The Fear of The Lord (Week 5)

Fear of the Lord = intimate friendship

-Psalm 22:23, 33:8, 89:6-7- "You who fear the Lord, praise Him...", "Let all the earth fear the Lord...", "For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?"

-Proverbs 8:13- "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.."

-Proverbs 3:5-7, 16:6, 23:17- "Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil.", "Through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil", "always be zealous for the fear of the Lord".

Awe- a feeling of deep wonder and respect for overpowering grandeur.

Reverence- Regard with affectionate awe.

Honor- To treat someone or something, according to their actual value.

Fear of the Lord- Seeing God for who He really is and respond accordingly.


If I do fear God I want to value what is important to Him.


Wrong attitudes about sin:

1. "If we know we can be forgiven we can sin without it being a big deal."

           (But forgiveness cost God everything! It is a big deal!)
   
     2. "We have to work really, really hard not to sin, because we are afraid of the consequences."
         
           (That would mean your view of God is based on fear, not a relationship.)

     3. "The more I sin the more I feel unworthy to receive forgiveness."

           (Jesus came to deliver His people from sin.)


           
How sins develop: 

Tempted--> Sin--> Weight on your will--> Habit--> Bondage (trapped)

-Psalm 25:4-5- "Show me you ways, o Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my savior, and my hope is in you all day long."

How do we avoid Sin? 

1. Recognize it's our choice
2. Get honest with ourselves and God
3. Ask for God's help
4. Be diligent
5. Deal with our sin: 

           -Confession- admitting there's a problem

           -Repentance- ask for forgiveness

           -Renounce- saying "no more" 

           -Restitution- bring back to original state. 

*Teaching by Dawn Borchers

The Goal of DTS (Week 5)

What is a disciple?
It's a student who is continually learning from our teacher, who is Jesus.

Foundations:

We have to dig down and prepare a foundation for life in order to stand firm.



-Matthew 7:24- "Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."

Google Images

• Built on the rock (God)
• The right priorities (Seek first His Kingdom)
• Knowing God is Holy (He never did anything wrong)
• Repenting (Get your heart right)
• Knowing the Father (through the Son)

You can't build your foundation on someone else's experiences.

You can't know and trust God if you don't know Him. 

Praying- is inviting God to have His will done on earth. 

God is saying: "You request, and I will answer."

-Matthew 6:9-13

We need to pray and meditate on the Lord's prayer not just repeat it. 

"Our Father in Heaven

hollowed be your name,

your kingdom come, 

your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread. 

And forgive our debtors, 

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, 

but deliver us from the evil one."

Stop and think about every word!

To Know God and Make Him Known:

Not to know about God, (but to really know Him), then we can go out and tell others of our personal encounter with Him. 

-Hebrews 3:10- "They didn't know His character, neither did they enter His rest."

-Isaiah 6:3- "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts."

Holy- historically blameless, 100% right, faultless. 

Pure- not living for yourself.

-John 14:6- "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." 

Jesus is the Way, Truth, Life to the Father. 

If He isn't your Way, Truth, and Life you have no way to the Father. 

God's Character:

God has a mind, free will, and emotions.

God's love is totally meaningless if you don't have a choice to love Him. 

Love is not an emotion, Love is a choice.

Love is choosing the highest good for God, others, and yourself.

Luke 6:32- "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them."



1 Corinthians 13- " If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror;then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."


We were created with intrinsic value because we were created in the image of God.

If you take God out of the picture, your value depends on how useful you are.


Sin: 

Sin is:
a choice to gratify self, selfishness, rebellion

Sin is not:
an accident, a sickness, a temptation, or transferable

*Teaching by Warren Keapproth

Team Uganda 2013!

Please keep us in your prayers as we 

prepare for outreach and grow closer 

together as a team over the next few 

months. Also, as we raise the funds needed 

for all of us to get to Uganda! Thanks! 

