Blessed to be a Blessing

We got out of the boat and we were walking towards the beach, however we had to climb across the rocks to get there because the tide was high. We were going to spend some time hanging out as a group. I’m always bringing up the rear and one of the other tourists ahead of us turned back to walk around the other way because the waves were high and it was tricky to climb over the rocks to the beach. Assessing the situation, I decided to take his advice and walk around the other way. One of the YWAM students looked at me and said “you look like a wise person I’m coming with you.” You have no idea how much good that did my heart. This young girl on DTS didn’t know me at all but summed me up in 30 seconds and put her life in my hands!! We found our way around and had a wonderful walk along the beach chatting about why she had come to YWAM. About her hopes and expectations. I shared about how God had called us here and what we were doing. We had a wonderful day with these girls and guys who were on their DTS from all over the world. It has been an absolute delight and it always amazes me when I stop and have conversations just how deep these kids run. How passionate they are for God and how much they’re willing to give up to be here. Some of them have the most miraculous and amazing stories of how they managed to raise the money and how God called them to come to this place. I love to hear their level of faith and they remind me of when Jesus told us we need to be childlike in our faith.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a child (Matt 18:3). I’ve been out on evangelism with these guys and there’s a boldness that I know can only come from God. A desperation to be obedient to his will no matter the cost. There’s a certain type of person who comes to DTS. A person who is more interested about others and themselves, is more interested about what God can do through them than how they look, or what they possess, more interested in relationships than they are about storing up treasures here on earth or carving out successful careers. Sometimes it makes me nervous when I think about how young these guys are and what they’re sacrificing to be here, but it doesn’t take me long to realise that these guys are set apart for this this job, this calling. Called to be leaders or students. Their refreshing passion reminds me of what the early church would’ve been like. Jesus disciples asking questions and laying down everything at his feet every day to follow him. Time is not their own and they run at a pretty fast pace. From dawn till dusk and beyond. Their level of commitment reminds me of the verse, “whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as unto to the Lord. (Col 3:23-24)”

And it’s not without the struggle. There are often tears and hugs and a lot of emotion as they work through the questions about God and their questions about Faith. 'Doing business with God' is what Matt likes to call it. I love it because I feel so inspired by this freshness that comes out of these kids and their dedication even just to get to know me and my story and to glean from me in my “old age”. It feels like they’re drawn to me like a magnet and I just love being able to listen and ask them questions. To encourage them when they’re on the right track and even when they’re not.

I love them because they keep me young at heart and even though I can’t keep up with them I’ve been so blessed to be able to be at YWAM Mazatlan. The sincerity and authenticity of their hearts brings such great joy to God’s heart. I’m excited to think that if I came back here in five years there would be so many stories of how God use these young people from all over the world who left their families and their opportunities to accelerate their career to follow God’s call to be a young missionary. So many stories, so many lives, so many testimonies, so many miracles. I hope I get a chance to write some of them down and share them.

Kate