Summer in November

Hello Everyone!

It has been a bit of time since I’ve given an update. The summer is here in Perth, as today I experienced my hottest day so far here- right at 100 degrees! I’m told it gets even hotter in January/February... around 110, but thankfully I’ll be in Mexico for most of that time.

The weeks are flying by. I can’t believe I’m at the end of week 7 already. Every week brings so many amazing new things as I gain deeper understanding of God and His purposes. God speaks something new every day. It is incredible to be in this environment of being in the presence of God, surrounded by so many devoted believers, all learning and growing in Him and impacting the places He calls us to go. I recognize that I am so blessed to be here and I thank you so much for sending me out! Your support is what got me here and onto this journey with God.

There is so much to say about these past three weeks. So much has happened! It would be far too much to type all my revelations and everything God has been speaking to me. I hope these summaries give you an idea of what God is teaching me.

Lecture Summaries:

Week 5, we had the topic “Spiritual Warfare”. I learned that prayer is our most powerful weapon against the enemy and therefore must be consistently involved in our lifestyles. We must ask God to open our eyes to the spiritual realm to effectively battle against the powers of darkness, pour in God’s presence, and be vessels to bring God’s Kingdom on earth.

We read "Eternity in their Hearts" by Don Richardson during weeks 5 and 6. This book is INCREDIBLE. Click here to see my book report.

Week 6, our topic was “Holy Spirit” taught by Peter Brownhill, the YWAM Perth base director. The teaching this week brought deeper understanding of the authority Christ gives us as believers and the church. This is the place from which every believer must move from: knowing our identity as a child of God and standing firm in our position with Christ. The more this truth is deeply rooted in our lives, the more effectively the Holy Spirit can move through us to work in the community and in other people’s lives and do amazing things!

This past week, our school leader, Danny Taylor, taught us about Spiritual Gifts and Apologetics. We learned that the gifts of the Spirit are used for the common good, to encourage others and to show the reality of God. Apologetics, or the defense of the gospel, can be used in love to give logical reasons for our faith when faced with unbelief. A good point Danny spoke to us is that “a person’s heart will never accept something their mind rejects.” Using apologetics, as led by the Holy Spirit, opens a person’s receptivity to follow Christ.

New Revelations:

God has been challenging me in my prayer life. He is calling me to become more disciplined, earnest, intensely passionate and committed in my prayer times. I have much growing to do in this area. I must be deliberate in increasing prayer in my lifestyle with the faith that I will see breakthrough as God moves through my devotion.

In light of this understanding about the power of prayer, I have been spending an hour in prayer and worship before evangelism outings. As I put this into practice, I notice my faith and level of expectancy is really increasing. I go into evangelism expecting God to do amazing things. Through the release of God’s power through prayer and the increase of my faith, my times in evangelism have been markedly more fruitful. Exciting to see this Biblical principle lived out in my own life!

God's challenge to me this week has been to step out in the gifts more. It has been a week of building up my faith. I feel that God is pouring more and more into me as a result of greater intimacy with Him and is encouraging me to take greater steps of faith. Putting this into practice, our school has spent time praying over one another to get words of encouragement from God, building one another up. It was miraculous to get messages for each other that were spot-on from God. Amazing that we have a God who looks for all kinds of ways to affirm and encourage us! How awesome is He.

Evangelism...

Amazing, amazing things have happened in evangelism this month. As a base, we have gone out twice (all 300 of us) into the city to publicly worship and share with people who stop and wonder what we are singing about. Through these times, we saw 2 salvations through meaningful conversations, many heard the gospel, and several received prayer. God is moving in this city and it is exciting to be apart of what He is doing!

One cool story from evangelism:

This friday, my school went in pairs to a nearby mall to allow God to lead us to anyone He wanted us to speak with, praying beforehand for words that would direct us to specific people. Okay, you might be thinking this is a bit strange, and I realize it's a bit "out-there" to walk up to someone random with a message from God, but it's amazing to witness the power of a specific message to bring faith and hope to a person's life. If it leads people closer to God, I'm all for it.

I was paired up with my classmate Miles. He got the word "fountain" so we went in search of a fountain in the mall. We finally came across a fountain and saw a woman sitting on a bench right next to it. We walked away to pray about the message God wanted to give her. We prayerfully agreed that God wanted to encourage her that He is taking care of her family. I approached her alone in case she would be uncomfortable with two people coming up to her. I told her that I'm a Christian and I was praying in the mall and felt that God had a specific message for her that He is taking care of her family, and not to worry because He loves her and will take good care of them. She looked at me with wonder in her eyes. She asked, "God sent you to me to tell me that?" and went on to tell me that she has been struggling to provide for her two girls because she is unemployed and is constantly worried about the future of her family. In fact, she had a job interview at a store in the mall in just 30 minutes and told me how nervous she was because she really needs the work. We agreed of how much God must love her to send someone to let her know that she doesn't need to worry, that He has it all under control. Then I asked if I could pray for her, which she gratefully accepted. I thanked God for his care and provision for her family and prayed for her interview- that peace would come over her and for the Holy Spirit to lead and guide her through each question. She started weeping as I spoke of God's love, faithfulness, and tender care over her life and His promise to never leave her. She was so touched by this encounter with the Lord. Isn't God amazing??

Everything in between...

So, Friday, November 19th, was my birthday! I had a WONDERFUL day. My friends on my school decorated our classroom and we had a fun time celebrating. I felt so loved all day long.

My friend Nikki who staffs at the Gold Coast base came to Perth this month to visit her family. We were able to spend time together a few times this month, which was such a blessing. It was so nice to see a familiar face.

I gave a devotion this week in front of my class, teaching about Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. I feel I am growing in a gift of teaching... I really enjoyed this and would like to pursue teaching more.

Concluding words...

OCC, you are in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your continued support. To my beloved family and friends- I miss you so much it hurts sometimes. I know I am in the center of God's will, which gives me great joy, but not a day goes by when I do not think of you. Thank you for your prayers, support, and unconditional love for me! I love you all very much.

Thank you for reading :) God bless.

Love,

Stephanie