Oh dear! I was hoping to do a weekly post about my experiences in France but it doesn't look like that is going to happen, so once a month it is! :)
So much is happened since I arrived that I don't think I will be able to tell it all, but I will try! So here it goes!
I arrived at the YWAM (youth with a mission) Base late on a Thursday the 2nd of January. For the next couple of days I just hung out, got unpacked and welcomed new people who were arriving for the DTS (discipleship training school) everyday :)
School started the next Sunday on the 5th with Orientation!
Leah Thompson is the leader of our DTS, she is married to Adam Thompson who is going to be leading a music DTS later this year, and they are literally the cutest couple EVER!
There are 21 girls on my school, not one boy! They are all super awesome! Most of the girls are either from the US or Canada but we do have 6 French girls, and one Finnish girl as well! I wish I had time to tell you about them but 21 is quite a bit, so just believe me when I say that they are awesome and I can't wait for what these next few months will bring! There are also 3 girls helping staff my DTS, Kaylyn, Helena, and Amy... all of them are from Canada! So naturally they are the sweetest people on this earth! :) besides the staff for the school there are a few people who just staff for the base. There is Erik (also Canadian/Dutch) who is our accountant. Matt is from New Zealand and he is in charge of the sports ministry here. Pierre is from Switzerland and speaks Swiss-German, German, English, and French... so he's our translator! There's JJP who... I don't actually know what he does but he's pretty cool :) Then of course there is Esther who is the most AMAZING cook of all time! :) Then of course there's our base Leaders Dan and Kate who have two beautiful daughters (Elle and Lilly) and another on the way! All of these people are amazing! I hope I didn't forget anyone... :)
Ok so... Check out how beautiful it is here!!!!
This is a normal, everyday house :) Always an off white color with Blue, Green, or Dark red shutters and trim.
This is le petit lac Marion about five minutes from the base :) It's a great place to go for a run, or a quiet time :) (those two lovely ladies are Jen and Shanda, they're such models!)
This is the Beach :) just 10-15 minutes from the base It's so beautiful! I'm looking forward to surfing here!
Meet Sarah and Mariah (left to right)
I love these girls!
Thats Jennifer the forever model staring off into the distance in the back round. She is so gorgeous!
Below is My BFFF (best finnish friend forever) :) She is amazing and beautiful! She is also my new workout buddy and she's helping me to stay fit throughout this school! I love her so much!
I love my friends!
The Spanish coast!
We were very hungry after our car ride down so we stopped of at a little restaurant to have some food, and we devoured it!
School has been Great! The topics for this month were
1. Hearing the voice of God
2. God's character
3. Repentance and Forgiveness
4. Worship and Intercession
All of these have been amazing! It's like one revelation after another of who Gods is and what it means to follow Him! I've been able to dig deeper into God's character and what he has for my life! I'm not gonna lie, I've never really enjoyed just sitting and waiting for God to speak to me, but now it's so much easier! I've realized these last few weeks how much God has pursued me throughout my life, and I didn't even know it! God has spoken to me in so many ways that I have not recognized until now, all of which have led me here! (thanks for that God!!!) I've realized that it would just be plain stupid not to follow a God who has given everything only to have a relationship with me. And I don't want to just follow him, I want Him to be my Everything! How could you not fall in love with someone who has pursued you from the very beginning and given up everything just to be with you! I've definitely fallen in love these past few weeks of learning about who God is! I've also realized that if God's only gonna be one piece of my life, I might as well just give him up! I guess I've always just put him in the neat little pile of all the things I want in my life, I guess Gods a little bit to big to share space with the other desires of my heart. So knowing how good God is compared to other things I've wanted in my life has made me realize that I'd rather walk through life holding my Fathers hand than chasing after things that can only make me happy for a little while! I've had to give some things up, plans for my future, things that I want, but it's all worth it! He is my All, my Everything, my Creator, my Redeemer, Friend and King!
Ok I kinda got carried away with that but it's understandable since I was listening to the Once soundtrack, plus praise will never end for an eternal God! :)
So! That has been school! There is allot more but I'll stop there since that's the gist of what I'm learning :)
There are 21 girls on my school, not one boy! They are all super awesome! Most of the girls are either from the US or Canada but we do have 6 French girls, and one Finnish girl as well! I wish I had time to tell you about them but 21 is quite a bit, so just believe me when I say that they are awesome and I can't wait for what these next few months will bring! There are also 3 girls helping staff my DTS, Kaylyn, Helena, and Amy... all of them are from Canada! So naturally they are the sweetest people on this earth! :) besides the staff for the school there are a few people who just staff for the base. There is Erik (also Canadian/Dutch) who is our accountant. Matt is from New Zealand and he is in charge of the sports ministry here. Pierre is from Switzerland and speaks Swiss-German, German, English, and French... so he's our translator! There's JJP who... I don't actually know what he does but he's pretty cool :) Then of course there is Esther who is the most AMAZING cook of all time! :) Then of course there's our base Leaders Dan and Kate who have two beautiful daughters (Elle and Lilly) and another on the way! All of these people are amazing! I hope I didn't forget anyone... :)
Ok so... Check out how beautiful it is here!!!!
