discipleship
Story Behind The Photo: Heidi
Heidi shares some insight on the story behind the photo. Check out some of what she learned on her YWAM DTS outreach!
DTS graduate Abby shares 5 things she wished she had known before doing her YWAM DTS at YWAM Asheville
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What you should really know before you do a YWAM DTS? As someone who has done DTS, there are some things that I would’ve loved to know on my first day. Here are five things I wish I had known sooner.
1. First, living in a tight-knit community means more than just shared living space, and it’s both more challenging AND more rewarding than you expect.Although planning who is going to use the shower at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning is important, community relationships are taken seriously. You are like a family, and it feels like home. You will acclimate to frequent jokes and outbursts of song; you will learn to appreciate people speaking truth into your life, and you will be deeply seen and loved, without the need to hide your messy parts.
2. Second, ONLY YOU can hold you back in your YWAM DTS. Things like vulnerability, humility, and teachability will take you far. I wish someone would’ve told me that these are the keys to thriving in your DTS, but it’s up to you to choose them. There’s so much to learn and experience, and time will fly, so take advantage of it and give it your all!
3. Third, you will discover how deep your relationship with God can really be. With lectures like Hearing the Voice of God, Freedom and Identity, and Father Heart of God, you will learn about God’s character and what kind of relationship He wants with you. But more than that, you will experience on a deeper level what it is to know God personally and be known by Him. The reality of His love for you specifically will hunt you down. And most likely, you’ll be wrecked (in the best of ways).
4. Fourth, your comfort zone…. Chuck it out the window.God doesn’t quite value comfort the same way we do, and He will ask you to do crazy things. For me? Preaching for the first time in a foreign country: that’s uncomfortable. Opening up to your small group: uncomfortable. Getting sick and sunburned on outreach: uncomfortable. Practicing conflict resolution: uncomfortable. Eating chicken that still has feathers on it in Africa, yep, that’s uncomfortable. But I would argue that “getting out of your comfort zone” could also be described as experiencing freedom from fear!
5. And fifth, you will not be the same person you were.Say goodbye to this version of you. On your last day of DTS, when you think over those five months and back to your first day, you’ll be shocked to see who you were then versus who you are now.
So what do you really need to know about doing DTS with YWAM? DTS is an invitation to rise to the challenge God has for you. It’s an opportunity to let God transform you and work through you in ways you didn’t know were possible. So what do I wish I had known?
I wish I would’ve known that DTS was about to change my life forever, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!