The Father Heart of God (Week 4)

I am His favorite!
(You may be wondering how everyone can be his favorite, but it's similar to a father who loves all his children equally).

If we don't know who He is as a Father, we really don't know who we are. If you know who He is as a perfect Father you will know who you are as a son/daughter.


Our greatest challenge is to try to picture God. In any ways that we see Him wrong it affects our relationship with Him.

The foundation of our relationship with God is undeserved love.


God's plan was to put a father in our lives to provide some of the aspects of who He is. But of course, no father is perfect, except Him. God wants us to look through the revelation of who He is as a Father, not who our earthly father is.

How does God see you when you sin?
The answer we come up with is directly related to how your own father made you feel.
That is not, however the way God really sees you.

Types of fathers (typically your earthly father will fall under one or more of these categories):
1. The good father: always there for you, encouraging and supportive
    -(God wants us to fully rely on Him, not our earthly father.)

2. The performance oriented father: the only way you belong is if you do everything well
    -(You become more and more religious and less relationship oriented.)

3. A passive father: caught up in his own things, in the room but not emotionally engaged, related to his own needs, not there for you.
    -(Your heart says you have a difficult time believing that God has time for you, He may seem far away.)

4. The absent father: not there for you, he's absent.
    -(May have difficult time drawing close to God because you have a fear He will leave you.)

5. The authoritarian father: rule abider, at any costs he majors on the truth.
    -(You may think God is harsh, overbearing, and unforgiving.)

6. The abusive father: abuses his kids emotionally, physically, sexually, etc.
   -(You may struggle a lot with shame, you may have identity problems, you believe you are the problem,         you were created wrong from the beginning.)


Truths about God found in scripture: 

• Mark 1:40-42 

        Everything Jesus did was done our of compassion

        He is approachable.

        He is not detached emotionally.

        He was moved be the leper.

        He will restore you back from everything the enemy took from you.

• John 8:7-11

        He is non-condemning.

        He asks us questions when He already knows the answer so that we can get the revelation in our heart              for a lifetime.

        He doesn't focus on our sin, He gives a solution instead.
        He is a defender.

• Matthew 14:13-21

         He is a releaser, not a control freak. 

         He wanted them to believe themselves.

         Everyone followed Him because He was exciting.

         He is an equipter. 

         Out of His compassion He fed them. 

• John 13:3-11

         Jesus humbled Himself and washed their feet (only servants and children did this back then). 

         A servant Father, He stoops down to make us great. 

• Philippians 2

         Becoming humble like Him.

Jeremiah 1:5 "uprooting, tearing down, so there can be a building up and planting."

Hebrews 1:3 "Jesus is an exact representation of the Father."

October 2012

The Father is not distant and far away or unapproachable, He is closer than a brother! 

Seeking Him:

Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart"

You will find God to the degree that you seek Him with a pure heart and reckless abandon. 

Why do we need to seek God to find Him? For relationship. 

God is a gift giving father He wants to give. Keep pursuing boldly and you'll get what you are asking for.  

The reason we don't always find God is because we give up, and we aren't bold enough. 

How often does God think of us? 

Psalm 139:17-18 "God's thoughts toward you outnumber the grains of sand...they are precious thoughts."

Isle of Palms

Isaiah 49:15 -How can your God forget you?

Let's ask God: "In the areas that I missed out you would parent me and fill in those holes?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This was a very challenging week for us! Most of us grew up with "daddy issues" so there were a lot of tears as we processed and wrote letters of forgiveness to our dads. Even though we are not actually showing these to our dads it was a very powerful time of letting go. It was a hard week, but also a promising time as we looked at how our Perfect our Heavenly Father is and no matter how our upbringing was, God is always there for us and He will never leave us, and He cares so much about us, infinitely more than any earthly father ever could.  Also, it was very sobering to realize how much we really do relate to God in the exact way that we do with our earthly fathers. We have to train our minds not to think that way anymore. It will be a process, but I am so thankful God allowed me to hear this and begin to take it to heart. My prayer throughout this lecture phase is for God to revel His character to me so that I can become closer and closer to Him, so this teaching was very helpful in realizing who He really is. It was a little glimpse, and I can't wait for Him to continue to give me little pieces of who He is as I continue in this DTS. 

