This past week marked my two-month anniversary in Harpenden! This is by far the longest I’ve been out of Oregon! I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting this week on my DTS experience so far. It’s so crazy to look back and remember all of my fears and worries, my expectations, and my thoughts about what these 6 months of my life would look like. All I can say is that God is so good and so faithful! This time has been amazing and God has confirmed for me several times that I’m right where He wants me. I know I’m learning SO much, but sometimes it’s hard to really see the growth. I think it will take time to really realize what God is doing in me. We are approaching the end of lecture phase and I feel a little disappointed. I feel like I have so much more to learn! But I hear God saying, “Don’t you worry Darcy! Your growth is just beginning. Just wait until outreach! I have many plans for you….”
Outreach will be here so soon! We leave on December 4th for Santiago, Chile. Our schedule is subject to change but for now we are traveling straight from Santiago to a beach town called Pichilemu. We will be here for about 3 weeks. I’m so excited to spend Christmas on the beach! This city was severely affected by the Chile earthquake last February, so I imagine we will be doing a lot of practical work to help with reconstruction of the city. At the end of December, we travel to Paraguay for 3 weeks. Then we will come back to Chile, spending 1 week in Santiago. Around the 20th of January we come back to England to trade our summer clothes for our winter clothes and then we head to Northern Ireland for about 2 ½ weeks! I don’t have all of the details on what specifically we will be doing on outreach, but I know there will be lots of practical service, evangelizing on the streets with dramas and testimonies, speaking in churches, and just blessing people. One thing that’s going to be a wonderful challenge for me is that we don’t have every minute of our time planned out. Our time is open to what God has for us. By being flexible with our schedule, God can freely send us where He wants us to go!
We spent a lot of time this past week planning and preparing for outreach. We prayed for the “Original Design” of our team. We asked God to speak to us about how He sees our team. I want to share what He said so you get a better idea of my team and so you know what to be praying for. This is a compilation of what God spoke to each of us individually:
- Bringing Life/ Love/ Good News
--We will bring life to a country full of death (spiritually).
--We will be refreshing, a breath of fresh air.
--We will bring light. Isaiah 60:1-3, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
--We will bring love. Hebrews 13:1-3, “Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”
--God’s ocean of love wants to flood the coasts.
--We will bring Good News. Proverbs 25:25, “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.”
- United
--God says, “I have brought you all together for my purpose.”
--God sees our group as one, even if we don’t yet see it ourselves.
- Compassionate
--Picture of a big teardrop that has power to break iron chains and power to set people free from the walls around their hearts.
--Breaking chains off of hearts.
--Spiritual Mother: offering council, meditating on problems, comforting.
--Gentleness. Philippians 4:5, “Let your gentleness be evident to all.”
- Bringing Joy With Music
--We will be a musical group, bringing happy songs.
--Psalm 118: 19-24, “Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
--Nehemiah 8:10, The joy of the Lord is our strength.
- A Group Who Depends On Prayer (Intercession)
- Fearless
- Passionate
- Respected
--1 Timothy 4:12, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
- Strong: physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally
I am so excited about my team and about what God is going to do through us! I think He has amazing things in store for us. I love that we can pray and ask God for words and He speaks! I’m also excited to see how our "Original Design" plays out during our time together.
In addition to praying about our "Original Design," we’ve been praying about finances. Our team still needs about $9,000 to cover the cost of our plane tickets. God has provided for me thanks to all of the support from my friends and family. But we are a team and we are raising funds together. Could you please pray that the money comes in? I’ve heard some amazing stories of how God has provided for outreach teams in YWAM! We want to have these stories too! Our group has been busy brainstorming fundraising ideas. We are raking leaves in the neighborhood and we are also hosting a “Crepe Dinner” on the base in a few weeks to raise money.
With all of the talk about outreach and what’s to come, my mind has been spinning. A passage I’ve been meditating on this week is Psalm 131 which says, “My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.”
There are so many unknowns ahead—outreach plans, finances, etc. Being a planner, I like to know what is going to happen. God is teaching me to not be proud by concerning myself with matters that are out of my control. Instead, He is calling me to quiet my soul and rest in His arms. Just as a baby finds all it needs in the arms of its mother, we can find all we need in the arms of our God. In His presence we have all we need for life and we can trust that He will provide.
Thank you SO much for your prayers! They mean so much. God wants us to pray so we can strengthen our relationship with Him and so we can participate in the work He is doing. I'm excited to continue this journey I'm on with God as the next phase of my DTS begins--Outreach here I come!
We had another Love Feast on Friday. Our DTS hosted dinner and dessert for the base. We made 10 different desserts from all of our different nations. They were delicious! My favorite was the Dutch Apple Pie from Holland.
This is me at the Love Feast with Laura. Laura leads the morning workout classes I attend. I've really enjoyed getting to know her :)
Your blog is so encouraging Darcy, it's great to hear what you've been up to! Thanks for sharing!
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