Week 12 ( the last week of lecture phase!)

Olá para todos!

That's "Hello Everyone" in Portuguese. In four days I will be leaving for Johannesburg and Mozambique, Africa! This week has been so busy! My DTS has been packing and cleaning like crazy. I am so excited for all of the amazing things that God is going to do on outreach. When we are in Johannesburg we will be helping out in a local ministry. We will be doing a lot of work projects, and helping out with all of their needs. We also have the opportunity to go to the Lion Park while we're in South Africa. We will get to feed giraffes and play with baby lions.

From South Africa, we will take a twenty eight hour bus ride up to Dondo, Mozambique. We will be working with Iris Ministries while in Mozambique. They have a home for boys who range from 4-18 years old. We will be helping out with the boys, as well as doing ministry in the bush. We are actually going to camp in the bush for an entire week. I am so excited to get to serve the people of Africa! Please pray for me while I'm on outreach. Pray for protection, for favor, and that God would really use us to bring His Kingdom to Africa. Also pray that I would have supernatural boldness so that I may fearlessly do God's will. I may be able to update my blog once or twice while on outreach, but it is unlikely. If you would like to know how I am doing during my trip, please feel free to contact my dad at: billc@dayspring.com. I will continue to pray for all of you! I love you all and I hope you have a wonderful day.

In Christ,
Kaitlyn Couey

Week 11

This past week our speaker's name was Troy Sherman and he taught on missions. He was by far one of the most entertaining and easiest to listen to speakers we have had. He put a lot of emphasis on radical love in missions. He said that missions is simply serving and loving people. I learned this past week that in our society we usually pray as if we are trying to convince God to answer our prayers. It's like we're trying to talk God into doing things like ending poverty and saving people. He is already convinced! Are we? Troy talked about being the answer to our own prayers. If we are not willing to be the answer to our own prayers, then why are we even praying? When we take action and actually try to do something about our prayers, God reveals part of His heart to us. God is convinced! Go and do something about what you know! We know so much about Jesus and about all of these injustice issues that are going on in the world, but we do nothing! The first speaker in DTS called this the Tragic Disconnect(knowing everything, but doing nothing). We are called to live lives full of love. Love is an action! Love does something. Troy Sherman said that, "Love demands a response." That doesn't mean that you have to go to the ends of the earth to find someone to radically love. Everyone needs to know of the perfect love that God has for them, and they can...through us. As Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the world." I want to encourage you guys to start actively loving those around you. That could be something as simple as asking a stranger how they are doing. You will probably find that when you radically love, you are blessed even more than the other person.
Most of my notes this week consist of random quotations from Troy. Here are a few of my favorites:

"The world is desperate for people who are desperate."

"The Gospel is a message of "come back home". It's not about Jesus just coming in and fixing up the place."

"It wasn't the death of Jesus that saved us, but His love."

"God has given us everything necessary to change the world."

"Pray like it all depends on God, but work like it all depends on you."

"The blood of Jesus only covers what I uncover."


Thank you all for your prayer and support! I hope you all are abundantly blessed in Christ. I will be posting my final blog post before outreach in the next few days. I am praying for you all!

In Christ,
Kaitlyn Couey

Week 10

Hello Everyone!
This has been one of the most challenging yet amazing weeks of my life! This week we were taught about Evangelism and Life in the Spirit by Dudley Weiner. He is actually the leader of a YWAM base in southern France. I feel like I have learned more in this week than I ever have in my entire life. He taught us using mostly stories and personal experiences so I only have about five pages of notes, but I grew so much this week. One of the biggest things I learned this week is to be a student of everything. It's so important to listen to and watch all of the little things that are going on around us. These little details that we usually don't notice are so significant. Dudley talked about what is going on on the outside of people is NOT what is going on inside of them. This really convicted me. So many times I make assumptions about people based on the way they are acting on the outside, but I have no idea what they are going through on the inside. I feel like this has totally changed the way I see people. We're all the same. I am the same as a drug addict. Dudley used an interesting analogy to show the truth of this statement. We are all like cameras, the only thing is that we all have different lenses. All of the unique things around us has helped shape our lens. I may see the world in a different way than a drug addict does, but we are both humans and we were both made in the image of God. My mind has been blown so many times this week. We did this really cool exercise in class the other day. Dudley had our class form two lines facing each other. We went from one person to the next saying whatever we felt God wanted to say to each person. It was awesome to see the way God used this to speak so clearly to me. I was a little bit nervous about having to give a word to each person, but it was AMAZING! I feel like I was blessed more by giving than receiving.

