Heaps of Growth

Hi!
So we have this unbelievable speaker this week discussing "Hearing God's Voice." His name is Boris Schabr. He's in his late 20's with a wife and 2 kids and he is not only hilarious, but he runs the skate ministry for YWAM Sunshine Coast and is one of the founders of this base. I could go on and on about why everyone loves him so much, but its what he's teaching us that is so incredibly challenging-so challenging that we find ourselves talking about it hours later! Merely by telling the story of how he trusted Jesus in the process of choosing his wife, I was flabbergasted just because we don't hear those kinds of stories everyday... at least not from Camarillo. Something I've realized is that when I pray, I don't allow God the time to speak to me. It has basically always been about me venting to God about whatever it is I want to vent about and then ending the conversation without alotting Him the time of day to respond to me. Also when I pray I usually am only willing to hear what I want to hear from Him, but He will either respond with "yes, no, or wait." I could write 20 pages about what I've learned in the past 2 days alone, but the underlying lesson is that we need to wrestle with God more rather than just letting life pass by. I have a few major decisions ahead of me so the ability to really truly decipher God's voice is something that I need to seek after. How to hear His voice and His will for me rather than my own or anyone else's.

I have been having some great quiet times with the Lord each day and right now I am reading the whole New Testament which is always an educating experience in itself. I feel like I can never read enough. For small groups which meet every Thursday night we're going through the book "Captivating" by Stasi Eldredge, but we've yet to actually discuss the book. We just end up sharing our hearts the entire time with eachother. My group leaders are Tiffany (a newlywed who is also my outreach leader) and Fleur (who is my one-on-one counselor).These girls are amazing and I know they will always be in my life. Also on the agenda for reading is the book, "Is that Really You, God?" by Loren Cunningham- the founder of Youth With a Mission. We have this book report due on Monday!

No weekend trip this weekend because we're taking a week-long trip to Byron Bay starting Sunday to learn about evangelism. The word evangelism has so many negative connotations that just freak me out. But I will get over that stigma and open my mind up to it because we don't reap the benefits of having a personal relationship with God just to keep it to ourselves. I believe that it is so important to strive for others to have that same relationship with Him. Anywho, it is bedtime over here in Maroochydore and I have a food coma due to this scrumptious chocolate cake Tiffany made from scratch so I'm going to bed. Oh yea, I forgot, every Thursday morning we have Outreach prep with our outreach teams and this morning Tiffany and Bryan (the newlyweds who are my outreach leaders) picked each of us up from our houses, piled us into one of our vans, and drove us to their cute little house for crepes and coffee. She's a domestic goddess!! Each team member had to research something different about Thailand and Cambodia; my topic was sex trade in Thailand, for example. I'm so heart broken for what is going on over there, but it is going to be so much fun. We prayed today about where to go in Southern Thailand and each unanimously got Phuket (Poo-ket lol) so that is where we'll be before we head to Cambodia. The pieces are all starting to fit together but we're still praying about which ministries to be involved with. On my team there is this English 20 yr old named Josh who LOVES soccer and he is really good. So Bryan and Tiff wanted to maybe get involved in a soccer ministry :) I'd love it. Lots to pray about and lots to be excited about.

In His Grip Alone,
Caitlyn