How has God blessed you? Today’s blog will be a bit different than usual. I am basing this on the speaker this week. Take a minute, maybe just in the comment section on this page, and write down how God has blessed you over the years. Not just physical things, but skills and everything.
OK? done? If not, go back and try to get even a small list, written down for yourself to see. Now that you have something, look at it.
As challenging as the first speaker was, this speaker is a whole new type of challenging. The type, that excites you. Tim (our speaker) is a media organizer for Africom a sub section of YWAM. He just recently worked on a documentary, and is going to be talking to the YWAM documentary training school we will be attending next year. Obviously Christer, Christi, and I have been pretty excited about him and talking with him. He is incredibly knowledgable and has a huge heart for reaching the unreached people of our world.
This is an exercise we did here and helps make sense of how God wants you to serve Him and the world. Look back at that list you made, now pray to God – How can I use these blessings to bless the world? Do you have a skill that can bring someone joy, a house to be used to be a place of fellowship. The answer is different for everyone, and sometimes very scary.
Yesterday was the first day of Oktoberfest! Christi and I bought the 5 euro tickets to take the bus and train to Dresden from our small town, Herrnhut. We spent the day admiring the amazing architecture and history of the city. In 1945 U.S. and British air forces destroyed the downtown and many wounds can still be seen today. The mix of old and new construction in Dresden’s many cathedrals and palaces was beautiful!
The town was busy with people eating bratwursts, drinking beer, and shopping. Just like you’d expect in a German town during Oktoberfest! We also had the pleasure of overhearing a choir practice in one of the larger cathedrals and met several friendly tourists like ourselves (yes, we are friendly). Enjoy the slideshow above (try full screen)… We look forward to future trips to Dresden and elsewhere!
Wednesday mark a pivotal moment in our Herrnhut DTS experience. The art portion of our tracks began in full swing. We met in the morning for worship and separated out into our groups, spreading throughout the castle and surrounding areas. The writing track, which was previously the smallest art track, has grown to five whole members. Yes five whole entire members, no halves or quarters luckily. The people in my art track all come from very different backgrounds and have different goals for the class. Some are looking to write fantasy, others just improving their general writing skills, and I am looking towards a journalism slant. The best part of having five whole people in our class, is we have the ability to each pursue what we want.
We have been focussing on some writing exercises and responding to various news articles. Outside our normal exercises we are planning one large project that we will be working on for the entire time we are here. Two people are writing novels and directed at young adult girls, while others are putting together people’s stories into a compilation
My project is something I will be able to also use for The Soma Project. It will be a book which will be a compilation of both fiction and non fiction articles and stories. These articles will be focused on three themes, which will be the sections of the book. The first will be Work, the second Family, and the third Unity. My goal is to draw people in with entertaining, but also make it significant and challenging. Tell me your thoughts of my idea, or leave a comment if you have an idea for an article or story.
In all my travels and adventures I have made it a point to study and learn a basic amount of information about a city before I go there. Coming to Germany has been a stretch for me because of my limited knowledge of the culture and history. This weekend I was invited to Prague in the Czech Republic for a day trip. The borders to both Czech and Poland are only twenty minutes away. We actually were in Poland for five minutes on our way to Czech. After a drive on the Auto Bahn we arrived in Prague. That is the moment I realized I know NOTHING about Prague or the Czech Republic.
I actually was a bit embarrassed that I would be in a obviously historic city like Prague and know so little. Well we started walking around and literally every few hundred yards there was an amazingly beautiful cathedral or medieval building. I feel as if I could spend weeks learning about the history of just a few buildings. The problem was there were hundreds and hundreds of these buildings. We walked through Prague Castle up on a hill overlooking the city. As we descended into the city we would pass things like the oldest medieval pub in the city. The place was was blackened with carbon and totally run off without power still. As I walked through the city I noticed the dark black statues. I was wondering why they picked such a gloomy color, and as if I had asked the answer was told me. TJ our driver and guide told us how the city and statues were black from the WWII fire bombing that covered the city. Knowing that brought so much depth to everything I saw. There was a sort of weight that held this symbol of death and destruction. It has been so many years but the towers and statues are still a deep black.
Of all the things I learned in that city, including the amazing beauty, this is what stuck with me. America is so young and knows so little of war. Our soldiers know, but it isn’t something we live with, something that stares at us every day. I feel our culture would be a much more humble people to know our own limits and the reality of what war entails.
I asked Christi what her most memorable moment of our trip was which she quickly replied, “Ikea.” On our way back we stopped at Ikea where all the married couples were able to finally get the things they needed for their apartment. Up to this point they only had a mattress on the floor. I’m not sure what they all got, but they were able to furnish and fill their apartment satisfactorily. I got a box. It is a cool little black box, and its where I put my dirty clothes.
It is pretty amazing that we can be on the other side of the world and walk into a store that is exactly like the same brand store only a few minutes from my home. There was no distinguishable difference with that Ikea and any other Ikea I have been in before. With the exception the signs were all in Czech. But that makes sense, because we were in Czech. In China I would frequent the KFC which had the same affect. A slice of corporate home.
