Lecture Phase... Complete!

"Perseverance, secret of all triumphs."

-Victor Hugo

The past few days...

*Sunday our Thaibodia team  went to REI, Target, and The Arc to grab the last few items that we needed for outreach! We had a great time bonding as we also went out for pizza in the afternoon.

*This is a picture of my bed... where I have lived for 

last 2 1/2 months! Before I took everything down I took a picture just to remember how I had everything set up! Seeing my cards and letters that people had sent really kept me smiling! Yes I do have a sweet teddy bear that is so precious to me so don't judge me ;) 

*We had worship at Hillside Church on Monday for the last time until graduation! Wow, that seems weird to say. We joined with the YP DTS for the last time as well! We also had a speaker who came from the base in Kona, Hawaii! Did you know that YWAM / University of the Nations is in the process of producing a movie? Yeah neither did I! David Cunningham, (Loren Cunningham's (the founder of YWAM's) son) is one of the film makers! I encourage you to check out this 7 min. trailer that talks about the movie! Surprisingly I was seeing many parallels between Sight and Sound and this movie! :) Anyways, it looks like it is going to be an amazing movie about King David! Check it out!!! The link is below!

Day of War Trailer

*Last evening the entire MDTS went to a restaurant for a last hoorah! We went to a place called Cinzzettis! It is an Italian Market type of restaurant! It was so delicious! A buffet style place that had windows of everything being made fresh right before your eyes! We had Crepes, Pasta, Pizza, Gelato, Canoli's, and special Italian dishes! It was such a nice treat!

*Monday we had classes on Missions and Evangelism! I really enjoyed the classes, and I was reminded of some very important things before we arrive in Thailand, such as: 

-Constantly serve

-Be mindful of the attitude you may be giving off. (Like you are better than these people, customs, or culture.)

-Because we are going into a different culture we must remember that due to their language and other factors, that they may process things differently than how we are meaning to come across. Be sensitive.

-Ask questions and be a learner. Take the time to be genuinely interested in their lives and country. Most people love that and it really shows that you care!

-We are not bringing Jesus to them. He's already there and has been working!

Those were a few tips that I really appreciated! We also talked about some cultural f aux paus that we should be aware of. For example, unless you are at a funeral you should never stick your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of food. It's disrespectful. :) 

::THAIBODIA::

Well, I can't believe it's here! Lecture phase of Musicians DTS 2012 is almost over! (After today) We have to present some projects today and clean the base but that's pretty much all there is! We have learned so much about ourselves, God, and are equipped with tools and teaching! We will never stop learning about any of these things, but during this time of my life I have been catapulted into a deeper understanding of all of these. I'm so excited to be a student for the rest of my life!

Tomorrow after lunch our team will be taking off from Denver, CO to Las Vegas, NV then to Seoul, South Korea, and finally to Bangkok, Thailand. Please keep myself as well as our team in your prayers! Please Please Please!! :) 

I am planning to keep everyone as updated as I possibly can. My phone will not be able to receive texts or phone calls after tomorrow night. The best way to stay in contact with me is via Skype, possibly Voxer, email, and Facebook. Please keep in touch! I will try to respond and update my blog whenever possible!

Thank you for your love, prayers, and support!!!

Here we go Thailand and Cambodia... We are coming!!! 

This picture to the right displays what our team T-Shirts look like! It was designed by my small group leader & outreach leader Molly Hardwick!

Talk to you soon everyone!! From halfway across the world!!

From My Heart, 

Brielle Renee

P.S. I want to say a big thank you to Dad, Mom, Taylor, Nan, Pap, Sarah & Dave Boyer, & Anna for sending me the last and sweetest package ever! When I opened it and saw little wrapped presents I beamed with such a smile! Thank you for everything! I'm so grateful for each one of you and appreciate how you all took the time and thought of me. <3

P.S.S. To anyone who has seen my closet and knows how much I love cute clothes I feel as though you should be very proud of me for being able to fit EVERYTHING I need into a hiking backpack and live out of it for 2 months in 2 foreign countries... dad... (cough cough) Yes it can be done! Love you :)

Preparing for outreach!!!

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do."

-Helen Keller

This past week at a glance...

* Sunday I attended Faith Bible Chapel where I heard a great sermon on the Holy Spirit and Spiritual gifts. While I have been in classes that went into this subject in depth it was still really good to hear some things again, and ask God to give me a new perspective on some of what I'd already heard. What I really appreciated was after the service the entire church filled the aisles and we put our hands on the person in front of us and we prayed for them. We heard some specific things that were going on in their lives and we started praying for the people that surrounded us, even though we had never met some of them before. I really appreciated that we took the time to apply what we were learning about that morning as opposed to just getting a pat on the back and hearing, "We'll see you next week." It's about relationships. :)

* This weekend was my last weekend on kitchen duty at the base! It was so fun to experience this, and it really helped me appreciate how much time and work goes into making large quantities of food! We had a blast working and singing at the top of our lungs. 

* Monday we went to Hillside Church for worship with all the schools, because Faith was in need of using their auditorium. Hillside is where we will be holding our graduation in February. We had a wonderful time of worship and we also had a guest speaker! Peter Iliyn is the YWAM Director of North America. He came and shared with us about how our meetings with people are so important and not to take them lightly. He told us an amazing story that has taken place in his life in reference to his message, and he's really funny!! Such a great way to start the week. 

* Our last Community Ministries time was on Tuesday evening! I can't believe how quickly our lecture phase is coming to an end! For Community Ministries two other students, a couple leaders, and myself traveled to the Refugee House Church. My expectations of what this was were totally off! When we walked into the house where we were having bible study I noticed that everyone was our age except for the people that were leading the bible study. These people were all refugees from all over the world that were able to come to America. There were people from Rawanda, Burma, and Thailand. All over the world where they have been persecuted. We had worship with them and a bible study. At the end we had a fellowship time where we got to talk with them. I talked to a refugee from Burma, (a little history: Burma has been in the midst of the longest civil war in the world. Many of the Burmese people flee to the south and make it to Thailand where they are free.) and I seemed to hear the Lord prod me to ask him how to say, "Jesus loves you." He speaks Karen which is the native language of Burma. He told it to me and I believe that God is going to be able to use this on outreach somehow! We had a fantastic night! 

* Love Feast!!! Thursday evening we had Love Feast which is a banquet that YWAM held for all the students over at Faith Bible Chapel in the Atrium. I started getting ready at 1:30pm and was able to be the hairstylist for 6 girls including myself! :) It was a blast but by the time 5:30pm came I was exhausted! Everyone looked smashing, the atrium was beautifully decorated so that it looked like a Christmas party, the food was fantastic, the company was the best, and it was even complete with a talent show. Everyone had a spectacular night and it was nice to spend time with all these people who have become our family. So fun to get all glammed up for a night before we go on outreach and live out of a backpack! 

* For small group this week we went into Downtown Denver and went to the cafe called, Rooster Moon. While we were here we wrote letters to each other for either when we get back from outreach or for a year from now. Personally I wrote mine for a year from now and I'm excited to see how I will have changed in a year! I also had my first Egg Nog Chai Latte which was actually amazing! :)

* Friday evening The Art and Justice League had a silent art auction at the Church Downtown. A few of us that didn't have afternoon work duties were asked to go and help set up for them. When we arrived we got to help set up the photo booth area, (Mom, I felt like I was decorating for ECE a little bit ;)) and we also helped prepare food and cater the event. Everything turned out beautifully and I was blessed to be able and be apart of this night with such a great organization. 

