New Beginnings (DTS Part 1)

 

Off on an adventure... how often have I said those words? Yet this time proves totally different, because for the first time I set off alone. All the travels and memories across my childhood included my family. And I love that. But this time God called me to follow Him solo.

June of 2023 I went through Freedom in Christ's "7 Steps" (Seven Steps), a time of confession and submission before the Lord. Despite being terrified of "failing" God by returning to the same thoughts and patterns I might confess, I threw myself fully at God's feet. Truly He is faithful: "He gives grace to the humble." After that time, slowly I began to notice the fire of the Holy Spirit fanned anew within. He began to speak to me about the future, including what to do with 2024. One thing He made clear was DTS (Discipleship Training School), a 5-6 month school with Youth with the Mission (About DTS). Despite fears that again arose, I obeyed the consistent, gentle nudge God placed on my heart. I looked up DTS locations that matched my passions. Then, I took the list of 12 locations around the world and began to pray. God quietly directed me to eliminate several, until I was left with five locations. Then He seemed to become silent. I wrestled, frustrated and becoming desperate, for a few weeks. How could I make a decision if the Lord who had commanded me to advance stopped giving directions?

During this time, a former inmate from the Soroti prison came to visit us. He had been transformed by the Truth through Bible study that my Dad and a friend, Charles, lead weekly. Since leaving prison, he had married an Irish lady, who also came along to visit us. She asked me what my plans were moving forward. When I shared my desire to do a DTS, she quickly began telling me about a YWAM base in South Africa where she had done her internship. "They do a performing arts DTS there," she said. 

My mom pitched in; "Lydia, you've always wanted to perform!" Outwardly, I smiled and agreed. But on the inside, I wanted to cry. God wasn't giving any direction with five options- how could I add another one to the list? Looking back, I see I'd severely underestimated the power of the Lord, for He works in mysterious ways to His glory!

I got the name of the YWAM base in South Africa and looked it up. A photo appeared of young ladies in colorful makeup and braided hair, all gracefully looking down as if they were angels before God's throne lowering their eyes in fearful, awed respect. My heart immediately skipped a beat, then began drumming in ecstatic excitement. By God's grace, I knew this was where He desired me to go. I longed to be one of those girls, worshipping God with every creative bone in my body!

Still a bit cautious I was allowing my heart to speak louder than God's voice, I brought the excitement before Him in prayer. "Lord, you know I want to go here. I believe You want me to go here. Now I bow in surrender before You. If this is from You, I need my application to be accepted and financial provision."

Shortly afterwards, He began answering this prayer. I was accepted to join the 2024 Troubadour DTS!

Within a month after being accepted to the school, God provided money for the entire lecture phase (the first 3 months) through generous Christians.

Excited, apprehensive, scared, joyful, curious, tense... I prepared to go.

One last dinner with family before leaving them for five months. This reality seemed surreal. I've lived with my family around me my entire life! Due to homeschooling and living in a village, we do everything together. I would not only get homesick, but also family-sick. I had to "count the cost" and surrender the pain of leaving to God.

I missed my dad's steady, peaceful presence that made me feel safe and seen each day.

I missed my mom's listening ear and Truth-based encouragement.

I missed Makai growing up, hitting new milestones (including this 4th birthday!). I missed his giggles, hilarious antics and precious hugs.

I missed laughing with Grace and having passionate conversations together.

I missed Emalai's kindness and trust.

I missed Luka's jokes and even his teasing.

Yet Christ is worth all this. These priceless souls are His before they are mine.

I can never explain the immense blessing it is to belong in a family that loves Christ and serves Him as King. The night I left, my family surrounded me, prayed over me, then Grace began singing The Blessing. Most of us were crying, unsure what the next five months would look like. Yet I felt God's presence there, crying with us but also rejoicing at His kingdom coming in the love filling that room.

Last goodbyes...

Ready or not, off with the cross He's given me, following wherever His footsteps lead.

The drive from the international airport in Cape Town to Worcester (in the western cape of South Africa). I remember having a million butterflies in my stomach, wondering what in the world I was doing- and wanting to be home. I'm so thankful for the kindness of several staff members and fellow students showed me the first day.

The room I shared with a fellow Troubadour student. There were 16 girls in our dorm room from the DTS and the English School (simultaneously running on the base). Every pair of girls had a cubicle. It was community living as I'd never lived before: different cultures, preferences, routines thrown together in a dorm of cubicles with no ceilings. I'm so thankful for life in a sizable family which prepared me somewhat, and also for God's faithfulness to teach us girls to love each other and draw closer through our time together.

