Finished

For those of you who read the post I wrote on Sunday, will be aware that as the School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP we have been busy with the final touches to the school. But for those of you who haven't read my last post, the SOIP have gone into our last week of the school, with the character study presentations yesterday and the exam today. I'm kinda relieve that both are done now.

Yesterday, we individually presented our character studies before the other students and the school staff. I was the first person to stand before everyone to present my study and what I learned about Daniel. I was extremely nervous and that showed, but it didn't go as badly as I thought it would.

Then this morning, we had the written exam. In this case, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I was going to be. It was just a whole list of question about what I've learned over the last eleven weeks. We were allowed to take our bibles and our notes into the exam with us, which was an answer to prayer. You see, I'm quite an extensive note taker, but I'm not so good at remembering all the details of eleven weeks worth of lectures. Everyone was done at different times.

After the exam was done, we also handed in a paper with questions to evaluate our experience of the SOIP. Now there's vertically nothing between me and my journey to Paris except for the graduation tomorrow night and the deep clean on Thursday. I almost forgot to mention that on Friday we've got some things as a base... and I leave for my Christmas break on Sunday. I'll try and post more about what the future holds later this month. I'm just wait for a confirmation and then I'll start working on the drafts. However I will keep you up to date with my adventures between now and when that confirmation comes.

The End is Nigh

Zolle

News.

A lot has happened since my last post a few weeks ago. The Football & Classic Discipleship Training School DTS have left on their outreaches (again for safety reasons I'm not going to post where they're going). As a school, we're going into our final week of the School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP, after having our last lot of lectures, from a South African lady, Lynn, who spoke on Prophetic Worship.

The Last Week.

Over the next week we're going to be doing the final touches of closing the school. The base shuts down for the Christmas holidays on Friday, so we'll be finished by then.

Tomorrow, the students will be spending the day teaching on their character studies. I've done my character study on Daniel, so I'm swinging between being nervous about it and looking forwards to do it. I've learned quite a bit about intercession and prayer from my study on Daniel. Then on Tuesday, we've got our written exam. I'm not totally sure what to expect, but I'm strangely not worried about it. I had thought that the character study was the exam but evidently not. Wednesday is the SOIP graduation, we're going to be preparing all day for the graduation in the evening. We're going to be cleaning the accommodation building on Thursday, and Friday is the Gift to the Lord.

Lion of Judah. 

One thing God has really been talking to me about over the last few weeks is one of the aspects of his character, as the Lion of Judah. God really showed me why he's been called a lion. Its come up in conversation, in teachings and I've had a dream about two lions. God has really shown me that he's the lion protecting me.

When God is called a lion (as in the book of Revelation), it means that God taking the positive attributes of the lion. He's protective and all powerful, he has no enemies among the beasts. The roar of the lion carries about five miles (eight kilometres). A lion will roar in the morning, before it goes to rest, and again in the evening before it goes hunting. It will also roar when it's been successful eaten, to warn away strange lions (Satan can considered the strange). I've heard the lion roar and it's truly a frightening and beautiful sound to hear. The lion is the only large cat that will have an active presence in the lives of its cubs (the other big cat males won't have the same presence in the lives in their young). A typical pride of lions is lead by two male lions (usually brothers), with anywhere between four to forty lionesses, who do the hunting, due to being lighter than the males.

Giving Thanks

This is post is about the how I find the importance of giving thanks to God on a regular basis. You could say its a bit of revaluation. Just so you're aware that I've written below hasn't been effected by anything that happened over the last week or ten days or so.

Revelation: I'm so glad I know Jesus as my personal lord and savior. There's times when I know I wouldn't have been able to make it through the situations that were coming my way, if it hadn't been for Jesus. I've been through a lot in my life. Its so clear to me, as I'm writing this, that God has been his hand on my life. I'm writing this because its something has come up this week... well, its a revelation as I'm writing this post. This week we've had a week of lectures on prayer and healing, and through this week the Lord has really shown me what it means to have a relationship with Him. Choosing to give thanks is something that really has helped me. By choosing to focus on the good things, the things to be thankful for, it brings a light to the end of the tunnel. There have been times when I haven't felt like I had anything to be thankful for, there is always something to be thankful for.

A Note on the Lectures That Took Place This Last Week. On Monday one of the staff spoke on the importance of prayer and how to have a relationship with God without having religion getting in the way. Then, starting on Tuesday, we had three days of lectures from a well known Dutchman called Jan Zijlstra, who runs a number of healing crusades in the Netherlands and overseas. He also led a healing night on Friday. It was enlightening, as on Tuesday (on Jan's first day of teaching) Jan taught a lot about how Jesus was the one that God sent to us, and in turn he has sent us to go.

This Upcoming Week: We're having lectures from Jay Bennett who will be speaking the prophetic life of an intercessor. Because we're doing a school of prayer and intercession, prayer plays a huge part of this role, and being able to hear God's voice. So I'm really looking forwards to this week's lectures, and how God will reveal himself to me through these lectures. He's always showing me interesting things, even with speakers who's teachings I've kind of struggled following.

A Point Of Thankfulness: Many of you have heard about what happened in Paris last week, and that my sister, Hannah, lives there. Thankfully my sister spent that weekend with friends of ours who live in the suburbs of Paris. On Monday, she traveled down to South Africa to spend a few weeks with our parents.

Prayer Requests: Please pray that God will continue to give me strength, especially over the last few weeks of the school (we're starting week 9 tomorrow).

I'm not sure why I've ended up writing my blog in this way, and with this style, structure wise. I haven't written in like this before... In regards to the photos, the reason why I've used these passages, instead of photos from my daily life, is because God has spoken to me through them. If you want to look them up yourself, do go ahead... all these references come from the New International Version. 