*Real talk. This week has been difficult but through Jesus I am victorious. Not only myself, but there are others this week on the base that have been getting slammed with some pretty heavy spiritual warfare. Pressures of outreach are coming up, and personally, I have experienced some terrible nightmares this week. Relationships have been tested, and are being tested. I know that the enemy is trying to use stresses and conflicts to get not only myself, but others down as well. We have a lot of school work coming up and our final exam is quickly approaching as well. There is some sickness going around and some depression. This week we have been speaking and praying against these things. Interceding for each other and pressing into God. Prayer warriors, we could use your prayers!! Victory is already ours and we need to claim that!!!

::Classes::

- Due to the fact that we are about a week from our three teams going on outreach, we haven't had a speaker this week. Instead we have been learning a ton of dramas, dances, and puppetry! It has been so so so fun!! I think we have about 8 different dramas, 3 songs that we do with puppets, and a choreographed dance.

-The dramas cover an array of different subjects and are intended for specific age groups.

-The puppets are so fun! We learned how to take care of them and really bring them to life!

-The choreographed dance is SICK! We had a 4 hour dance class on Thursday and had a blast learning it. (We are fully prepared to flash mob this in airports hehe)

Meet my puppet: Lafawnda. Legitimately though, that's her name. :)

::THAIBODIA::

- I cannot believe that in 4 days I will be on a plane with 14 other people flying to Bangkok, Thailand! Wow! 

This week has been full of preparation for leaving! Packing, getting finances in order, learning dramas, writing sermons and testimonies. We have had meetings on what to bring, what to expect, and logistics. Thailand is 12 hours different than Eastern Time I believe and I've been checking the weather at times. At 6am it is pretty consistantly around 80 degrees! Whoaaaa! We have to wear clothing that covers our knees and at least has short sleeves so it's gonna be hot! 

We took our team photo this week and have been growing closer as a family! We leave the base after lunch on Wednesday and we have layovers in Las Vegas, Nevada and Seoul, South Korea. 

While overseas I will have access to wifi periodically. So please leave me Facebook messages and emails! Unfortunately I wont be able to text or make phone calls because of the international fees. I will also be trying to update my blog as frequently as I can!

There will be times that our leaders will be sending out emails as to how things are going. One of those contacts will be through my mom so feel free to give her a call and see if she knows anything more! 

This is our last weekend living on base. Our last couple days staying in our dorm with all these friends that we've made. I will miss them terribly, however, I'm so excited for all the things they will be doing for the Kingdom of God as they travel to Kenya, Africa, Southern California, and Cancun, Mexico. As much as I know you support and intercede for me, I would urge you to keep these other teams in your prayers. Things change on outreach and sometimes contacts fall through so there will be times when we really need to wait on the Lord and listen to what His plan is instead of our own! Thank you so much. 

Thank you for making this all possible! Each one, Thank you!

From My Heart,

Brielle Renee

P.S. Here is our video cast from this week! It explores our teams gearing up for outreach!! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6GCdGhFTaQ

P.S.S. Here is the sneak peek of our dance, "Ramalama (Bang, Bang)" Keep in mind we were just learning it that day! :) It demonstrates what it's like to feel controlled by sin. Almost like you're a puppet. In this drama there are puppets (people) and puppeteers (demons). They each struggle with something different. There is drugs, gluttony, alcohol, and even religion. The end is up to each person. God is the victory to overcome these things and after the drama will be a sermon on it, so even though it may seem dark, there is a second half that isn't seen on the video. Our goal is to bring glory to God and this is a tool that we will be able to use! 

Ramalama (Bang, Bang) Thaibodia team

P.S.S.S. I'll try to do one more tiny update before I leave!

+ Jesus

"Jesus did not come to Earth so that we can have a relationship with the Father, instead He came so that we can share in His relationship with the Father." 

This past week at a glance...

*Every Wednesday we break up into groups and have a time of intercession for a country that our group has picked out! For some reason I haven't mentioned it thus far, and I feel the need to now! The group that I am in has chosen China to be our country of focus. Each week we have a different focus that we pray into. Some examples have been praying for the media, home, church, family, government, business, sports, and entertainment. I enjoy this time because it raises our awareness on things that are going on outside of our country and gets our eyes off of ourselves. China needs our prayers and I love being able to intercede in prayer for this country. 

*On base there is a fellow student from the Phase 2 school who plays flute! I was humbled when Mats came to me and asked if I would be willing to give him lessons! I've been able to recommend some practicing material, and it feels so wonderful being able to teach again! I'm excited to see how God is going to use this love of mine in the future!

*Friday was Kingdom Night! Students from Musicians DTS, Phase II, and YP DTS all traveled to the Church in the City to start off Kingdom Night. We had a fantastic time of worship! We meet in the basement of this church where we blast worship music and just prepare our hearts while interceding for the city of Denver before we go out into the city.
While we were worshiping I heard the Lord urging me to dance with Him. I've had people come up to me throughout DTS and just say that Jesus longs to dance with me. Let's be serious... me? dance in a room with other people? I started making excuses in my mind and then I heard the Lord say to me that He's provided everything I need to dance with Him. The basement of this church has smooth wooden floors perfect for dancing, beautiful music was playing, and I was wearing clothes that I could dance in. Finally I gave in, because the truth is, I really did want to dance with Him. So I started dancing with Jesus... and I knew He was dancing with me. Nothing has felt so right than to forget the world around me and dance with my Father.
The energy in the room was explosive and actually everyone started dancing! We even created a dancing line because the joy was just flooding our souls! We followed this time up by agreeing in prayer with one another.
When we arrived at the 16th Street Mall a group of musicians felt called to worship at the beginning of 16th Street. That's where I stayed the whole night. We had four guitarists, a mandolin, a trumpet, D'jembe, 2 flautists, and vocalists. We played worship music in the street! People would come by and listen, then someone would spot them and just start praying for them. One man's arm was even healed! It was amazing to feel how the atmosphere of the place changed as soon as we got there and started playing! Such a wonderful and encouraging night!

Here is a picture of two of my classmates. Micah with the Djembe and Mats with the flute. 

::Chris Failla : Jesus::

This week was one of my favorite weeks as far as teaching goes! Chris Failla was our teacher and a former YWAM student. He taught us on Jesus. I'll admit, at first I thought I had a pretty good handle on what all of this would be about. Well... I was wrong, and I'm glad I was! I have had a new passion ignited in me for the bible and studying scripture! It is so much more than what I've grown up hearing, reading, and knowing! 

Here are some of the notes I took! 

We started off by realizing that because of interpretations it can misconstrue things that have been taught from the bible being represented as truth. Chris used an example from his life that went like this. There was a time when his wife was talking to a mother from a different country. Chris's wife was being encouraging and trying to help the woman with different things, but the woman came to her later and said that she was deeply hurt. Chris's wife was shocked and bewildered wondering why. The mother said that she felt as though Chris's wife was saying that she was an unfit mother and needed help. Nothing about their conversation suggested that, but because of this mother's insecurities she misconstrued the conversation and took it personally. Man, how many times do we do that? I know I've been known to. 

