Going Forth into Ireland

        The outreach teams for the field portion of my DTS have finally been announced.  I am going to Ireland!  God is so awesome.  Before we were told what our three outreach locations would be, I never would have imagined staying in Europe for outreach.  But when it was announced what the focus of the ministry in Ireland would be, I immediately felt a tug on my heart; God was leading me to Ireland.  The focus for ministry in Ireland will be on corrupt governmental structure, economic problems, work with churches, children, youth, intersession, and human trafficking victims.  We were given a week to pray about it and then present our final decision to our staff.  As I prayed I just felt more and more at peace about choosing Ireland as my outreach destination.  Ministry there will focus on work with children and youth, intersession, and human trafficking victims.  All of these things were areas that God had given me a passion for, and all of the issues played a role in God leading me to this particular DTS.  So as I prayed I was just so at peace about the decision, and I really felt that God was indeed leading me to Ireland.  Then today the final decision, about who would be going to each country, was finally announced.  The Ireland team consists of ten students from our DTS, including myself, and two staff.  We will be leaving for Ireland in April and will return to Switzerland the first week of July.  So right now it is my prayer that God would even now be preparing our hearts, as a team, for the work that God is preparing in advance for us.  Also that He would unify us as a team, and that God would be preparing hearts in Ireland to receive the work that God will be doing through us.     
        Also some interesting news, my local outreach group had our first opportunity to do outreach in Biel, Switzerland this past week.  Personally, my role in this outreach opportunity will be teaching English to three teenagers.  All three of them are Swiss but are each originally from Shreelanka.  There are two girls and a boy; ages 16, 14, and 13.  They each speak Tamil, German, French, and they are also learning English.  But they are going to be meeting with me, and one other person from our YWAM outreach group, every other Wednesday .  We will have the opportunity to spend time with them, invest in their lives, and build relationships with them.  Because I am the only one in our outreach group that speaks English alone, I am the one who will work with these three students every time we meet.  There will also be one other person from our group with me each time, but not necessarily the same person every week.  We will play games with them, spend time with them, teach them about our language and our culture, and we will even be able to cook food for them from our home countries.  I am really excited about this outreach opportunity.  I am building relationships with three teenagers, I have something to offer them that that they need, and I will also have the incredible opportunity of being Jesus to them.  All three of them are precious and so eager to learn.  So please keep them in your prayers and also pray that God would lead our conversation in a way that will bring glory to Him. 
      

This past week I came down with a stomach virus that kept me in bed all day on Friday but God was gracious and gave me enough strength to travel with my DTS into the mountains for the weekend. So we went up to Kantersteg on Friday evening, went sledding on the mountain all day Saturday, walked around the ski village on Sunday and drove back to the YWAM base that day. It was such a refreshing time. It was so good to just get away and have nothing scheduled but mandatory fun with the group. It became an amazing opportunity to further develop friendships with the other people in my DTS, and sense that weekend I have really noticed a sweet spirit of unity that has really begun to grow among our group. Now, as I see just how fast time is passing us by, I realize that in just over a month and a half we will be parting ways as we enter the mission field. So it is so important that I make the most of the time we have now, and really get to know my fellow students in a deeper way.

        In about three weeks we will all be heading off to Amsterdam for five days, where we will be working with a YWAM base and embarking on a practicum that will teach us more about ministering to victims of human trafficking.  So again I am struck by just how much time has already gone by.  I have been here almost a month already and that is so hard to believe.  God is so good, He is teaching me so much, and I am so excited for all that He has yet in store for me to learn.  I am so excited about the opportunities I am being given to minister; in being involved in intersession and blessing in Wiler and the surrounding area, in teaching English to teenagers, in having the opportunity to go to Amsterdam, and finally in spending time ministering and showing the love of Jesus Christ to the people of Ireland.  God is so faithful.