Fall DTS update #1: Students, outreach locations, and beyond

Hey friends!

Things are going great here at Youth With A Mission Los Angeles and our Fall Discipleship Training School (DTS) is diving in to its second week! We have an awesome group of students - 15 people representing 9 nations (Australia, Austria, Finland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S. and Canada) ranging in age from 17 to 27. They're all getting along great and seem very open and excited to grow in their relationships with God.

This week Steve Fry is teaching on the nature and character of God, and we are learning together with the Calling All Skaters DTS and the Justice DTS, which is focused on combating human trafficking. Our school just announced outreach locations to our students last night. We're sending a group to India and Nepal, and myself and two others will be leading a team to Panama and Costa Rica! I'm so excited to get to serve in these nations. We're probably going to be working with some very remote villages in Panama. I'll have more details about our outreach activities in the coming weeks. We'll be shipping out in early December. Until then we'll have teaching, training, and local-outreach activities in Los Angeles.


Prayer Requests: 

1 - Group Growth. Please pray for continual growth in our relationships with God and one another, and that nothing would hinder that growth, like homesickness or worry about the future. 

2 - Finances. I have to raise at least $500 a month to cover my living expenses here, and I currently have only $150 of pledged, monthly support. I'd be super blessed if you would join with me in prayer for this area. I know that when I follow God's direction, He never fails to provide. If you're considering becoming a financial partner, please let me know. I'd love to talk with you more in-depth about my work here.


I've attached another copy of my most recent newsletter in case you weren't able to view it last time around. I hope that you enjoy it. Thank you so much for reading, and please let me know if there's any way that I can be praying for you or with you 


Much love,
                 - Trevor 

September Newsletter (The Journey Continues!)

Hello friends and family!

Happy September! I hope that this coming Fall season finds you in good health and good spirits! You may have received an update from me a couple months ago talking about my upcoming journey to Kona, Hawaii for a six week spiritual leadership school through Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Let me start off by saying, thank you so much for your thoughts, prayers and financial support! I continue to be incredibly blessed by the involvement of friends and family in my life. Without the amazing community of love and support around me it would not have been possible for me to complete my Discipleship Training School (DTS) and serve for three months in the Philippines and Thailand in the Winter of 2012/1013, nor would I have been able to have an amazing time of education and training in Kona. I cannot express my thanks enough. I am truly blessed! 

THE JOURNEY'S NEXT STEP 

I'm writing to you today to share with you the next chapter of where God is calling me and what He is doing in my life. About a month ago when I was in Kona, one of the leaders of my school asked me if I would be interested in staffing the Fall 2014 DTS at YWAM Los Angeles. Ever since my DTS began two years ago I knew that I wanted to come back to staff a DTS at YWAM Los Angeles. As is often the case, timing was the trickiest element to consider. After the Spiritual Leadership and Ministry school in Kona, my plan was to go back home for a few months to work and save up before coming on staff in LA in February. In my eyes, that would have been the most logical thing to do. But I asked God to put a passion in my heart for the Fall DTS if it was truly His will for me to come and help staff, and that is exactly what He did! And so I've decided to step into this new season with the faith and assurance that this is where God wants me, and He is going to do amazing things. I was back home in Santa Rosa for one week spending time with my family, and now I'm at YWAM Los Angeles preparing for the start of our school. The students are arriving next weekend! I can't believe how quickly I've been swept up into this new adventure!

THE HISTORY AND THE VISION

My DTS was so critical in my life. I don't know where I would be right now if it hadn't been for those amazing six months of rediscovering God. I came to YWAM Los Angeles very broken. I was trapped in a cycle of fear, regret and depression.  I had completely lost sight of my identity. I thought I was defined by my weaknesses and mistakes. But I was wrong.  Because of DTS, I experienced breakthrough, peace, freedom, and the Father's love for the first time in years. And because of that six month journey, here I am now. I can't wait to serve, to continue growing, and in some small way, to be a part of the type of transformation I experienced for someone else.

"Two are better than one, because they have good pay for their work. For if one of them falls, the other can help him up. But it is hard for the one who falls when there is no one to lift him up." - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 

"Iron is made sharp with iron, and one man is made sharp by a friend." - Proverbs 27:17 

We all need friendship and community. We were never meant to live life on our own. When I first came to YWAM LA I was amazed to find a community of like minded believers who are incredibly sincere in their desire to know God and make Him known. I'm so humbled and excited by this opportunity to serve others in love and friendship, as we all push towards the goal of becoming more like Jesus, loving God, loving one another, and loving the poor and needy of this world.


MY ROLE

As a staff member, I will get to play a large role in the discipleship and training of our students, through teaching, one-on-one meetings, leading a weekly small-group study, and co-leading an outreach team to a foreign nation. 

THE INVITATION 

I'd like to invite you to partner with me in this journey! First and foremost, I would be honored to count you as a prayer partner. I believe there is so much that God wants to do in these coming months, and in my overall time of service at YWAM Los Angeles. If you would like to be a prayer partner, please let me know and I will be sure to give you bi-weekly updates and ways in which we can be praying together. Secondly, I would like to invite you to consider becoming a financial partner. Part of the DNA of YWAM is that as missionaries, we are dedicated to the value of reliance on God. From YWAM's founder, to the base director in LA, to the person in charge of kitchen operations, we have all sacrificed having a traditional job and a traditional income. It is by faith that we are answering God's call to serve, knowing full well that it will be a very challenging road. But time and time again, I have been incredibly surprised and deeply humbled by people's willingness to lend their financial support. If you see value in what I am doing and would like to be a financial partner - either with a one time gift or a monthly contribution - please let me know. I would love to discuss what I am doing with you in further detail!                                                                                                                                                    

Checks can be made out to "YWAM LA" and sent to the base, 11141 Osborne St, Sylmar, CA 91342, with a separate note indicating that it is intended for my staff support. Or you can donate online at ywamla.org/donatepay-2. All contributions towards staff members are tax deductible. 

Thank you so much for taking the time out to read about my journey. I hope that you and all your loved ones are incredibly blessed!


Much love,

- Trevor 

Swept up in His will (the return to YWAM Los Angeles)

Life continues to be full of the unexpected!

About a month ago while I was going through a spiritual leadership school at YWAM Kona, I was asked if I would like to help staff the 2014 Fall Discipleship Training School (DTS) at YWAM Los Angeles. Ever since I did my DTS in LA two years ago my heart has been set on returning, with timing of course always being the tricky part of the equation. I was planning on coming home to work and save up for a few months before going on staff in February, and then this seemingly crazy proposition was put before me. It seemed impractical, but I asked God to put a passion in my heart for this school if it was truly His will for me to come. And that is just what He did.

The students are arriving next weekend! I can't believe how quickly I've been swept up into this new adventure, but I'm so excited for what God is going to do in this coming season. My DTS was so critical in my life. I don't know where I would be right now if it hadn't been for those amazing six months of rediscovering God. I experienced breakthrough, freedom, and the Father's love for the first time in years. And because of that six month journey, here I am now. I can't wait to serve, to continue growing, and in some small way, to be a part of the type of transformation I experienced for someone else.

God is so good.