Whats up my awesome family and friends. I haven now been in YWAM for just over a month. The time here is flying by but it so often does when your having fun. Over the last two weeks I have done a week on Repentance and Forgiveness and a week on Intersession and Worship. Both of these weeks were filled with awesome teaching and many revelations. The week on Repentance and Forgiveness was pretty heavy to say the least but we finished up with an application day on the Friday which involved each of us confessing acts of repentance and forgiveness in front of the whole class. In the act of confession I felt like the most horrible sinner to have walked the Earth considering some of the things I have done in the past but once I was done confessing I received prayer and felt the amazing grace of God flow over me setting me completely free from bondages of my past. Thankfully my leader Sven reassured me after that it was good that I felt to be most horrible sinner in the class as it was a sign that I was being fully convicted by the Holy Spirit and that everyone in the class should be feeling like that also. The best part of this week was that I came out of it with a very deep hatred of sin!

The weekend following the heavy week of Repentance and Forgiveness was nice and relaxed. I spent most of Saturday on the beach and that night I went longboarding in a 7 storey car park in the city with a few friends which was sick. The following day was pretty chilled once again. I went to a church called Riverview on the Sunday night with a few friends for my first time. Riverview is the biggest Church in Perth and on this night there was over twenty salvations at the end of the service which was awesome. This is meant to be happening every weekend which is nothing short of awesome. Last weeks teaching was on Intercession and Worship. But we spent a good chunk of the week getting taught on how God has given us free will and that everything is not pre destined which I was already in agreement of. Many people in the class found this pill hard to swallow as they come from the Calvinest pre destination theology which doesn't even make sense to me. The best bits I got out of this week were as follows. As a result of humans being given free will Gods will is not always done and that is why many horrible things occur. God gave us free will as he could never force us to love him or each other as that would of taken away the very essence of what love is and the freedom it brings. Therefore, yes Father God is in charge but everything that happens is not of his will. He has given us authority over his creation and he wants us to partner and cooperate with him in carrying out his strategy. As a result prayer does change things and is incredibly powerful. A number of miracles from consistent prayer that I have seen include the restoration of the good relationship between my dad and I, my friend not been charged for drink driving and a kid being healed of leukemia. I have many more also as prayer is awesome, powerful and does bring results!!

Another revelation I had last week that was part of class related to what I used to call my ups and downs but now have decided to title them the more appropriate name of dry seasons and wet seasons. This occurred when one of the leaders got up and said that we walk in truth out of choice and not because it feels good. The truth is in the Bible and the calling on your life. Its not about feelings although its awesome to feel the joy of God and all the other blessings he can pour out on our emotions to make us feel good. I have been higher under the heavy beautiful anointing of God than I have off any drugs I have ever taken and that says something. But its not about that its about making the choice to walk in the truth no matter how I'm feeling or whether I'm hearing God clearly. When we go through these dry seasons which are very often for me as that's the way the big man created me with a lot of energy, God is trusting us to walk in his truth out of choice. It is a time of maturing and deepening our roots becoming more consistent in our faith and obedience. Therefore I have taken the view that every time I go though a dry season from now on I will see them as a blessing as I know that Father God is giving me the opportunity for a break through and I want these as much as possible.

I am now almost finished my second course book which was an optional book. The first one was Is That Really You God which is the testimony of Lauren Cunningham who started YWAM back in 1960 and how God gave him the vision for YWAM and how in faith the vision was fulfilled and continues to be today. My second book is called Stoked which is all about being stoked for Jesus and I love it! Stoked is all about how to keep that fire burning for Jesus and how to avoid the stoke chokers or what normal people would call burn outs. The guy who wrote the book is called Danny lehmann and he reminds me a lot of myself. He gave his heart to the lord at around twenty when he was living the life of a beach bum surfer in California. I learned a lot of wisdom from the man and I even hope to meet him some day. He now leads the YWAM base in Honolulu Hawaii.

I'm just after finding out that I will be going to Nepal for four weeks followed by seven weeks in north east India on my missions trip after Christmas. I'm so happy about these locations especially India as that was the one country I really wanted to work in. We will be making our way from Kathmandu to Calcutta spreading the Good News, loving and helping all sorts of people along the way. When we get to Calcutta I think we will work in the slums but I'm not sure yet. Last week we learned how to make water filters and we will be learning many more skills like this to help people in practical ways on our outreach. As it is through loving people that God will move and people will become open to the Good News. I have to raise close $4000 for my outreach. For anyone who feels to support me, send me an email and I will let you know how you can donate money. I hope my blog finds you in good spirits and can encourage you. Once again please let me know if there is anything I can be praying for. For those who emailed me previous prayer requests I have been praying for you regularly, trust God for the miracle to take place. Blessings of peace and love