It's Online!!!

Hello, I was finally able to upload the outreach video to YouTube! All you have to do is click this link Justice DTS Outreach! Austin and I are still in Phoenix, we are patiently waiting for the arrival of our third niece! Charee (our sister) is due on the 26th, we thank God for this opportunity to be able to assist in doing the chores and taking care of her other three kids so that she can get her much needed rest! Continue to pray for a safe delivery and don't forget to watch the video!


See ya later!
-Jordan

Onward!

Yesterday was graduation day, we finished up all our homework, placed the finishing touches on the Outreach Video. We threw our Mission Statements into the ocean as a sign that we are giving them to God letting Him know that we want to live out everything that was written on it. Getting the rooms set up for graduation, moving chairs from the class room to the great house and cleaning everything up was about all we did before it was 7pm! I shared about my experience during the Lecture Phase, Gareth shared about the Outreach and then we all ate food and talked until 10pm!  I can't believe the DTS is over! I am no longer a Student, I graduated and am now looking forward to what God has planned for my life in the months to come!  Austin and I are leaving Barbados Monday, flying to New York and then on to Phoenix to be with our sister Charee who is having a baby girl! We are very excited to have this opportunity and can't wait to arrive back home in Klamath Falls sometime in the beginning of March!  Here is a bit of what I said lastnight;
"Before arriving in Barbados I had no idea what to expect during the lecture phase, I imagined to be a time where we would have classes in the morning and then have the entire afternoon off! I was wrong, class started at 8am which meant I needed to get up around 5:30, Lunch at 12:30, work duties from 2-5 and dinner at 5:30.  We were free after cleanup and took the time to either finish homework or head into town for groceries, or the beach.  Don't get me wrong, I am not saying I don't like how YWAM and the DTS is structured and set up, I am just saying I had a different opinion on what would actually happen.  Each week we had a different speaker, topics ranged from Children at Risk, Jusice, The Father Heart Of God, Hearing God's Voice and Relationships.  I thoroughly enjoyed each and every speaker and long to return home where I will hopefully have some free-time where I can study more about each and every topic that we discussed over the 12 weeks of the lecture phase.  I loved the family atmosphere and the great people who live here and are a part of YWAM Barbados; I made new friendships that will continue on throughout my entire life. During the lecture phase God called me to Gambia, I also had amazing times of worship, Bible meditation and intercession.  During the 12 week lecture phase my life changed in many ways, my eyes were opened to suffering across the globe and not until I arrived in Albania did I see how real it is.  I would encourage any and all of you to attend a DTS, it has changed my life forever! Please either email or comment and ask me any questions you have about YWAM's  DTS and I will be more than happy to answer them! Thank you for all your prayers and financial support for and during this DTS; please keep me in your prayers as I am making decision about what is next.



Love,
-Jordan

My Albanian Outreach Story

In September of 2011 I departed for Barbados to attend a Discipleship Training School with Youth With A Mission.  One of my goals for after graduating High School was to go on a mission trip and take a few Bible College Classes.  While searching online for a Mission Trip, I stumbled across YWAM and their Discipleship Training School. I continued to search for other potential organizations but every time I would arrive back at YWAM and their DTS.  I prayed about the different options and God continued to show me that YWAM was where he wanted me to go.  I talked to my cousin who also attended a DTS with YWAM and that conversation only confirmed what I was hearing from God.
Three to four weeks before starting the Justice DTS in Barbados my life was jam-packed with meetings, work, errands, and support-raising.  The lecture phase was amazing, each week was a new speaker and a new topic, ranging from 'Hearing God's Voice' to 'Relationships' to 'Children at Risk'.  During the Lecture phase of this DTS I had amazing times in worship, in prayer and during one of those times I heard God call me to be a missionary in Gambia.  I later talked to Bill Landis who explained to me the need for distribution in Gambia, distribution of Bibles, the Jesus Film, Books, Medicine, and most of all Jesus’ Love.  I was speechless as God reminded me of two months earlier when a speaker visited my church and shared a message from God that was for me.  He said “God will use you for distribution, you will be a part of missions, not by yourself but as a team.  Someone may come  up to you , give you $1K and say “God told me to give you this.”  From then on part of my heart has and will forever be for Gambia. 

