Week 10-15
Hi Everyone!!
I hope you all are doing wonderful and are having a great start to the new year! I can’t believe it is already January! Time sure does move fast!
Well we are officially back at the base after Christmas and New Years and now we are about half way through week 15. Which is wild! Our official outreach phase starts this Friday and this whole week has been packed with rehearsals. We have been running through the full production over and over. We also are learning our setup and tear down roles and just figuring out how all this will work when we are somewhere different almost everyday. However before we head out I wanted to go back and share more intentionally about weeks 10, 11, and 12 since I did not get to send out an update before Christmas. I know I shared some with a few of you but just in case you have not heard or only have gotten to hear bits and pieces here is the last three weeks of the lecture phase in a nutshell!
During week ten a gentleman named Daniel came and spoke to us. The focus for this week was Jesus week! Daniel shared on Jesus and his life. As well as his character and his obedience. We talked a lot about how Jesus did not move out of an emotional impulse but out of a place of deep alignment with the father. His obedience was costly but he was consistent with it. We looked at how most of the time his obedience was not even seen by others. Daniel shared how character carries us farther than any emotion ever will. Emotions are things that come and go. However character is built slowly through choices being repeated. He shared how formation in us happens when our faith does not feel intense and our obedience feels boring. Roots can and normally do grow the deepest in those moments.
We also talked about how Jesus did not wait until there were moments of pressure to decide who he was going to be. His response in the moments of temptation or even conflict came from what had already been formed in him. Daniel said it well he said that faith is not built in crisis. It is actually revealed there.
Outside of lecture we had the YWAM Boston’s annual fundraiser. We all served in different ways for this event! During the event we got to hear different testimonies from staff and students about what God has been doing at the base over this past year. (Or actually last year now that we are in the new year!) It was really awesome to see God's faithfulness, his obedience, and his long term investment in the base and the lives that have been touched through the base. Right after the fundraiser we had a family movie night. We watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It was a nice way to end a busy but good week! We also had some really great intercession times this week as well! (But let’s face it any intentional time with the lord is a great time if we let it be!) During intersession we focused on Israel, our upcoming outreach, loved ones and specifically loved ones that don’t know the lord, and we took time to pray for one another and our personal prayer requests.
Week eleven was taught by one of the DTS leaders Hannah. She is so so sweet and is just a huge encouragement to the group! This week was bible overview week. I am still in shock we somehow went through the whole Bible in a week. It was definitely a large overview and we spent more time in some books over others but we still got through more content than I think any of us thought we would. Hannah really wanted us to realize the importance of understanding scripture through historical context and the lord's heart rather than reading everything out of context or reading everything in a flat way. We truly need to approach scripture with so much care. It is that important. We also spent a lot of time talking about prophecy and how the prophets were responding to real situations, real injustices, and real covenantal breakdowns. Hannah shared that the prophets were more times than not addressing patterns and not just an isolated sin. They were calling people back to right relationship with God. And back to faithfulness and justice. They did this even when it was not the popular vote.
One thing that really stood out to me was just the idea of reading the prophets as relational. The language and writing to me is intense. And actually pretty emotional too. As Hannah walked us through it we saw that it is not intense because God is trying to be dramatic or trying to be distant for no reason. It is because he is so so deeply invested. The prophets help us see a true God that keeps warning and keeps speaking, and keeps inviting his people back even after there is failure after failure because of us. Looking at it this way really helped me see these books of the bible a bit more intentional and not as confusing to understand.
Wednesday of that week my friend and collaboration partner from back in Madison and I had the opportunity to attend an art conference we were invited to speak and show work at! We were very thankful for the opportunity and the conference was really great! There was a lot of good conversations and really good panel discussions. I even got to connect with a few old grad school instructors of mine which was very nice! I was sad to miss the remaining days of lecture for the week but was able to catch up on some of what I missed when I returned. Outside of the conference week eleven was also a big encounter tour rehearsal week! It was cool to see some new added elements come together and it was the first week I believe we actually got to see all the scenes put together. We also decorated the base for Christmas as well. Which ended up being a sweet time of fellowship with each other! I was able to connect with a few of the girls I normally do not get to which was nice and wonderful in its own way!
Week twelve was taught by Jeremy. Jermey is over the whole Boston YWAM base. He talked about more practical things as we were heading into winter break and are heading into outreach and eventually for when we leave to head back home after DTS. He touched on stewardship, preparation, obedience, fasting, prayer community, accountability, and having an eternal perspective. Jermey shared how we need to be able to recognize different patterns healthy and unhealthy. We need to understand that small choices shape long term direction.
