Fall DTS!

So we are a few weeks into the Fall DTS already!  It has been a busy and wonderful time already.  The weekly topics so far have been the Father Heart of God, the Foundations of Christianity and the Bible, as well as various other topics like prayer, worship, and dealing with pride.  We have such a fantastic group of students!  They are so eager for change in their lives and hungry to know God in a deeper way.  Many of them have past emotional and spiritual wounds, and we are excited to see God moving in their hearts already.  We know he is big enough for all the problems we face, and that he wants to see this precious group of people find freedom and healing.  This will enable them to live effectively for him!

Our typical week is beginning each morning with a student-led devotion, worship, and prayer/intercession.  We then have class every morning with a lecture about the topic of the week.  In the afternoons, time is spent in small group and one-on-one mentorship meetings, outreach team meetings, and tracks.  Tracks consist of different options: Dance, Outdoor Adventures, Music, Art/Communication, and Community Development.  The idea behind these is for the students to learn how to use their gifts and interests in missions and for them to grasp the way that God can work through each of these areas in everyday life.  I am helping with the Dance track, and I am really enjoying dancing again and getting to know the lovely ladies in that class better.

Jason and I are also very busy planning for outreach!  We get to lead an outreach team to southern Thailand and we are so excited about it!  We will be leading a group of 14 students for two months and working with various ministries in Thailand.  Some of them are: building relationships with university students, working at an orphanage, ministering in prisons and schools, and reaching out to the men and women affected by the widespread sex trade in Thailand.  We can't wait to share God's love with those who are hurting and in need of the hope that Jesus brings.  Thanks for being a part of our lives as we journey where God takes us.

This is a small group of girls in whom I get to invest this school, minus one....we meet twice a week and I meet
with each of them one on one every week.  We took everyone in the DTS to Glacier National Park and had a blast!

As summer comes to a close....

Well, the Fall quarter and the beginning of DTS is upon us!  Before I get going on that, though, I think I need to give a little more of a personal catch-up on my summer.  I posted photos and wrote about all the wonderful visits with family and friends, but I wanted to share about my time doing DTS Equip this summer.  It was a leadership training course that is aimed at those who want to staff and lead Discipleship Training Schools, but it was also very helpful for the development of general leadership skills.

One of my favorite weeks during this 6-week program was when we had a professional counselor come and talk to us about discipling people from difficult backgrounds.  He talked about many addictions and family difficulties that people have and how that can so negatively impact huge areas in their lives.  He gave us so many practical tools, as far as how to ask good questions, etc. that will be really helpful when I am dealing with students who have had troubled pasts. His teaching wasn't to make us professional counselors, but to simply help us to help others find more healing and freedom in their lives.  I am so excited to put these skills into practice this fall!  This teaching really piqued my interest in possibly getting my Masters in counseling one day.  I feel like this course really helped me better discover my giftings and leadership style, and I think that counseling would fit really well into that.

Another week that was a highlight was one where we spent the entire week doing community outreach.  It was humbling and eye-opening to spend the week having conversations with people in the area, most of whom were homeless.  We spent time in parks praying and looking for opportunities to have conversations with people, as well as doing things like free car washes and art in the parks.  One older lady came to know Jesus through this week, which is so exciting!!  We ended the week by hosting a barbecue at a park for all the people we met during the week.  After sharing dinner with all our new friends, a couple of people in our class got up and shared their stories/testimonies.  It was incredibly powerful, as many had gone through similar hard things.  The best thing about that night was to watch the way that after those personal stories were shared, everyone began to open up so much.  At the beginning of the night, our guests seemed to feel a bit awkward and out of place, but it was so amazing to watch the way that hearing about the power of God caused everyone to break off into twos and they then shared their stories with us.  God touched a lot of hearts that night.

I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to learn these things and to share God's love with others.  Now, I have a whole new season beginning where I can put all those lessons into practice on a daily basis!  Thanks for your prayers, and for continuing to be involved in my life.

Love,  Erika

Summer Pictures!

Jason and Erika in Glacier National Park

Erika and her mom at Flathead Lake

Avalanche Lake at Glacier National Park

In Bigfork, a cute town across the lake

This is the spot where we got engaged about 2 years ago!  (it overlooks
the gorgeous Flathead Lake and an incredible view and sunset.  :)

Just thought you all might enjoy some pictures from my parents' visit.  Now we just need to find some pictures of Danny as well!  We had a fabulous time together and enjoyed some beautiful local scenery.  

Busy Summer!!!

Wow....it has been far too long since I last blogged!  I guess that just shows that a lot has been going on.  Life has been such a whirlwind, I don't know where to start.  

SBS finished with a bang!  We finished with the book of Matthew to tie it all together, which was wonderful.  Our final paper really helped us to synthesize all that we learned, and realize that we actually do have a much better grasp of the "big picture" of the Bible and God's plan for humanity after doing this course.  We had a lovely few days of celebrating with our classmates, and enjoyed a great graduation and fancy dinner.  Our class performed "Be Thou My Vision" as a choir, and I had a small solo.  

After only one weekend of rest, Jason started working on the campus, both in the facilities department, and in the kitchen.  When we are not directly staffing a Discipleship Training School, we serve in various logistical capacities here.  While Jason did this, I was in a six-week DTS leadership development/ staff training course.  Jason already completed this course (DTS Equip) a few summers ago.  It has been very busy, too, but so good for me!  I learned so much about my leadership giftings and how to put them into practice.  I want to go more into detail on this....so you will have to check back for the next entry!!  :)

In the middle of all this, we have had some amazing visits from family.  First, my parents came for a week in early July.  We had a fabulous time together - such great relationship-building moments while enjoying the beautiful Montana summer!  It was wonderful for my mom and Danny to get a closer look at what we do here and why we are so passionate about this ministry.  We miss them already.  :(   We had a lovely surprise visit from John, Jennie, and Cameron Karle.  They are cousins from my mom's side of the family and were taking a vacation around Wyoming and Montana.  We so enjoyed connecting with them for a day and gearing more about what they are doing.  To top it off, Jason's cousin Jordan and his wife Karla were visiting from England, and we got to spend the weekend with them in the middle of their stay in America with family.   We are so blessed to have such loving and gracious family, and more blessed that they would actually journey all the way up here in the boonies to see us!

I want to go more in depth about what we are personally learning....but I'm afraid this is too long already.  As I said, you will have to check back for the next entry!  Photos will be coming soon as well.  Much love to all of you, and know that you also are welcome to come visit at any time!