"Well, I don't want to kill myself anymore!" That was not the response I was expecting to hear when Mia was asked at a staff meeting interview how going through discipleship training and serving at our mission affected her life! As we applauded her answer, I realized a lot was packed into that simple arresting statement.

After sitting in three months of mind-blowing DTS classes, I was ready to get our there into the real world with the rich truths I'd learned! The best way to solidify all God has done in our lives is to transfer the knowledge into our daily experience, allowing His grace to have its perfect work.  And that’s just what He did during our 8 weeks of travel covering 20,000 miles, including 2 nations in East Asia.

We are so proud of our students here at YWAM Tyler. Please read Rose's story of how God set her free from self-harm and a slow suicide. God is so kind and so gentle to lead us from our dark situations to places of freedom, and being able to minister to others. 

Before being saved, I was in and out of treatment centers, on and off of drugs, putting myself in deadly situations, searching for love and validation through people that never ceased to disappoint me.

PEACE IN THE CHAOS

Living in a world that seems to be falling apart can be scary. Sicknesses are taking lives, families are separating, friendships are ending, and people are losing their jobs. There are many things that make it seem like we are in world-wide upheaval.

Fear can be so debilitating in our lives, but it doesn't have to be. If you're struggling with some type of fear in your life -- fear of failing, fear of deep relationships, or fear of the unknown, there is is hope. God loves you.

Watch this short message from Nate Evans [1:12 video]

It’s been exhausting, amazing, hard, and difficult, but I am thankful for every step taken and the people I get to do this with. I am thankful for the people praying and supporting financially. I am thankful for the transformation God is doing in mine and other's lives. I am thankful for God allowing us to be a vessel for Him.

During my Discipleship Training School (DTS), God really showed me His heart for America. I’ve always dreamed of being the missionary that traveled to faraway lands to preach the Gospel where it’s never been heard, but God showed me that He cares as much about the people of America as He does the ones in far off lands. God cares about every nation tribe and tongue, including my own!

With tears in my eyes, I pulled down the door of the Budget rental truck, said goodbye to my apartment, and heard God say to me one more time, “Will you give up all I’ve given you to receive all I have for you?” At 26 years old God was calling me to a Discipleship Training School. I had no idea what to expect other than God was getting ready to stretch me in a way I have never been stretched before. I sold most of my furniture, stored the rest of my belongings, and headed to YWAM Tyler. In faith, I stepped out believing that God is the author of my life and to expect the unexpected from this point on.

Globally there are 25,000 full-time YWAM missionaries right now, and every one of them has completed a Discipleship Training School. DTS is remarkable training that is intended to bring you into a more intimate relationship with God. While igniting your passions, you discover your part in God's purposes for the world and learn to follow Jesus in new ways with a different perspective. 

It is intended to challenge us through teachings, community living, practical training, AND that's just the lecture phase. These are just a few of the truths I learned during my DTS Lecture Phase:

It doesn’t take an astute observer to realize that there are many things in the world today that are not as they should be. Modern society is like a piece of shattered plexiglass; it’s still intact, but its integrity is compromised. The entire framework of our human reality is filled with cracks and fissures, all of which can and should be fixed by focusing and investing into our vertical relationship with God, which in turn smooths out our horizontal relationships with others.