Everyone struggles but Jermey explained how the difference is how quickly something unhealthy is addressed. He used an example of tending a garden. If something destructive shows up to the garden and you are able to remove it early it does not have time to take over. However if it gets ignored it grows roots and starts affecting everything around it. Our goal should not be perfection. It should be having an awareness and having a responsiveness.
Jermey touched on how stewardship is a responsibility we all have. He shared that if God has given us something whether it is a skill or an opportunity, time or an influence platform we should not be asking if we can get by with that gift but we should be asking if we are caring for that thing well. We should not want what God gave us for performance or recognition like Randell talked about several weeks ago but we should want it because our faithfulness truly matters. We looked at preparation in the same context. We cannot control outcomes no matter how much we try. However we can control how prepared and surrendered we are.
We talked about prayer and fasting. And about when we do these things it should never be an attempt to force Gods hand. Instead it is a way to reveal what is already going on inside each one of us. When we fast we expose a way of dependence and it creates space. It is set up by design to be uncomfortable. We also talked about how community and accountability is not optional. It is so vital and essential. We are not meant to live any of this out alone.
The base was on break for the last two weeks (Weeks 13 and 14), and I was able to go home to Arkansas during that time which was such a gift! Being with my parents, sisters, grandma, and a few friends was so nice. The time flew by but it was really cherished and a good refresh.
Now we are back and are deep in week 15 and everything has shifted into outreach prep mode. Sorry for repeating myself! As part of this transition we found out that Aprillia and Camillia won’t be joining us for outreach. Aprillia has been dealing with ongoing migraines, and while we are continuing to pray and trust God for healing she is not able to travel right now. Camillia’s job wasn’t able to extend her time off for the second half of DTS. We will definitely miss them and the team will not be the same without them. Camillia has been one of my closest friends here so that change has been different for me but I am also really thankful for the time we had together and am excited to see how God continues to grow our team as we keep going. I am realizing this season has already been a season where trust and flexibility has mattered a lot. And I don’t think that will change during our outreach portion of DTS. I am just thankful we are leaning into that flexibility and trust as a group!
With a few changes over the last few weeks it looks like we will be now traveling to 39 different locations over 44 days. We will be starting in Boston tomorrow (Friday) and heading all the way to California and then making our way back. It still feels pretty wild but there’s so much anticipation for what’s ahead!! We are extremely excited to see how God uses this production not only in the audiences we meet but within our own lives as well! It will be a sweet and special time!
Starting tomorrow you can follow along at this link Live map update and see where we have been each day. I will continue sending updates every couple of weeks but I thought this would be a fun way to keep you all updated as we go along! We have been really intentional about praying over this tour and we would love for you to join us in that! So if your able we would love prayer for
Safety and protection as we travel each day. Protection for the long drives and the constant transitions and the new environments. Also for physical stamina. For our bodies to stay healthy and strong throughout the next several weeks.
Prayer for rest, refreshment, and encouragement personally. Truthfully I have been traveling and living out of a suitcase since pretty much June and while going home for break was really nice and refreshing in its own way it still was not quite the same as being fully settled. With outreach starting tomorrow and moving around is about to increase even more I would appreciate prayer for me and all of us that we would all have a renewed energy and actually an emotional reset. That God would meet us in the middle of it all and provide us rest even when things feel really temporary.
Prayer that people we encounter at each place whether it is through the production or just other conversations that they would be open and receptive. We hope seeds will be planted and there will be a curiosity. We hope hearts will be softened toward the Lord. We are trusting the Lord with the outcomes.
Prayer that we as a team would stay connected. That we will communicate well and support one another. That we remain flexible as plans shift and days get busy and we are tired. That we would lead with so much grace toward each other and actually even ourselves.
Prayer that we would be present. That we are able to listen well and respond with wisdom. We want to stay open to what God is doing in each moment of the trip.
If you all could continue to pray for complete healing for Aprillia that would be amazing.
As well as peace and encouragement for both Aprillia and Camillia as they stay back.
I am looking forward to sharing stories from the road and letting you all know what the Lord has been doing over the next several weeks! Thank you again for being invested and apart of this season with us! We were just talking the other day about how we all feel so grateful for this unique season with the Lord and are excited to let God meet us on this trip!
Best
Elizabeth
Spending some time with Camillia, Tianna, and Nadine before we left for break!
PSI Confrence session!
We had a Christmas party before break that involved a costume contest. I think I forgot to include this above. This is Rachel. She is one of the DTS leaders and she came as presents!
Another Christmas party photo. Nadine and Tianna came dressed as a ballerina and a mouse!
My visit home with my family! My parents and I visited my grandma! It was a sweet time! I am excited for my next visit!!