God has been teaching me a lot this week about restoration and my identity in Christ. He is really moving and working in my heart. I feel like God has freed me from some stuff this week and I feel so amazing. There is so much freedom in Christ! I feel like I am now ready to fulfill the plan that God has for my life. I am ready to step out and be who He created me to be! I have realized this week how much God likes me. He doesn't just love me! He likes me! He likes who He has created me to be. I feel like I am finally understanding who I am in Him. So many times I try to find my identity in other things, but only in Christ can I find my true identity. He is enough and He satisfies every time.

Every Wednesday we have Kingdom Night, which is just doing street ministry in downtown Denver. This week we decided to have a worship time outside in downtown Denver. Some students played guitar and sang worship songs. We also had an area where people could come and paint while we worshiped. It was amazing to see how the demeanor of the people changed! We had a really diverse group of people that came. There were homeless people, young people that were just hanging out in the area, Christians, artists, gang members, and a lot of others. Everyone was so open, and they could totally sense that something was different about us. When you bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth crazy things happen. People that were walking along the street would stop and just stare at us. It's like they knew that something more than what met the eye was going on. God is so good! At one point a girl and I were talking to this woman who was complaining about her chest hurting. She said that the Doctors wanted to do this expensive scan on her, but she couldn't afford it. I asked if we could pray for her and she agreed. We laid hands on her and began to pray. As we were praying my hand got really hot(it was really cold outside). I asked her how is was feeling when we finished, and she said that it was feeling a lot better! I prayed again for complete healing to take place, and I am confident that God is going to completely heal her, and free her from pain. We have Jesus living inside of us. We have authority in Christ and we are called to partner with Christ to see His Kingdom come to this earth. God wants to see His people set free! All we have to do is be natural, and God will come and be supernatural! Thank you for all of the prayer and support. Thanks for partnering with me to see God's Kingdom come to the earth. I pray that you all have a blessed day.

In Christ,
Kaitlyn Couey

Love Action

At the beginning of DTS we were informed that we were going to have to do a project called a "Love Action". Basically, we had to put our love in action to someone in the Denver area. I struggled with what to do for a long while. I finally had the idea to put together little care packages for some homeless people in downtown Denver. It came down to the day I was supposed to go do it, and everything kept falling through. I wasn't very happy about it. God kept talking to me about how simple His love is. I finally decided to write four letters and give them to whoever God led me to along with a McDonald's gift card. I went down to downtown Denver with three other girls. We just walked around waiting for the Spirit to guide us. None of us really had any idea of what we were supposed to do. As we were walking, this young woman approached us and asked if we supported Planned Parenthood. She was trying to get us to give a donation, because she worked for them or something. We started talking to her, and she told us that she was having a pretty bad day. She had been out in the dreary weather for several hours and things were not looking too bright. She asked us what we were doing and we told her about YWAM, and how we were out doing a project. We talked to her a little longer and she began to cry. She said that we were so refreshing, and that we had made her day. She told us that she didn't even work for Planned Parenthood. She worked for this other organization, and they had randomly decided to put her with Planned Parenthood that day. She told us that she was having a hard time in college, because there weren't any people to support her. She was super discouraged. God was so awesome to come and encourage her the way He did. Her spirit was so much lighter when we left. It was awesome!

We kept walking after that knowing that God was doing something crazy. We saw this woman sitting up against a wall by a bus stop. She had her eyes closed and was talking and making strange movements. I wanted to give her one of my letters, so I went up to her. I said, "excuse me, ma'am", and without opening her eyes she shouted,"NO!" I backed away, and went back to my group. We decided to go stand up against the wall next to her. She started asking for a dollar. One of the other girls gave her some money, and then I went and gave her the letter. We asked if we could pray for her and she said YES! She even wanted to hold our hands while we prayed. It was awesome to see God totally turn that situation around. I gave another letter to this man playing a harp, he didn't want to talk to us, so I don't know what happened. I also left one on this bench that I know a lot of homeless people use. Two of the girls in my group started talking to this man that they had met the previous day. He was staying at one of the local shelters, and it happened to be his birthday. We decided to take him to dinner. It was so awesome getting to hear his story! He just wanted someone to talk to him and to listen. At the end I gave him one of the letters. It was a really cool experience. On our way out of the restaurant we ran into this man who was asking for change. He said that he needed to get to Boulder to see his daughter who was in the care of two women there. One of the girls gave him a five dollar bill. He started weeping. Apparently he needed five dollars so he could clean himself up before he saw his daughter. Then he asked us to pray for him. It was so beautiful! He actually started praying when we were finished! He kept telling God how much he loved Him. It was amazing! We stared our time having no idea what was going to happen, and God met us where we were at! God Moved in mighty ways! God will use us if we are willing!