My hope is that I can also bring these subjects to you and hopefully teach you something as well. Please comment if you have any questions about this subject or any others. 

*Teaching by Ted Gerry and Paul Allen

DTS Has Been Like This

During Quite Time this morning I listed to this song and I realized the lyrics were describing my experience here at Discipleship Training School. Even though I've grown up in church and I've been a Christian for a while now I still feel like this time is allowing me to see things for the first time. God's been opening my eyes to how much He truly loves me and how I can know Him more. I can't help but thank God for allowing me to become closer to Him! Listen to this song and then read the lyrics and see if you can relate.

                                                       

                                                     "Seeing For The First Time"

I lay here under the stars in awe of who You are
You've never been so real
I'll never understand it fully
Lost here in Your beauty
No words could say how I feel

It's like I'm seeing for the first time
Like You opened my eyes to show me
Everything I've missed before
And I want more

I used to think we were worlds apart
But look, here You are
Let's stay here for awhile
Where heaven touches earth, my heart begins to turn
I've never felt so alive

It's like I'm seeing for the first time
Like You opened my eyes to show me
Everything I've missed before
And I want more

How many years did You plan this moment here
To show me how You love me
How many years did you plan this moment here
To show me how You love me

It's like I'm seeing for the first time
Like You opened my eyes to show me
Everything I've missed before
It's like I'm seeing for the first time
Like You opened my eyes to show me
Everything I've missed before
And I want more of You

I want more... I want more...
More More More More

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/brittnicole/seeingforthefirsttime.html

Clean Conscience (Week 3)

The story of Gideon: 

Judges chapters 6 through 8

Google Images

God wants to use us to bring a great deliverance (like Gideon). He starts at home, with a simple thing.

What steps does God lead Gideon through:

     1. Destroy the alters and idols (anything above God, or even concepts of God that are not true, or fear).

     2. Reconciliation

Reconciliation: 

Reconciliation means: Repentance, humility, forgiveness, confession, admitting what we did wrong, making right, mending together.


Colossians  1:20- "...and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."

2 Corinthians 5:19- "...that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

Romans 2:15-  "They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)"


When God wanted to reconcile Himself to us He: died on the cross and forgave our sins. 



Fear of Man: 

Proverbs 29:25- "Fear of man will be like a trap, and God wants to bring freedom." 

How do you get rid of fear of man? 

It starts with a correct view of who God is, because sometimes unintentionally we see people as bigger than Him. We care more about what they think than what God thinks. We have to start caring more about God's approval than man's approval.  


Psalm 8


Fear of man leaves when you realize who God is and who you are in Him. 

Love displaces fear. Perfect love casts out fear. 

1 John 4:18- "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."


God, I want your smile to be the most important in my life.

Hearing God's Voice (Week 2)

God is a God of the Nations
You are a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven

The Kingdom of God is a culture of life:
    Deuteronomy 30:19-20
    Choose LIFE (through our love relationship with Him) so that you may LIVE, not just you but your decedents, and those who you come in contact with.

October 2012

    You will make a difference to the degree that you choose Him.

    Jesus didn't come to make Christians He came to make disciples.

    How can we worship God if we don't know Him?

    God is a communicator. Everything exists because He communicated it.

    John 10:3 and 14
        "The sheep listen to the Good Shepherd and He calls us by name."
        "I know them and they follow me."

    He knows how to speak to each of us in a way that we can truly understand.

In order to hear God's voice we need:
   - A relationship with Him
   - To listen to Him
   - To spend time with Him
   - To talk to Him
   - To make eye contact with Him

God does not want to sit in the passenger seat of your life and only be approached when times are tough, but think about it, that is exactly what most of us do.

