Reentering the DTS Vortex

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-10, ESV)

Wow. I've been back in New Zealand for 3 weeks already and while it has flown by, home seems so far removed, like I've been gone for quite a long time. It's odd, but I have experienced this feeling before – it means that I have reentered the DTS vortex.  It's a place where the intensity of living is such that time seems to skip ahead at an unnaturally fast clip, yet simultaneously so much is crammed into that time – challenges, growth, new friendships, adventures, lessons, etc. – that on looking back you could swear you'd been there twice as long as the date would suggest. The environment of DTS veritably forces one to be so present that everything else seems further off. Fortunately, in most cases (especially for the students) that isn't at all a bad thing. It allows us to throw off some of the cares that would weigh us down at home and have the freedom to focus our lives on Jesus.

The past three weeks have been very busy, hence why I'm only now writing a my first blog post for this trip. Of course, the beginning of a new DTS is always busy for the staff, but this one has been particularly demanding because a certain ship was just arriving in New Zealand.  The ship was the M/V Pacific Hope, which, as you may recall, was the same ship my last outreach team worked on in Manila, in the Philippines. The Pacific Hope was purchased in March by Marine Reach Ministries (part of YWAM) with the ultimate purpose of bringing medical care and the gospel to many of the Pacific's more remote and isolated islands. Since then it has been a major work in progress, and will continue to be for several more months until it is fully renovated and outfitted to do its intended service. In fact, Marine Reach is on a major faith journey to make that happen financially and practically, something you can partner with them in (for more information, click here).

The ship arrived in Auckland, NZ just a few days after I did (July 9^th) and stayed there until July 19^th, when it finally sailed down to its home port of Tauranga. This was a pretty amazing and historic occasion to be a part of, but it did make life more hectic for us as staff. You'll see why pretty soon.

After an elongated trip to New Zealand due to a problem with one of Air New Zealand's planes, I arrived back at the base in Tauranga on July 7^th. The week following was staff training week. This involved learning about dealing with the myriad of issues that can arise on DTS, getting on the same page as staff (there are 12 of us), praying lots, and doing all the final preparations for the students' arrival.

The students began to arrive on July 11^th, with the bulk coming on the 12^th and 13^th. Because of some details I won't get into, we had to drive to Auckland (two and a half hours away) to pickup nearly all the students, sometimes very early in the morning or late at night, which made for some interesting adventures. In between pickups, we got to hang out and make friends with lots of uncertain and jet-lagged students who were generally very far from home – which is fun and quite awkward at times. On Monday, the first official day of the school, we had orientation, and then proceeded to inform the students that the very next day we'd start a time of sharing in which they had the opportunity to share their life story, complete with every struggle, sin, and area of hurt in their past. We do this at the beginning of every DTS – our DTS coordinator Cheyne explained why by comparing the DTS to the renovation of a house. Usually, the beginning of a renovation involves clearing out all the old, broken, and unnecessary things left inside before the real renovation can start. So, over the next two and a half days about 25 of our 30 students shared their stories, taking the first step of a new journey in total openness. After sharing, each student received some one-on-one prayer and consultation with Cheyne and his or her school leaders – the beginning of a healing process for many of them. To look back at the experience I had as a student on my DTS, click here.

Then on Thursday we took the students up to Auckland, where they boarded the ship and got to sail with it to Tauranga. I drove a van back to Tauranga, and on Saturday morning I helped set up for a big welcoming ceremony for the ship and photographed its arrival. Finally, after about four months of work and sailing, the Pacific Hope arrived in its home port for the first time! There was a large crowd there to welcome the ship, including a group of traditional Maori warriors, the local Maori kaumatua (chief), and the city's mayor. The ceremony included a traditional Maori powhiri, complete with speeches and songs.

The Pacific Hope coming into port!

Maori warriors doing the haka!

Jesse Misa, CEO and regional director Marine Reach, speaking.

The welcoming crowd! (click to enlarge)

The following week we happily got into our normal DTS routine with morning lectures, work duties, and community living. The week's lectures were on relationships (a foundational issue, and one which most people have problems with today), and they were taught by Linda Cowie, a YWAM veteran who founded Marine Reach Ministries (and the base here in Tauranga) with her husband David. She has a wealth of wisdom gathered from many years of experience in leadership, friendships, and marriage, and she readily translated that wisdom into great teaching.

This past week, we also had our first "stream" classes. Right now, we have five different DTS's running here at the base – Medical Compassion, Pacific Challenge, Worship, Devoted, and Go (click for more info). The students from all of these schools (or "streams") participate together in lectures, work duties, worship, and the like; however, each stream has a weekly class and small group time. For this school, I am the leader of the "Go" stream. I have one fellow staff member named Hannah, and students named Brad, Abbey, Ainsley, and Charlene (you'll see pictures soon). Brad and Ainsley are both from close by in New Zealand, while Abbey and Charlene are from the United States.

Of course, the name "Go" doesn't give you much idea of what the stream is really about (part of the point is that it's not as specific as the other streams), so here's the vision behind it:

The Go School is ultimately about challenging ourselves, pushing further, thinking bigger and being equipped and empowered to boldly step out and do ALL that God has called us to do. However, a sustained life of boldly "going" must first be based in relationship with God – in intimacy, trust, and dependence on Him. The purpose of the Go DTS is to guide students to come to God in close relationship, trust Him fully, and go out in radical obedience to him.

I am totally happy leading this stream, and I feel sure this is what God has called me to do. He has awesome things planned for these students on this journey, and it will stretch and grow me in all sorts of new ways as well! We will be studying how to have an intimate relationship with God, learning about spiritual gifts and evangelism, and discovering what our calling is in Christ. Please pray that we will press into Him as completely as possible and grow together over the course of this school. We don't want to miss anything that He has for us!

Stay tuned for more updates and photos in the near future, and thank you for your prayers and support!

Grace and Peace,

DJS

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