Winnipeg Discipleship Training School

Previous Post - Outreach Update 5 - Welcome Home Team!

After five months of seeking and serving God, both here and throughout Uganda, our 2007 Discipleship Training School has come to a close. The team has truly been transformed by God's grace as He led us through this journey. The only thing more difficult than trying to articulate the depth of change we have experienced is saying goodbye to one another.

However, we are excited that so many of us live quite close together. Further, some are prayerfully considering returning to join our YWAM team full time. Whatever happens, the friendships forged and the transformation that has taken place will leave us all forever connected by this experience. God is good!

Previous Post - Outreach Update 4 - by Michelle



As the DTS has been in Jinja and Kampala with little to no internet access, we have not had an update on their last week or so.  However, last night they arrived back in Winnipeg safely to begin the their final week of debrief before heading home.  I promise to get an update onf their last few days in Uganda up later this week.  Until then, I thought you would all be happy to know they arrived back in one piece.

Previous Post - Outreach Update 3 - by Michelle & Robin

Hello everyone,
 
I'm writng you from Jinga, Uganda.  We made it safely from Soroti to Jinga and we are now staying in a small house in a village near the city.  We are working with a YWAM ministry called Hopeland.  It is a clinic in the village that works with HIV/AIDS as well as working to immunize the local children.  They have a clinic that works with pregnant women and there are some people on their staff who do physical therapy with disabled children in the village.  They work with the kids but they also work with the parents so that the parents know how to work with their children.

We have been able to help with the different ministries and we have been rotating through them so that each of our students can work with a large variety of ministries.  On Sunday our team was split up so that we could visit several different churches in the village, they were all very excited to have visitors.  This Sunday we are planning to all go to the same church so that we have a chance to stay together as a team.
 
I have been retested for malaria and it seems to be gone!  I was retested on Sunday but they said that it could be the medication that was preventing it from showing up on the test so they tested again today and it is still not showing any malaria.  Other than that I have been staying pretty healthy on this trip.  Please pray for continued health with me as well as the rest of our team.  We leave Jinga on Monday and will be spending the remainder of our time in Kampala (the capital).  Please pray for safe travels.
 
God bless,
Michelle

Previous Post - Update 2- Soroti Outreach - by Michelle

Hello everyone,

Greetings again from Soroti, Uganda. We have had a really good week. Over the weekend we were able to go to a praise and worship gala where there were several different church groups and organizations that were leading different praise and worship songs. Our team sang a couple of songs and got to enjoy the rest of the show.

Yesterday three of our team members Paul, Stacie and Brenden went to a church in a village, they were able to hang out there pretty much all day, Stacie shared her testimony and Brenden also spoke at the church. When they got back our team made dinner for the YWAM Soroti base, we made french toast (a typical North American breakfast).

One of the ministries of YWAM Soroti is a home for babies and children who have AIDS or HIV. Their are also some children there without HIV who have lost parents but most of the kids are HIV positive. Last week a 2 1/2 year old boy named Timothy died at a hospital in Kampala. Please pray for his family and the other people living in his village. Also please be praying for the ywam staff that work with these kids, although they realize that death is a possible outcome for many of these children it never gets easier to lose a child.

God bless,
Michelle

It is now our third week in Uganda. Only 4 more left- it is going by quickly. Today and yestarday my Ugandan friends braided my hair. It took 8 hours, I really like it. They laughed because they said Mazogoo hair (white persons hair) is much different to braid then black hair. I am really making good friendships here. I really love the people.

Last week I got to work in a home for babies whose parents have either died from AIDS or cannot afford to take care of them. Over half of the babies are HIV positive. I loved being with them, some are so tiny, when I bathed them they fit perfectly into the little basin.

The weather has been very hot, and I am burnt but hopefully it will turn into a tan. I love the music and worship here. They pretty much dance at every worship service. I love hearing all the different clapping and harmonies. The children get right into it as well. Two more weeks in Soroti then we go to another place called Jinja.

Take care,
Robin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello everyone,

Greetings again from Soroti, Uganda here in East Africa. Our DTS outreach is going really well so far. This week two of our students had the opportunity to teach "Bible time" in one of the local schools, for two hours every morning. Twice this week our team went to a local hospital. The first time we went to visit and pray with people. We went to the women's ward first and then the men's ward. Next we went to the children's ward where we talked and prayed with the kids and their parents. We also gave each family a package of cookies, the children were grateful for that. The next day we went back to the hospital to clean the maternity ward, spending the morning there cleaning the walls and floors. We will be going back tomorrow morning to clean another ward.

