Relationships week & L.A. week!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry I haven’t updated in a while! I’ve been really busy lately! My DTS just got back from Los Angelo’s, CA late Saturday night. We were there for one week (which I will talk about later!) I have learned so much in the past two weeks, it’s crazy! Two weeks ago, our topic was on relationships. Our speakers were Jeremy and Keeley Lange. Their family is on staff at YWAM Denver. It was such a blessing to have them as our speakers! They were so down to earth and had such patience with us in answering all of our questions and opening everything up for discussion! They covered every topic of relationships from our relationship with God to our relationship with the opposite sex. It was encouraging to see Jeremy and Keeley living out what they were teaching us about! A few key points I got:

*Unconditional love is self-less

*We don’t like being rejected and neglected, neither does God

*LOVE IS AN ACTION

*”Unconditional love flows when you choose to love others for their sake, not your own”

*True love is what is pleasing to God, not what is pleasing to me

*Talked a lot about submission and humility

“Let us not love with words and tongue, but with actions and in truth.”

-1 John 3:18

As I mentioned above, my DTS went to L.A for a week! It was such a great trip! We stayed at the YWAM Las Vegas base on the way to L.A and on the way back! We arrived in L.A last Sunday night. We stayed on the floor of a church all week. The church was in a little town called Arleta, outside of L.A. Our topic for the week was the Holy Spirit. Our speaker was Ben Gort. He and his family is also on staff at YWAM Denver. Ben was kind enough to take a week away from his family to be with us and share his revelations and part of his heart with us! Here are some highlights from the trip:

* Tuesday and Wednesday we worked with the Dream Center. My group distributed food to the low income, poverty stricken parts of L.A. We also had a kids ministry time where we hung out with the kids and played games and did crafts with them. On Wednesday night, we worked with the Jonah Project. We did street evangelism and service on Skid Row. Skid Row is a couple blocks where a lot of the homeless people live and a lot of drug users go to. This place definitely needs the light and the love of God to shine! We walked around and talked to some people and did a lot of prayer walking and handing out coffee, etc. It was really cool and amazing to see God’s love pour out of us onto the people living there.

*Thursday we went to Venice Beach! It was so beautiful! Our school leader decided to do baptisms in the ocean on Thursday. So I got baptized! It was such a great opportunity to declare a new life in Christ! Although the water was really cold, we still had fun! Then, we walked around the boardwalk and talked to people and prayed for people. Once again, people saw our light shine and wondered why we were doing what we’re doing. We had lots of great opportunity to share the love of the Father with people and see the smiles on their faces!

Along with all the exciting activities we had, we also had two full days of class time as well! I learned so much about the Holy Spirit and God really showed me some cool new things!

*”We need to be natural and let God be supernatural” –Stephan Hugo

*The Holy Spirit was in the Old Testament

*When we live in full submission to Him, He does MIRACULOUS things through us!

*Our actions don’t define us, our FRUIT defines us”

*God wants us to desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit

*”Is your faith in God or in something miraculous happening?”

*God’s order is not our order…so therefore we shouldn’t judge when we see something that might look “strange” to us (manifestations, etc.)

*Instead of judging we should ask God “what is going on here” so we know how to pray for that person and what God wants to reveal to us

God really showed up to me this week during our worship times! I never felt His presence so real as I did then. It felt like God was sitting next to me, holding my hand! It was an amazing expierence and the Holy Spirit really did move! God is really making a “platform” for my faith. I was challenged to find my own opinions on things and not base my faith off of what others believe. God is so good and so faithful! I keep learning so much and He NEVER lets me down!

THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS!

BE BLESSED,

Amy



Downtown L.A.!!



Venice Beach!!



Chelsea, Sarah and I on Venice Beach!!