Studying Daniel's Life

The view from the SOIP classroom

Greetings, dear readers.

I'm going to bring you up to speed with what's happening in my life these days.

I've just finished the outline of my character study about Daniel, a man who was truly used by God. I'm learning so much about Daniel whilst I'm doing this study. You see this is part of the school's required 'course work.' At the end of the School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP we're expected to teach on what we've learned for about forty to forty five minutes. To be totally honest I'm looking forwards to sharing what I've learned about Daniel.

Over the last week we've had a few rather interesting teachings. We had some teaching on the prophetic this last week by Arleen Westerhof. She's a Jamaican Canadian woman who is married to a Dutch man from Groningen (this is the name of both a town and a province in north eastern Nederland). She taught on a few different areas of the prophesy... things like the importance of prophesy, what to do when you receive a prophesy or a word, and she also prophesied over each of the students (as well as the staff and the guests; as it was open week Monday through Wednesday). I'm still processing and praying about what Arleen said over me. I recorded what she said on my iPhone so I can accurately copy it, word for word, into my notebook of words and prophesies (its so that I accurately go back to my book if I need to double check a word or something, or to see if a prophesy is confirmed.

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

Then on Thursday and Friday, we fasted as a school along with the Discipleship Training School DTS. So we spent some praying cooperatively and on our own, on Thursday. Friday, we had lectures about the importance of having a relationship with God, and from there being able to pray effectively. Praying from the heart of the father is more effective than trying to keep praying from my own strength and zeal. This is something that links in with what I've been studying in regards to Daniel. Daniel was an extremely successful man, because he put his relationship with God before the opinions of men. You can really see this in Daniel 6, with what happened in regards to the incident with the lions' den. Daniel still prayed, even though it meant that he would probably get fed to the lions (the men who tried to get rid of him were the ones who were eaten by the lions). He wasn't afraid of the consequences that his relationship with God might have on him. He was so certain of how God saw him.

So this is a brief update of what's been happening in my life these days. 'Til next time.

Just Being In Father's Presence

The view from my room

Things have been extremely busy over the last couple of weeks, thus the reason why I haven't written anything here. So here's a post with some highlights from the last few weeks... I'll try to write more regularly because it'll be nice for all of you to know what I've been up to over here in the Netherlands.

The School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP has just finished week six, which is the half way mark for this three month school. Just to clarify (and before you ask), we don't have an outreach phase at the end of the lecture phase, like the Discipleship Training School DTS do. However, we have mini-outreaches throughout the school's lecture phase. Our first mini-outreach was to Amsterdam a few weeks ago (to read about that click here).

One of the things that I'd like to share with you happened during the last week of October, when, as a school, we had the Father Heart of God. Its a subject that I've heard so many times before, and to be totally honest, after having this topic on my DTS, I kinda stopped listening. I've had a good relationship with my father and even though we've gone through our fights, I'm still close to my papa (I still don't call him 'dad'). So last week, I kinda thought oh, okay, here we go. However, there were things that were shared by our teacher that really broke through for me.

The sunrise just the other day

One of these things is receiving God's love, I knew God loved me but it was stick in my head. When they say the longest mile is between the head and the heart, it's true. I knew God loves me, but with my head. Not totally with my heart. Last week, it sank into my heart. The truth that God loves me the way I am now, not the person I'm going to be tomorrow or in a week's time (or further into the future), was one of those light bulb moments. My parents always told me God loves me, but it took the Holy Spirit to actually hammer it home. So I spent a good deal of time over most of last week actually processing that. Sometimes, it takes a while for things to actually sink into our hearts because we're so used to thinking in a particular pattern. It's not an easy process.

We also the national gathering for YWAM Nederland last weekend. It was an opportunity for the two YWAM bases to come together and share the goodness of God. Its a time of testimonies and encouragement (and a football game or two). Its something that only happens once a year and this year Heidebeek was hosting. So we had YWAM Amsterdam grace us with their presence. It's the second national YWAM conference I've been to as I went to YWAM gathering for England and Wales in June 2014 (during my School of Leadership and Ministry Development LMD; for more on that click here).

At the Heather Fields with Anne Ruth

When YWAM Amsterdam arrived I knew that a certain young lady would be coming. This young lady is good friend of mine. So I was very happy to spend a few hours with her. We talked about life, our experiences and the future. God really blessed me with bringing her along that day, and making a way for us to hang out. She's on staff with Amsterdam after completing her DTS there earlier this year. We talked and prayed for each other, whilst enjoying the lovely weather and the heather fields (which are no longer in bloom due to the change in season, but it was still beautiful).

Now, one think I really like about Youth With A Mission YWAM Heidedeek is the fact that we're right in the middle of nature. The main base is situated on the edge of this beautiful forest (one of the last natural forests in this country, or so I heard). The student accommodation (from all the schools) live in the next village over from Heidebeek, which is good fifteen minute bike through this beautiful forest. I've really been enjoying the biking, since we've had such lovely weather (we've had barely no rain since the school started!), which has meant that forest is truly beautiful, with all the autumn colours and the leaves changing from different shades of green to  a whole multitude of different reds and oranges. 

Update From The Flatlands

Greetings, readers!

I've been meaning to post something for a couple of days now but this week has been a bit hectic, in terms of business. We've had inductive bible studies, a trip to Amsterdam and lectures on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, all in the space of a five day work week (I should probably say, lecture week). We also had the Love Feast on Friday night, which was a lot of fun.

On Monday and Tuesday, Nestor (one of the School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP school leaders) taught on inductive bible study based on School of Biblical Studies SBS material. The school leaders taught the SBS for years in West Africa, before they came to the Netherlands.

