Kansas City Circuit Riders

For a week me and my two amazing friends all flew to Kansas City Missouri to IHOP (International House of Prayer) for a revivalist training put on by Circuit Riders. What Circuit Riders is based upon is one man, John Wesley in 1703 who went on horseback telling all in America about the love of Jesus! He traveled over 250,000 miles to tell about the Good News! From John another was brought to this Francis Asbury who brought a handful of selfless men going out to tell about the Gospel. Since July 2011 this school was birthed to train up men and women who would give their lives to tell the ends of the earth about the simple Gospel of Jesus.

We had amazing teaching from Brian Brennt, Andy Byrd, Lou Engle and while bring there at IHOP we were so blessed to have teaching from Mike Bickle and Benjamin Nolot! Each person really shared their hearts for what God was doing in America and the nations, what God was saying over this generation, how to share the Gospel from love, and loving God above all.

From this one week the biggest way Jesus changed my heart was the passion I have now more than ever for people who don't know the Truth of Jesus and His love for them and the free gift of life He gives to us. No matter how many times I get rejected from someone who doesn't want to hear about Jesus, there may just be one who will be forever changed.That first and foremost I cannot be ready to do this unless everyday I am fueled with Jesus' love flowing through me and my relationship with Him being the most important.
Matthew 22:36-39
"You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

I know that throughout history and today there have been many who say they follow Jesus and have completely disrespected people and tearing down others. Many have distorted the view of Jesus and what His heart is for. Through that, many don't know who Jesus really is and His true love and heart on things. That He desires that every single human being would know His love for them and that dying on the cross was joyful to Him because He could have relationship with all of us forever if we believe and confess in Jesus! That each one of us mean the world to Him and He is fighting and pursuing our hearts for us to search and know Him more.

We had great teaching from Andy Byrd of simple obedience to Our Father and that the small things really do make the biggest impact.
Matthew 6:6b
"Pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
That if we want peace to understand God and His ways than we have to give up the understanding of His ways sometimes.
Isaiah 55:8
"For my (God) thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord."
Some times we have to be like David, that all the complexities of God who created the Heavens and the
Earth David knew it was too much for his knowledge and he just worshiped and loved God for who He was and all that David already knew!
Psalm 139:5-6
"You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it."
David was a man after God's own heart.

Whatever your life looks like, that the call on your life is the deep rest with The Lord and your intimate relationship with Him. Rest equals trust. We trust Him when we rest with Him.

Revival in America is happening! Those who know that earthly things do not fulfill them and those who are searching for the Truth are wanting and asking to accept Jesus into their lives! God is using on fire zealous YOUNG people to go out and tell about His love that changed their own hearts and the walls in hearts of others are breaking down! We are going out in love and connecting with people with where their lives are at now and where a lot of us have also been. We tell them about what Jesus did in our hearts and lives and the [Freedom] of being saved and what we are saved from! We are going out to where Jesus called us to go and trying to be as loving as Jesus would be.
Mark 2:15-17
"And as he (Jesus) reclines at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.  And the scribes of the Pharisees, and when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to the disciples, "why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And when Jesus heard it, he said to them "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

God isn't intimated by sin or people who choose to sin, He loves them! He wants to use us to present Him to them and tell them the Truth of the [Simple] Gospel.

When I went on the street to tell people about Jesus I got to talk with 4 people. None of them wanted to accept Jesus but I have great joy first in obeying Jesus, second in being able to pray and talk with them to continue to know of Jesus' love for them. I went out with one girl and one guy and we first went into this restaurant and talked with the hostess there for quite awhile. She told us her story and we were able to cry and pray with her. We got to speak about the love that she is loved with and that God is fighting after her heart and life. She appreciated us coming and talking with her!
After that I saw this restaurant called "Melting Pot" and I remember when me and my roommates where praying for one of our friends to know Jesus, I tried to pray "God please turn their heart from stone to flesh" for that is the greatest miracle is when a hardened heart softens, but it came out of my mouth as "God please turn their heart from stone to a 'melting pot' of flesh." My roommates made fun of me for that as I also thought it was funny, but I didn't know there was a restaurant that was called 'Melting Pot' so it was a clear sign for me to go in. Before though we prayed to see who we should talk to and when we do this God sometimes will give us pictures of things or words in our mind so that we can be lead by the Spirit. This is called treasure hunting and is exciting when you get a picture from God and it actually happens! So I got a picture of a girl with blonde hair and the other guy I was with also got blonde hair. When we went downstairs we see in the front two girls with blonde hair! God was speaking to us! So we start to talk to them and tell them about Jesus and both already knew and believed in Him so we just encouraged them. We also asked God what He wanted to say to them, what He loved about them and who He created them to be. I love doing this because it really builds people up, encourages them and in those moments God really speaks through me and I love getting to focus solely on others! In 1 Corinthians Paul tells us to earnestly desire to prophesy and so I earnestly desire and ask for that and what other way to believe that we have it than to start walking out and doing it for others. Plus I feel reliant on God, so joyful and fulfilled when I do it.
After that a girl walked in and I went over to her and asked her about her tattoo which she tells me is a Buddhist symbol. So I told her that I believe in Jesus and just wanted to share with her what I felt God wanted to say and she accepted my request and was very polite! I told her that Jesus wanted to show her His love for her and shared about the Gospel. She said thank you very much and I left after that, it was wonderful!