The other day we had our team broken into three different groups, with two of our students going into the villages to visit with families whose children have AIDS or HIV, three of our team members visiting a group of low income families (who YWAM Soroti has been working with them to help them save money and to learn how to better manage their money), and myself and one of the other team members with going to a mobile clinic where we were able to help sort and distribute medicine.

Please pray for our team as we continue to serve in Soroti. Pray for continued unity within our team. Pray that God would show us how to work together, show us where each others giftings and strengths are so we can support each other.

God bless,
Michelle F. - YWAM Staff

 

We recently received a brief, but excellent update from our outreach team now serving in Soroti, Uganda.  Lindsey, one of our excellent students, writes the following:

Greetings from Uganda! I only have 15 minutes at the internet cafe, so this will be short, but I thought you may be interested in hearing a bit about how things are going for our team so far. When we arrived at the airport in Entebbe after a grueling 40-something hours in transit we expected to be greeted by the YWAM staff from Soroti, who were supposed to be picking us up. Although some of us realized that Africa time is a little more laid back than that in the West, we left the airport after about 4 hours of waiting and got a hotel.

To make a long story short, we ended up spending two nights in hotels until we were finally picked up and brought to Soroti. What probably happened was the email with our finalized itinerary did not get through, so all they had was an old email saying we were arriving two days later than the actual date. Anyway, the wait was actually a good thing. It gave us some time to get used to the culture and climate, and our team did some bonding in that time as well.

Uganda reminds me so much of Nigeria, where I lived two years with my family. I am the only person on the team who has been to Africa before, so some of the comments my teammates make are just hilarious. Today is a national holiday, so we have the day off, but tomorrow we are going to be starting to work with some of the ministries YWAM is involved in here. For example, tomorrow some of us are going to a youth service and sharing our testimonies, and some of us are going to be doing "Bible Time" at a local school. Prayer Requests: - Calming of nerves for me as I give my testimony tomorrow. - Health and unity for the team. That's all I have time for right now.

In Christ,
Lindsey

 

 

Throughout last week the DTS excitedly (and bit nervously) made their last preparations before outreach. There is only so much you can prepare a group for when going on a cross-cultural missions trip. When we sent them off on Tuesday to Uganda, we knew they would face challenges, but we were confident it would only grow in them a maturity and understanding on the challenges of serving God anywhere.

On Tuesday we sent 5 students and 2 staff to Uganda for the next two months where they will be serving in various minsitries. We received our first update from them this morning, having faced their first cross-cultural missions challenge. The missionaries meant to meet them at the airport didn't show up and the phone numbers we were given did not work. While not at all an uncommon mix up when serving in missions, the team was a bit shaken by this unexpected introduction to Africa. [UPDATE: As it turns out, the mix up was as a result of a clerical error on the Canadian end of things NOT in Uganda.  Live and learn!]

In reality, though, we were prepared for such events, the leaders securing the team housing in Kampala until alternate travel arrangements can be made. For those experiencing this for the first time, it could seem as though our leadership were unprepared or that the African missionaries were irresponsible. In truth, Ugandan culture functions of a very different set of values and practices, not at all better or worse, just different. It can be difficult adjusting, but that is all part of the discipleship process. In some ways, it is good for the students to experience this early on.

JP and the rest of the staff will remain in Winnipeg over the next few months doing local outreach. It too will have its challenges. However, we expect both groups to not only be impacted in their own lives, but to make an impact of the lives of the people they are called to serve and minister to. When we consider the heritage of martyred missionaries, we cannot help but be thankful for the freedom and resources we enjoy as His people today. However, where much is given, much is required. Lord make us faithful!

Stay tuned for further updates!

[UPDATE: The team has connected with YWAM Soroti and will be heading there soon.  Again, the mix up was a result of an error on the Canadian end,  NOT in Uganda.]

 

 

March 19th, 2007: Outside the YWAM office on Sargent Ave, you can here muffled noises. As you approach the office and peer into the window, you see a group of people sitting in a circle, clapping out a beat and laughing....yes....Monday morning, our exceptionally and delightfully fun(and educational...just make sure I included that, wink, wink... ) speaker, Chris Whitler, is having us clap out a beat while we holler out the name of an animal in alphabetical order. What a way to wake up! It was great, not to mention how he opened up the lecture by playing the game "I have never". It is the one where you say... for example "I have never snorkled upside-down", and if anyone in the crowd has, they immediatly bolt from their seat in search for another...and the one who isn't quick enough gets stuck in the middle repeating this cycle. Also, in the effort to make our "getting to know each other" process more interesting, Chris asked us the most intriguing question of all: What is your favorite ice-cream? Awesomely enough, I documented each person's reply (against their will...maybe...muhahaha!). So here you go...the favorite ice cream(s) of our DTS.