We need to talk with God during everything, even the small things, in our lives so that He will also talk to us when we need His answers in the major decisions of life.

God wants to enjoy the things that we enjoy, together with us.

There is no sacred and secular with God. He wants to be included in everything we do.

There are so many things we don't know about God, because we don't ask of Him. Jeremiah 33:3.

October 2012

How do you know that it's God?
It's not a formula it's a process.
Psalm 145:19, Psalm 37:4.
It can either be God, the Enemy, or yourself.
We can begin to know which voice it is by knowing the character of each.

The character of God (Holy Spirit): John 6:63 "life giver", 2 Corinthians 3:6, John 16:13 "the spirit of truth", John 14:17, John 16:7 "the counselor/helper",  John 14:26 "teacher", John 16:8 "convictor", Romans 8:26 "intercessor", Acts 9:31 "comforter", 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 "gift giver", Galatians 5:22-23 "giver of the fruits of the spirit".

Enemy: Revelation 12:10 "accuser", 1 Peter 5:8 "devourer/adversary", 2 Corinthians 4:4 "blinder of the mind", John 8:44 "murderer, liar", John 10:10 "thief, kill, steal, destroy", Matthew 4:3 "tempter", Revelation 12:9 "deceiver", 1 Timothy 3:6 "condemnation".

October 2012

3 Questions to take to God:
1. What is your expectation level that you can hear God on a daily basis?
2. How hungry are you to know God for yourself?
3. What are you willing to put into this relationship with God?




*Teaching by Kathy Ryan

Quite Time Best Practices (Week 2)

We were created for relationships; so we can know Him and He can know us.

October 2012

Jeremiah 9:23-24
John 17:3

How do you get to know someone?
Ask them questions, communicate with them often, spend time with them, allow yourself to get close to them.
This is exactly how we get to know God too!

You can never spend too much time with the Lord, it's not possible!

Why do we need a Quite Time?
1. To know God
2. To prepare our hearts
3. To cleanse us
4. To renew our minds
5. To feed and sustain our spirit

What should we do in our Quite Time?
Talk to Him, Listen to Him, Pray to Him, Read His Word, Meditate on His Word, Worship Him, etc.
It's different for everyone, there is no right or wrong way to do it.

So go try it! See how God speaks to you!

We have had an hour each morning for Quite Time here at DTS. I really enjoy this time to just be with God, just He and I, with little distractions. It really is a sweet time, and it sets the course for the whole day. I would really encourage you to try it out and make a time for it, even if you are "too busy". I have to admit when I was at home I didn't always do it, so coming here it's been a somewhat hard to get into the habit of it. To think of ways to fill the hour. But now that we've been here a month, I have found a rhythm and I would even say, now that it is my favorite part of the day! It's amazing how close God is to us, and when we spend time with Him we really start to understand just how close He really is.

"If He isn't your Way, Truth, and Life, you have no way to the Father"

Intro to Discipleship Training School (Week 1)

So, I want to explain what a YWAM Discipleship Training School is like. 

Here's an overview:

It is set up a lot like a Christian college, that is the best way to explain it. So all the students and some staff live at the school. We have 41 students and about 20 staff. Our schedule looks a lot like this: 

Morning: Breakfast, quiet time, worship, class (twice a week: small group, once a week: intersession, dangerous territory)

Afternoon: Lunch, community responsibilities, free time (once a week: local outreach or global outreach prep)

Night: Dinner, free time, (twice a week: study hall, once a week: focus night, small group outings)

Weekends:
Saturday-outings or free day
Sunday-Church, laundry, internet time, free time

Our class time consists of different speakers every week teaching on different subjects. So far we've had:

• Quiet Time-Best Practices
• Hearing God's Voice
• The Father Heart of God
• Intersession
• Relationships in Community
• Clean Conscience
• The Goal of Our Instruction
• The Fear of the Lord

Our small groups are made up of 5-7 students and 2 staff members each. We get together to discuss class material, what we've been learning, what God's been showing us through it, and just to get to know each other more, pray for each other, and encourage each other. We also have a 1 on 1 time with one of our small group leaders. This is a time set aside that we can really process what we are learning, tell them the things we wouldn't tell anyone else, and it's a time for the staff member to really pour into our lives, give advice, pray for, encourage, and always be there for them in times of need. 

