Drinking from a fire hose...

     What do you do when so much of what you believe is shattered, not once, but repeatedly? How do you process radical change when it happens every single week? Sometimes it feels like I have one great revelation of who God is and I don't even have time to truly realize that revelation because He hits me with another one. It's awesome and insane at the same time. DTS has been amazing, period. Like anything in life its been challenging at times but so incredibly worth it! My school leader likes to use the analogy of drinking from a fire hose. You receive so much information it's impossible to swallow it all. Thats partly why I haven't blogged much, for me blogging is like trying to spit some of that water out while still sucking on the fire hose.
     So instead of going into too many details about all my amazing experiences (its too many to go into in one blog.) I figured I would give a rundown of my average day here in YWAM Kona. Here we go:

6:20: I wake up and sleepily try to avoid tripping over my Tahitian roommate who chooses to sleep on the floor instead of his bed. I'm usually the first one up in my room which means I always get the shower first, a nice privilege in a room with seven guys. My roommates are awesome and I've loved the community we have in our room. It's a crazy group and although the smell can get bad at times (thankfully I have a bed by the window so its not too bad!) we truly do love each other and it makes living in the same room a lot easier.

7:00: I grab a breakfast of yogurt mixed with granola, an awesome combination that I eat every day. I spend the hour before class with God eating breakfast and reading my Bible. I also always grab a cup of milk at breakfast for my mid-morning coffee I always make. (yes my parents have rubbed off on me)

8:00: On Monday mornings we have worship at Ohana court (the main campus meeting area), on Tuesdays and Thursday we have prayer/intercession in the prayer room, and on Wednesday and Friday we start class at eight.

9:00: Class starts, every week we have a new speaker and topic. So far we have had:

• Week 1-The mission of PhotogenX and hearing God's voice
• Week 2-Freedom 
• Week 3--Corporate week (all the DTS's on Base met for teaching by Loren and Darlene Cunningham on knowing God)-we also had a weekend session on restoration and healing
• Week 4-Holy Spirit
• Week 5-The Father heart of God
• Week 6-Revival and Reformation
• Week 7- Biblical Worldview

12:00: Lunch, nothing too exciting here, usually spend it trying to recover from my mind being blown away during the morning lecture.

1:15: Media training. This consists of us learning practical tools and techniques in Photography and journalism. This has been a really amazing part of my time here and I really feel like I have learned a lot.

3:00: Work duty. In YWAM everyone pitches in too help out on the campus. This helps keep the cost of coming to school here lower since everyone helps do the work. For the last month and a half my work duty has been transcribing old videos from YWAM before but this past week I've been able to help build the first set for a new film by David Cunningham called Day of War. It's been really awesome and the set is this amazing maze thing made out of twisted pieces of wood. Really cool!

5:00: Supper. Once again not too exciting. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the food here isn't too bad and I've liked almost all the meals. The best part is they have PB&J's at every meal so if the worst comes to worst there is always something.

     The evenings vary, on Monday nights we have whats called Ministry Night, basically a time of worship and prayer. On Thursday nights the whole base comes together for basically a big church service. This is usually a lot of fun and features people from all over the world coming to speak or perform. This past week we had an actor from Broadway come and act out the book of Luke word for word. It was probably one of the most awesome things I've ever seen, it really made the Bible come to life.
Weekends are free and sometimes our school does trips around the island which is amazing!

     I love my life here, the community is amazing, the island is beautiful, and God is radically changing me and showing me more of who He is. I hope to blog more in the near future about more of what I've been learning and experiencing but hopefully this gives you a taste of what my life is like here.

    Oh, and I guess I should give a quick update on outreach. My team and I are going to Cairo, Egypt. We are leaving on July 1, and will arrive in Cairo on July 4th. (yeah its a long flight). As of now we are not sure what ministry we will be working with in Cairo but there are a lot of different options. My teams amazing and I can't wait to spend two and half months spreading Jesus's love with them! Hopefully I'll have more information in the near future!
   

A long awaited newsletter...