Then on Wednesday we went to Amsterdam to spend the morning with the Tabernacle of the Nations, which is a Youth With A Mission YWAM Amsterdam ministry. We spent two hours with them before heading on to another YWAM Amsterdam building to use their prayer room for a few hours, before we headed back to Licht In Duister LID (we did head to the Dam Square for some of the students to take a few photos). It was an intense day, as the Tabernacle is located in Amsterdam's famous Red Light District. So we had to walk past some of the famous glass doors (under red strip lights). If you aren't aware of these windows, there are prostitutes standing... and working behind these doors.

For the lectures on Thursday and Friday we had a guest speaker from Belgium, Wim Kok. He spoke on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It was extremely interesting as he shared about on different ways the Holy Spirit can work. He shared about stories of healings that he'd been a part of and showed us practically how to share the gospel with people, using signs, wonders and miracles. It was exciting.

Outside the classroom we had the normal every day activities. One of the things that we have outside of class are work duties twice a week. We have smaller amount of work duties hours than the Classic & Football Discipleship Training School DTS, but we're still apart of helping keep this base clean and running.

More news should becoming soon...

The Cross

This week's been crazy busy. We've had some awesome lectures, which I can't begin to write down. My mind is still processing everything, even after a very quiet weekend.

The lectures and schedule for the School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP aren't as crazy busy as the Discipleship Training School DTS schedule is, but its more intense because of the material we're learning. It goes to a whole new level in intensity than the DTS does and it needs time to process, to sift through mentally. I guess that even with the extra time the lecture material still takes ages sinking in. That's why I'm so grateful for two full days off to sleep, rest and process (with the help of writing a journal that will be given to my mentor on Mondays; this helps with my processing and accountability during this school). This last week we've had lectures from Corrie Oosterhuis on The Cross. As Christians, the cross is a large aspect of our faith. Jesus gave his life on the cross so that we can have a relationship with God the Father. Because of the cross, and what Jesus did there, we can go to the father. He's our beacon through the mist and the fog.

One thing I really enjoy is biking to the base each morning. I took the picture on the right early this week when I was making my way through the cold. Yes, the weather has started dropping, but thankfully we haven't had any rain since the school started. We've had one morning when it was drizzling a little but nothing worth complaining about.

Its also been incredible being back at Youth With A Mission YWAM Heidebeek. Its incredible being with people I knew from when I did my DTS here. The DTS leaders did their DTS with me and there are some of the staff on base who were on staff three years ago, when I arrived to do my DTS.

The Unknown

The Braces ARE Off!!!

I kinda wanted something clever to write at the start of this post; as you can see, my 'clever line or three' didn't quite work. My brain is a little overwhelmed at the minute and hasn't totally caught up with all the change and all that is coming up. So this post is a style of therapy for my poor brain and a catch up for you, my honoured reader.

I'm no longer on the Netherlands' eastern boarder, but at YWAM Heidebeek's accommodation, Licht in Duster (better known as LiD). I'm trying not to get all sentimental on you here, as I kinda feel a bit sentimental right now (that might be due to the lack of sleep I've had over the last few days).

The School of Intercessory Prayer (otherwise known as the SOIP), that I've been ranting about for ages (in my blogs and on Polariod Blipfoto) starts tomorrow! So I must warn you that from now on there's going to be a change in my post content. No longer can I post about my excitement about the school starting, how many days I have to wait and whatever else I've been rambling on about. From now on, I'll be aiming to write about what IS actually happening on the SOIP. I'm so excited about this season and all that God has in store for me.

Another point of highlight from the last few days, something that some of you might interesting is in regards to my braces, I had to make a quick visit to England (which explains, in part, why I'm tired now) for an appointment with my orthodontist about the possibility of having my braces out. I had no idea if they were going to be taken out or not, hence my reluctance to post here. It's safe to say that I'm totally braces free!!! New smile, new me (kind of). I'm stuck with retainers at night, but that's not nearly as bad as having braces!

When All Of The Lights...

There's nothing quite like watching the sun sink behind the rim of the earth. The colors and the patterns caused by the clouds is breath taking, but sometimes we either don't see the sun disappear because we can't see through the rain, but because we can't see the sun doesn't mean that the sun isn't there, doesn't make the sun any beautiful. I've spent my life watching the world around me, marveling at how much we all need God so desperately. I've often wondering if we'd ever survive without God's intervention in our lives. So often I've wondered why I've thought I make it on my own without any help, but to be honest, I've not liked where I've ended up. Let's just say, it was dark and scary, a place of depression and loneliness, a place that I never hope to see again, but have seen often enough, even at a distance. Its a place I hope that I'll never return to; nor is it a place that I pray no one else has to suffer alone, like I did.

As I write this, I look towards to the next step in my life story, with great excitement; it's a step that's only a matter of a week and half away, and I'm thrilled about heading back to Youth With A Mission YWAM Heidebeek (where I did my Discipleship Training School DTS all those years ago). However, it's also an opportunity to look back on my journey up until this point. Yes, I've lived and seen things, experienced things, that the "normal" young adult wouldn't have to live through. I guess it comes with being the daughter of missionaries in Africa. I've seen so much there, but it's not a life I'd exchange for any other, no matter how tough it's been at times. I mean, I got to live in a country full of beautiful, welcoming people, who taught me so much about life. So many families had been effected by the Lord's Resistance Army LRA, or by the civil war that rocked Uganda after independence in the early 1960's. There were times when, after I was born, my parents would have to run into the corridor and lay down on the floor, with me, because there was gunfire outside the house. Thankfully, it is no longer like that. Uganda, as a nation, has made a total one hundred and eighty degree turn from those early days of instability (author's note: if you ever have the money and the time, Uganda should definitely be worth a visit). I know I'll never move back to Uganda as a missionary, or otherwise. , but I'll still call Uganda the place I grew up in. My future still isn't certain, but I know God is already there and has great things planned for me!

