Week One.

Wow. This has been the most life changing and incredible experience I’ve ever had. If you had asked me one week ago what YWAM stood for or why I was going, I’d give you some mediocre explanation that would have most likely left you more confused as to why I was going. God has made it very clear in this last week that this is where I need to be. I have rededicated my life to God in a way I never thought possible. 

If you had asked me one week ago TODAY if I was a Christian I would have said yes. But if you ask me today I can say I am a WHOLEHEARTED CHRSTIAN. If I’m being completely honest, before last Friday I didn’t enjoy church very much. I stood for worship but I never would raise my hands in praise for fear of embarrassment. I never would have thought I could dive so deeply into my faith through worship. On Sunday, two days into being here, I worshiped alongside some of the most faithful people I’ve ever met for four and a half hours. Sure my feet got tired, but that was God saying “get on your knees for me”. Sure my arms hurt from swinging them at my sides, but that was God telling me to lift my hands to him. 

Before Monday I had never sat through an entire sermon without checking the clock to see how long before I could go out for the rest of my day. Here, my whole day revolves around the glory and goodness of God. I sit through sermon after sermon and I don’t get tired of it. 

We had an amazing worship night where we had a moment to “run to the altar” and in this moment I ran. I sobbed, and jumped for joy and raised my hands… not for the glory of myself, but for the incredible fearsome power of God. In this moment my whole perspective changed. I saw the face of God and it was incredible. With flaming eyes and arms and hands so loving he could pick me up in one palm. 

The next day we had a class and we’re told to approach a random group and pray for a vision or word to come over them. I was given the image of water and fire from one of the leaders. Water being a calm and gentle stream and fire being all consuming and fearsome. This imagery was exactly how I felt the previous night. A new passion and burning for God while at the same time a calm and peace in his presence.

Throughout the next few days fire was all I would imagine. Andy, the one who started

Fire and Fragrance, did a talk on why he started F&F. He said he saw an image of THE BURNING ONES. This is my generation. To LIVE is Christ, to DIE is Gain. This burning passion is driving me forward and I no longer care what I want to do. I want God to drive my mission.