Focus nights are every Wednesday night. This is a time to focus on a particular people group overseas where there are children at risk. We watch a documentary about this group of people or get information on them, then we pray for them. This allows us to gain a heart for the nations and the children who are at risk around the world. It's very heartbreaking to see what hardships they are going through, but it's very eyeopening and insightful. It's so amazing that we can pray for them and make a difference through interceding for them without actually having to go there. 

Dangerous Territory is a time where we discuss different religions from about the world, discuss the bible and study it, and discuss how we can take the most dangerous book in the world (The Bible) to the nations.

Intercession is a time where we are given a nation to pray for. First we learn about it, then we ask God to show us what and who we need to pray for. (Right now we are praying for Bhutan, a Buddhist nation). 

So there is a basic overview of what we do, what we learn, and how things work here. 

Next, I'll post more about each subject we've learned about in class and also what we are focusing on at Focus Nights.

Survivor Camping in Pictures

Our tribe on the 5 hour bus ride to Northern WI

The corrupt government as we went through customs

They made us do many silly things

Single file line marching to "DTS Safe Zone" 

The corrupt government riding around in their Gator!

Beautiful Lake

Team games...

We won!!

I'm Going Back!

Outreach!!

So...... I'm going back to Uganda, Africa for my outreach with YWAM! Our team will be made up of 7 people and we will be there for all of January and February!! We will be working with kids, but we don't know where yet. Pray that God will give clarity to the leaders that will be planning our time there. I am already close to my team members but I'm so excited to get to know them better before we go on this amazing adventure together! Also, please pray that the finances come in for not only me but the other team members too. We have a little less than 3 months to raise the money (about $4,000). I am not worried about it! God has proven time and time again that He is my Provider, and I know He loves to show His greatness by providing through others. But of course, we still doubt sometimes, because we are human.

As a school we also do local outreaches here in Madison. I chose to work with international children at an after-school program called Eagle Heights. All of the children are Asian, and they are between the ages of 5 and 12. If you know me well, you know that I love Asians! So this is an awesome reality for me to be able to interact with them every other Tuesday! We just went for the first time today! We played games, did crafts, and had a snack together. It was great to get to know them, and I can't wait to see them next time! Most of them are from China and they speak both Mandarin and English! I was so excited to discover that, since I have a huge heart for China! I am so very privileged to get to work with them right here in Madison! 

God is really spoiling me! I get to work with Chinese children and Ugandan children in the next 6 months!

Pictures are Online

If you want to see some pictures of my new life here I've uploaded them to Picasa Web Albums. Check them out here: 

https://picasaweb.google.com/115416775726947989421/YWAMMadison02

I'll be adding more there in the future too. It's much easier to upload them there then it would be to put them all on this blog. (Of course, I do upload them to FB, as well). 

Enjoy! 