Newsflash

I can't believe it! Fifteen days to go, fifteen days until I return to YWAM Heidebeek to start my third school with them, the School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP. I can't quite believe that its been three years since I did my Discipleship Training School DTS there in September 2012. Its been an extremely long journey since I actually chose to follow my parents into the mission field. Sometimes the stigma and the expectation is hard to deal with. Its hard to explain but sometimes the expectation that I was going to going into missions, like my parents, has followed me. My parents wanted the best for me, but I'm not sure they expected me to go to YWAM, and to stay in YWAM. I went because I thought, I felt, it was the right thing to do. The going hasn't been easy. There's been many obstacles I've had to face and overcome. It wasn't easy but I made it through and I'm still alive and fighting. My journey isn't done, I haven't finished with life because I know that God has so much more for me that I could ever expect! The adventures that are coming through my way are exciting! I'm so looking forwards to the next step!

Just A Random Post

Raya

There's been a lot of swirling around in my head over the last few weeks. Yeah, my life is quiet right now; its very almost the completely mirror opposite to what my life was like in London. I love it here; the peace, the quietness and the odd the jobs that Joyce gives me to do each day. I love it here. I've been able to gather my thoughts about a lot of different things. It's also given me a chance to have some really deep conversations with my sister, Hannah, who works in Paris as a chef.

One thing that I've realized how grateful I am about is my relationship with my sister. We're two years apart and have shared so many different memories despite the fact that we're like salt and pepper in so many areas. As little girls we used to fit like a pair of cats, but as we got older it subconsciously dawned on both of us that, actually, God had given us each other as a friend. When I chose to leave boarding school, aged 18, Hannah stayed on to finish her last year of school (a year that I should have done but didn't), our relationship took off. We still shared a room in Kampala, yet the distance and the lack of contact due to business of both sides, caused us to gravitate to each other when we were together. We've spent a lot of time talking about different things that have been passing through our minds right now.

There have been a change since my last post. The couple who were renting the apartment that my room is adjoining to, left this morning, really early. They've moved into their own place. They got married about two and a half years ago and this was their first place together. Raya (pictured) is their dog, she's a really funny German Shepherd as she'd make a bit of a racket when anyone would come up the stairs (either by winning, barking or both). So now that they've moved out of the apartment, it's a lot more quiet.

Two weeks and three days (or there about) to go before the School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP starts. But then again, I'm not really counting down. I'm enjoying my time here in the Dutch border region a bit too much!

Nomad

So many times in my life I've felt like a nomad; the hours spent packing what I owned into suitcases and heading off to another airport, to catch another plane to another destination. I know i'm so fortunate to have such crazy opportunities to travel the world like I have. I guess my life's been a story of God's goodness in my life; I've honestly lost count of all the times He's surprised me. I love the traveling, I love planes and airports, seeing new places; but there are hardships that come with such a nomadic lifestyle. 

I've felt that my skin colour betrayed me so many times. I grew up calling myself a Ugandan. I'd been born there and I'd called Uganda my home, but people never believed me because I looked as different as it could possibly get. Throughout my childhood and my teens, I always knew I'd be going back to Uganda. Right up until I boarded that Brussels Airways in September 2012. I was leaving Uganda on a new adventure, one that I knew held so much potential and I was so excited. However, there was a "problem". I knew that once I left Uganda I probably wasn't going to go back for longer than a holiday. The reason was simple. My family had moved countries. I thought it wouldn't happen to my folks; yet it had. They'd chosen to put the family first, and were moving to the middle of the South African bush so that my brother could go to a good school without putting my brother through the drama of boarding school.

When my DTS finished (after an amazing experience), I traveled down to South Africa for what I thought would be less than three months. I couldn't have been more wrong. South Africa was an eleven month period where I had to trust God every moment of my time there to bring me closer to Him. It was a daily struggle to be in a place I knew was a place of transition.

My time in England was incredible, and in so many ways. God fulfilled a promise he'd given me when I was 18. He'd told me I'd go back to Is.rael during my first trip there. Last year He told me I'd be going with a team and less than six months later that happened. It answered the questions I had about why I'd go back for the second time.

Now I'm on the cusp of another adventure. God has spoken, God has provided, God has opened the doors and His blessings have poured out of heaven in ways I never thought possible. I'm now going through a season of rest. Yes, I helping friends out daily with their ponies and with what ever else they need help with. These jobs give me the chance to think and to process what everything means. It's also given me the vital opportunity to go back to my roots in God; to thank Him on a daily basis for the wonders He's preformed in my life and for His trustworthiness in my life.

Even though life is uncertain and the life I lead is full of uncertainties, one thing will always remain certain. God will never forget me. He will never leave me. He is my home. I don't need the certainty of knowing where I'll end up in six months time. I have six months to trust that God will open that door. I have six months to praise Him from the corridors. That's the simply the pure joy of it. God. Is. In. Control. Period.

Thoughts

My mind seems to run blank when I look at my computer screen and the empty blog post window. I really want to post something here, on my blog, to keep you, my reader, up to date with what's been happening in my life over the last week or so. Yet, my life hasn't had much change since my last post... so if I wrote something, anything about my life, you'd get bored (especially if you'd read the last post I wrote last week, and the post before that). I'm also not going to write about what's happening next year. The School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP finishes on 17 December and after that I don't have fixed plans about what I'm going to do next. I'm not worried... there's no need to be worried about what's going to happen in four months time. God knows what's going to happen then and He'll let me know when the time's right for me to know. He's always done. I'm kinda hoping that my life will continue to reflect what Jesus is doing in me, and that one day I'll be able to reflect Him as honestly as I can. I know that I'm only human, but its my deep desire to know God more, to another level. That's why I followed His calling on my life and that's why I came to Holland, why I applied to do the SOIP at Youth With A Mission YWAM Heidebeek. 