-"A filter of insecurity can misconstrue a conversation." 

-"Shame causes us to interpret behavior statements as value and identity statements." -Paul Young "The Shack"

OK get this! What is the very first thing that we know about God in the bible? Well Genesis 1:1 says, "In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth." Is that all there is to that verse? Does it seem pretty straight forward? Well this totally blew my mind... 

God (in Hebrew) is Elohim. In Hebrew the 'im' ending signifies PLURALITY! The word created, in Hebrew, is SINGULAR. So essentially what Genesis 1:1 says is, In the beginning they (the trinity) creates (unitary). Why is this important? God is all about relationships and He is a relationship. The enemy wants us to focus on God as singular, however, God is unity. He is 3 in 1. I would've never given this verse a second look. Crazy huh?

Did you know that Jesus was always God's plan? He wasn't a backup plan because Adam and Eve messed up. How do we know this? 

Ephesians 1:4-5 " For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will-" We were always meant to be adopted through Jesus. 

"The gospel is not an invitation to accept Jesus into our lives, but really the gospel is simply coming to terms with the reality that Jesus has already accepted us into His." 

Oh my goodness I have so many examples of passages that I never truly understood in their entirety. I would encourage you to talk to me about some of this stuff when I come home so I can explain it better! With that being said... everything that I have written in my blogs I encourage you to scrutinize on your own. Check things with the bible and have a conversation with God about it. I'm no scholar, just a student that's trying to soak up as much as I can. I do the best that I can to try and represent what I'm learning through this blog. So please if you disagree with something, don't write me or YWAM off. Just seek the Lord and what He says. That's what is most important anyways. :)

Even though I have so many more wonderful notes I'll include this last one because if had such a profound effect on me. Chris had an example of 1 chair (which was higher, like a stool) and then separately he set up three chairs facing each other. He explained about how sometimes we view God as being up in heaven sitting on a throne and looking down at us. In reality though, He isn't sitting up "high", He is the other example of the three chairs all sitting with each other. God, Holy Spirit, and Jesus. The thing is... sometimes people have explained them as being 3 dudes sitting around and talking about the world and creating and such. Then Chris said, "Well that poses a problem for you ladies, doesn't it." As he started explaining this it resonated with my heart so much that I started to tear up. In Greek the word for spirit is "numa." This word is gender neutral. In Hebrew the word for spirit is "ryach." This is a feminine noun. Ummm what? See when God created man in the garden of Eden He said that both man and woman were made in His image. (Genesis 1:27) How could he create woman if we aren't part of His image? So you see... the Holy Spirit encompasses everything that is masculine and feminine. This may seem like elementary when you think about it. I mean it makes sense, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. Wow... :) 

^^^ Those are just some little tid bits! 

::THAIBODIA::

We are less than two weeks away from going to Bangkok, Thailand! Time is flying and I can't believe how fast lecture phase of DTS is rapidly coming to an end! I must say thank you again to everyone that helped to make this possible! Whether you helped through supporting me with encouragement, prayers, finances, the picnic, and/or the concert that I held... Thank you. :)

This week we got our work duties for while we are on outreach. Everyone has a different assigned job. I get to work with another girl in my outreach on preparing meals for everyone! Honestly it makes sense that I have the privilege to have this duty because while we have been living here at the base that has been my work duty here. Every other weekend I help to prepare/set up/ and tear down breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Saturday and Sundays. I could really use your prayers though because I'm not quite sure what to expect. I'm a super organized person and going to a new country having to brainstorm/prepare meals for 15 people 3 times a day gets me a little anxious sometimes. I know that God will provide and guide us, but prayers are always appreciated! 

Check out these little guys! This past week I realized that I had this extra yarn that I had no idea what I was going to do with while on outreach. When you live out of a backpack for 2 months you really can't spare any room for balls of yarn. As I began thinking about possible solutions to this predicament God answered my question. I believe that God has called me to crochet these little hearts, and while over in Thailand and Cambodia give them to children. It may be seemingly small, however, I know if I was one of those children it might mean the world to me. It doesn't matter that there is a language barrier, everyone knows that a heart is the symbol of love... and God's love for those little sweethearts is simply unfathomable. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and stay involved in my life. 

Love you all.

From My Heart,

Brielle Renee

P.S. Here is our video cast from this week!

YWAM Video Cast

P.S.S. In a recent blog I talked about Nefarious, the Christian documentary that investigates sex trafficking and prostitution. Below I have included the link to the trailer. It is just that profound. 

Just as a disclaimer, be advised that it will shock you. I've seen the trailer multiple times and the movie, and every time... I still get tears in my eyes. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esHuKsVozI4

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

"The sweetest blessings are won with prayer & worn with thanks." 
-Thomas Goodwin 

::Classes::

So this week everything has been out of whack a little bit due to it being Thanksgiving! 

Instead of having one speaker for the entire week we had breakout sessions. This was where we had members of the staff teach on various topics at various times and we were able to go to which ever one appealed to us! 

The breakout sessions I went to were:

*Music Theory- I have always loved music theory and have taken classes on it before. It was a nice refresher course to be apart of! 

*Vocal Workshop- Loved this class! We had two amazing instructors that really know what they are talking about! They gave us some tips on using our voices and how to sing and articulate properly. We then had a practical application part of the class where we were able to sing for our instructor and be critiqued. I decided to participate in that! Yes, yes I did! I'm so proud of the confidence that I am gaining in my voice! Thank you Lord!

*Band Development- This class was awesome because it wasn't what I had expected! We actually spent time focusing on the dynamics of a band. Meaning, we looked into the relationships within a band. This was so insightful because so many times this get overlooked and then there is dysfunction.

Something else that we did this week was that we watched the move, "Father of Lights." Seriously everyone should see this trilogy of movies that a man by the name of Darren Wilson has produced. The first movie is, "Finger of God," followed by "Furious Love" (which I saw and wrote about a couple blogs ago), and finally "Father of Lights." So inspiring. So amazing. Everyone in class was so jazzed to go on outreach by the end of the film. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!!

::THAIBODIA::

*So I can't believe that in 2 and 1/2 weeks I will be headed to Bangkok, Thailand! Yes! God has provided the finances that I have needed to go on this outreach through all of you, my friends and family! Words cannot express to you how incredibly thankful I am. THANK YOU!!! 

This week our whole group traveled to the Doctor to receive our wonderful array of shots! ha ha. Thankfully I only had to get a Typhoid shot! One step closer!! 

We have also started learning our dramas that we will be performing overseas! I LOVE dramas so when I learned that I got to be a main actress in one I got super excited! We are doing a drama to a song by Mumford and Sons called, "Dustbowl Dance." This drama hits home for me personally because it is a silent drama that follows a girl through life and how she puts on different masks or "faces" in accordance to whoever she is talking to or hanging out with. Then Jesus comes in and he breaks all of those masks and turns her face towards His. It's an extremely powerful drama and I'm excited to see how the Lord will move through it when we perform it in Thailand and Cambodia. I'm ready! Let's Goooooo!