The dining room and community space

Our Glory Hall (gathering area)

The YWAM Worcester base used to be a hospital. I love walking on the old wood floors, or gazing out of the antique windows and wondering what the hospital staff and patients had been feeling or thinking. How appropriate that a place once facilitating the healing of bodies now facilitates the healing of souls!

Troubadour DTS 2024!

God brought together 19 students from nine different nations: South Africa, USA, Uganda, Switzerland, Norway, Scotland, the Netherlands, Namibia and Brazil. Our nine staff were from Brazil (two couples and two ladies) and South Africa (one couple and a young lady). Two of our staff members had been Troubadour students the previous year!

Troubadour is a performing and creative arts DTS. The name "Troubadour" is a French title for a poet who would use song, poetry and drama to spread good news from the king throughout the kingdom. Troubadour DTS aims to do just that: spread God's good news to the world by using creative means of evangelism. Everything we did had to be out of the box!

For example, every Troubadour class creates a show. I'll never forget sitting in our first workshop (the allotted two afternoons a week we worked on the show) with a blank whiteboard in front of us. We asked the Holy Spirit to show us what He wanted for this show. And from the images, words and verses He gave us, a sort of musical slowly formed. It was much like a birth: a painful and slow process. Many times I wondered if we'd ever be ready, or I'd cry after workshops in frustration. God used these times to confront pride and unholy expectations in my heart. He used the show to do soul surgery on me! And He was faithful. Our whole team was in awe when "Baggage" came together just in time. It was a tool we used for evangelism, but only after God first used it to prune our hearts.

Our classroom

The first week we learned the YWAM values, got to know each other and had family weekend. I'll never forget that weekend... We were told to come with backpacks filled with only certain items. Phones were taken away. Then we did a weekend of team building activities. A highlight for everyone was the trust walk. We were lined up holding hands then blindfolded. The front student had to listen to and follow one of our leader's voice. However, all the other leaders blocked our way, distracted us or tripped us. The exercise deeply impacted everyone.

Another highlight was breakfast Saturday morning. We were tied together, hand to hand as if we were handcuffed to our neighbor on either side, then had to fetch our plates out of the various tents, make breakfast, eat and wash dishes! Somehow we started singing "This Little Light of Mine" while washing dishes, a good sign that we were still having fun :)

At the end of Saturday's team building activities, there was a time for reflection and testimonies. The Holy Spirit truly moved; several of us began crying as we opened up, sharing how the day had affected us and touched nerves from the past. Junio, one of our leaders, said, "God is really at work in this group. Look at the way you guys are trusting each other after only a week!"

Dramas were a common occurrence in the classroom- done by both staff and students!

Every weekend you could find many of us in the classroom working on our DTS journals. The journal was a requirement for the class; in it we reflected on what God had taught us that week through the lectures. But it had to be done creatively! I am beyond grateful for this activity because it forced me to stop and chew on God's words to me each week.

Work duties was a part of living on base (not just Worcester- any YWAM base!). Some teachers jokingly called it "YWAM slavery". We were assigned a place to report each afternoon where, for an hour, we cleaned or helped with maintenance. I actually loved this hour where I got to work with my hands, mopping or washing dishes or cleaning bathrooms. It takes a lot of work to run a big base! 

Another cool part of work duties was all the schools running during that time were intermixed to work together. So the English school, Troubadour DTS, and Deaf World DTS labored side by side. Despite language barriers, we got to know each other and formed a community.

Getting to know the staff and students from the deaf world DTS was a holy blessing! This was a pioneer DTS, meaning it was the first year they were running it. Currently, Worcester is the first YWAM base in Africa to run a deaf DTS, and only the third base around the world to do it! The leaders had prayed and stepped forward in great faith to see the DTS come to life. For example, there was no interpreter available for lecture phase until the DTS started! Additionally, the DTS had two deaf students, one hearing student and one partially hearing student who spoke very little English. All the staff were hearing. The DTS was a time of much learning for those in the DTS (some of whom were still learning South African sign language!) and for the rest of us at the base as we learned to interact with and embrace our deaf brothers and sisters in Christ.

Did you know that the world-wide deaf community is one of the largest unreached people groups? Often a deaf child has parents who know little to no sign language. Deaf children (and adults) are often lonely and rarely reached with the Gospel. Additionally, in South Africa multiple variations of sign language exist. A huge prayer request for evangelism among the SA deaf community is that the government would aid a unifying of the various sign languages into one standardized SA sign language. This would allow for deaf Bibles to be written or videoed (as a someone signs the Bible) and for evangelism to happen with greater ease to the deaf world across the country.