This is a normal, everyday house :) Always an off white color with Blue, Green, or Dark red shutters and trim.
This is le petit lac Marion about five minutes from the base :) It's a great place to go for a run, or a quiet time :) (those two lovely ladies are Jen and Shanda, they're such models!)
Welcome to the City of Biarritz! It is beautiful here! With tons of cute little cafes, bakeries, and random little shops! As well as an amazing little bookshop! This book shop looks small, but it's actually three stories high with lots of secret little rooms and tons of cute little books! I was thrilled to find this (of course!) but whats even better is that there are two comfy couches on the upper level next to a big window overlooking the street. Across the street is the most amazing bakery and coffee place in the world! So I can pop in, grab a couple macaroons (those lovely colorful pastries) and a coffee and go read a french book! How magical is that?!
This is most of us! My team :) Since we are awesome for the second saturday that we were her we went to a Rugby game in Bayonne! Despite the fact that we live in Biarritz we were rooting for the Bayonne team because we know someone from the team! It was an awesome experience (even though we lost!). Below is us getting ready with war paint! We are Awesome...
Lillian and I are practicing our warrior faces! (and yes there is a handprint across my face!) :)
So the next weekend we went to Bayonne (the most stunning city ever!) for a day. I have never seen such beautiful architecture before! It was like walking through a midevel city!
Yay! So if we hadn't had enough fun already the next weekend we went to San Sebastian (which is in Spain btw... no biggy!) It was amazing walking around and experiencing a little bit of Spanish culture :) On the way we stopped at a cliff to look out over the Spanish coastline.
These are my friends Katalina (middle) and Brittany. Both such amazing people :)
Meet Sarah and Mariah (left to right)
I love these girls!
Thats Jennifer the forever model staring off into the distance in the back round. She is so gorgeous!
Below is My BFFF (best finnish friend forever) :) She is amazing and beautiful! She is also my new workout buddy and she's helping me to stay fit throughout this school! I love her so much!
This is Sephora, She is from France! She's so sweet and wonderful, and she helps me with my french... a lot! :)
I love my friends!
The Spanish coast!
We were very hungry after our car ride down so we stopped of at a little restaurant to have some food, and we devoured it!
This video pretty much sums up this trip and... my life here :)
Pretty Spanish Cathedrals :)
BTW 'The rain in Spain falls mostly on San Sebastian!' it was very wet!
The Class room!
School has been Great! The topics for this month were
1. Hearing the voice of God
2. God's character
3. Repentance and Forgiveness
4. Worship and Intercession
All of these have been amazing! It's like one revelation after another of who Gods is and what it means to follow Him! I've been able to dig deeper into God's character and what he has for my life! I'm not gonna lie, I've never really enjoyed just sitting and waiting for God to speak to me, but now it's so much easier! I've realized these last few weeks how much God has pursued me throughout my life, and I didn't even know it! God has spoken to me in so many ways that I have not recognized until now, all of which have led me here! (thanks for that God!!!) I've realized that it would just be plain stupid not to follow a God who has given everything only to have a relationship with me. And I don't want to just follow him, I want Him to be my Everything! How could you not fall in love with someone who has pursued you from the very beginning and given up everything just to be with you! I've definitely fallen in love these past few weeks of learning about who God is! I've also realized that if God's only gonna be one piece of my life, I might as well just give him up! I guess I've always just put him in the neat little pile of all the things I want in my life, I guess Gods a little bit to big to share space with the other desires of my heart. So knowing how good God is compared to other things I've wanted in my life has made me realize that I'd rather walk through life holding my Fathers hand than chasing after things that can only make me happy for a little while! I've had to give some things up, plans for my future, things that I want, but it's all worth it! He is my All, my Everything, my Creator, my Redeemer, Friend and King!
Ok I kinda got carried away with that but it's understandable since I was listening to the Once soundtrack, plus praise will never end for an eternal God! :)
So! That has been school! There is allot more but I'll stop there since that's the gist of what I'm learning :)
'You are my prince of peace and I will live my life for You!!!!'
Love you all!
:)
Ashley, that was beautiful to read and to see your lovely and interesting photos! I am so glad you are learning so much. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI tried to post a video on here but it didn't work! sorry!
ReplyDelete