a fever and throwing up off and on. Please be praying everyone feels better very soon!

We leave Darjeeling tomorrow afternoon and will be taking the night train to Kolkata. Please be praying that our traveling will go well! We will arrive in Kolkata the morning of the 23rd and then flying to Bangkok the night of the 24th :) I can't believe my time in Darjeeling is over! :(

Farewell Darjeeling
Thank you Lord for the wonderful weather! I loved not sweating for 3 weeks. It was great to look at the  majestic Himalayas daily. Your are such an amazing Creator! Getting to meet the amazing Nepali and Indian people, especially the sweet kids that stole my heart. This has to be one of the best outreach locations! Thank you Lord for bringing me to India :)

Darjeeling update

Busy week so far:

Monday: We made sandwiches and took them to beggars in Darjeeling. We found a group of women who beg outside of a temple. Darcy (part of YWAM Darjeeling) visits them often and these women were so excited to see her! The ladies were very sweet and loved shaking our hands and just getting attention from us. Darcy told us that it means so much to them when we shake their hands because, as beggars, they are not acknowledged. That afternoon we spent doing bible study and that night we watched a documentary "Born into the Brothels". It's about children who are growing up in the Red Light District. After that we had a time if intercession (prayer) for the kids living in that world.

Tuesday: We took off that morning to a Missions of Charity home (Mother Teresa ministry). It was awesome to bless the elderly ladies that lived there! We did some songs, a dance, skit and craft. They absolutely loved the skit and couldn't stop laughing :)
One lady had was a beggar before she came and that was obvious. She came up to me and kept begging. It's so sad that begging was so much of a lifestyle that it was normal to her and that it felt comforting.  That afternoon I went with Kiley (base staff and from Oklahoma) to help kids at the orphanage with homework again. They didn't have a bunch of work so we ended up playing a lot of games. That night we had a unity teaching. Out of that we are supposed to go to everyone on our team and tell them things that we appreciate about them. It was really good. When you live with a team 24/7 encouragement becomes a little rare.

Wednesday: I was awake at 3am to go to Tiger hill (a good lookout to see the Himalayan range and the distant tip of Mt. Everest). The sunrise starts at 4am here in India. Once we got back at 7am we had a great breakfast made by Melinda. The rest of the day was chill but it felt like it would never end!

Today: We went back to the Salvation Army deaf school. We did 2 skits, taught them the Thai chicken dance, and played games. World Vision ended up being there as well to give the kids awards for a marathon they were in.

We leave for a village tomorrow and will be there until Sunday. I am currently preparing a message for the teens we will be working with on Saturday :)

We head to Kolkata a week from today :( I am going to miss Darjeeling!

Oh and I only have a month left in Asia!! I can't believe my time here is almost over.

Darjeeling: Last week

Last week in Darjeeling!
Tuesday: We had morning devos and such as usual and then we headed to afternoon ministry. We were split into groups...Oy and I (with no guide-I felt like a local) walked 20 minutes to an orphanage to help the kids with homework. It was SO much fun! After kids were done with homework I took them outside to play some games. I really enjoyed hanging out with the kids without having the whole team.

Wednesday: Free day! Shaneen and I walked around Darjeeling exploring and going to some markets. That afternoon we met up with Malek (base staff), Gabie, Val and Kayla at the movie theater to watch Spider-Man 2. Really good movie! Indian movie theaters are different...security was intense (no sneaking in food or anything for that matter). They also have a 20 min intermission in the strangest spot to stop a movie. That night we had a big game of human Clue. So cool!

Thursday: We went to a town about 2 1/2 hours away with a pastor and his wife who are starting a church plant there. We went to pray and worship in the building they had just purchased. It was such an awesome privilege to be the first team to come and bless their ministry :) It seemed like such a small thing to our team but when we saw how much it meant to uncle and auntie (that's what we call them) it became so important. Another awesome bonus: we stayed at a hotel with running HOT water!

Friday: We left the town that morning. Once we arrived back in Darjeeling we went to a deaf school that the Salvation Army runs. I helped with the games for the older kids. It was fun although I wish they knew American Sign Language.

Saturday: In the morning we had devos and prep time for a prayer thing we were going to do on Sunday. That afternoon we went to our Saturday ministry. I went to the orphanage that I went to on Tuesday with Miriam, Val, Kayla, and Oy. I was in charge of games. I really love those sweet kids :)

Thankfully towards the end of the week it started to warm up! I am really enjoying my time in Darjeeling :)