::THANKSGIVING::

-Sooooo!!! With some help from a Mr. Derek I was able to arrange a surprise arrival for Thanksgiving! I don't think I've ever been so excited in my life to come home, surprise, and spend time with the people that I love the most! So early Thursday morning I touched down in good ole Philly! It was wonderful just knowing that I was back in PA! Early Thanksgiving morning I hid in the trunk of Derek's car as he pulled up to my parents farm. My parents were expecting him to bring a pie for Thanksgiving. Instead, when they opened the trunk to pick a pie there was ME! I had my video camera on my phone all prepped and ready to capture their reactions! Dad started cracking up and mom started to as well, but it quickly turned into crying. This was such a very sweet moment that I was so blessed to be apart of. We pulled it off and I couldn't have done it without the help of my amazing brother! 

We had a wonderful week! I got to spend a wonderful Thanksgiving with my parents while seeing my grandparents, some extended family, and two of my favorite girls in the entire world! My heart had missed my sweet Abby and Anna so much. I got to go black Friday shopping for the first time in my life with some wonderful people, go for a ride around the farm with my mom and Penny, ventured to King of Prussia, and had an absolute BLAST! Visiting with family and friends made my visit so priceless. I even got to spend an evening celebrating Christmas because I will be in Thailand for Christmas this year. To everyone that helped pull this together, spent time with me, and planned things... I thank you. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you all so deeply. I will say though that it made leaving on Monday that much harder. 

Thank you...

I think this is probably the shortest blog that I have written yet! Sorry it's not chock full of amazing insights like normal, but for me this week has been monumental just the same! 

Thank you again everyone for your love and support! Especially those prayers! 

From My Heart,

Brielle Renee

P.S. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!

Relationships

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God & whoever loves has been born of God & knows God." 

~ 1 John 4:7

This past week at a glance...

*Sunday the Three Musketeers (Malia, Brit, and myself) attended Bridgeway Church. We went to hear a speaker by the name of Randy Clark. He basically told us of his testimony and how God has been so loving and persistent throughout his life.
Worship was so dynamic! There were instrumental solos, and you could really see the love and passion that the musicians had for the music, each other, and God. 

*In the evening a few of us went to see the new Batman movie, which we thought was awesome! The movie theater is called, The Elvis, which is similar to our Kendig theater back home. :)

*One thing that I've gotten to have the opportunity to do is to help out some girls with their hair and makeup!

I've always loved doing my own, and having knowledge from when I sold Mary Kay really helps!  Of course those things don't truly matter and our identity in not found in them, however, we are girls! (We love this stuff) I love being able to give and teach these girls! :)

*This week for Community Ministries we went to Shannon's Hope which is a safe house for single mothers with young children. We went and spent time with the women's children! They were taking Christmas pictures for cards so we helped out by holding the babies and keeping them calm while watching a Disney movie. I know that we were a huge help, especially to a mother with two newborn twins, and she even had her arm in a cast/brace of some kind. Man, those babies were so tiny, young, and sweet! Oh my goodness I loved being there and getting to not only love on these little ones, but love on the mothers as well.

*Having Brit here this week was such a joy! We had a blast doing Safeway runs, Starbucks dates, indoor soccer, hanging out by the pool table, and just plain laughing and talking. I miss her like crazy!

*This week for small group we had dinner at Hapa which is a sushi place in Downtown Boulder, Colorado. Afterwards we walked the streets of Boulder and headed to a book/coffee shop. :) I love small group times!

::Guest Speakers : Nathan and Jess Alley::

This week we have had the privilege of hearing from two of the staff that work here at YWAM Denver. Nathan and Jess Alley are a sweet married couple who love to teach others about relationships. Here are some of the notes that I took during their class.

-It is essential that we speak life and encouragement over people as opposed to sarcasm and discouragement. Did you know that the root of the word sarcasm in Greek means to tear flesh, gnash the teeth, and speak bitterly? There is a difference between sarcasm and being facetious.

*Romans 12:16 "Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited." (We should live in harmony and unity with one another) ;)
Honestly all of Romans chapter 12 applies to what we have been learning and we broke down the entire chapter piece by piece.

-"Love cannot exist without choice."
-"Become an expert on what God intended originally for us and for relationships. Then people will see what healthy, loving relationships look like."

-The enemy wants to bring separation while God wants unity. Satan wants to introduce testing over trusting.

-"We need to be transformed to have relationships and we need to have relationships to have missions."

-Have you ever looked at how the dictionary defines love? Check this out, the dictionary defines love as this: 

1.      A profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.
2.      A feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child or friend.
3.      Sexual passion or desire... (really? that IS love??)
4.      A person toward whom love is felt, beloved person; sweetheart. 

So basically worldly love is based on; feelings, conditions, sexual desire, selfishness, love is used flippantly, and it is expected to be received more than given. hmm. No wonder our view of love is distorted. 

What does God say about love? What is true love? As a class we brainstormed and looked up different scriptures that tell us what love actually is. A few scripture we looked at are; 

1 John 4:18 "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and                    whoever fears has not been perfected in love."

Ephesians 4:2-3 "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (of course!) " Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (personally that should be the definition of love right there.) 

-We came up with a list of what love is based off of these verses and so many more. 

Love is; sacrifice, honor, trusting, forgiving, disciplining, choice, humble, protective, risky, relentless, sparkling (guess who said that one!), relationship, joy, provision, fearless, communication, keeps promises, has no boundaries, unconditional, unconventional, giving, selfless. Those are just a few. 

We also looked at "levels" of relationship and how they generally progress. It starts with acknowledgement, then social interaction, friendship (this is intentional), companionship, committed (you commit to pursue), spiritual intimacy, marriage, sexual intimacy. Each level of relationship includes a smaller and smaller amount of people which is how it should be. Besides family and a significant other you should avoid having "committed" (and the following level relationships) with people of the opposite gender. 

-Investing in relationships and people is so important. The world says that a relationship that needs work is not a good relationship, and that is so false. 

"Time = Relationship"

The 4 T's of Relationship

TRUST: (Character and Faith) Confidence that is not based on proof.

TENACITY: (Fierce) Holding fast. You fight for the relationship.

TRUTH: Relationships should always be based on truth. 

TIME: Shows people that they are valuable.

We moved from friendship relationships to dating relationships...

-"Our desire should be for each other, not marriage."

-"Don't put relationships on a pedestal, but present your relationship to God."

 Some verses that we looked at were:

-Ephesians 5:22

-Proverbs 31

-Song of Solomon 

-"Emotion is not the deciding factor of love. Emotions are not our stability. We should instead filter our emotions through truth.

-"Your assurance and identity come only from God. It shouldn't come from a relationship."

-"With great risk, comes great reward."

At one point we looked at qualities to compare and see if you are equally yoked with someone. Here are some:

-What are your callings? (individually. If you're called to be a missionary in Africa and the other person is called to be a doctor in Canada... chances are that's not gonna work out :))

-Are you both pursuing growth?

-What is their work ethic like?

-Are they a Christian? (If not, you could become their god :(...)

-Is this person spiritually mature? 

If you've made it this far commit this person in prayer to the Lord. If this is somebody that you decide to pursue then be intentional about your intentions, don't leave your options open (be "all in"), risk failing, fight for that person, and press on to the goal. 

Last couple things!! (I promise)

-"When you're in a romantic relationship, make sure that your friendships with the opposite sex are at the appropriate boundaries."

-"If you're willing to fight for others then you need to be willing to fight for yourself."

-"Guard each others hearts, not just your own."

