When I look back at my life, I have no regrets because each of the decisions and experiences I've had led me to where I am today. However, I have gained some insight along the way that will maybe help others who are trying to decide what to do after high school.

I took my first mission trip, with my office team to Lubbock, Texas! It was my first outreach as a full time missionary with YWAM Tyler! None of us were students following leaders nor were there students following us. It was just us, a team of six full time missionaries, going into all the world to make disciples. Check out my photo journey of this outreach!

Ever questioned if you really believed all this God stuff? Ever wondered if God really hears your prayers? Ever hungered to know Jesus more? Ever needed convincing that what you were thinking was right? If so, than YOU'RE NOT ALONE!

Enter into these stories with me and see how God met my friends here at YWAM Tyler and answered the cries of their heart.

Everyone always told me YWAM is a great place to meet someone. The day I told everyone I was going to do a DTS, many people said, “Well, Misti’s going to come home engaged.” At the time, I just shrugged it off and laughed to myself. Yeah right, I haven’t met anyone in the last 23 years; I doubt three months in Texas is going to change much.

Most everyone wants to travel the world, right? There's something adventurous buried deep within our DNA. We want to explore and experience, touch and taste, and overwhelm our senses with the diversity of life on this amazing planet God has made. So we scrimp and save until we have enough for airfare then stuff a backpack and head off into the unknown.

At the beginning of 2018, a new adventure will begin for many. People from around the world will gather together to do a Discipleship Training School (DTS). Each student arriving will have different goals. Some simply want to know God more because they’re hungry for a deeper walk with Jesus. Others will come with a desire for fresh perspective. They want to experience God in a new way and within a different culture, seeing the beauty of His creation in this world. Then there will be those that need change. Life has beat them up; choices haven’t always been the best; wounds have left them internally bruised. They’re longing for more. No matter the reason, DTS is a great opportunity for fulfilling one’s heart desires. 

My missionary travels have taken me to six different countries and most of the fifty states! There's a misconception that says if someone commits their life to Christ, they'll have to give up having fun in exchange for a boring monotony of endless church services. After twenty-two years of walking with God daily, I can say with all of my heart that nothing could be further from the truth! I've seen things on my missionary journeys with God that were often awe-inspiring, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes terribly heartbreaking, but not a one of them was boring! Here are some examples of things I've seen.....

I remember the way it felt: walking out of the airport into the humid Houston, TX air after flying halfway around the world, heart racing at the excitement of being back in the United States. I remember embracing familiar faces I hadn’t seen in years that were waiting there to pick us up. I remember the car ride from the airport to my cousins’ house. I’d look out the car window in awe. “Look how green it is here!” “Everything is written in English!” “Everyone is wearing shorts!”

August 21, 2017 was the day when America turned its eyes toward the heavens. The much anticipated eclipse of the sun got our attention as something not to be missed!

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 was July 28, 1982, exactly 35 years ago to date, when Keith Green and others took off from an airstrip almost walking distance from where I am sitting now, leaving the earth behind never to return. The airplane accident that took the life of singer songwriter Keith Green, shook the lives of the evangelical Christian community around the world.

“Nah, I don’t need to do that!” I emphatically told God one day after being asked by our ministry leaders to do a YWAM DTS. At the age of 34, my husband and I had already been serving the Lord in full-time ministry for years. We had worked as youth pastors in Kansas, while attending school. Then we planted a church in South Carolina. Missions was nothing new for us because we had led numerous teams around the world. Why would we need to do a Discipleship Training School?