Less Than 9 Days until Brazil!

It's been a long time since I've had a really detailed update, so I'll try to catch everyone up on what's been going on.

It's crazy to think that I'll be in South America on March 18th.  The entire team will be in Rio De Janeiro for a couple weeks, and then we will split up going to Recife, Sao Paulo, and Curitiba with one team staying in Rio (4 teams total).  I'll fly into Rio and stay there for a couple weeks.  I'll then fly from Rio to Recife and stay there for about 4 weeks.  And then I'll fly out of Recife back to Rio for a couple weeks, and then the entire team will fly back to the States.  If you could pray for safe travels for our entire team, that would be super awesome!

SEATTLE
We spent a week in Seattle doing ministry and evangelism.  We did everything from street preaching to talking to random strangers in the city.  We even had the opportunity to partner with a church in Bellevue, WA that has plans to plant a church in Seattle.  During our time there, we still had lectures every day focusing on Personal Design and Team Dynamics.  We spent every morning broken up into our outreach teams building team unity and just having fun hanging out.  And every evening we went out into the city.  It. Was. Sweet.

ASSIGNED READINGS
While we're here in Montana for our lecture phase we have to read 3 books.  I'll give you a brief description of the three I chose..

Is That Really You, God? - Loren Cunningham
This book is about the foundation of YWAM.  Loren Cunningham was the one who had a vision of waves of young people going to the nations, and this book is all about his journey with following what God told him and living that vision out.

Crazy Love - Francis Chan
This book is so loaded.  It challenges you and pushes you to quit being so lukewarm about your faith and go do something about it.

Streetwise - John Goodfellow
This book, written by my DTS leader's dad John Goodfellow, is all about his life.  I've only finished a little over half of this book, but this story is crazy.  I'm not big on reading, but this book has been hard to put down.  John Goodfellow has lived a crazy life, that's for sure. 

GIVING NIGHT
A couple nights ago, we had a "Giving Night."  Here's the deal.. God has given us every good thing we own.  Everything that's "ours" is God's.  It's all his.  It's scary to fully grasp that, but it's all his.  We've been challenged to hold everything we own with an open hand, not a clenched fist.  Everything we own is God's, so if he wants someone else to have it, who are we to say otherwise?
On Giving Night, we were told to pray about what we should give, who to give it to, and actually do it.  Whether it was money, junk food, clothes, an encouraging word, a hug, whatever.  Whatever God told you to give, you were challenged to actually go through with it.  Before any giving started, we were informed about how much money people owed for their outreach phase of DTS.  Not everybody had their money in, and there was approximately $6,500 that needed to come in for everyone to go on outreach to Brazil.  During Giving Night, so much stuff was exchanged.  Food, jackets, hats, shoes, guitars, money, jewelry, and more.  By the end of the night, all the outstanding debt for outreach phase was paid off and everybody was so flipping encouraged!  It was so cool to see how tangible God's love really is, and how much of a blessing it is to simply give when God says give.  Awesome.

WHAT HAVE I BEEN LEARNING?
These past few months of lecture have been life changing to say the least.  God has been constantly teaching me about my identity.  I didn't realize how much stuff God wanted to work through with me, but it's been liberating.  Every single day I'm learning what it means to be a son of God and how to truly live that out.  There are so many things that happened in my past that have defined me and how I live day to day.

Don't be afraid, for I am with you.  Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. - Isaiah 41:10

You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil.  As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you. - John 15:16

But the words "it was counted to him" were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also.  It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. - Romans 4:23-25

It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. - Ephesians 1:11-12

This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God-WHO DOES NOT LIE-promised them before the world began. - Titus 1:2

This is what God has been constantly telling me and reminding me of, using these verses as an example...
"Grant, don't be afraid!  Why are you so discouraged when you know that I'm gonna lift you up?  I have claimed you.  I chose you before the foundations of the Earth; right before Genesis 1:1.  Right there, I chose you.  And I've forgiven you.  I have verbally declared you righteous, in spite of all your struggling and shortcomings.  You're forgiven of everything.. All of it.. Believe me.  I have so many plans for your life, greater plans than you can even imagine.  Grant, it's all true!  I wouldn't lie to you; you are my BELOVED SON.  Keep doing what you're doing.  I'm so proud of you.  You are not a loser.  You are valuable."


CAFE NIGHT
During DTS, we split up into different "tracks" where we could choose to spend some of our school time focusing on different things.  Those tracks were music, art, dance, community, or snowboarding.  Here's a video where we got to show each other what all the tracks have been working on the past 3 months.