::Thailand/Cambodia::

We are getting closer and closer to departure!!! A couple things still remain until that happens though! This week we took our pictures for the visas that are required to get into Cambodia! We have had some "bonding" times with our team as well so that we can really know each other better than we already do! 15 of us will be doing everything together for almost 2 months and we want to be an amazing team that utilizes each others strengths and encourages others in their weaker areas! 

GUYS!!! I am only $350 away from being able to pay for my second outreach payment! That seriously blows me away!!! I need to be able to pay the full amount (which was $1,850) on Monday November 26th. That is the Monday after Thanksgiving... a week from tomorrow. God is good and has provided thus far so I'm just resting in the fact that I know He wants me to go to Thaibodia and that He will provide! In that I want to say thank you to those of you that continue to support me not only financially but in prayer and encouragement as well!! You are all such a blessing to me. Thank you!!!

::Resound Conference::

Thursday evening, all day Friday, and all day Saturday we attended the Resound Conference in Boulder, Colorado! This was an AMAZING conference! We had times of worship, lectures, and different bands that came and performed. 

During the lecture phases we I got to hear from:

Jeremy Riddle- (Christian singer/songwriter) His session was called "Furious Love: A Worship Leader & Songwriters Experience/Journey into the Love of God. It was more on Spiritual Authority which was awesome! He explained how we writes songs and what methods he uses. 

Melissa Helser- (Jonathan and Melissa Helser are a Christian husband and wife duo) Her session was, "Discovering Your Breakthrough Sound." 

Jason Roberson and Nick Kofahl- "The Heart of the Artist" 

And Jonathan Helser. These speakers were all amazing and I have tremendous notes from all of them. Daddy especially, we should talk about them sometime :) 

The Artists that performed were:

Jeremy Riddle, Jonathan David & Melissa Helser, Ascend the Hill, and Kye Kye

(Kye Kye was by far my favorite! They were so amazing and I encourage you to check them out! Well all of them really.)

The reason why I have kept the above short ^^^ is because I have some stories from the concert that I absolutely MUST share! 4 to be exact!

1.) The first night we were there I sat a couple seats down from an older gentleman by the name of Tom. We just briefly chit chatted in the beginning of the conference and then at the end he asked me if I was with YWAM. I said yes, of course, and he said that he wanted to bless me. He went back to one of the booths and he bought me all 3 of the Helser's Cd's! I was speechless and so thankful that he felt led to do this. The Cd's are wonderful and such a blessing! 

2.) I've realized (which may seem elementary) that I have a more powerful outlet than playing music and running. Let me explain. When I get upset I have always turned to playing/writing music and running as my outlet for my frustrations. While these are healthy ways of distressing, I have found that pouring my heart into worship and having passionate conversations with God are more helpful!!! It's so amazing. 

3.) One of my roommates, Abigail, has had 6 tumors on her spine that cause her discomfort to an extreme sometimes. Well Friday night many people prayed over her and I'm not kidding you when I say this. She is HEALED!!! Every tumor is GONE!!! You could literally feel and see the tumors in her back and they caused her to have bruising and they are 100% GONE!!! We all were going crazy that night and I'm crying right now thinking about it!!! God has healed her! She loves being pain free!!! Thank you Lord!!!

4.) This is totally truth, what I'm about to tell you, and there is not exaggeration at all!!! Chad Johnson was speaking to us during one of our sessions. (He is the founder of "Come and Live") We were discussing healing and how one of Chad's favorite things to do is receive words from the Lord and be the vessel that God uses to heal people. He will pray over them and a lot of times people are healed. I believe that this is hugely due to Chad's gifts that God has given him and the faith that Chad has in God. He said about how he wanted to have a practical application part of what we were learning. He told us the two main ways that he will get a word of knowledge for someone. 1.) Through the voice of the Holy Spirit prompting him 2.) Sometimes for feeling a physical ailment that he doesn't normally have. I was sitting there thinking that this is cool and believing in it, but it has never happened to me or for me to be healed of something, so I purely took the role of spectator. Then all the sudden I felt a pulsing and muffledness in my right ear. It panged on and off for about 30 seconds and it has never ever happened to me before! I was a little stunned sitting there and asking God what this was. Then Chad asked if there were any YWAM students that had never received a word of knowledge for anyone to come up front if they had received something from the Lord. I nervously raised my hand with some of my peers and came up front to be paired with a person on the ministry team of Vinelife Church, which was the place where the conference was held. I was shaking for a while and then I heard the voice of God say to me that I should be calm and all He needs of me is to be obedient. So Chad started going down the line of people and we all spoke out the words of knowledge that we had received. At the end he said that if anyone needed healing in any of these areas that they should come up and receive prayer. At first I was nervous that no one would come up to me and my partner Emily, what if I had heard wrong? Was this God, or just me? Then I remembered what God had said to me earlier about just being obedient and trusting in him. 

As soon as Chad gave the invitation 8-10 people came up to me immediately!!! I was able to pray for all of them!! Only two of them had this ailment in their left ear, everyone else had the muffled panging in their right ears! Oh my gosh! I was blown away! What blew me away even more was a man that came up to me by the name of Jonathan. He said that he had this exact ailment for a majority of his life and that me using the adjective "muffled" was exactly how to describe it. Emily and I laid hands on him and we prayed. He started sobbing and all the sudden got very heavy. He started swaying back and forth a little bit and I kid you not, when we finished the prayer he literally fell to the ground!!!! I was in shock. I was believing with all of my might that God would heal him but I had no idea what form that would take. He laid there for about 10 minutes just sobbing. 

Later that day Chad asked for testimonies from people and Jonathan went up to speak. He told about how God had COMPLETELY RESTORED and HEALED his hearing and ear!!!! WHAT?! How Good is our GOD?!?! While Jonathan was on the ground Emily and I continued praying for others and Chad came over to Jonathan and asked him to come and pray for a lady. Jonathan found out that this lady had a condition the same as what is father had so he knew about it and was able to pray for her. He was amazed at the transpiring events and how God wove everything together beautifully from beginning to end. 

I myself started to cry. 1. God talked to me and that is such an amazing feeling when you see confirmation of that, and 2. because if I wouldn't have been obedient and done what God asked me to do, I wouldn't have gotten to pray for all of those people, and God wouldn't have been able to use me as a vessel and tool for Jonathan to receive healing. 

Wow. I've been speechless thinking about it from time to time. 

Anyways!!! That has been my week in a nutshell. A very big nutshell! 

^^^ This is Kye Kye ^^^

Thank you for taking the time to read it all.. ha ha and keep writing and letting me know how you are all doing! I love it! Oh and I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! Feel free to give my parents a little extra lovin' since I have a feeling that they will be missing me! :) 

Love you all!

From My Heart,

Brielle Renee

P.S. Here is our video cast from this week! Brit even made it in at the end and yes, that yellow hat thing that Malia is wearing?? Yep, I made that for her ;) #crochetprofeshhhh  :) Laugh it up Abby and Anna! And yes all of those scarves are mine except for 1, so Derek you can laugh at that! I miss you all. 

YWAM DENVER VIDEO CAST

Spiritual Warfare

"Patience & perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear & obstacles vanish."

~John Quincy Adams

This past week at a glance...