When we left to go back to our dorm my friends and I were so filled with joy and excitement over what God had done through us and being able to share about Him with these people. Sometimes it is scary when we go out and do this but we really have nothing to be afraid of. Let us be like Paul,
Philippians 3:7-8
"For whatever gain I had I count it as loss for the sake of Christ, count everything as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."

If we already believe in God then we are called to love others and there is nothing more loving than telling people who don't know about Jesus who He is, what He did for them and what they are saved from when they believe in Him. We should not worry about what others think, say or do because Jesus was misunderstood, denied, rejected and killed when He shared about who He was and the Truth about believing in Him.
Mark 16:15"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." 

Me, Juanita, Ansley (my two friends who came with me) Tyler (our new friend we met there)

IHOP Kansas City, MO

Forever Changed~Part 1

Where do I begin?
I just want to tell all who read this that this is my first blog post. This is more of an overview of the 12 weeks in Hawaii at YWAM. I have now learned the importance of blogging throughout the journey. More posts to come about the past 6 months of my life and about my future plans.

The past 6 months have transformed and changed my life into a passionate, running after God, ruined for ordinary life experience! I was apart of YWAM (Youth With A Mission) that is an international organization that is all dedicated in knowing God and making Him known throughout the world. Everyone who is apart of YWAM are all volunteers! From the founders to the students! There are many different types of schooling that can be completed at YWAM but everyone has to do a DTS (Discipleship Training School) first. A DTS starts with training all the students for 12 weeks about God and all of who He is and what He has called us all to. Then they send teams out into different nations of the world for 10 weeks to share about the love of Jesus and mercy ministries. 

I was so hungry for God, I knew that there was so much more of God than what I was seeing.
Psalm 42:1-2
"As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

So I signed up for one DTS school in Kona Hawaii called Engage which focuses on living in the fullness of God, the fullness of what we are specifically made for, community and  knowing what God's heart is for the nations!  Not only did we have teachings from some amazing people we had 24 hour prayer burns where there would be constant prayer for 24 hours straight every other Saturday with the most incredible worship! We would have family nights with our school, ministry night every Monday where we would worship and pray over others, Intercession for the nations on Tuesday and revivalist training every Tuesday and Thursday mornings.   

Visit the YWAM site- http://www.uofnkona.edu/

The first 12 weeks at YWAM were amazing! When knowing God's true nature and character, knowing that He is so in love with us is the foundation of everything else. He is for us and not against us, He is love and a jealous God over His children. In Exodus 34 when Moses was on Mount Sinai and The Lord passed by him, God said this about Himself,

"The LORD, The LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin."

That is God. It seems being a christian in this world especially in America our view of Him sometimes is the opposite of this. With that, God really refined me of all lies I had been believing and roots to be cut out of my heart. For lies not only about Him but about myself and from past hurts I had not yet healed from. I had allowed God to work in my heart, I had let go of control and broke my heart at His feet again and again to heal me even more!

Jeremiah 29:12-13
"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord,"

Each week we would have different speakers come and teach us on different subjects.
Week 1- Hearing God's voice
Week 2- God's nature and character
Week 3- The radical call and the cost
Week 4- corporate week with all the other schools
Week 5- Freedom
Weeks 6- Biblical worldview
Week 7-  Honor
Week 8- Jesus the Word and Spiritual disciplines
Week 9- Revivalist Training
Week 10- Spiritual warfare and relationships and Entertainment and the influences they have
Week 11- Holy Spirit
Week 12-Cross culture training

It was such a blessing to have all of these people to come and teach us, they all helped to bring breakthrough in every person in our school.
God encountered me so many beautiful times, transformed and grew me, He satisfied every desire I had for Him, used me in exciting ways to bring freedom, breakthrough and understanding of Jesus in others. I discovered the gifts He has given me to grow and use them more and the specific desires He has placed upon my heart. 

Not only did all this happen but the people I was surrounded by during the 6 months helped me SO much on my journey! They also had the same passion and desire for following Jesus, we help each other accountable for living a holier life for Him and to help grow more. I understand why people and the community you surround yourself around is so incredibly important to confess, process with and pray together.

Galatians 6:2
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

The knowledge I was filled with made me hungrier to know more! It made me desire so much more of Jesus and my heart overflows with passion and love for Him!
I now always want to live in the fullness of Christ, having the fear of The Lord, living always in the Kingdom of God, giving Him my all-my heart, my life, my time, circumstances, all my love and affection because He is so worthy! He is my all in all, my everything, all I need IS Him. I feel so in love with Jesus and continue to fall deeper as I discover Him more! 

Thank you for all who supported me to go on this journey! All of you are such a blessing to me!

"Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith... Who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God,"
Hebrews 12: 1-2

Ansley and I at the first gathering as a school 

Such incredible worship! Monday night ministry

The beautiful ladies I roomed with for 12 weeks! All are such on fire strong women for God!