What DTS is about - why I moved half way around the world to do mine.

"In order to discover new lands, one must be willing to lose sight of the shore." ~ Andre Gide (1869–1951) French Writer

It was not easy giving up a really good job, a great church, and the comforts of my own apartment to come and do a DTS half way around the world. As I sold my furniture piece by piece I will admit I had serious second thoughts. “I can stay here and work on my relationship with God… I don’t have to do this.” But deep in my heart I knew that the words of the quote above are true, especially about my relationship with God.

I had lived so many years trying to be a good Christian, many ups and downs, often living a double life, most of the time bitterly discontent with the gap between what people said God was like and who I had so far experienced Him to be.When my best friend in university died suddenly, I got desperate for God. I must have written in my journal 100 times that year “God, I MUST have more of you. God, there MUST be more. I want MORE, God.” I knew, or at least suspected, that there was so much more to this God thing. In the margins of my Bible, next to the story of the pearl of great price, I wrote “This is my prayer.” It was an honest confession that God was not nearly as desirable to me as it appeared He should be. When desperation collided with honesty I decided to do DTS.

I must know God.

It’s amazing how much we “learn” about God that isn’t true. I had learned from life that God was distant, indifferent, and angry. When one of our speakers shared about God being one who is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love, my heart soared in hope while my mind sat back skeptical and jaded. I remember that on the first day of DTS I wrote in my journal: “God, actually, I don’t believe you’re good.” Even though it seemed like a written slap in the face, it was the beginning of a dialogue and a genuine search to know God as He really is. I laid down all the great things I had heard about Him, all the bad things I had heard, and the difficult things I had experienced. I put it all down and allowed myself just to find out who He really is. And, forgive the cliché but I have no other way of describing what happened: I fell in love.

As I sought Him wholeheartedly, holding nothing back, I found out what He is like, who He is. He is lovely. He is amazing. He really is the pearl of great price. It cost a lot to get that understanding, to gain that personal revelation of His goodness, but it was worth everything. And it is still worth losing everything to gain Him.

I must know Him more.

Get what you want. July DTS Perth, Australia.

Final Report from Mexico City

Just posting the link to our final report video about our year's focus in Mexico City.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tem1x_OycGU

Enjoy!

Evangelism in Perth City

This week on our Thursday night outreach God led us to distribute hot tea and cookies to people outside the hospital. It went really well and we were able to show God's love to 34 people in this way. There were several really good conversations with people from India, Iraq and Ethiopia.

We also met a family that is on the verge of homelessness. We (you know the full time non-paid volunteers) took up an offering and were able to come up with $80 to put the couple and their 2 year old daughter into a backpackers. We will be following them up to see how we can continue to help them in this difficult time.

God is also opening doors for us to minister to homeless youth who stay at the YMCA here in Perth - more to come!

Unity growing in Mexico City

Many of you have heard about the fruit of our outreach in Mexico City (in Oct-Dec 2010). God really spoke to us about breaking the disunity among churches in Neza (our region) so that revival can come. Mexican churches are very devoted to God, but there can be a lot of rivalry and competition between them. As we took different youth groups out, one at a time, and encouraged them to do evangelism (many of them first-timers) the youth found purpose and passion in their relationship with God and in pursuing the lost. Over time we started to bring them together to go out together. When our team left they formed the "Neza Youth Alliance" and committed to continue working together to see Christ made known.

The group has continued to go out and I have received email after email about the fruit they are seeing. Youth from nine different churches are going out regularly and seeing from 40-60 people saved every time they go out.

They just posted this you tube video from their last massive outreach event in the government center of Neza (where they saw 67 people saved just in the afternoon). They are seeking God together for strategy and working in unity to see people come to know Jesus personally in their city!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpLH31Gx1wc