one month?

WOW.. has it been a month already? We are now 1/3 done with the lecture phase!! Thailand is getting closer and closer and we have been preparing! I hope that you all have been checking the other blog out, because I really haven't been posting on this one as often. As a reminder, the link to the other blog is ywamwinnipeg.com.

Well in my last post I talked about my day of poverty. It was a hard day, I'm not going to lie. I didn't eat much that day because it made the experience that much more realistic. I was hungry and I was cold all day. It was honestly hard to ask people to borrow things all the time. I felt like it was easier to just go without something that I wanted, than to ask someone for it. It really did open my eyes to some of what people who really do have nothing have to deal with daily.
So, most of the stuff that's been going on lately is posted on the other blog, but here are a few stories just for you!

The other day, Janelle and I went to the Fyxx (a coffee place) to work on our book reports and journals. We spent most of the afternoon there. On the way back, a man on the street asked us for a bit of money and as I got some out of my backpack, I asked him a few questions. He told us that he didn't have home and during the winter he just finds a place on the streets to sleep. It broke my heart. His name is Phillip Hart if you could just remember to pray for him, and that he could find a place to stay.

We are introduced to so much of that around here. It's hard to see people like that, and look them in the eye and see their hopelessness. When you take the time to talk to them for a bit or ask them their name, they are just so grateful. One thing that Phillip said to us that stuck in my mind, was, "I respect you, because you respect me." People like him just want to be acknowledged as a human being. So many people just keep walking, and it's easy for us to just say no and move on with our lives. I encourage you to take time to talk with people who are ignored.
So next week is Mission Adventures week! I won't have a computer, cell phone or ipod all week and we are spending a lot of time on the streets doing some urban missions! I'm really excited. I know I'll have a few stories to tell after that week, so be sure to check this after!
OK so we had a speaker awhile ago who's name is Chris Whitler.. and he does a great t-rex impression. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ZBcSVxhwc
It's really funny.

Anyway, I am going to try to write to you guys sooner next time!! And soon, I'll know what the exact outreach amount will be, and how far I am from it. Thanks again to everyone who is supporting me and praying for me. I appreciate it so much. Talk to you all soon! Be sure to leave comments. Have a great week, everyone.

Duties.

Hey there!

Soo.. I have now received the duty of writing the blog for the whole school on the YWAM website.. so I think I'll be doing a little less general writing on here, and more so on there. That blog won't be as personal because I'll be writing it for all the parents and friends of all the students, and so it will take a lot of my time to write two blogs. It will have an update on what we are learning each week, and some cool things that we got to do. I'll for sure post personal stories on here in the future that only you guys would want to read, but most of what's going on will be included in the other blog.

The link to that blog is www.ywamwinnipeg.com and then you will see on the left hand side a place right at the top that begins what i've written. Just click on that and you can check it out.

I write it every tuesday in the afternoon, so it will either get on the site that evening or possibly on wednesday. BUT.. there will for sure be one every week.

One thing that I'll tell you about that won't be on that blog until next week.. is what we are doing tomorrow. This week we've been learning about justice and injustices, and so we are going to experience that the best we can. There are three groups.. and each group has to go without something. One without food, one without water (washing, brushing teeth, flushing toilets, drinking, etc.), and one called poverty in which we can only have a bowl and a cup all day, and what we are wearing when we get up. Anything else that we need, we have to borrow. So I've been put in the poverty group.

I'm not really sure if I should be excited... or dreading it. I'm trying to picture how my day will go tomorrow, and I think of all the things I won't be able to do, like brush my teeth, wear clean clothes, or even have my own shoes and coat. But when I think about how many people have to go through this, or worse, I feel like in some way I can understand a bit better how they feel every day. Poverty is a big issue in the world today - we honestly don't realize it. As a north american, we are the minority. We have everything we need and more, but so many other countries - other people out there hardly have enough. I know this experience will open my eyes that I am excited for.

Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes. As for now, I'm off to sleep.. in my clothes that I'm going to wear tomorrow.. yay. :P Goodnight!

Exploration..

So lately I've been able to do a bit of exploring! Friday night we went to the Forks for a scavenger hunt. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's probably the most touristy place in Winnipeg. There are lots of shops and restaurants, a boat doc and just a big area. Things that you wouldn't be able to find just anywhere. Today a few of us went back there to check it out a little more. This week there's a carnival going on there, with rides and entertainment where we saw a band perform and a fire guy.. I've posted pictures on Facebook, that you should check out for a little better idea of what it's like.
Each week here we have a new speaker, and we all keep journals about the week with a chosen themed scripture. This week I chose 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 for my theme. This passage is about the unity of Christ's body. I think that these words will have a lot to do with how our team will work during our time here. We need to be united and know that we each have a special and unique gift that we bring to the body as a whole. Please continue to pray for unity for our team, as well as humility. And that we would be able to trust and open up to each other. Thanks.