Survivor Camping Trip

   The whole point of this Survivor Camping was to get a glimpse of how many people all around the world live in similar conditions on a daily basis. Of course, many people are treated much worse; they are beaten by the corrupt governments in their own countries, and denied from any food or shelter. We were doing this so we could relate, in a small way, to them with some of the feelings and experiences they were dealing with. Also, another point of this is to see what kind of conditions we could be in if we go into foreign missions, or even to prepare us for outreach. It was hard for a lot of us to not focus on how we were feeling and how hard it was to do  the extreme camping and deal with the corrupt government. We noticed a lot of us had the same feelings of: anger, bitterness, tiredness, and injustice. Once we shared our feelings and our struggles we realized these are some of the same things that people all over the world are going through on a daily basis. We only were going through a small sliver of what they go though for 4 days (originally). We then watched some videos about the child soldiers and LRA in Gulu, Uganda and how the children had to leave their villages every night to walk to the city in order to sleep safely. If they didn't go they would be risking there lives by being taken by the LRA during a “night raid” on their villages. The young boys would be forced to join the LRA, which would involve killing others, even their own family members. And the young girls would be forced to become sex slaves for the LRA. These videos really broke our hearts and helped us to not focus so much on our current feelings/circumstances, but on theirs. Since we now had a tiny glimpse into what they may be feeling it was beginning to stir our hearts to how we could help. We then had Quiet Time and worship while we asked God what he was teaching us during this time, and what rights we needed to surrender to Him (such as: the right to shelter, the right to 3 meals a day, the right to sleep, etc.) This has really been an awakening experience for me once I got past the feelings of anger, jealousy, and tiredness. This must be what others around the world are feeling who go through similar injustices.

   Another part of the game was to go out and minister to the other tribes and the government to get to know them and tell them about Jesus, trying to convert them to Christianity, by asking the right questions. All the while, the corrupt government was out patrolling the roads, trying to stop us from spreading the gospel. They did a really good job, we had to try 3 different times before we actually reached another tribe. They kept sending us back to our base, when they caught us, but finally we went off the road and just found our way through the woods.

   When we finally arrived at the location, which turned out to be YWAM North Woods in Northern Wisconsin, we were all dropped off by the bus driver. He told us to stay there until a leader came. It was pitch dark, except the light from the moon and starts. We were all amazed, though, by the amount of stars we saw in the sky. It was a really clear night and we were in the middle of nowhere. I had never seen so many stars in my life! After a few minutes a leader came and told us to go find “baggage claim” to get our bags. We had to follow the instructions given to each tribe. We had to walk a long time on the road until we came across the government riding over to us on a gator. They shined the lights on our bags and we all quickly grabbed our bags, mats, and sleeping bags. Once we got them we followed the government to “Customs”. They had the building set up very similar to an airport customs area. It was interesting to walk in an see the staff members all serious and with army clothing on, it was hard not to laugh. We were told to get in a line. They kept saying “wrong line” once we got up to the desk. There was only one right line, so we all had to find out the right one and get in that one. When it was our turn they made us show our passport, take off our coats, shoes, belts, empty all our pockets, and give them our bags to search.  They searched everything and took random things from us, but we didn't argue because we weren't sure what they would do. Once we all got through customs we were given a team supply bag that had some supplies for cooking, eating, and making a fire pit. Next it was time to get our rations. They rudely asked us random questions about our passports (we had to have the information memorized). We got a tiny dot of toothpaste to put on our toothbrushes, a small amount of toilet paper, and a tiny bowl of uncooked mixed beans and rice. We were told this was for breakfast and lunch the next day. I didn't think they were really serious, I thought for sure they would give us something else in addition, but they didn't  Once we got our rations we were each escorted by tribe to our different bases (campsites). They were roped off with tape and very small.   We had 11 people on our tribe, so we had to figure out how to fit everyone under a shelter we made out of a tarp and some yarn they had given us. We put everyone’s mat on the ground and sleeping bags on top. Next, we dug a fire pit and got some twigs for a fire later. Then we heard the air hone blow. That meant it was time to play capture the flag. Each team had a team flag and some smaller colored ribbons we had to put around our waist. Each team was to send several people out to capture the other team’s flag’s and try to also get people out by grabbing their ribbon off of them. If they got out they had to be taken to the government and held hostage until the game was over. Each team also had to have a few members back at their base to protect the team flag. I was one of those for our team. It was quite hard because we kept hearing noises in the woods, that turned out to be leaves falling, or animals, but we kept thinking someone was coming. No one actually found our base, since it was nestled at the bottom of a hill and off of the trail. We did well, but none of the teams ended up getting any team flags. When the game was over it was time for bed.  We had to sleep close together to keep warm. We didn't end up going to bed until midnight. I slept pretty well despite being on the hard lumpy ground. We were rudely awoken 4 hours later by a “night raid”. Some of the government had snuck up on our base and lit some fire crackers and set off some smoke bombs. Then they screamed “Get up! Get up!” So we all jumped up out of our sleeping bags and we very startled. But then they left so we were all confused as to what we were supposed to do. We didn't know if this was the wake-up call for the day or not. So some of us started to get our shoes on and get our things together. Before long they came back to intimidate us more. They asked us why some of us were getting ready. Then they lied and said it was only 2 in the morning we should go back to sleep. Then as they were leaving they asked us why we don’t have a fire, and that we should make one. It really confused us, but we decided to just go back to sleep. So we all slept until about 7:30. Then we got ready and started a fire for our breakfast of rice and beans. We boiled them in water for a little while, but not long enough because they were still crunchy. We weren't sure how much time we’d have to eat, so we went ahead and tried our best to eat some. It was really gross, but we were all really hungry. Soon after we heard the air horn blowing, which meant it was time to meet at the “government territory”. Our team ended up being the first one to arrive, which they liked, but we still had to do some random things for them. They made us do jumping jacks, star jumps, pretended to be lions, and made a 10 person pyramid. Finally, some other teams arrived. So they told us to just sit down and watch them do the random things. Since we were first to arrive we were able to pick 3 people from our tribe to get a ride in the back of the gator. I was one of them, thankfully. Everyone else had to run after the gator and try keep up, (except our team was allowed to walk). Once we got to the building we all transitioned into it being “DTS Safe Zone”. It was funny to see all the staff members turn back into being our staff instead of the corrupt government. It was really relieving knowing that we were safe there, though. Then Paul (the school leader) spoke to us on the goals of survivor. It was great to finally get some insight on why we were really doing this. 