Since I arrived in eastern Holland, I've been helping the people I'm staying with, doing practical stuff. Over the last week we've been trimming a lot of their trees, and then moving the branches into a pile. It has got me thinking. Sometimes, God wants to put us through a challenging time to prune us from things that aren't from Him. Over the last few years I went through a few different times of pruning and now, it seems I've come into a time of relative rest and growth. I love practical work, I love being able to work with my hands, so helping Joyce with her two ponies and the other work (like moving the branches) I've been doing here is something I real enjoying (I'm so grateful that God has given me hands that I can use practically). Though it does leave me falling into bed at night really tired (however it's usually a satisfied type of tiredness).

As I bring this post to a close, I can't help but wonder if what I've written has made sense. I'll write again soon, maybe with something more interesting.

Letting "The Lawnmowers" Out

Fey

Its been an incredible last couple of weeks since I arrived in the Netherlands' the eastern border region (this border is shared with Germany). Yes, the Dutch might be harder to understand than in the western part of the country (because most of the people here speak Dutch and German fluently), but the landscape and the people are beautiful.

I'm extremely fortunate with who I'm staying with. The couple, Hans and Joyce, I'm staying with have allowed me to stay with them before the School of Intercessory Prayer SOIP starts. Whilst I've been here I've had the incredible opportunity to help Joyce with looking after their two highland ponies, Asha and Fey. The Highland pony originally comes from the Scottish Highlands and is one of the oldest breeds in Great Britain. They're a hardy breed because they've been forced to adapt to living in very tough terrain, with unpredictable weather, so because of this, they can be left out almost all year round without blankets.

Asha and Fey are two beautiful highland ponies who are extremely happy and friendly animals who find everything interesting. They love putting their noses into anything that could potentially be food, which is where this post gets its title from. Joyce and I have jokingly called the ponies "the lawnmowers" because they'll graze an area of long grass to the ground, almost. When we go to let them out, we're greeted with a lot of whinnying and excitement. They love eating. They can get quite impatient if they think we're not working fast enough to get a new section corded off for them to graze. Joyce usually makes them circle round so she can open the electric lines when they've got their backs turned because otherwise they might knock her over in their desperation to get to food. Its really funny to see.

Asha

Whilst I've been here, Joyce bought a buggy for Asha, the younger of the two highland ponies. We've been getting her used to pulling it, and having the harness on. She's been doing great despite being a bit headstrong. Yesterday, she pulled the buggy at a trot, which she hasn't wanted to do before, with the larger, heavier buggy. Joyce and I both agreed that she really enjoyed herself. Fey and I watched from the sidelines.

The times I've walked down to see the ponies, they've usually come over to say 'hi' when I've called them. They're ever hopeful that they'll get a tasty morsel (which is something that they don't usually get during the day, though Joyce and I use bread crumbs to bring them into the paddock so we can shut the electric wires* behind them). We don't want them eating all the time because then they could get sick. So we usually bring them into a grassless enclosure during the night.

Beyond helping out with the ponies, I've been going to different activities with Hans and Joyce. I've been going to their connect group once a week, the prayer meeting for the street and I also was able to share part of my testimony at Hans and Joyce's church this morning, before Hans' sermon.

*Joyce uses electric wires to keep the ponies from running wild. The electricity that runs through these wires aren't strong enough to hurt the ponies in any way, but enough to give them a little shock. This little shock is just strong enough to prevent them from pushing out of the grazing area that Joyce and I have set up. Every time Joyce and I go to see them, we have to make sure that the electricity is turned off (the ponies don't know this, they think there's electricity running through it all the time).

To Be Or Not To Be :: A Vegetarian

How it all began…

I gather many of you are surprised at my sudden decision to become a vegetarian… given that last year I didn't go down this road because I claimed I loved my meat too much. A year is a long time. Three hundred six five days of thinking time (or there about)… and in my case that's a lot of time to discuss, with myself and with God, about what becoming a vegetarian means, what it'll entail and why I'd do it.

Yes, I do love meat, but animal cruelty plays a role in my decision. For those of you who have never been to Africa, you won't have seen the "normal" method of transporting chicken or cows. It's simple, hang as many chickens as you can to the handlebars and saddle of your moped motorbike as possible. To get the cows to the slaughter house you make sure the  cows can't lie down by tying their horns to the lorry frame (most lorries in Eastern Africa are have open lorry beds), making sure that you can get s lot in. I'm not saying everyone does this. I know there are a few who do transport their livestock in a nicer manner, but in the nineteen years I lived in Uganda it was a regular sight on the road.

Animals are also kept in horrible conditions in the developed world. That's why there's organizations like the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Protetion and Care of Animals) and free range products. I could buy free range meat, yet no one will ask why I'm doing that. I want to be more radical than that. Saying I'm a vegetarian means I have a cause. We can all choose where we want to take a stand, what causes we'll fight for. I've chosen mine. Have you chosen yours?

Why did I become a vegetarian when I was younger if animal cruelty is the case?

I was brought up eatting what was put in front of me. If I didn't like the look of it, I needed to at least taste it. It also made life easier for the people my family visited. You see, as missionaries, we saw a lot of people on our visit to England and Holland. We ate meals with a lot of different people and it was easier for our hosts if we weren't fussy. I also hadn't thought of it in depth before last summer.