        During the outreach into London and Albania I asked God to give me a taste of His emotions, I want to hurt like He does when He sees us running from Him, I want to cry as He does when He sees the abortion, sex trafficking and human slavery that runs rampant day in and day out.  I have prayed for His heart and I know that He has answered my prayer! God has allowed me to feel the emotions He feels, He has given me the ability to imagine myself in that persons shoes. I believe  that through spending time with Jesus during this DTS I have come to the realization that God is the most loving father of the entire world! From my experiences in Barbados, London & Albania, I have seen how God feels regarding His people in this world. I have seen and can attest to how much He loves us, how much He cries because of the suffering that happens all across the world.  From the day outreach started God began to show me how much He desires to come into our lives, He has revealed to me the love He has for every single person in the entire world.

From books I read and stories I heard I realized that a lot of people put their focus too much hearing someone say the ‘sinners prayer’ but never taking the time to invest in their lives and show them how much God loves them and that Jesus died on the cross for their sins and so that they can go to heaven for eternity.  I look back over the past 8 weeks of outreach and see that even though I never heard anyone ask Jesus to become there own Lord and Savior, I planted hundreds if not thousands of seeds during this DTS.  I now look back and see that I was Gods hands and feet, I was his gardener, I planted and fertilized the seeds of the gospel and saw them blossom and grow.  My life is forever changed because of my experiences during this outreach, I am personally committed to following Jesus wherever He leads, no-matter the cost. 

Outreach Stories, Evaluations, Mission Statements..............

This last week of the DTS has been very busy, ranging from writing mission statements and outreach stories to cutting down trees and working on our outreach video.  Tuesday we talked about re-entry back into normal life and the reverse culture shock that comes during that transition.  From the day I got on the plane for Barbados I have only traveled to new places and now that I'm back in Barbados I feel slightly confused and out of place.  I know that what I feel like here in Barbados is only a fraction of what I will feel like when I return back home and meet all of you, family and friends who as I have carried on their lives for the past 6 months.  I know time has passed and situations have changed in all of your lives just as they have in mine.  Don't think for a minute that I'm not looking forward to returning I know that I have been gone for a while and I am super excited to share my heart about what has happened over these past 5months. Austin and I will fly from Barbados to Phoenix, AZ for two weeks to be with our sister Charee as she has her baby! Currently we are planning to be back home in Klamath Falls at the beginning of March.  It is now 11pm here and us guys are still hanging out in the classroom making the finishing touches on our homework, we need to finish the team video, our personal outreach stories and our mission statements.  Graduation is tomorrow at 7pm so we have to finish tonight!  I will just write my Mission Statement right here so you all can read it!

MISSION STATEMENT

My purpose and destiny in this life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 

I am going to preach the good news to everyone, no-matter their race, color or creed.  

I will actively portray God's love to others by imitating Jesus and 

serving in any way shape or form.  

Because of how I live for Christ in my daily walk others will come to know Jesus as their own personal Lord and Savior.

I will be sharing the team video and my Outreach Story with you soon. For now I ask that you pray for the team that we would have safe travels and continue building our relationships with each other as we head off our separate ways.


Thank You, Thank You, Thank You,
-Jordan

A Time for Everything.........

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1For everything there is a season,

a time for every activity under heaven.

2A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

3A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

5A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.

A time to embrace and a time to turn away.

6A time to search and a time to quit searching.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

7A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be quiet and a time to speak.

8A time to love and a time to hate.

A time for war and a time for peace.

There is a time for everything and that time right now is for me to leave Albania and return to Barbados.  I have had an amazing time in Albania and I am extremely excited to return for two years!  Looking back over the past seven weeks I can honestly say I have had an amazing and life-changing time here in Elbasan, Albania!  I have another 400 pictures to post online but I haven't had the time, I promise you as soon as I return to Barbados I will post them!  

        This last week in Albania has been great, super busy and lots of fun! We started the week off by sharing with the kids and adults how much we have loved coming to Elbasan and living in their neighborhood and that we will miss them terribly as we leave for home.  I am excited about the next few weeks months and years and the exciting plans God has for my life.   During these past 7 weeks I have grown in God and have more of an understanding on how Jesus feels when He sees His children suffering. I know that God has something so amazingly better in store for this community and I am excited to see the change! 

       The next week holds debriefing, work duties and writing reports and filming videos! I am excited for the beaches and going barefoot! Continue to pray for us as a team that we will share what is from our hearts during this next week and that it would be an awesome time of personal development and fellowship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Keep me in your prayers, 

-Jordan