*Sunday I attended church at Faith again! This week our sermon was on wisdom and envy. We studied in James where it challenges us on the danger of envy and how to overcome it because envy can poison us from within. To understand this we looked at the definition of envy which is: "A feeling of discontent of covetousness with regard to another's advantages, possessions, qualities, or luck." What surprised me is that the antonym of envy is confidence! That means that envy is really another way of being insecure. We spent time looking at King Saul's life and how he became so envious of David. Check out this "flow chart."

              So, a "soil of envy" = insecurity which leads to bad fruit (actions) = fear & paranoia (misguided actions) which leads to bad consequences = obsession, greed, and rage. whoa. 

Then we looked at solutions (which is the title to the series we are studying.) 

1. Live a life of generosity. (It reverses the fruit of envy)

2. Celebrate the success of others. (It cuts the seed that grows into the "envy bush")

3. Secure your identity in Christ. (Titus 3:3)

*Monday morning we all the girls in our school got together and we did what's called, "Stand and Face the Music." Basically we went around and took turns, so one girl would stand up and then three other girls would raise their hands and say what they loved and valued about the person that was standing. It was sort of difficult to take so many compliments however it was so encouraging to hear what other people see as some of the best things about you. 

*Monday afternoon we went on a road trip to the Eagle Rock Campus in the mountains, (over 8,000 ft. above sea level) because at the Arvada base we had a DTS return from their outreaches. They have "debrief week" and for graduation they stay at the base with their families. We gave them a little bit of extra room by staying up at Eagle Rock for the week! What an amazing week that I feel so blessed to be apart of!!! Highlights of the week include: A beautiful white Yamaha piano that I got to play, air hockey, bonfire with s'mores, volleyball, messy game night, the returning outreaches came and did presentations on their outreaches, (which got us all even more excited!) and beautiful scenery!
             Monday evening when we arrived at Eagle Rock I received a package from my wonderful family! God brought it to me at the perfect time because inside were a pair of heavy duty gloves! This was perfect because at 5:15am Wednesday morning myself and some of my fellow students hiked up Eagle Rock, (the mountain) to watch the sun rise over the Rocky Mountains. I don't know what I would've done if I didn't have those gloves! We climbed practically straight up and 95% of it was straight rock climbing! When I got to the top and looked out over the terrain it took my breath away. Just before the sun actually rose the snow caps on the Rocky Mountains behind us turned a stunning shade of pink!!! It was gorgeous!!! It was worth waking up and hiking that early. I wouldn't trade that moment at all and I'm so very thankful for the safety and opportunity that God granted each one of us.
              Wednesday I got to spend some sweet time with my friend Malia. We hiked up to the prayer chapel that is on the grounds of Eagle Rock, and we spent the afternoon there. The prayer chapel is a tiny wooden and stone cabin that is big enough for two couches and a fire place. We were able to talk and I had a blast making a fire, playing my penny whistle, crocheting, and listening to Billie Holiday. It was picture perfect with the mountains all around us and hot chocolate warming our hands.

*Friday we came back down the mountain and headed straight to Hillside Church where we attended the graduation of the DTS that returned from outreach! It was a very sweet and simple ceremony and I know that when it comes time for our DTS to graduate, I am going to be so sad! All of these people that I have just met have become my family. After graduation we returned to the Arvada Base (home!!!) and had a reception for the graduates and their families!

*Friday through next Wednesday is full of "GLORY" because Brittne Yoder has flown all the way to Denver just to hang out at the base and visit friends, including Malia and myself! I'm so honored that she is here!! We have already gotten to have a sweet coffee date at her second home (aka Starbucks), and catch up with each other. I'm so excited to see what this week has to hold and I'm sure I'll include an update next weekend!  Thank you Lord for friends, girl time, and happiness... Especially when it snows!! :)

::Guest Speaker: Dean Sherman::

While at Eagle Rock we had a guest speaker by the name of Dean Sherman. He taught Musicians and Young People's DTS on Spiritual Warfare this week. Honestly I was so excited going into the week, but I quickly learned that what I interpreted spiritual warfare to be was a very tiny part of what it actually is. The teaching that we have received this week has been so valuable and something that seriously everyone should hear because it's so influential and happens in everyday life. Crazy!

So! Spiritual warfare is 90% taking place in your mind and 10% is casting out a demon in someone (exorcism). It is literally figuring out who says what. (between God and satan) I thought this week was going to focus on the 10%. Boy was I in for a shocker!

One of the enemies main goals is to destroy relationships between God, others, and myself. (sin, evil, and wrong = bad relationship) Why? Relationships are so important. How do I know this? Take a look at the 10 Commandments! Each one is in reference to how we are to relate with God and with other people. 

"Why the devil works in every family, church, and marriage is because he wants to keep relationships broken down because we lose power. When we keep tight relationships, we have power over satan." So in that we shouldn't dishonor and resent others or even engage in arguments, because it equals bad relationship. God's mercy never runs out on us, so why should ours run out on other people? "We either subdue evil (good relationships) or evil subdues us (bad relationships)."

Our saying for the week has been, "Push back the darkness pray down the light." We have authority by the blood of Jesus to bind the devil! That is awesome power to have! We should pray in FIRM FAITH and not say, "Lord if it's your will..." There is power in believing what God can do! 

-John 10:10 "I have come that you might have life to the fullest."

Speaking of having life to the fullest, did you know that 50% of Christian kids stop going to church &/or serving God when they leave home at age 18? They say, "It's not for me anymore, I want to live a little." So if Christians can't "live a little," and do whatever they want then that's saying that God has lied. That you can't live life to the fullest while loving and serving God. I'm sorry, what?! Check your thinking and reasoning youth of America. You are falling prey to spiritual warfare by listening to the enemy as he blinds your eyes by believing that you are "missing out" on something by not participating in the ways of this world. 

There are two (and only two) ways that you can live in this world...

Kingdom                                        VS.                                            World

-Love                                                                                             -Selfishness

-Serving                                                                                         -Controlling

-Submission                                                                                   -Rebellion

-Humility                                                                                        -Pride

-Generosity (giving and receiving)                                                   -Greed

-Justice                                                     -Injustice (bias, prejudice, favorites) 

-Integrity                                                                                        -Corruption

-Wholeness                                                                                    -Brokenness

"DTS isn't teaching us what to believe, but how to live." 

We must distinguish between sin nature and human nature. There isn't anything wrong with human nature because Jesus had human nature when he came to Earth. If He didn't then the cross was worth nothing. It says that He was tempted in all ways, (Hebrews 4:15) the thing that is different is that He didn't sin. Ever. So the saying, "I'm only human," means nothing! Yes we are human, but so was Jesus.... so what's your excuse now? 

Satan is tricky and smart. He uses different tactics in different parts of the world to keep people blinded from truth. How do I know this? Look in the "non-west" (ex. Africa & Asia). Satan gets up in peoples faces and tries to intimidate through fear. Why do you think it is that you hear of people being exorcised of demons in these parts of the world more than the Western cultures? Fear works there. In the west he tries to hide and whisper to people that spirits and things of that nature are just mystical things that aren't real. Whoa.

Kingdom Weapons

2 Corinthians 10:3-4 "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does."

-"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."  

-"If I don't fight the devil then I will fight people, because we are all fighters by nature."

Our enemy is not flesh and blood, it is supernatural.

Kingdom

2 Corinthians 4:6 "For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

World

2 Corinthians 4:4 "The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light." This verse shows us why spiritual warfare is always in play when we communicate. 

