Long time coming....

Hey all

Long time no update. I've basically copied and pasted a newsletter that I sent out via email, so if you've received that no need to re-read. If you haven't.... happy reading (and let me know if you'd like to be added to my email list)

We have had a very busy beginning of the year as a YWAM family. At the end of January, our base directors (Pablo and Fernanda) had an oversight with their visa and have had to go back to South America to apply for a new one. That was quite a shock and adjustment for all of us, but things have been going quite well in their absence. Ray Lind, who has been with YWAM Adelaide for 18 years, is our acting base director and is doing a great job. He is very practical and motivated and has us doing a lot - ministry, cleaning up the base, getting involved in the

 community. Although the changes were quite sudden and a bit stressful I know God knows what he’s doing and that he’s using this time to prepare us for more in the future. We have also had quite a few people leave lately which is always hard and a bit sad but I know that each of them is where God wants them to be (and so are those of us still in Adelaide) so it is exciting to see what God is doing with their lives. We also had a new DTS start in February, and while I am not directly involved in it, I have been able to teach them some dramas that they will use for outreach and am enjoying getting to know them.

My job description

Like I said, there have been lots of changes to the way that we’re doing things and with that what I do on the base has morphed quite a bit. As most know, part of my longer-term vision for the next couple years is to help with the start of a youth ministry here. My friend, Laura, is planning on heading up the ministry but she is in the US raising support and so I am trying to lay some of the groundwork for the beginnings of it. At this point, I am mostly networking with people already doing youth work, running highschool seminars about various topics, and helping with youth camps through different organizations and churches. For this season, my motto is basically “if it involves youth and meeting people, I’m there”. The focus of the entire base is shifting more in this way anyway, so I am just one of the first to get the ball rolling but have many people backing me up and helping me out. 

I have also been doing a few things to help keep the base running on the practical side of things. I’m learning (slowly) how to do a bit of the accounting for the base and work on that for a few hours a week. I think that’s been a great skill to learn, although sometimes it makes my head spin.  I have also been trying my hand at cooking for the base which has been a good

 learning experience. I definitely appreciate the courage that it takes for everyone to come to meals that I have prepared. 

Travels

Life with YWAM wouldn’t be YWAM if I stayed in the same place… In the end of March I will be traveling to Melbourne (about 8 hours away) to take part in a course on training and assessment. The course is required by the government for those leading/directing DTSes and while I don’t necessarily have plans to do that anytime soon it is a good thing to have under my belt. After that, I will be going up to Brisbane to visit a friend who I am discipling a bit and then in Brisbane we will be running a NIKO camp, which is a leadership/team-building outdoors experience. And if that wasn’t enough, on the way back we’ll be helping with another weekend camp in a small town. I’m trying hard to guard my time in Adelaide and make sure that I am here for the majority of the time, but it is exciting to be able to see other parts of Australia and reach out to Australians. 

CML

As a part of everything else that I’m doing, I am still involved in the Christian Missions Leadership course. We meet for lectures once a week and have some homework like reading books and articles and writing reports on outreach that we’re a part of anyway. For the next few months we are going through the classic Boundaries series and that has been really good for me. I had been realizing how much I struggled with saying no, volunteering for everything, and then feeling tired and a bit burnt

 out. So, I have really been able to apply what we’re talking about in practical ways and it’s been really good. I feel like I’m still busy but able to limit the new things that I put on my plate and not feel guilty or that I’m letting people down. So, it’s been really good and I know that God will continue to teach me more through this course as well as everything else that I’m doing here.

Other things of note:

I’ve been taking a dance class once a week and have really enjoyed dancing again as well as getting to know people through that 

I’ve been attending a house church  that is run by YWAMers and others

God has been teaching me lots about money, time management, organization and relating to people. These are constant lessons, I know, but I am very glad to see changes in these areas of my life. 

Autumn will be coming to Adelaide soon and I am actually looking forward to the cooler weather - must be the Minnesotan in me

I am incredibly blessed by all those around the world supporting me and keeping in touch, it's always good to hear from you! 

God's blessings

Caitlin