A Thrilling Reality of DTS SF

Hey, all! Again, I'm sorry I haven't written for a while. Although I won't continue apologizing any longer, because, well, even though I want to keep you all updated and you want to know what's going on here in San Francisco, there is a lot that goes on here, and almost too much for me to sit down and type it all up. ;) In that case, I know you are all gracious and love me regardless if I write twice a week or twice a month! And for that, I thank you!

I decided I should give you guys a look at what our lecture phase looked like (this is our last week - then on to outreach in the city!) We would start off our weeks with worship! The staff and DTS gets together for an hour long session of praising God corporately, but with our individual ways through song. Then we move on to what we call Bible Meditation [I call BM (haha)for short] for an hour, and one of our leaders usually chooses the scripture that God puts on their heart for us to. This simply means for us that we get a few verses or so that we get to meditate on. We ask God to show us what He wants to say to us, and ask that He keeps our hearts open for all of His truth. Then we read through the scripture at least a few times, and asking what is it simply saying, and what may it be saying between the lines (if so). This past week's BM, for example, was James 1:2-18. There is so much wisdom, truth, and valuable lessons that God offers in those words! After BM, we have two hours of lecture, each day of the week the main topic is the same, but weekly the topics change! We have a different speaker come in every week to expand our understanding of who God is and who He has made us to be! Then after lunch, we go on to another two hours lecture, and have the night off. For the past few weeks, a lot of that time has been taken by practicing and preparing for our outreach phase. Sometimes we rest, communicate with people back home, spend time together with individuals as a group, or go have intimate time with our Creator!
Tuesday mornings offer time of worship as a DTS, and most often then not on Tuesday mornings, God shows up in a powerful way! I can't explain why, maybe I'm more awake, but this time is so wonderful in feeling God move in my soul. I love it! We also get an hour to do a prayer walk, where we go out into the streets of the Tenderloin in pairs to pray for the people and the area, and more specifically that God will lift the darkness out of this place and bring it back to His glory. Then we move on to lecture, and have the afternoon off (great time to do laundry!). In the evening after dinner, we have an hour or two of intercession, depending on how the Lord leads us, where we get to pray on behalf of nations, people groups, or individuals. It's an amazing opportunity to be obedient to God and see the lives of people change due to the prayers that we pray.
Wednesday mornings start off with personal devotions, then we have class! After lunch, we split up into our ministry groups. There are three different ones: woman's ministry where they reach out to prostitutes in the area, and hold a fellowship time with women in the Tenderloin and also do research for the sex trafficking dilemma; University Campus ministry where the group spends time with foreign students at a local college by playing interactive games and such; Life Group which leads the Bible study help in our storefront with the homeless people in the area; and the Haight Ministry, where we get to hang out with the hippies and reach the people in that area in creative and unique ways!
Thursday mornings, we have intercession with all the other YWAM staff, where again we learn about various crises around the globe and pray on the behalf of the people involved. Then another two hours of lecture. After lunch, we hold a food pantry for the residents of the Tenderloin - a majority of the people that come through are from the senior center a few buildings down, and they begin to line up at 6am, even though we don't start it until 1pm! They are devoted! It's a great way to get to bless the people in the area, and over time they get to know our faces through consistent devotion.
Finally Fridays come around, in the morning we get into groups for group discussions. We converse about what's happened throughout the week, brainstorm ideas for ministry, or spend the time uplifting each other! Then we spend an hour in intercession! Then go into the final two hours of lecture with our speaker - most weeks they end in an extended amount of face to face conversation, with a line of people wanting to get in a little question here and there. After lunch, we break up into our small groups and get to reflect together about the week, and really get to spend quality time together with 3 other students of the same gender plus our small group leader (one of the DTS staff members). Curfew on Fridays are extended one extra hour that we often use to bond by playing games and/or watching a funny movie and inputting our own commentary.
Saturdays vary depending on the week. At the end of the month, we get to use the day to reflect on all that God has done in and through us. This past reflection day I went to the beach and was able to rest in the beauty that God made in that place. It was amazing! Other Saturdays consist of volunteering at a place that needs our help, such as the food bank or painting a church, to throwing a BBQ for the senior center down the street. On Sundays everyone goes to church in the AM, and gets to rest throughout the day, but making sure our journals are completed before class the next day!

However, now I feel as though it is not necessary for you to know what happened during lecture phase - cause it's over! Outreach is starting, and we are thrilled as a DTS to be able to venture on another journey together while in the city. We're excited to see how and where God is going to use us - my desire is that we will get stretched and be able to see God for all His love and glory.