When you live in community like I did, even when I was cooking my own meals, I didn't have the time to actively persue all the ins and out of vegetarianism. Maybe I still don't know what it means, but I am more aware than I was this time last year. I've spent the last ten days with friends of my parents on the Dutch border with Germany, this couple are vegetarians, so, for the last ten days. I haven't had any meat. I haven't missed it. I also spent a week with a good friend of mine, from my DTS, and his wife, who is a vegetarian. I asked questions and in turn I questioned myself.

The answer is simple. I chose to become a vegetarian because I believe that we need to look after the world around us. Animals aren't there to be mistreated. We shouldn't mistreat each other either. I love my meat, but I love seeing animals alive and well treated even more than that (however I do understand when farmers need to be kill their animals because there's too many animals for a given area; I just think they should do it in a manner that doesn't traumatise the creature). It's my choice, and I've chosen this path.

In The Netherlands

The View From My Oma's Apartment

So... I'm in the NETHERLANDS!! Since my brief visit last October for my friend's wedding, its the first time I've been back since my Discipleship Training School DTS.

We've been traveling around the country, visiting family friends, as well as my grandmother (Oma in Dutch).

For those of you who aren't aware, my Oma's been in an assisted living home for about three and a half years now. She has her own apartment, but has nurses looking after her, giving her tablets and assisting with daily life. We've seen her almost every day since we arrived, last week. She's struggled a little bit remembering us and when she last saw us, but has enjoyed seeing us. I'll post an entry about how she's doing later on, with a photo or two.

News From The Country

Tut

Tomorrow, its going to be two weeks since the January DTS (Discipleship Training School) ended. Its hard to believe how fast time has gone by, since I said good bye to everyone at the base in London.

This Saturday, my dad and brother are arriving from South Africa. I'm ever so excited to see them after so many months of being in different parts of the world. They couldn't come earlier because my brother only finished his school term yesterday (I think). The academic year, in the southern hemisphere runs differently to that of the northern hemisphere. Caleb's school year starts in January, not September, and runs to December, rather than June/July, like is does in England, the U.S. and Europe.

So far its been an incredible last two weeks with my mum. We're currently house sitting for my aunt and uncle whilst they're away on holiday. As my aunt and uncle own a small farm, its meant that we've been in charge of feeding their animals, which consist of two sheep, two geese, a pond full of fish and two cats (Charlie and Tutankhamun, aka Tut). Its definitely taken a team effort with the geese as they're noisy and opinionated. Its been a great bonding opportunity to be able to do this together.

A Building In Newark

Since the DTS ended, mum and I have done some traveling to see some family friends. Its been nice to see people we haven't seen in years. I've also enjoyed being able to see parts of England I haven't seen before, like Nottinghamshire (Robin Hood's county). Whilst we were in Nottingham, mum's friends took us to Newark. Newark is a town that has medieval roots, dating back to before the civil war. During the English Civil War (1652-1651), Royalist Newark was besieged by parliamentarians. The Royalists supported King Charles I, who was later beheaded, whilst the Parliamentarians were lead by Oliver Cromwell, who wanted to have a democratic government (which only lasted twenty years). So, in 1644, the Parliamentarians attempted to gain control of the Newark. However, King Charles sent aid to the soldiers garrisoning Newark castle, which forced a surrender after the battle. To this day, has that medieval look to its buildings.

Until the next time.

A New Adventure!!!

Newark Cathedral

I'm off on another adventure! Just a few days ago I heard that I've been accepted into the September School of Intercessory Prayer (SOIP as it's called), at YWAM Heidebeek (the base where I did my DTS)!!!!

I know this will probably come as a bit of a surprise for many of you, who weren't aware that I was even planning on doing another YWAM school. The Lord spoke quite clearly to me towards the end of DTS outreach about applying to do the SOIP. I didn't want to post anything, anywhere, incase I didn't get accepted into the school. There weren't many people who knew that I'd send the application in (I did that a few weeks ago), and even fewer people (until now) who know I've been accepted. I'm ever so excited about this new adventure I'm now on!

The reason I felt I need to do the SOIP is due to a desire to grow in intimacy with my walk with Jesus, as well as wanting to be better equipped in the skills of intercessory prayer (for more information on this school, do visit the YWAM Heidebeek website, by clicking here). I really want to be better prepared for the work God has called me to, though I'm not totally sure what that is right now. It's just part of the adventure of life!

I'll write more soon!

Outreach & The Rest Of It

Evangelism with balloons

It seems like an age since I last posted anything on my blog. It was a challenge just posting my photo a day (for more photos of our time away... and all my photos that are on my blipfoto site, please click here). Part of the reason I haven't been able to write is down to lack of good internet access and because we spent three weeks in a country that doesn't welcome missionaries, and will actually kick them out. So we had to keep our heads down and play tourists for three weeks, without mentioning what we were actually doing. It was extremely challenging because I couldn't even tell my parents what I was up to.

To start with where I left off in my previous post. We spent a few weeks in Munich, Germany. God really worked in all of us, as a team, in the area of trusting Him with everything. Often we woke up in the mornings with no clue what was going to happen that day. It really forced each of us to depend fully on God and what he wanted us to do.

During this time God really led us to do a lot of evangelism. That's one of the joys of Europe is that we can do that so freely. People were open to talk to us about what we were doing and we found innovative ways to start conversations with people. Thankfully, most people spoke good English and were open to talk with us. There were a few people who didn't want anything to do with us.

The Newspaper Article

A few days before we left for the Middle East one of the team, Alisa, interviewed by this German woman who worked for a Munich newspaper, called Hallo Munchen. We were able to share a lot of what we were doing in Munich and what we were going to do in the Middle East and in Berlin.