Early Monday morning everyone at the Herrnhut YWAM base gathered into a large tent and began the day with worship. This was the official beginning of our courses and DTS training. Now after a few days Christer, Christi, and I are starting to settle into the flow of each day. Worship and prayer in the morning, followed by group teaching, work duties, and then our art track in the afternoon.
As stated previously, this is a totally new type of discipleship training school. The DTS is the largest ever to have been done in Europe. The combination of so many different artistic mediums to work together is also another new idea for YWAM.
This week has been a spiritually and emotionally draining week for us and much of the school. We have been challenged greatly to surrender all of ourselves to Christ, all of our dreams, hopes, attachments, and selfishness. It has been a very convicting time for me as I wrestle with the ideas presented. The first speaker is speaking on Hearing God. I do not have the space to go completely into the topic, but it is a difficult topic to approach. Through the teaching God has revealed a lot about myself and areas of my life that I keep from Him.
The speaker comes from a different tradition than Christer, Christi or I do. Understanding and becoming comfortable with the ideas has been slow for me. We are very careful not to just “go with the crowd.” At the same time it is undeniable God is doing amazing work in people’s lives here. All of the leaders have been blown away at how quickly lives are changing. They give us enough time to process the teachings. I am comfortable with the teachers and leaders.
The goal of all of the teaching is intimacy with Christ. That I can completely get on board with! Knowing and being comfortable with the character of our creator. That is awesome! Whether or not we do exactly as the teacher says to do it, is less important than having a moment to moment relationship with Christ. Using His gifts, passions, and relationships for His glory. This is an exciting time of personal development and challenge as God draws us near, which is never a simple and easy process.
Today we got our schedule for the first week of the DTS. Looking it over we noticed that the kick off event suggested us to bring our sleeping bags. We arrived at the event a few hours early and learned how to play “Ninja.” Our goal was to hit other people’s hands to get them out of the game, but we only had one move to do it each turn. With all the mud around it is needless to say I (Andrew) got quite dirty. My initial strategy of jumping for the person farthest from me only turned out to be a complete failure. Too bad it took me three attempts to realize just how ineffective it was.
After dinner and an introduction of many of the different leaders a large German man stood up to speak. He then told the story of how the Marriage of the Arts DTS started. It was about a year ago during a DTS out reach to Ethiopia. The group decided to visit a large trash dump where they had seen kids rummaging through. What they found broke their hearts; young kids barely surviving off of the trash. Over the next while they developed relationships with the kids, sleeping where they slept and eating their food. Since then they have combining their different arts to bring in more help and funding for the ministry. Since then they have rescued a number of the kids and given them jobs. The way they intigrated their arts together to help these kids inspired them to start Marriage of the Arts DTS.
Flash forward to yesterday, we all stood an listened to this story. As they continued to talk it became clear that we were going to participate in a simulated garbage dump living situation. The staff made it clear that the exercise was completely optional, but that all of the staff would be participating with us. We all got boxes and started building a giant box city where we were going to be sleeping. The temperature had dropped quite low at this point and we were all shivering. It was quite a unique experience, luckily I had my sleeping bag to get into negating the cold factor. There were people though that did not use sleeping bags or any such comforts. For them the lesson was much deeper than for me though. It was a fun and exciting experience driving home the point that so many people live like this, even without the high tech sleeping equipment. The next morning i awoke stiff and tired but have some good memories to show for it.
I still didn’t believe I was going to Germany as I got on the plane. The realization that I was going to a completely new culture started to seep in during my 20 hours or traveling. I was then smacked in the face with the idea when I landed in Switzerland. When I went to China I never noticed how much of an advantage it was having basic Chinese education. But now I am surrounded by cultures and histories that I am almost completely ignorant of. I am excited to learn the history of Herrnhut and the castle that the school is run out of.
Christer, Christi, and I all showed up in Dresden within a few hours of each other and hopped onto the first train to Herrnhut. After catching up on our separate trips eating some brats we all passed out in the rooms they assigned us. I (Andrew) am in Ficsher house which is the most central of all the living quarters and one of the oldest houses in Herrnhut, while Christer and Christi are staying in the married couples pad a few blocks away. Christer and Christi showed up and quickly found out their apartment is very much a work in progress. As of right now they are sleeping on the only furniture in their apt, two twin sized mattresses that are on the floor.
Today has been filled with meeting new fellow DTSers and exploring the city. Our first task was to find and explore the castle. To get there from town we heard that we had to walk through a nearby wooded glen. But on our way there we somehow ended up on the wrong trail and had to trudge through thick wet grass full of crickets and frogs. Finally we made i to the castle. Now the term castle is a loose description of the building. This is a East German style castle, meaning there are now spires or stonewalls. there is a bridge leading to the entrance and strange doors and passageways throughout though. If it had been up to me I would have called it the palace. But it wasn’t and so we will stick with castle. The best part of our castle exploration session was finding the attic boutique. The idea is if you have something too large or unruly to travel with, just leave it at the castle for the next group of DTSers to rummage through. I got a sleeping bag, slippers and a sleeping mat without having to spend a penny! Freaking awesome! After a walk around Herrnhut and the Castle we have all come to realize how incredibly beautiful this land is and what an amazing opportunity we have been given. We are eagerly anticipating all the adventures we will soon go on and the work God will be doing in each of our lives.
