Dear Friends and Family,

This coming Monday means that it’s only four weeks tell we leave for South Africa!!!! I am so excited! It is hard to believe that it is so close. Soon I will be back and this DTS (Discipleship Training School) will be over. This time has gone by so fast and I have learned so much. It has truly been AMAZING! I would recommend YWAM to anyone. You learn so much and it really changes your heart.

This week our speaker was Doug Easterday. He talked about ‘The Father Heart of God’. He told us about how we often have a distorted image of God; due to our families, our father, education, media, and church. They don’t portray God correctly and therefore warp our image of God. And if we don’t see God correctly than we can’t connect with God the way we should. And how it is not a onetime process, knowing who God is takes a lifetime of searching and even more.

The Bible talks about how us, as humans are made in God’s image. (For the record, God is not a he or a she, as the English language would have us understand. But God is God. So both male and female can be in the image of God) If I have self-hatred towards my body or who I am, than how I view God is warped. I need to love who I am and how God made me, to be able to know God more completely.

He also talked about the need to forgive. How forgiveness is not an event or an act but something we need to continue to do all the time. If we don’t forgive, then we cannot connect to God the way we should. He also told about forgiving and blessing. Like when we are driving and a car does something that we don’t think they should do, to forgive and bless. He said that the cars around him have better driving, and that he also is blessed by blessing.

This week like all the others was truly great and it was a well of so much information.

My Grandpa Phil passed away this Tuesday. It is hard not having him around anymore, but I am so happy that he is in heaven. He had so much pain the last couple years of his life, yet not anymore. He is in the presence of God. I am so happy for him! Though I am sad for me because he is not here, I miss him. I am going through the grieving process right now and am holding on to the fact that I will see him again.

Because my grandpa past, I got to see my family. I haven’t seen them since I started DTS. Even though it was for a sad reason, it was really good to see them. I missed them so much.

We learned on Wednesday that one of our fellow student’s visa expired and was denied for its renewal. All of us are really going to miss Andi. We know that God has so much planned for him and will use him in great ways. And that God will make this situation work for his glory. We will hold Andi in our heart.

Homework Helpers went really well. I have so much fun with the kids. There were a lot of younger kids, fifteen of them. And only three 4^th and 5^th graders, we would like more older kids. So many younger kids are coming that we are changing up things so we will have more room for them

This Friday we had what is called the “Love Feast”.  Last week all of us, (the students) got an invitation to it. We weren’t told much about it, besides that it would be fancy. We all dressed up for it. Basically this is how our staff show their love of us and they honored us with this feast. The food was excellent! They gave us all roses and words that they received from God, for each particular student. It was really cool and a lot of fun. As much as us the students enjoy it, I think the staff enjoy it more.

 Prayer requests: Funds for outreach (This is really important; we only have three weeks to get all our money in. We really need prayer for this.), That more 4^th and 5^th graders would come to homework helpers and that they work hard on learning and getting their homework done, Team unity, For my family as we grieve for my Grandpa, That we will really practice forgiveness, Andi (That God will really use Andi and that He works good out of this), and forgive (and keep forgiving) whoever denied Andi his visa.

Thanks for all your prayers. Prayer is a really powerful tool. It makes such a difference. I miss all of you and cannot wait till I see you again. In the meantime I send a blessing from God to you. And a giant hug your way. Thanks for your support. I really couldn’t do it without you.

Love,

Haleigh