After Munich, we went to the Middle East. I can't say where we went for safety reasons. We were there for about three weeks doing all sorts of practical work with refugees, like renovation and painting. We did a lot of that, as well as demolition whilst we were there. We also got to cook a meal for about sixty holocaust survivors and war veterans, which was incredible but also tough because Sarah, from Denmark, and I ended up having to peel and chop about thirty raw onions. That night we ended up sleeping on the floor of a food dispensary, which was a first for me.

All Covered Up

Whilst we were there, Marta (one of the other staff), Sarah and I got the incredible opportunity to help teach an English class in a university. So we had to make sure we were completely covered up, as you can see in the photograph on the (left). The girls loved being able to show us how to wrap the shawls around our heads. There was a lot of laughter at the length of my hair. Girls in the Middle East don't have short hair like I do, but its growing.

From the Middle East, we traveled to Berlin to help out the YWAM base there, for ten days. We joined a few teams, from the United States, who had partnered with Europe Initiative (if I remember correctly), so we did evangelism with them. We also did some more practical work, by helping the base sort out of the new apartments they'd been able to rent but it needed reconstruction so we helped with the demolition.

I know I've not been able to go into an awful lot of detail but if you're interested in more stories from the students themselves, you can visit their blog. Their blog does mention where exactly in the Middle East we went, but for safety reasons I must highly ask you not to write the country we visited in the same sentence as the organisation that we're with, due to safety reasons for the team out there.

News From Munich

We arrived in the Bavarian capital of Munich. Bavaria you're probably wondering, where on earth is that? I though you were going to Munich, in Germany. Well you assumed correctly. Munich is in the German state of Bavaria. We'd received a number of words about coming here for part of our outreach and so its really exciting to actually be here.

To bring you up to date with what's been happening, we arrived on Thursday, which was an extremely long day. One of the other staff didn't have the money to travel with us to Munich and was planning to travel with us to the airport, in faith that her money would come in. However someone heard she needed the money so covered her flight and whatever else needed covering (which had prevented her from coming). She got the last seat on the flight with us to Munich!

We arrived in Munich and caught the train to the church where we were going to spend the first two nights. For those of you who didn't know, we went to Brentford with nowhere to stay in Germany and whilst we were there the school leader was able to get somewhere to sleep for the first two nights, then the day before we flew to Munich we heard we had somewhere to stay for the rest of the two weeks in Munich. We actually only spent one night at the first place before we travelled over to the second place.

It hasn't been super chaotic but we've still been busy, we've explored the city, and spent some time interceding for Munich from the Olympia-berg, which is a mountain that stands in the Olympic Park where the 1972 Olympic Games were held and from where the Israeli team had been abducted from. Both the photos were taken here.

We've also been taking part in a number of different services with the church we're staying in. We also were able to go to the church that Jonny (the school leader) used to go to when he lived here.

More photos and news coming soon. Please check my photo journal (click here) out or find me on Instagram (click here) however, if I don't know you I won't allow you to follow me on Instagram.

Photographs: the first is Olympic Park, and the second photo of the four guys, Tim (USA), Jonathan (also known as Jonny; the school leader from Germany), Hector (Australia) and Jonathan (USA)

All In One

I don't know where to start. I'm sitting on the floor of the girls room but given the hour, I'm the only one still awake. I guess it's down to a few reasons. Tomorrow we're travelling to our next location (the second one) and we're going to be flying. You're probably reading this and thinking "hang on a minute, second outreach location? What did I miss?" Don't worry, it's kinda my fault I haven't posted here recently. I've been super busy with team things and in the free times I've had I've been doing other things. I'm going to do my best to update you with a brief rundown of what's happened since I last wrote..

Little over a week ago the DTS* lecture came to an end and we began to pack, book tickets and raise support. Then last Thursday (is it a week already?) we walked out the door at Dartmouth Road for the last time in two months. We caught the London Overground to Clapham Junction before travelling to Brentford. We've spent the last week working with a church here in Brentford. We helped with all their Easter services as well some other things. It's been a lot of fun and we've had the incredible opportunity to get to know one another to a new level. We've continued the habit we had in Willesden, to eat all our meals together as a team. One thing that we've started doing since we've been here is sharing with everyone what the best ... And the worst part of our day was. A few times we couldn't do that and ended up sharing at breakfast the next day. We've had some great testimonies from our time here but it's been great hearing what everyone's personal highlights and discouragements have been.

For example, two days ago, we'd been asked to go round and hand leaflets out for the church and even though a lot of us weren't super keen to do it, we still went. For me, ended up being one of the highlights of my time here. Yes, door to door can be challenging, especially when people shut the door on you the moment they see you standing there holding a leaflet or flyer (they don't even let you say anything, because they think you're gonna try to sell them some useless gadget that they don't really need or to take another survey). However, there were some people who were extremely interested. Tim (the DTS student I was with) and I would then pray over the houses we'd given a leaflet to or slipped one through the postbox flap.

Then yesterday we went round to a nearby Assisited Living Unit, an olderly home in other words to help with the Wednesday Service (pictured on the right). It was really quite challenging for me, because it reminded me of my paternal grandmother (the only grandparent still living). She's in a Christian home for the elderly, in the Netherlands and being at the home today hit me quite hard as it brought back memories of the visits I paid to my grandmother when I was last there, after my DTS* two years ago. I really hope I see her again...

You're probably reading this and wondering where we're jetting off to tomorrow and the answer is Munich, Germany. We're spending the next few weeks over our outreach in Munich. More information will follow as things progress. I know you probably want to know more details about what's happening in regards to the finer details but I'm going to have to ask you to trust me to let you know in due course. I also post the other locations as we get closer to travelling there. It's incredible how flexible I've learnt to be, it's crazy how ingrained the Dutch culture of needing to know all the details was. It's scary but extremely exciting having to trust the Lord to open the right doors, like with accommodation in Munich. We came to Bedford having no idea where we were going to stay in Munich, but now, we do!! It's exciting how the Lord has opened the doors to allow us to go! We knew that we were supposed to go to Germany, and the Lord has made a way!