The enemy will lie to everyone about 2 main things: 1. God  2. Yourself

-Replace the lies with truth via the Word. (Romans 12:12)

I'm so sorry if all of this ^^^ seems so scattered! I was just following some of my notes and if you want to talk to me about any of this stuff in detail I am so up for a conversation! Especially if I haven't made myself clear-- which I do NOT want to do! Anyways, it was an amazing week with so much learning that I felt as though my brain was going to explode! :)

::THAILAND/CAMBODIA::

 *One month from tomorrow I will be on an airplane headed to Bangkok, Thailand. AHH!!!!!! I am so excited already and I can't believe how fast time is going! Please pray for me as I have to get two additional shots/vaccinations before I go over! :( Ha ha.

This week we continued in a part II teaching on preparing testimonies and we took it a step further with talking about preparing sermons as well. I took some very informative and helpful notes! If you are at all interested in them let me know! Some parallel what I mentioned last week in my blog so I'll jump to the next thing! 

Last evening we had another meeting where we watched the documentary, Nefarious. This documentary explores the prostitution "industry", as well as sex trafficking all across the world. It is a Christian documentary so it is tastefully done. I recommend this highly, but also caution as to the graphic nature of the topics. It wrung my heart out while we were watching it. Even thinking back to it now I am getting choked up. I know for certain that this is the outreach that I am to go on now more than ever. I believe that God can and will use me in Thailand and Cambodia. I'm excited and determined at the same time. This mission that I'm on will be tough, but I'm ready for the challenge that it presents. 

After watching the documentary we had prayer and worship, and honestly that is the best thing to do after watching it. 

God is so good! I'm looking to raise $1,000 to pay for the last bit of the outreach. That is nothing to God! I know that He wants to bless us all the time, and I have peace and faith knowing that He will!!! Guys, seriously thank you for all of your prayer and support. You are faithful and I can see how much you love and support me. I'm so blessed to know each one of you, and I cannot wait to see all of your faces again! You are all greatly missed. 

Thank you God, friends, and family!!!

From My Heart,

Brielle Renee

P.S. Sorry there isn't a video cast this week! 

                     BUT!!!!

P.S.S. Check out this video that my friend Dee did for her creative project! I helped her out and it turned out awesome! She is so talented and this video is beautiful!!! (Link is below)

Creative Presentation: LOVE

             

Identity In God

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

~ 2 Corinthians 4:18

This past week at a glance... 

* On Sunday I attended Faith Bible Chapel & heard a very good sermon that centered on taming the tongue.  We looked into 5 reasons why we should learn to control our tongues. They were because of its power to control, danger to corrupt, potential to condemn, produce conflict, and its hypocritical nature. Then we took time to focus on how to control it! 

*One of my closest friends here had her birthday on Sunday! Her name is Malia and she is from Hawaii. :)

For her birthday she wanted to dress up and go take pictures in Downtown Denver. So, a bunch of students drove with her downtown and we took amazing pictures! (Some are on Facebook!) While we were doing this the New Orleans Saints drove by us in their team buses on the way to the Broncos and Saints game!!!

*Indoor Soccer!!! (yesssssss)

*I had a book report due on the book, "Passion & Purity," By Elizabeth Elliot. This was a very good book written by an even more amazing lady. 

*Tuesday I had to present my creative project. I was given the topic of wisdom and/or humility and I had a time limit of 4 min. to present a song or poem on the subject given. I really felt as though God was telling me to do something that I had never done before. So, I wrote a song specifically for piano and voice. I looked up every verse I could find in the bible on humility and wisdom, then I incorporated some parts of them into the song. The actual presentation went horribly!!! As a performer everything that could go wrong did. I started on my draft page so I panicked when I couldn't find the right lyrics, and at one point I totally forgot where I was in my music. I kept going though and finished it. It was actually a humbling and important experience for me to go through. I did it though. I sang in front of a bunch of people and couldn't hide behind someone else. The next night I decided that I needed another shot. I performed it in front of a small group of people and the cool thing was that I wasn't as nervous AND I nailed it! One of the guys I performed it for is well accomplished musically. We all call him Beej. :) (Mamma he even played as the drummer for Firefall) He has told me numerous times that I've, "got the goods." He's so encouraging and not out of any kind of obligation. He likes the raw sound of my voice!! He likes my writing ability with music and lyrics!! THAT IS SO COOL!!! I'm gaining a new confidence that I've never had before in writing and singing music! Thank you Lord! You are so GOOD! (I know that was long but it's so important to me!)

* Community Ministries was Tuesday evening! My group went to Confluence which is an organization that " connects, mobilizes, and empowers diverse people, organizations, and resources in serving the local and global communities for the wholeness of the city." (aka Denver, CO) When we arrived we split up into 3 groups. Group #1 stayed at Confluence and covered the ministry and building in prayer. Group #2 went out and walked to a nearby McDonald's where they were able to minister to a lot of people! (It proves that the mission field really is in our own backyard) My group (#3) decided to walk throughout West Denver and be sensitive to the prodding of the Holy Spirit. There were times when we read scripture, we worshiped, prayed, and were able to have conversations with some neighbors in the community. It was a great night to just go out and spread the Kingdom of God!

*This week for our small group time we went to Two Rivers Coffee Company! While we enjoyed Oregon Chai and Snicker Doodle Pound Cake (yum), we took a "Spiritual Gift Survey!"  It was a compilation of 80 questions that we answered on a scale from 1-5. At the conclusion it was broken up into various categories that gave us a rough idea of where our strengths are. The spiritual gifts were broken up into; Leadership, Administration, Teaching, Knowledge, Wisdom, Prophecy, Discernment, Exhortation, Shepherding, Faith, Evangelism, Apostleship, Service/Helps, Mercy, Giving, and Hospitality. I was surprised when my top three read as follows, 1. Mercy 2. Administration 3. (which was a three way tie) Faith, Service/Helps, and Hospitality! Of course I know that God is able to use me in any area that he wants, but it was cool to see where my strengths are. I am excited to study them more and use them even more than I have in the past!

*Today (Saturday) I was able to go to the Denver Art Museum! The first Saturday of every month it is free to get into the museum! It was beautiful to see so many different types and styles of art! I even got to see a couple pieces by Andy Warhol and Claude Monet!

*I have to say thank you so much to a couple of people that have made this week extra special!! That being said...
     -Thank you Mom and Dad for Face Timing with me and encouraging me when I was super down with my Creative Presentation! You both really helped, especially by bringing a smile to my face! :) By the way daddy I want to let you know that I am keeping up with the tradition of picking up an interesting rock from everywhere that I visit just like we did when we went out west! I have rocks from Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs and one from right here in Arvada!
     -Thank you SHEESTA! I received your sweet care package and all I can say is that you are a girl after my own heart! I loved everything in there and I miss you like crazy!!!
     -Thank you Derek for taking the time out of your day to have a coffee date with me! It was seriously just what I needed!

This weeks video cast is out! 

Check it out via the link below

YWAM DENVER Video Cast #179

::Guest Speaker: Ralph Harris::

This week our guest speaker, Ralph Harris, taught us on our identity in Christ. I thought he was a very informative speaker with some great insights that have helped me in my relationship with God. Here are some of the notes that I took this week:

We tend to look at things from a surface perspective. We see what is visible, a beginning and end, what changes, and the natural realm. All of these things are temporary. God, on the other hand looks at the eternal. He sees things that are timeless, ultimate, reality, changeless, and invisible. Honestly we should strive to look "above the line" at things, situations, and people instead of "below the line" at earthly standards. 

