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.

You've come to East Texas to do your DTS and are pumped about all God has in store for you. Then you discover you didn't pack something you needed, and it was something you didn't even think of! Man, if only someone had told you beforehand!  

As I stared at my television screen, watching unbelievable chaos before my eyes, I grappled with understanding why such darkness had invaded our school grounds. When I was a teenager, the thought of a mass shooting occurring during chemistry class never crossed my mind. I was worried about passing the periodic table exam not dodging bullets. We had tornado drills not lock-down procedures. How did we get to this place in America?

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.

When you're following God's plan for your life, you often end up doing things you'd never expect. Sometimes, God starts to bring you together with someone and you don't even realize it!  Let's take a look at 6 couples who put God first, and through it, found each other.

“What the heck am I doing?!?” I thought as we were approaching the prison for ministry. A group of DTS, Discipleship Training School, students and I were ready to go into a prison to minister to inmates in Pachuca, Mexico, but my thoughts started to make me anxious, “What’s it going to be like in there?” “Will it be safe?”

Ever feel like nothing good is happening in our world? Our media airwaves are never short of negativity, hate, and divisiveness. It's so refreshing in the midst of depressing news to hear inspirational stories! Inspite of what people say or of what we see on our screens, God is winning in the nations! He's on the move and lives are being transformed!! Last year, YWAM Tyler had the privilege of partnering with God around the globe and witnessing the Divine at work in people's lives. Without a doubt, Jesus Christ is making a difference in our world! Just look at these seven stunning stories from 2017!

How can Christians live out Jesus' love-calling to love our neighbors as ourselves? 

Last Friday, we started answering this question with practical steps to implement in our relationships. The first five tips from our friends at YWAM Chicago, Jesse and Emily Bond, were inspirational in many ways, as are the remaining five listed here. (Go ahead and read the first blog if you haven't already: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself ~ Pt. 1).

There are opportunies all around us to love people from different cultures and backgrounds, but it'll take some intentionality to engage. It's always hard knowing where to start. These tips will definitely give you some insight into ways you can connect. 

How can Christians live out Jesus' love-calling to love our neighbors as ourselves (Lev. 19:18; Luke 10:27)? With modern immigration, we now have enormous opportunity to intentionally and effectively engage with foreigners and refugees in our cities and towns. But where do we start?

You're an ordinary young person. You've checked off some educational boxes and are now trying to figure out some kind of direction for your life. The idea that God might be calling you into a life of radical missions seems too far-fetched to even warrant consideration. Only special people become missionaries, right? Wrong!

Summer of 2013 is when the depression started.

Is God calling you to step out in faith and apply for a Discipleship Training School (DTS) but fear keeps kicking you in the guts? What if this turns out to be the biggest mistake of your life? What if you're asked to do something way out of your comfort-zone? What if you don't fit in, or run out of money, or fail everyone's expectations? What if you're not really hearing God's voice after all? Something is gnawing away inside your head, saying, "I just don't think I can do this!"