God really used this experience to show me the simplicity of His love. He just wants His children to know how much He loves them. I think I finally get it. It's all about love. When you talk to people with the sole intention of seeing them saved so that they won't go to hell, you miss the whole point. When you talk to people to share God's love, and to see their lives completely transformed by the love of Jesus, you succeed. Jesus came to this Earth to share the love that the Father has for us. He did come to save us, but He also came to show us how unconditional His love is. He came to show us that His love has no strings attached. It's pure. It unconditional. It's radiant. It perfect. It's love...

Week 8

Hello Everyone!
This past week has been a roller coaster! I have been gone since last Saturday on my in class outreach. We went to Los Angeles to work with the Dream Center, as well as the Jonah Project (www.jonahproject.com)which is a non-profit organization right in the heart of Skid Row. We left for this adventure early on Saturday morning. We spent that night at the YWAM base in Las Vegas, which is in the third worst neighborhood in the United States. That night we went down to the main strip in Las Vegas and did a little site seeing. It was beautiful but very different than what I expected. Never have I seen so much of God's glory mixed in with so much sin. It was pretty intense. We left Las Vegas on Sunday morning and arrived in L.A. that afternoon. Our speaker for the week came with us and taught on the Holy Spirit for the first few days. It was by far my favorite teaching yet. He was very thorough in his teaching and he answered all of my questions. It was great.
Later in the week we worked with the Dream Center. We worked with a food truck on the first day. We handed out groceries and prayed with people in a local community in L.A. On the second day we worked with their children's ministry. We got to play and make crafts with the kids while their parents received food for the week. It was so awesome to see how God used the simple act of handing out food to bring Him glory. We also worked with the Jonah Project in Skid Row. Skid Row has one of the largest concentrations of homelessness in the United States. There were hundreds and hundreds of homeless people. My team went around and talked and prayed for people if they wanted it. It was an incredibly eye opening experience. I went in to Skid Row thinking that it would be similar to all of the street ministry we have done here in the Denver area. It was nothing like that. I didn't even know poverty like that existed in the U.S. I think that God really used my time in Skid Row to show me that being in ministry isn't always going to be pretty. It's going to be incredibly hard and challenging at times, but it's worth it.
On Thursday we spent the day at the beach. Several of the people in my school got baptized in the ocean. It was awesome! When that was over we went and did street ministry on the boardwalk in Venice beach. It was a pretty crazy experience. We went in groups of three and talked and prayed for people. There was a lot of spiritual warfare going on in that area. Despite that, we were able to be a light in a dark area. A lot of the people guessed that we were Christians even before we had said anything about it. God really went before us and prepared the way. We were able to plant seeds in these people's lives. It's exciting to see the way God is moving in that area!
We joined the YWAM base in L.A. twice this week and had an amazing time of ministry. The DTS there was learning about the Holy Spirit this week as well. We had a powerful time of prayer and worship. The Holy Spirit was so powerful. People were getting healed and filled with the Spirit like I've never seen before. God spoke to me in such powerful ways this week; He is doing so much in my heart. This week I have been reminded over and over again of God's goodness and faithfulness. Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and see that the Lord is Good." My life is such a testimony of God's goodness. He has watched over me and He has protected my heart my entire life. I just want to encourage all of you to reflect on God's goodness this week. Think about all of the times that He has comforted your hurting heart, and all of the times He has filled you with His love and peace. God is so good. Thanks for all of the encouraging words and prayers that you guys have been so faithful to give. God is truly using you in massive ways in my life. I love you all!

