Getting ready

Seven weeks. It's a bit hard not to freak out when I think about it- in seven short weeks the October Sports DTS will be fully underway, and I'll be at the helm!

I keep oscillating between being incredibly excited and completely overwhelmed, but I think that's probably a healthy place to be. The school is really taking shape, with eleven students accepted and another ten partway through their applications. Jason and I felt like God was telling us to trust him for around 25 students, so we're well on our way to that, and there's still time for more! I was told that because Sports DTSs attract boys, there tend to be some last minute applications :).

These days, my time is being shared between preparing for the DTS and continuing to look after the base's vehicles. People have commented on how funny it is to see me at a computer, when they're used to seeing me in work clothes, covered in dirt! But that's part of what I'm getting used to: corresponding with students and others who have expressed interest; emails and phone calls; praying over applications; inviting speakers; advertising the DTS; praying, praying, praying... it's new territory for me, but I'm loving it. Administration isn't my strongest suit, but I'm learning, and it's not as bad as I had feared. But what really fuels me is the relationships- talking back and forth with people who just want to give God room to move in their lives, and who are expecting Him to do just that during the school. That's exciting! I can hardly wait for it to all come together and go off.

In the midst of the preparation, God has been speaking to me about leadership. This is the most significant leadership role I've been in, and I'm definitely feeling the weight of responsibility. God's been reminding me that leadership equates to service- not in cliche, in fact- that this role means that I am giving up my time, my energy, my life, to serve and benefit the ones He's putting under my authority. It's sobering, but the truth is that He's worthy of that kind of sacrifice- without Him I probably wouldn't give a fig for these people who I've never met, but because He is worthy, I'll pour myself out for the ones He asks me to lead. Doesn't necessarily sound encouraging, but it is! I'm excited at how He's prepared me for this over the last few years, and I'm looking forward to seeing how He'll use this opportunity to go further and deeper than He has before.

Prayer points- there are a few!

• That I would allow God to make the most of the seven weeks we still have before the school! That He would prepare me to be able to lead and model to His highest standard.
• For health. I've been under the weather for a while now, and I really want to shake it before the school starts, and especially to stay healthy during that six months.
• For more students. Honestly, we'll take as many as want to join! We want to see people raised up to live fully for God, and serve Him in whatever capacity He'd ask, and we want as many as possible!
• For school staff- at the moment it's just me and Jason. Ideally we'd have one staff for every five students, so at this point it looks like three more staff would be prime. Female staff would be great, because about half of the students are girls
• For someone to take over vehicles from me- one way or another, I'm going to have to leave it by October, but at the moment there's no one lined up for me to pass it on to. We need our vehicles, and they'll fail very quickly without someone taking care of them.
• For my finances. As of very recently, I have enough regular pledged support to cover my monthly staff fees. That's a massive praise report! It's the first time since I joined staff that I've been able to say that- four years! But I'm still paying off accumulated staff fees from the last couple of years, and I will need around $5000 after that for outreach. Please note that this is not me being sneaky about asking for money- I really desire your prayer.

That's about it for now- it's probably plenty. Thank you so much for your support and prayer! I've been realising even more lately that I'm not a lone ranger- the effectiveness of what I do here is so dependent on people all over the world getting behind me with their prayers and encouragement. Thank you!