Staff

Matt: peanut butter chocolate
Jamie: chocolate chocolate brownie
Ree: Cold Stone Creamery's birthday cake bash or Ben and Jerry's peanut butter cup
Kim: lemon sorbet
Paul: pralines and cream

Speaker

Chris: Cold Stone Creamery's white cake batter with strawberries

Students

Ed: blue licorace
Lindsey: peanut butter chocolate
Brenden: heavenly hash
Stacie: pumpkin pie or cake batter
Robin: cookie dough
JP: rainbow or strawberry

This week's topic was Evangelism. I loved Chris's approach to teaching about it. Instead of giving us checklists of what to do, he shared about his experiances and what he has drawn from them. Through his stories, he has allowed each student to come to their own revelation of what is involved in evangelism. 

A specific story I was floored by was about him spending time in a Russian orphanage. He said something to this effect..., " The coolest part was seeing God's love and commitment to her (a little girl he had become friends with). You are not going to Uganda because of your caring and concern but because of GOD'S caring and concern for people. He cares so much that he helps you to raise the money and time needed to go to Africa and just share (even if briefly) in the lives of others." He also talked about how to love others, how evangelism is not just something done at a specific time, but rather, done everyday through our lives, how to have a balance of boldness and humility, how to walk through tension with grace, and so much more. He shared about moments of success, times of failure, and how God is using us to fill up every part of everywhere(in people, and in the world).

The illustration he used for that last point was genious. Two of us students went upfront. One held a glass tipped, the other a glass underneath, and Chris the pitcher. He then proceeded to pour water into the first cup, which overflowed to the second, and then all over the carpet( haha...I wonder how our staff was feeling about that). Honestly, I'm not quiet sure how to summarize all that our speaker taught us. I guess he imparted a peice of his life unto us, and I'm glad that through God using him, we could draw inspiration for our own lives concerning evangelism.

 
Highlights of the week:
Chris cooking Thai Food for dinner

Small group (boys and girls this week): We made mini-smores using chopsticks, votive candles, and miniaturized versions of the rest of the ingrediants. We played Mennonite maddness( don't worry, I had no idea what was going on either) , a game in which a single pen is placed in the center of the table, followed by the shaking of dice, and if a person rolls the correct number they frantically snatch-up the pen and begin to number a paper until they reach 100. When this happens, they win. It's pretty interesting to say the least, especially when you're surrounded by uber competive people. We also played a game invovling tape and frantic grabbing...the point was to rip the piece of tape of your peer's back...good times!

Outreaches: Our last ones... "tear".
 Note to reader: These are not exact quotes, but overall ideas shared by the students...

Ed's perspective: This week, we talked about what it means to be a Christian, and shared different ideas concerning it which included : forgiviness, loving one another, being supporitve of each other, being encouraging, and so on. There was definitly a sense of closure: the group of guys prayed for each of us, for our safety, health, and that we would be good and effective wittnesses. I really enjoyed meeting the people in the North End community and hearing about their journeys and day to day struggles. Many of their struggles were hard for myself to relate to, but they gave me a new appreciation and understanding for their lives and how they overcome/deal with the obstacles in their life.

Lindsey's perspective: LBE was pretty good. We as students preformed an object lesson, which went well, but what I felt affected the youth most was Stacie's testimony (concerning our illustration) because it related to them in a personal way.I also had the opprotunity to be involved in pickups, and it was good to see the living condistions of the youth because it enabled me to understand more so why they act they way they do.

Well...there you have it! Sadly, this will be my last time journeling about our school...I will be in Uganda next week! Jamie will recieve the honor of documenting our journey while we are there, and I want you to know....it's been a blast...and God bless you tremendously!

Lovin you in Christ Jesus,
Stacie J.

Hi again from Winnipeg! AHHH the topic of relationships.....mushy gushy love notes, cuddling, flowers, the works... hahaha.  Okay I'm bluffing, but seriously, our topic this week was Relationships. Unlike the previous statement, our discussions were not superficial and vague; rather, they were challenging, deep, and exciting. Our speaker, the caring, bright, and cheery Kara Thompson, is not only a founding member of YWAM Vegas, she is very insightful about this topic. I can remember a closing statement of "How can one be certain that a person is right for them - a.k.a. marriable? You can't...you just have to do your homework."  As I think to myself...."GRRREEATTT, I've never been one for actual studying and effort...hehe. Now...it is time to marvel, gape, and smile at the lovely update about the inner workings of YWAM Winnipeg's spectacular DTS!