-God sees us as perfect and holy... wow! "Because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." Hebrews 10:14 

-"You cannot long believe something about yourself and not have it profoundly effect what you do." 

-"The chief effort of your adversary, the devil, will be to disable the majesty of God's grace and gift to you; to block it. He cannot prevent you from receiving it, but he will attempt to make it go unnoticed by you." 

^^^ He certainly does try, but now that the truth has been exposed, so have his terrible antics. 

*I never actually studied this so I thought this was a cool! 

Question: Does the new covenant begin with Jesus in a manger?

Answer: No, because Jesus was born under law, and those around him were still under law. The death of Jesus on the cross was the great divide in human history between the Old/New Covenant. So just because the New Testament starts with Matthew, doesn't mean that's the beginning of the New Covenant. 

-"Grace never creates debt!"

1 Corinthians 15: 56-57 "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

*So Mr. Harris brought up a very good point. Last week I had blogged about how we were taught on the Holy Spirit and how we should really get to know who He is. How we have different perceptions that are true and false. Well another misconception was revealed to me. I have associated the Holy Spirit with prosecution due to conviction. He wants to convince us with love and kindness. He is NOT a judge who wants to make us feel guilty and be ashamed of things. I admit that I used to think He was that voice inside of me that I was afraid to listen to sometimes in fear of being reprimanded. I'm SO glad that Mr. Harris touched on this because it is so true and I was just so blinded to what I had thought of as normal. 

*Another thing that has been huge for me to examine has been the types of "flesh" that drive me in an unhealthy way. Mr. Harris categorized some fleshly things that we tend to do-- keep in mind that these things aren't necessarily bad, however, they can be if they drive us for the wrong reasons. These are the notes I took, and the ones that have been big for me personally I have starred. 

"How does the flesh look? We know that somewhere along the line of our life, something happened which induced us to believe the lie that God was not capable for us, He wasn't reliable, and so we chase the avenue offered by the flesh - independence from God.

Types of "Flesh"

*Chicken Flesh: This type walks on eggshells, they want to run and get out of situations, this flesh suggests an                  exit and avoids conflict situations at all cost.

*NASCAR Flesh: There are very rare pit stops, feelings of guilt when they aren't doing anything, mind is not set on the Spirit, noticed that productivity works and they're recognized for it.

-Bully Flesh: Dominates for control, regularly snuffs out arguments, they want things and they want them done their way.

-Whiner Flesh: Every conversation turns to whining, they want attention/sympathy, this turns to a way of navigation in their life, believing the lie that they want something but not believing that God could provide it. 

*Sunny Day Flesh: They believe everything is good and positive, happy, encouraging, pretending everything is right, scared of what's on the other side, wanna make sure everything and everyone is happy.

*Rescue (Cavalry) Flesh: Always driven to rescue, they should pause and listen to the Spirit first! They first interpret and then try to fix things, possibly appreciating praise and recognition. 

-Loner Flesh: They believe and act on the lie that there's no place for them in the church, driven to isolation, the best way to help here is to walk and be with someone who struggles with this. 

-Fear Flesh: Driven by fear, fear in offering yourself to God, fearing the possible plans that God could have for you. 

-Linear Flesh: Every problem has a solution, sequences, solutions, they don't go outside of the box.

-Sherlock Holmes Flesh: They over examine everything especially about you, you feel uncomfortable around them, you feel judged, everything stays on a surface level, keeping relationships at bay.

*Barbie Flesh: Unless they look their best at all times they don't go out, life is a parade, if they're gorgeous that sometimes becomes their identity, believing the lie "if you control your face and body then things will go right," can also be appearance of actions.

-Good Person Flesh: This is difficult to see, turn on goodness factor, nothing is wrong with this until they are driven by it. It may be done for show or recognition of being a good person. 

So, for the things that I need to work on I have decided that it's not about looking 

for a balance,

but looking to the Holy Spirit.

::Outreach::

Oh my goodness I am getting so excited to go to Thailand and Cambodia! (affectionately being called Taibodia) We officially have our team decided! There are 9 guys and 6 girls! In that number we have two staff members that will be leading us, Molly and Bob. 

We had our first meeting and I received some details!!! Want to hear them?? 

-Ok well, December 12th we will be leaving for Thailand! We will have a brief layover in Las Vegas, South Korea, and then we will be arriving in Bangkok, Thailand after approx. 14 hrs. of traveling. We will spend the first two weeks (including Christmas) in Chiang rai, Thailand where we will be staying at an orphanage and hospice home for mothers that have AIDS. Afterwards we will travel to Pattaya, Thailand which is along the coast and considered the "sex capital of the world." Next we will be taking a bus to Nukeville in Cambodia. This is also a heavy trafficking area. February 8th we will be headed back to Denver, CO with a 13 hr. layover in South Korea again, so we will be able to explore the city of  Phnom Penh, followed by a stop in Seattle, Washington and finally arriving in Denver on February 9th! 

Wow, the plane tickets are already purchased with the first half of our outreach payments so my spot is secure! 

Teaching on Testimonies

-This week we had a special session where we were taught on testimonies especially going into outreach. We all have to come to the realization that our testimonies (whether life testimonies or specific) hold power. There are also some areas that we learned would be good to avoid, such as;

-Too much glorification of your past. (Since our testimony should be glorifying God) It's HIStory (get it?)

-Be passionate

-Be open

-Use the bible (IN CONTEXT)

-Don't talk too fast

-Be led by the Holy Spirit

-Avoid "Christianese" statements

-Make sure the language is appropriate (not complicated words)

I thought this was a super valuable lesson because I know that my testimony holds power, but I've struggled with how to refine it to where I feel comfortable in what I say and that it is appropriate and glorifying to God on all levels! This has helped me develop my testimony!

So!!! With outreach and everything I wanted to give a financial update with where I am at. I am still in need of $1,200. We are starting week 6 this week and the remaining balance is due at the end of week 8, right before Thanksgiving. I realize that this is a lot of money, and even though I don't know how God is going to work, I have faith that He is. God has appointed me to be here and go on this outreach at such a time that I know that He will complete this good work that He has started. 

That being said, if any of you pray and God lays on your heart to donate... that would be so very much appreciated!! Feel free to contact me and I can give you my address OR I even found a way that it's possible online through YWAM. So yes! Prayers for finances (as always) would be so wonderful, as well as for me personally to keep being open and soaking in God's presence! I love everything that I'm learning and I can't believe how much it has changed my life thus far! I'm completely amazed and happy. I.... am happy. Wow, honestly I cannot remember the last time that I truly was!! God is so good and His plans are flawless! 

Thank you everyone for staying in touch, for your prayers, and your encouragement.

It is sometimes difficult being away from all my loved ones, but honestly you all are making it easier than I thought. 

From my heart,

Brielle Renee

P.S. This ^^^ was a sunset the other night at Goose Poop Pond :)

" Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." -Martin Luther King Jr.

I cannot wait to go on outreach and selflessly love on people that are in despair because they feel there is no hope. There is hope, his name is Jesus, and He is love.