*DTS- Discipleship Training School

Pictures: the first is of the girls, Alisa (Germany), Sun Young (S. Kor.ea), Sarah (Denmark), Victoria and Tina (both USA). Tina's one of the other staff members.
The second photo's of the worship service notice. For a photo of some of the guys click here. I'd have added more photos but my phone browser is playing up and the blogger app on my phone is rubbish. I'll try and post more as the outreach progresses, so stay posted!

Freedom's Here

The Sunset Last Night

The end of one week and the beginning of another. Its been an incredible week, for the students and for the staff. Freedom was fought for... and by this, I mean, the students opened up and shared things (prompted by the Lord) that they hadn't generally shared with anyone else before. For many, it was extremely hard being vulnerable in front of the people they still didn't totally know (and have only known for a few short months). We'd had teaching all this week about Inner Healing, according to the Plumb-line teachings. It basically teaches that we build walls around ourselves based on the experiences, traumas that we go through in our lives and what people have said to us. Based on these experiences we build walls around ourselves that are binding. By opening up to the whole group some incredible healing took place. It was an incredible experience. A lot of the staff in YWAM Urban Key have done the FCM (Foundations for Counselling Ministries, or just the Counselling School). Inner Healing is a topic that is generally taught in the Counselling School, but not in many DTS's as it isn't one of the compulsory topics of the DTS curriculum.

The London Overground

I didn't do Inner Healing on my DTS, though different people had inner healing moments as they journeyed on their different processes with God. So when I came to London to do my LMD*** I was really surprised that it was running in both the DTS and in my LMD (though the October LMD didn't do it). I remember already dealing with something when Inner Healing came up on my DTS and thus I didn't do it, like the rest of the students. However, yesterday and the day before I felt I needed to. I won't write what I shared as we'll still be here tomorrow and most of it is too private to post anyway (what happens in Inner Healing Week stays in Inner Healing Week), but it was a great experience. I'm really grateful that I did it.

Life goes on and we're looking forwards to a new week in YWAM Urban Key, London. Its the weekend and I'm in the house, on weekend work duties. It simply means that I'm staying here to keep the house clean and the people fed. Its tiring but to some degree, I enjoy it.

We're already half way into March and Easter's going to be upon us in a few weeks, as is outreach. More information on all that is going to be announced here soon, so you'll need to wait, just like us. It won't be long before we all know what's happening in that area and I'll do my best to let you good people know what's happening. However, I do want to confirm that I am going on outreach with the DTS in April and May. Its something the Lord has spoken very strongly with me over the last six weeks or so, and I'm very excited about it.

*Youth With A Mission

** Discipleship Training School.

*** School of Leadership and Ministry Development.

One Year On

A sign spring is coming

I think the last few weeks have been classified in my head as extremely busy, to say the least. Its been a rush of lectures, outreaches and work duties. So finding time, even on my days off, to sit down and intentionally write a post, has been very difficult, as my time off have usually involved going out, to find somewhere where I can be alone. To think and to process what's been happening over the last couple of months.

The October School of Leadership and Ministry Development (LMD) graduated last night, whilst the October Discipleship Training School (DTS) got their certificates on Friday night at the YWAM (Youth With A Mission)'s Friday Night Community Meeting. Its great seeing the growth in not only the DTS students (who I've barely gotten to know, sadly), but also the LMD students (who I've been working with since they arrived in October, though I didn't go on outreach with them). I'm ever so proud of the journeys that each one of them have been on, and are on now.

In a couple of weeks, we'll be leaving on outreach phase of the DTS, though more details of where we're going and what we'll be doing whilst we're away will be following soon. All YWAM Schools (save one, that I'm aware of) are broken into two distinct parts or phases, the lecture phase and the outreach phase, to graduate from a YWAM school you'll have had to do both phases. So, as the DTS lecture phase draws to an end, we're starting to look towards the outreach. For me, personally, its the most challenging and rewarding aspect of an school. I grew the most on both my LMD and DTS outreaches, but in different ways. God really used my LMD to impact and change things in me, based on what had happened during my DTS. It hurt, because God was pruning me to produce more growth in my life. So with this DTS, I'm looking forwards to seeing the growth that will happen in the lives of both the students and the other staff.

Two London Buses Outside The Tube Station

One thing that has really hit me recently is that in a few days time I'll have been in England for a year, though I didn't join YWAM London, until April 7, when I arrived at Dartmouth Road a few days before the start of my LMD. Its been an incredible journey of faith. I know there have been some huge challenges for me to over come, by coming to London, but I'm so grateful that God has put such a deep love of this city in my heart. Its great being able to work with YWAM here in this beautiful city, with such an international group of people.

I don't know how long I'll be here for, but every day I wake up and I'm just happy to have been able to finally find somewhere to call home. I haven't been able to do that since I left Uganda two and half years ago, to do my DTS. Some people have assumed that South Africa became my home when my parents moved down there with my brother, but that wasn't the case. South Africa was never my home, it was a place of transition and waiting. Its taken months for London and the house on Dartmouth Road to become my home, because I honestly had no idea what was going to happen when I finished my LMD last August, but it became clear that I needed to stay in London and work with the base here. To be honest, it also gave me the opportunity to get my teeth sorted out. Some of you might remember that I had four teeth pulled out in November 2013. Last September I had braces fitted to move the only wisdom tooth I have left and to straighten the rest out. It been an incredible gift because I haven't had to pay for the treatment, just the transport to and from the Orthodontist's clinic every six or seven weeks.

I'll try to post again over the next week or so!