What's Been Happening

We are now three weeks out from finishing the lecture phase of our DTS! Time flies by when you're having fun. The A Life Together DTS this year is a small student body, yet full of richness and beauty and a strong African representation which is awesome. We have four boys - two South African, then Benin and Zimbabwe. For the girls, we have two South Africans, a Brazilian who has lived in China with her YWAM parents and an Australian who was actually originally born in Cape Town. 
The journey with this school has been amazing, ebbing and flowing between weekly topics that intertwine the introspective journey with that of the bigger picture. We've been so blessed to have people like the YWAM Muizenberg base leader Edwin Fillies speak on reconciliation, seeing the topic be animated so powerfully within the context of this nation, while as far as we know we are the first DTS to ever have a week of teaching on mimetic theory! There has been a deep sense of family and intimacy built within our school, as all voices, insights and lived experiences have been so beautifully exchanged and learned from each other. 
All our students and majority of staff have been living on base for the duration of lecture phase. This has been a great way to foster community and ground ourselves within the wider base community. There is another DTS on performing arts currently running as well as an SBS. Building relationships and sharing the different flavors across all the schools has been fun. 
On September 13th our outreach team leaves for Jordan in the Middle East! We've all been getting so excited in preparation, as just this week our students completed class projects/presentations of different aspects of Jordan's history and culture as we seek to embody a spirit of leadership and servanthood. 
My Own Journey

The initial phases were a process of settling in and the fog clearing. Entering back into a very intercultural space and new waters of staffing brought up many bigger questions and uncertainties. However, through this process I was eventually able to discern between what was "settling in" pains and what were indicators for decision making. 

 

As a staff body, we were given the option of leading the outreach team or remaining in SA and completing a Leadership Training School from September to October and a potential short trip to a few nations in the Middle East. At first, I chose outreach as a means for sinking my feet further into YWAM in order to decide if I want to be in the game long term. However, after this was a process of me deciding that I do want to be in YWAM long term, and from that place setting up a sustainable pace for me to walk this out. This eventuated in me deciding not to do outreach and rather sink my feet further into the intercultural space of YWAM Muizenberg and address wider areas of my personhood like physical health. 

 

Since this I have had a peace and settled into a rhythm with the school. Wrestles and tensions of identity, cultural restoration and servanthood still remain, however with a sense of balance and a steady stretching of capacity rather than overshooting. 

 

With the long term game in mind, I will see out the rest of the year completing the Leadership Training School then a potential trip to the Middle East. This trip is an optional venture for around three weeks in November as a means of scouting different ministry partners as A Life Together seek to work more relationally long term in the region. At the moment I am praying about whether to do this or not and trust that God will lead me at the right time. After some time back in Australia over the summer, I will return to South Africa in March 2018 to help lead a secondary one-month ALT school honing in on peacemaking and reconciliation and workshopping future ministries. The next ALT DTS 2018 is locked in for the September quarter. 

 

Prayer Needs


Obviously, the past few months has and still continues to involve some decision making. So please pray that I will be able to hear God's voice clearly, particularly around the trip to the Middle East.

 

The leadership training school is a great opportunity and will be an epic time. There are various YWAM leaders visiting, including the founders Loren and Darlene Cunningham. Pray for this time for me that it will be fruitful. There is also a fee of around $650AUD. 

 

Our outreach team are still praying and trusting for funds. In total they are still in need of $9500AUD. 

 

South Africa and YWAM Muizenberg, in particular, is such an intercultural space. This is so beautiful and opportunistic for people wandering through aspects of cultural brokenness and disconnection like myself! God is stirring and redeeming many things for me in this. Please pray that I will be patient while also continuing to fall forward with boldness. 

 

Thank you so much for who you are, and your support and prayers. Miss you all and love you so much.

 

Mick