   We played some team building games, and finished the day. We ate rice and beans for lunch and dinner as well.  Then after dinner we had to stop Survivor games because of some injuries and health concerns. Also, it was really cold and the wind was really blowing hard, so it was too dangerous to continue. We all slept inside the building that night and returned home early the next morning. Even though we weren't able to finish, I think it was a positive experience for everyone and we really learned a lot. I don’t think we will ever forget Survivor Camping! 

Back from Survivor!

We arrived back from our Survivor Camping Trip this morning around 11. We came back early due to a couple of minor injuries/health problems and because of the freezing temperatures (literally)! It was pretty miserable in the woods (when we were out of our sleeping bags) and the wind was very strong! We slept inside last night and returned back to the base early this morning. Everyone is safe and healthy (for the most part) now. Looking back it really was a great trip overall! I'm glad we got to experience it, but also glad to be back home! We sure do appreciate everything we have here so much more (not that we didn't before, but it's just a lot more now). We have so much here! We are all so glad to be back together as a family too!

I'm going to try my best to post all about our Survivor Camping Trip this weekend! We have the whole weekend free!

Also, I'm going to be uploading some pictures to an online photo album soon. (I didn't take pictures on our camping trip, because we weren't allowed to bring cameras, but one of the leaders took some, so I'll try to get them uploaded too).

Tomorrow

Tomorrow we leave the base to go on our Surviver Games Camping Trip! We are all excited, but nervous as well! We are only allowed to bring the necessities and it's going to get pretty cold at night! We don't have much information on how it will be, but we know it will be something we remember for the rest of our lives. We just packed (our one backpack worth of stuff) and we leave tomorrow after lunch and don't come back until Sat. night. I'll try to update next week sometime to let you know how it went.

Sorry I haven't updated the blog a lot, we don't get much time on the internet, plus we are busy all day! But I did write a newsletter last week, so check it out (by signing up).