*Sidenote before you read this, i'm new to missions and writing quality newsletters to keep everyone involved. Please send me feedback on what you would like to hear about, any questions you have or how to write these so they're easier to read. I'd love to hear back, Thanks!
Email: lucaskroeker@gmail.com or shoot me a Facebook message!
This has been my first full month in missions and I just want to start by saying thank you to everyone praying for me and making this possible by supporting God's mission He's put on my heart financially as well! This month has been a great time of learning how I will be serving here at YWAM Davos, learning more about running a DTS (discipleship training school), and more about what YWAM is all about. Let me start by first explaining what my schedule looks like at the moment and what exactly I'm doing!
So every day during the week all the staff working with YWAM Davos come together for meetings and lectures. We are all a part of an LTP (leadership training program) offered by the University of the Nations and taught by the base leader (person who started this YWAM location in Davos). This is a university run by YWAM where students can go and learn more about specific missions work. It isn't an accredited school or very recognized by other universities, but it has given me the chance to do missions work here in Switzerland on a student visa! I am able to serve here for up to 4 years. So at this moment I'm here serving and doing the LTP to learn what it looks like to be a leader in YWAM, studying how Jesus lead with his disciples and studying the Bible as well and how the great leaders in the Bible lead. My weeks right now are filled with lectures in the mornings, and in the afternoon meeting with the staff involved in running the Snowboarders/Freeskiers DTS. In meeting with the staff in the afternoon for the DTS we plan how the school is going to run, who is going to have what responsibilities, and what the schedule is going to look like. I will be in charge of the food for the school, that means planning the budget, menu, shopping and finances involved in it. It's a pretty big job but I'm excited to be able to do it, especially because I will get to drive the van an hour through the twisty mountain roads to the closest city and shop at a Switzerland equivalent of Costco called Prodega. In my position staffing at the school I will be doing the food and also taking care of the grounds (shovelling, salting the ice, etc…).
At the beginning of November all the staff here went to Burtigny, Switzerland for a DTS workshop at the YWAM base there. It was a great week filled with lots of lectures and just being encouraged by other young people working at other YWAM bases in Europe. Let me just say Manitoba young people are at work! I met two other people from Manitoba working in YWAM and I know a few others as well. So cool to see!
Some things that really stuck out to me at this conference:
1. If you keep pulling from your previous DTS or what worked well for you during your school, things can be watered down if it's not from God.
A.) There was an example used of four cups of water and a tea bag. The first cup the tea bag was used in really affected the water. It completely changed the colour and taste! After being used on three other cups it got watered down and flavourless… showing us how if we keep in the same tracks, having the “if it aint broke don't fix it” mentality it can really water down the possibilities for the DTS.
B.) How to solve this? -as a team we are praying into how God would like to work this time and what we should add into the schedule so that the students have the best possible chance for meeting with God through their time here and being open to God’s leading.
2. Something else that was brought to my attention is how no matter what you're doing you're discipling students and people around you in life.
A.) A speaker put it in these words at the workshop “ if you're not intentionally discipling the you're passively discipling” or in simpler words, you cannot choose to not disciple. This really challenged me. I really need to think about how I act and speak because at all times we are discipling people. We want to bring a culture of honor and really strive to meet with God and see him at work in our lives and in the lives of others. We as a staff team need to be intentional in how we disciple.
As a staff team we are really working on these things before the school comes, as well as building unity in the team. Working on just being Kingdom-focused and creating a culture where seeing God daily or seeing him move isn't a surprise, it's celebrated but expected that when we seek God and want more of his Holy Spirit that He shows up. His Kingdom come His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!
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