Don't settle for the bitter, wait for the sweet. Kara mentioned how many of us are starving for relationships, and we tend to settle for anything we can get, and not for what is best. I know this thought inspired me. God has honey for us...not stale bread. That is exciting. She proceeded to discuss several problems that effect the beauty/joy of all types of relationships. She outlined the characteristics and behaviors we have developed from our family relationships. Seeing how a foundation of security is formed during our childhood, and how identity is built upon this reveals why our foundations can be  broken and/or filled with gaps. Being able to take responsibility for our own actions, knowing that we can pass on wholeness and not brokeness to our childern, and being able to empathize with others are tools we can use to mend family ties, and knowing that Christ heals and loves us. She also defined the fact that a healthy family relationship is defined by security and maturity.

The clinical aspects of brokeness (in relationships) were also discussed. This can be outlined as: Biological aspects: chromosomal issues; hormonal issues; and brain structure. Psychological aspects: setting; personal view; events and experimentation.  Supernatural aspects: fallen nature; demonic influences; "offering ourselves to idols"; and generational sin. It was great to hear Kara speaking about facets of relationships that are hard, touchy, or practical. We also discussed sexuality which includes types of it, struggles with it, and a godly approach to it. More advice and dialogue occured concerning non-negotiable qualities in a future mate, how to prepare ourselves to be good friends, mates, etc., and principles that can be used in the recovery of ourselves.


Deep Thoughts by Kara Thompson: As I learned thoughout the week, I noticed that Kara stated profound advice using straightfoward statements. These are not exact quotes, but I feel they convey the overall idea as I understand them....yeah it's goood stuff...so here is what I have gathered; enjoy!...or else...hehe:


Well...although I could not share the depth and fun of this week, I hope you could savor a taste of what we learned...take care!

God bless!

Stacie J.

Previous Post - Week 8

 

"Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart"
Mahatma Gandhi

Think about your favorite food; your favorite memory;your favorite hobby... It seems that so much of who we are is defined by our culture. Thinking of this, it is very understandable why we (the DTS students) need to be aware of not only our own backround, but that of the Ugandan people. It is vital (as I feel the quote is emphasizing) that we think outside of the box we've been raised in, and reach out with love, openess, and compassion to others, which is the culture of Christ's heart.

Missions was the focus of our week. Jack (John) McNeill shared with us not only his knowledge concerning this, but personal stories and smiles. He is truly intelligent and humble, possessing the ability to put the entire class at ease. We had some really great questions and discussions concerning this topic.

As one could guess by previous statements, culture was highlighted in his teaching. We reviewed information such as the stages of cultural transition which included the "honeymoon" stage, the "reality check", the "work to grow in understanding", and the "re-entry into one's own culture"stages. Identifying with a culture vs. using the extractionalist approach, communication aspects of cutlure, strategizing to reach a culture (yet being flexible to change), and acquiring cross culturalism were just a few of the topics emphasized.

Jack also revealed that the foundation of missions began in the Old Testament, outlining the fact that God has had a mission concerning humanity since the beginning of creation, and presenting us the question, "Do we want to be a part of God's mission or not?"

Speaking of missions...WE are going to UGANDA in three weeks! Three weeks people...think about it...that is coming up very quick! Since we are so passionate and pumped about our outreach, we came to the conclusion that you the readers would probably be super thrilled to learn about what we are going to be involved in! (Brace yourself people...)!

We, the lovely students, are going to be flying out from Winnipeg to Toronto, Toronto to London (England), London to Dubia (The United Arab Emirates), Dubia to Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and finally from Addis Ababa to Entebbe (which is in Uganda, yes my friends, which means we'll have finally reached our destination...awesome!)

After this, we will bus into Soroti, and stay in the YWAM base located there for almost 4 weeks. While there, we will be involved in such things as serving the people of Soroti, digging wells, reaching out to people affected and infected by HIV/AIDS, ministering to the Karamojong, and serving/working in the war torn regions of North Eastern Uganda and Southern Sudan.

For about the week (and a bit) we will relocate to the YWAM base in Jinja, serving in a variety of ministries which include everything from medical programs to awareness education. The last week we will receive the opportunity to work with street kids in the city of Kampala through an organization called Dwelling Places. What a wonderful opportunity we have received from Christ! I hope that you can take the time to check out these links, pray for the ministries, and pray for us! Thanks so much! God bless!

Sincerely in Jesus Christ,
Stacie J.