The breeze blows through my hair as the truck chugs down the familiar highway. I could get use to this I think as I enjoy the luxury of riding in the back of a pick-up-something that’s illegal back in my home of Lancaster PA. The road follows the glistening coastline as I chat casually with Andrew and Sarah, two fellow YWAMers. Today we are going to a Children’s beach to try out some snorkeling. The sparkling waters of the Pacific offer a more inviting prospect of swimming than the dirty waters of NJ’s Beach’s at home. This is living, I smile quietly to myself.
    It’s 3:00 am, I tiredly pace the floor that has become so familiar in the last nine hours. This is for you God, this is my sacrifice. I declare for what feels like the  hundredth time, sometimes I think more to remind myself than to tell God. I’ve been in the prayer room for nine hours, and it’s been intense. Following a week of incredible, yet exhausting teachings on the Holy Spirit, the YWAM base is holding a twelve hour burn. Twelve hours of worship and prayer, from 6pm until 6am, and after nine hours I’m completely exhausted. My quite declaration is about all I can muster as I pace the floor once more trying to stay awake. This is why I am here, to radically pursue the heart of God. So I keep pacing, as I look around the room I am met with tired faces as some struggle to keep their eyes open as they read and others lie exhausted on the floor.
   As I walk out of the room to use the bathroom I suddenly realize that my mouth has the horrible taste of stale coffee. yuck I think, almost too tired to care, but suddenly unable to think of anything else. Suddenly my eyes catches a vending machine with Skittles. dude, Skittles would be awesome right now. I think, but I soon realize that the only money I have is money I need to pay back a roommate I borrowed from earlier in the day. As I walk back to the prayer a thought strikes me, buy the Skittles. I quickly try to remind myself that I don’t in fact have the money. I’m giving them too you. Suddenly I realize it’s not me who is saying this, really God? you want to give me Skittles at three in the morning? I ask back. Yes, this is my gift to you for pursuing me tonight. He replies. But God, I don’t have the money. I respond. I’m giving them to you. He says simply. Alright, I think, I wonder how this is gonna work, I can’t imagine God would want me to use the money that I need to give someone else. I reach in my pocket and pull out the money, to my amazement not only do I have the money for the friend I owe, but I also find four quarters. I had only gotten change back once this week, and that had been only a few cents. I have no idea where the four quarters came from. In fact, I had been looking for quarters a few days earlier and hadn’t been able to find any. It was such a simple thing, a pack of Skittles to cover up a bad taste in my mouth, but I was once again reminded of God being like a loving Father. A father who doesn’t just give us the things we need, but loves to dote on us and even gives us the things we want at times. As I sat there and ate my bag of Skittles, I got to watch one of the most beautiful moons rest over the ocean and simply enjoy the presence of God.  
    It’s moments like that that have made my DTS so amazing so far. It’s been amazing to be in such an incredible place like Hawaii, but what God has done in me and through me has been even more incredible. Since being here I’ve seen healings (not the, I have a cold and it feels better now, the kind where people’s feet grow out and pain that has haunted them for years is suddenly gone), I’ve seen hunger for God like nothing I’ve ever seen before, I’ve watched as a room full of people get the same word from God for someone, and people step out be who God created them to be--something that is rare in my generation. God Is here, He’s moving, and I get to be apart of it. You as my supporters and friends are also part of the amazing things that God is doing and the blessings He has given me. So thank you once again! I know God is going to bless you for your generosity, and the fruits of it are coming out now! God has grown me more in the last four weeks than in the last four years. Calling me into the man He created me to be. It’s been the most life changing experience I have ever had. It’s been tough, some days I feel like I haven’t changed at all, but then I look at what I have done, the things I’ve said, and the new found confidence I have found, and I know I have. God has worked during this time in ways I never thought possible, and the best part is, this is only week four! I still have two more months until outreach!
    Outreach is going to be crazy exciting as well! My team of 7 (six students and one staff), will be heading to Cairo Egypt to start off. At this point not much is known about what all we will be doing but I know God has amazing plans and He has blessed me with an incredible outreach team.
I love you all and pray you are doing well! I apologize for not getting a letter out sooner but life has been insane here (in an awesome way)!
Blessings,
David Barnett