One on One

The strange thing about going from being a student to being staff in a training organisation means that people treat you differently. There's nothing un-normal about this, as students have a different status and purpose. As a student, you are given timetables, homework, assignments, work duties. You work in teams with the other students and it's only for a set period of time. For the Discipleship Training Students, things are done in 3-month blocks, so it's really hard for those who don't work directly in the school, but for other areas of the mission, to get to know the students in any deep or meaningful way.

However, one way I have found to combat this is to take the role of a so-called one-on-one. This is someone who is allocated a couple of students of the same sex to spend an hour a week with, to chat through with them how they are finding life in YWAM. It's great, because there's no set agenda or 'teaching' that I have to do, yet I can help two young men grow in their relationship with God by giving them a platform to explore, outside of the peer pressure/busy-ness of the week. I meet with my two guys and we just walk and talk. They share their journals with me and I can see how they are learning to become disciples of Christ. They are exploring their faith journey and it's such a priviledge to walk it with them.

It is done in my spare time, outside of my working week with YWAM, but I feel that it is two hours of the week very well spent - whether that's having lunch together, or taking a walk down the beach at sunset - to hear about someone else's walk with God is a great thing to do.

The other day, we invited the prayer and worship team over to our house to intercede for us as we move in and start a family. One of the team said to me: "In our department, we welcome people from the entire community to come and be prayed for. It is such a joy to do it, because as we pray for them, I start to see some of God's heart for that person and I just want to get to know them more and more. There has never been a time when we have prayed for someone and God hasn't showed up!"

I am not sure where God is leading me at the moment, or how the rest of my life will pan out, but what I do know is this: God is good, trustworthy and faithful.