In Christ,
Kaitlyn Couey

Week 6 and 7

     It's another beautiful day here in Arvada! This past week our speaker's name was Peter Warren. The topic was Spiritual Warfare. I learned so much about it I don't even know where to start. Peter talked about the history of the world, and why the spiritual realm is the way that it is. I learned that nothing can limit God, but He chooses to limit Himself in order to partner with us. He has delegated some of His power to us. Limiting Himself is what freedom requires. I also learned about satan and his kingdom, and the different levels of demonic authority. Peter also taught about the way that demons manifest themselves and inhabit different things. He then when on to give us thirteen weapons that we have against the powers of darkness. I really enjoyed this week's teaching. Not only was the topic important, but he also gave scripture to back up all of his points. 

     The teaching for this week(week 7) was about relationships. A couple that is on staff here at YWAM taught it. Their names are Jeremy and Keeley Lange. They spoke on: our relationship with God, relationships with family, friendships, and romantic relationships. Dean Sherman once said that, " Every problem in the world is a problem of relationship." This was one of the Lange's main points. They basically said that if all of our relationships were the way that God meant for them to be, then there would be fewer problems in the world. I found their take on relationships to be refreshing and honest. They are an excellent real life example of what a Godly relationship should look like. They are actually practicing what they are preaching. I was not particularly looking forward to this week in the beginning. I have read so many Christian relationship books and I thought that this would be another "lecture" on premarital sex and emotional baggage. It definitely shattered my expectations. I feel like I gained a lot of new and useful information. Honestly, it wasn't so much the teaching as it was the real life example they showed us. Their level of respect and love for each other was contagious. It was amazing. 

     Next week(week 8) my DTS will be going to Los Angeles for eight days for our mid lecture phase outreach. We will be working with an organization called the Dream Center(http://www.dreamcenter.org/). We will also be doing a lot of ministry in Skid Row, which has one of the largest amounts of homeless people in the United States. We will be staying in a local church for the entire trip. Please pray for our safety and for God to start preparing our hearts and the hearts of the people we will be ministering to. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

In Christ,

Kaitlyn Couey

    

Week 5

      Greetings from Arvada, Colorado! This week my DTS joined the Boarders DTS up at the Eagle Rock base. The speaker this week was a man named Don Stephens and he taught on the Kingdom of God. He basically taught on a bunch of different world views. He covered: Gnosticism, Pantheism, Islam, and the Kingdom world view. I really enjoyed learning about all these other religions. It gave me a greater understanding of how to defend my own beliefs. It also made me appreciate the personal relationship that I have with Jesus.

     

     Also, we have different ministry opportunities twice a week. I haven't had a chance to share what God has been doing, but it has been so amazing! About two weeks ago I went with a group to this mental health clinic. We didn't go there to convert people, but to simply love on them. Love was something that they were desperate for. I met this one woman who I was particularly burdened for. She was the sweetest thing. I(along with two other girls) sat down and talked to her for about forty five minutes. She was so hungry for companionship and acceptance. She could not believe that we would actually sit down and talk to her, and be interested in who she was. It broke my heart. We prayed for her at the end, and she just broke down in tears. It was amazing. So often we overlook hurting and broken people in our own communities. We don't have to go out of the country to show people God's love. We just have to look in our own backyards. We only spent a few hours with these beautiful people, and they were filled with joy. Not only were we able to be a blessing to them, but they were a blessing to us. When I looked into their eyes I got to see a glimpse of God's heart. It's not complicated. It's simple. It's pure. 

     About a week and a half ago we did another outreach. This time we went to downtown Denver. I went with two other people and just walked around the area. We didn't have an agenda. We were just waiting on God to see what He wanted to do. At one point I was holding up a sign that said "Free Prayer". It was amazing to see the way God used that sign! Every single person that we prayed for approached us. Not once did we have to ask people if they wanted prayer. These two guys came up to us and said that they wanted some free prayer. They were treating it as a total joke. I asked one of the guys if there was anything in particular that he needed prayer for. He said that he wanted me to pray for his brother. As I prayed for him the Holy Spirit really began to move. It was so powerful! When I finished, he opened his eyes and was like "whoa". Then he gave me a hug and walked off. It was AWESOME! What started out as a joke, God turned around and used for good. They saw that we were serious, and that we weren't pushing religion on them. We just wanted to bless and love them. God is so good!

     Thanks for all of the prayers and support! You all are such a blessing. I ask that you would continue to pray for me. Specifically that God would continue to give me boldness and faith to step out and do His will. I love you guys!

In Christ,

Kaitlyn Couey