backtrack: the honeymoon-weeks one & two

the very first week we got to ywam sf was very much an orientation type week. i really like to call this time period the honeymoon. we all came in bright eyed and ready for something HUGE. i had no clue what dts really meant except that i would be in the city of san francisco, learning about God & missions, learning about the city and what ministry looks like here, and where/how i fit in that mix. we started out learning all of the do's and don'ts of the base as well as of the tenderloin. we then moved into what the staff felt like the heart for the fall 2010 school was. God really put on their hearts the verse 2 corinthians 3: 16-18 "...and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit" and that is exactly what has been happening. God has slowly been removing our veils. as each week progresses the ability to see the glory of God working in each others life has been beautiful. walls have been broken down and there is an overall realization that we aren't asked to just believe in God, or even just know God, we are asked to be a likeness of Christ.

i will admit that when i realized i would be in "classes/lectures" most of the day i was slightly disappointed. i honestly had no idea what to expect coming here but going back to class was not anything close. that was silly though. we are a lucky group of ywamers because we get the chance to learn about the character & nature of God and then take that knowledge, allow it to transform our hearts and then go and do ministry/life with people literally right outside of our front door.

going into week two i was full of anticipation. i was so ready to get things started. our first speaker was Karri Manning. She worked with ywam kona for several years and is now a youth pastor in salem, oregon. She spoke on understanding the character & nature of God. she really stressed that the character & nature of God is one that comes from an insanely deep love we don't necessarily understand. it is not one that hinders growth but instead desires for us to understand newness, beauty, love and affection. in the garden God did not create adam to know the difference between good and evil. he created adam so that man would know God.

we also did an exercise were we listed things that the world tells us about ourselves, things that while God sees them as precious the world's view has tainted and made ugly. that is a powerful thing to do. i challenge you to try it. make a list of the lies you believe about yourself... i.e. you're not desirable, you're stronger, you'll never be successful, you are too successful, you can't be loved, etc and then sit and ask God what he says about you. during week two we had the opportunity to mediate on psalm 139. it says in verse 14 that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" or "fearfully set apart". God did not mess up. it is his character to be purposeful and it is his nature to always love you. looking back, week two was just a drop in the bucket for what was to come. i'm excited to finally be sharing all that He has done and all that i've learned over the past 12 weeks! be looking out for weeks three and four in the next few days.