I want to encourage you, reader, if you know someone who is deaf, reach out to them! Don't be scared to try to communicate and learn some sign language! Be a humble learner and treat deaf folks with respect they deserve as humans made in God's image. 

Using your hands to speak is immensely meaningful! One of the most precious worship times we had on the base was lead by the deaf DTS. They taught us to sign the Lord's prayer and we did it together, silent before the Lord (a command often repeated in Scripture!).

Going to the mall nearby was another common weekend occurrence

Eleven weeks filled the lecture phase. Each week had a different theme and lecturer.

DTS is all about drawing young people to God and teaching them His heart for missions. The first two values of YWAM are to know God and make Him known. Lecture phase consisted of getting to know God. I worried at first that, as a pastor's and missionary's kid, lecture phase would be a repeat for me of thing's I'd heard my entire life. In a way it was. But overwhelmingly more than that, God broke down that prideful concern by re-introducing me to Himself! I found myself in awe each week at the mystery and greatness of who God is!

Week 1: YWAM values

Week 2: The Word

Week 3: Character and Nature of God

Week 4: Holy Spirit

Week 5: Worship

Week 6: Worldview

Week 7: Divine Plumbline

Week 8: Arts in Missions

Week 9: Identity and Purpose

Week 10: Father Heart of God

Week 11: Missions

I learned soooo much, an entire book probably wouldn't capture it! Thus, I will stick to a couple brief highlights:

1. Week 3 I learned to ask "Why?" as a wrestling with God, getting real with Him rather than thinking I believe something about Him without questioning whether I truly believe He is who He says He is.
2. Week 5 Junio, one of our leaders and the teacher for that week, pointed out that worship is not praise. Worship is a lifestyle of surrender and obedience.
3. In week 6, Junio's wife Lorena showed us that worldview is not simply glasses through which you see; rather, it is you heart, the very core of yourself, your dedication and reason for living.
4. Week 7's teacher, Erica, blessed us immensely by teaching us to face fear by aligning our thoughts to Truth. 
5. In week 8, God taught me to embrace the artist He's made me to be. He revealed how art and creativity opens doors in missions that would otherwise remain closed.
6. During week 9, two of our leaders- Lauren and Natalia- taught that our identity is not who we are, but Whose we are.
7. Week 10 absolutely blew me away! Throughout the entire week, God revealed through the teachers His endless love. We had many tears and great rejoicing as God spoke about His endless, reckless, forever, unconditional love!
8. The lecturers of week 11 spoke in depth about unreached peoples, a passion God has put heavily on my heart. 

Hiking together

A view of Worcester

Not everything proved enjoyable. I often missed my family. I loved the DTS staff but struggled to connect with fellow students. I became frustrated whenever someone would be lazy or complain, then felt ashamed for my impatience and shallow love. Spending time in the Word and prayer every morning kept me steady. I needed to rely on God to in a way I never have before. He truly became everything to me, especially when I was still getting to know those around me. He gently carried me through each day, kindly blessing me and forgiving me when I stumbled. Quiet time with Lord every morning was definitely a foundational stone to my DTS experience. God told me to go to Worcester and He came first for me. I learned to live in integrity and leave what (and who) I couldn't control to the Lord. His word truly was my daily bread and living water.

Until it became too cold in the mornings, I would sit under this weeping willow on the corner of the property. Where God's presence comes is truly Holy Ground. This spot quickly became a sacred place where I went to meet God.

Our leaders loved on us like family. We were welcome to their house and hearts. I have nothing but admiration for them; they live dependent on God for all they need, see so many people come and go, are ripped within by loving only to say goodbye... yet still they serve God passionately and faithfully.

Every week after the last lecture on Thursday, we gathered for a class picture in front of the glory hall.

Also every week a few of us students were in charge of leading school worship and intercession. What a privilege and learning experience it was to pray together in small groups and creatively find ways to come before the Lord. For intercession we integrated dramas, symbolizing what we were praying for (ei washing the feet of others) or walking as if we were in the place we were praying for (ei walking between rows of the chairs to show the rivers separating a group of islands, Islas de Marajo). For worship, we often sang but also included "different" ways of praising God. One time we all played instruments and danced as we sang a song together. Another time (depicted above) we played simple games together to learn about God's desire for us to trust Him and create a culture of trust within His body.

Each student was paired with one of the staff members for a weekly one-on-one time. I had the absolute, wonderful blessing of walking with Lorena! She listened to, challenged and encouraged me every time we met for a our weekly hour to touch base. She prayed with me and always welcomed me when I needed someone to talk to. She taught me valuable lessons from the wisdom God has given her. My time with her showed me what Jesus meant when He said "Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old" (Matt. 13)

The mountains surrounding Worcester always stopped me in my tracks, causing my heart to worship God. One time when I was talking to a local student, I told her how blessed she was to grow up with these mountains around her. She replied that they had become boring because she saw them every day. I was struck by this comment, because it made me stop and think, how often to I take for granted the wonderous blessings God surrounds me with daily? How often do I stop to praise Him, even for the breath I breathe?

