God is Good!


My best friend is back from her 5 months in Argentina/Costa Rica!!! Ahh!!! I'm so glad she's back; I missed Esther SO much while she was away. We're gonna make cookies on Weds! And maybe she'll get a MySpace...we'll see. Anyways, she gave me a book to read by James R. Lucas and it's been an interesting read so far. (The book is called 'Am I the One'.)

I still really want to go to New Zealand and do the DTS I blogged about before..school will still be there when I come back; I may not get the oppertunity for the DTS again though. If I could just figure out how to raise enough money in time for the DTS...

Oh, and I'm finally better! No more flu; yay!!!

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Well, Ed says to stop worrying about the money for the DTS, but I can't, no matter how hard I try. And as I printed out the application I realized I misled myself. When I was looking up the cost and dates of Lausanne, Switzerland's DTS on the website, they list 3690 CHF as the cost. But that's only for the lecture phase-NOT the outreach phase. The outreach phase (as indicated on the application form) is another 3500-5500 CHF making the total cost about as much as New Zealand. (The total would now be closer to 5000/6000 USD.)

I have a ton of questions I want to email and ask them about though. First of all, I'd need to let them know I'll be needing a Visa if I go. (They actually request you inform them of need for a Visa before completing the application.) My other questions are listed below. (Some of the answers I can kind of guess at the appropriate answer, but it never hurts to ask and always better to know for certain than to assume!)

The website donations page mentions donating toward a scholarship fund. I'd like to know how one demonstrates need for financial aid and/or how to apply for this scholarship? I may be able to raise enough money for the lecture or outreach phase, but I don't know about raising enough money for both phases of the DTS.

I'd also love to do a little exploring while I'm in Switzerland. Is there going to be any free time on the weekends to visit tourist sites such as Jet d'eau? If there is not, and I wanted to come or stay a week or so before and after the DTS begin and end dates, would I need a host family to stay with during those times?

As for the outreach locations, I've noticed a few bases state that the students are allowed to choose and outreach site. I was wondering if YWAM Lausanne allows students to pick their preferred outreach location or if it is assigned come time for the outreach portion of the DTS?

All of these sorts of things are what I'm going to be worried about until I'm actually over there, or when the DTS begins without me. I'm not so much worried about the application itself though, nor about getting references. (Well, other than the teacher/employer reference, but I got other more important things to worry about.) I think I'm going to try and call Esther tomorrow and tell her to call me if I can't reach her. I've got some questions for her as well.

If it comes down to me having to raise a few thousand dollars, I really don't know how I'll do it. Esther tells me that I'm a creative person and will probably be able to make some things to sell, but I dunno about a couple thousand dollars worth. Jewelry making, Website making, and babysitting aren't real big moneymakers. Not unless one manages to sell A TON of the product. Or gets A LOT of babysitting gigs.

Ugh. This is so frustrating. Lord, HELP ME! I know it will all be worth in the end, whether God wants me to be there now or later. I think it'd be kind of cool if Ed and I could do it as a couple, but I don't think that's possible for another couple of years, granted we have the money for it and he's wanting to go and do something like this together. I dunno, maybe it'd just be easier to buy a laptop (since I didn't get it for Christmas as previously expected..) and start saving for another couple of years or something?? I don't know. I'm just so confused, I really don't know even know what I want anymore other than Switzerland is beautiful and I would love to go to YWAM Lausanne someday. Hopefully someday soon, like April!

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I visited Trinity College with Esther and her family yesterday. It's a nice school; I could literally see myself going there in the future. The dorms aren't that big, but they are pretty decent. I'd have finished an application already but I can't seem to be able to finish writing my testimony. It's something I'll get to sooner or later. (Hopefully sooner!) If I go on a DTS, I will have to write one for that application as well. New Zealand is still where I really want to go; it's my #1 pick, but it is kinda costly. It's 6000 USD!! But I searched on the YWAM site again this morning to see if there were any others I might be interested in (and a little more affordable). I found one in Taiwan that's about 3000 USD, and two others that are about 4000 USD. We'll see which one pans out though!

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Well, Ed finally told me what he had to say about the DTS opportunity I've become interested in. It's awesome, now I don't have to wonder if he'd be okay with it (sounds like he's more than okay with it!), nor feel guilty about wanting to explore another country while he's away. It's a bit heartwarming to read that part of his response.
But now I'm anxious and nervous. Ed also said that he's worried about me. But he didn't say what worried him. I'd really like to know so I can reassure him that I am okay, and 100% fine. He says he's going to tell me tomorrow, but that doesn't help when I'd like the reason today. Hm. Not much I can do about though, guess I'm gonna have to wait until tomorrow. Phooey.
As for the DTS, I have been searching again for maybe something more affordable, and Taiwan seems to be the cheapest at $3000. That'd be cool, especially learning Chinese/Mandarin. I could talk to my aunt in Chinese when I come back home! (My aunt was a missionary in Taiwan until I was about 13, so she knows a little bit of Chinese.) It starts April 2, and I'm assuming ends sometime in September, so I think I'm going to need to start fundraising ASAP! Wish me luck!

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I have decided for the next few weeks, I am going to try and create a virtual cookbook as part of a website dedicated to my future husband. Nobody thinks I can cook, and truth is that I can (as long as I've got a written recipe to follow..). They won't give me a chance to cook though, and claim that I'm a terrible cook because I burn my toast every now and again. Our toaster was on its last leg, and then we got a brand new toaster--how is that my fault?!
Anyway, I don't know what else I'm going to put on the website. Pictures, a journal, and maybe some poetry. That's all I've got so far; I'm going to go look up some other ideas online.
Also, please keep praying that I will get to go on a DTS sometime this year!

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I want to go to Switzerland. I know I've been saying that New Zealand is my first pick, but now I think it may be my second choice. YWAM Lausanne sounds like so much fun, and I've been searching online and looking at the website for Geneva (which is apparently really close to Lausanne), and it seems like the place for me. So many gorgeous sites to see in my free time, and Lausanne itself, especially the base, looks like a beauty too. (They have TONS of pictures on the website: www.ywamlausanne.com). I think I spent a total of 5 hours looking at that site, and the one for Geneva (www.geneva-tourism.ch/eng/index.php3)! I haven't been able to find more on taking a YWAM course, other than what I've already read and heard from others who've taken a DTS. I know every experience is different though, but I think the biggest key factor is your attitude going in. If you have a positive attitude, and keep looking for the bright spots, you'll enjoy yourself. If you have a negative attitude, you'll just keep looking for the downsides and make yourself miserable.

Anyways, I still really want to do a DTS. The cost for Switzerland is just under $4000 USD, and I think that's a little more managable than the $6400 USD for New Zealand. The only thing on the application that worries me is the references. They want three: Pastoral/Spiritual Reference (Karl?), Teacher/Employer Reference, and Friend Reference. Now, I'm not real worried about the friend reference, I've got a few good friends that I know would help me with that one. The teacher/employer reference is a bit difficult. I'm not really in school at the moment, nor am I employed anywhere. I know the most common solution is to go to the most recent employer and ask them to fill it out, but I don't feel that that's going to be a good reference. I know I did an okay job there, but it definitely wasn't my best; there's so much more effort I could have been puitting into my job at Publix. The pastoral/spiritual reference also worries me a tiny bit because I'm not sure of who to ask to fill it out. I'm not really close to any of the leaders or anything, and I know they don't know me real well--or at least not well enough to be able to complete the reference form. I think I'm going to talk to Pastor Karl or Jay about it either this Sunday or next. (Hmm..Jay. There's an idea..)

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