Broken

shattered piece

inadequate

unable

lying down

upon the

ground

picked up

held

used

made beautiful

not by self

by in the

hands

As life settled into a rhythm, challenges were faced and fun times celebrated, Worcester base became a home for me.

Of course there was always something going on... The boys in our class made sure of that. We quickly became known as a loud, energetic group.

Easter was one of the hardest times for me to be away from home. My mom always makes Passion week special, a time to contemplate the enormity of Christ's sacrifice and victory. The Holy Spirit taught me how to carry that forward. He led me to read the passion week story in all four gospels, which filled me with grief, gratitude and awe. During one of the lectures, our teacher invited us to write down our fears on a paper, nail them to the cross, then take a leaf declaring "free" to symbolize growth and new life through the release Christ won for us.

The Lord, in His great kindness, brought my attention to this small egg shell on the ground Easter day. I was deeply touched by the reality of leaving behind the cramped containment for life!

Every Tuesday we went for local outreach. For the first two months, we taught morning Bible study at a local primary school- of course, the teaching had to be creative! This experience proved rewarding and stretching. Some kids made sweets notes for us, asked questions about Christ or gave their lives to the Lord. Other kids distracted the class or outright fought with each other. 

The last month we worked with a young children's Bible study club and a soccer ministry in a low-income and gang ruled part of town. Both outreach locations prepared our hearts to served children in our DTS outreach phase.

Local outreach at the kid's Bible study.

Stunning beauty

How can it be

from any source

aside from Beauty

Himself?

On the weekend the base kitchen staff (local missionaries themselves who volunteer their service every week for no pay, trusting God to financially provide for them) got a break. A team from one of the schools would cook instead. Our group had a blast under the supervision of Anderson and Natalia, a married couple who were Troubadour staff.

Our teachers pushed us to use creative means to share how Truth affects modern issues. In the photo above, a group of us used frozen imagery (think human statues) to depict God's plan for school, parent and government relationship.

Rocked

foundation

firm

storm

around

peace

grounded

rain too

fear

anger

Lord,

still

me

even as

You

shake

my

view

turn it

upside-

down

to see

eternally

like

You

Roses have been a symbol of healing and freedom for me. God continued to use the roses outside of glory hall to speak to me about His love, passion, power and grace.

During the Father Heart of God week, we painted masks. We were given no instructions aside from "decorate this mask however you'd like." Amazingly, each mask revealed so much about the artist's heart. God uses our words and actions to show us what's going on inside.

Days before we left the base for our school outreach, about half of the students were baptized as they rededicated their lives to the Lord! I won't forget the beautiful demonstration of God's body uniting as various base staff and students gathered to witness the baptisms.

Several of the students testified first, telling how they had been running full speed away from the Lord before He used DTS to recapture their heart.

Waiting by the pool

You approach me,

seek me out, asking

"Do you want to get well?"

Coming to the well

to have an empty-

handed Lord say

"I have living water"

Amidst a stormy sea

shouting in fear at

the approaching figure

who declares, "Fear not!

It is I!"

Come to the water

there He transforms

not washing alone

but death to suffocate

the old, introducing

new life.

Victory in Christ!

Many birthdays were celebrated throughout the lecture phase. Our staff never ceased to make the day special with a card signed by the entire class, birthday cake, singing and speeches. One student even turned 21 and the staff threw a wonderful party for him! I deeply appreciated seeing how the Troubadour staff poured themselves into serving us with the love of Christ. I hope to follow their example whenever God places me in a leadership position. I'm thankful they were honest with us, telling us about their own struggles and pointing us always back to Christ, showing how they depended on Him each day for love to serve us.

The last week of lectures: missions week! Learning about the need for God's light across the world, being equipped to share in creative yet simple ways, and being reminded that the work is in His hands not ours.

After nearly three months of preparation, practice, and (a lot of) patience, "Baggage" was ready! The main purpose of the show is for use as an evangelism tool, but we performed our first presentation on base for the local community and YWAM missionaries.

Makeup time!

Dressed and ready, waiting to go on stage!

You can still watch the show Baggage and its explanation!

Then came outreach prep... We cleaned out our rooms, packed up the classroom, decided what to take, re-thought decisions, unpacked and repacked... then were finally ready to leave.

From one adventure to the next!

(See following blog posts for the outreach phase!)