It is hard to believe it but this will be my last journal entry written in Hawaii. Lecture phase has concluded and tomorrow my outreach team of 9 people will start our 7,000 mile trip to the Himalayan Mountains. We will be taking 3 planes with a combined airtime of roughly 20 hours and combined layover time of 22 hours then an 8 hour bus ride to our base location. I cannot share our exact location or nation because we have been told to keep it off social media and the internet for the protection of the long term missionaries that will be hosting our team. Being a missionary is no easy task and definitely not a safe one either. The missionary life is as gangsta as it gets. They are some of the most hated people on the face of the earth, and in most countries it is incredibly dangerous to be a christian. Missionaries risk their lives daily so they can share the truth and love that is Jesus Christ and the Gospel. They sacrifice their safety and comfort everyday so that they can save the souls of those who are lost. There revelation of who God truly is has captivated their hearts and minds so strongly that they have no other desire other then to share it with the world and live out what God has commanded them to do which is to go out into all the world preaching the gospel and making disciples.

   This journal is inspired by the benefits of living a life in which you are present each moment. Our minds have been gifted with memory and creativity. Sadly we can use the gift of memories to hold us in the regrets of the past and we can use imagination to worry about the future. We can also use memory to romanticize the past and wish we were living in a previous moment in which we may have felt happier or we can use our imagination to place our joy in a future destination of time. If you will only be happy when you get somewhere or something then you will always arrive and realize it is not enough. Both the past and present, memory and imagination, are the longest portion of time in our minds, but the shortest time is the only time that matter and that Is the present moment. I believe we can learn so much when we live in the present moment and in that we sit in God's presence. Something that has helped me be present daily is when I started understanding my "why". I can work hard daily and joyfully in the present when I know I am strengthening myself for something that is important and is preparing me for my "why". When I say "why" I am talking about my purpose and why I do what I do. This journal explains my "Why" and talks about learning from being present each and every day.

   This week was a short one due to Thanksgiving break but still definitely an informative one. The topic was about Holiness. This journal is a mixture of the teachings from this week, my own knowledge, as well as my own experiences and revelations. A big aspect of teaching that stuck out to me was the importance of consistency. The theme of this journal is based around consistency. Whether it be the consistent small daily actions we take that can change our life or the consistent thoughts we think that can create our life. Either way consistency is important and I hope you find encouragement and joyous revelations as you read my thoughts laid out before you.

   In class this week the topic was Outreach Training. It was very practical and literal training compared to the weeks prior that were based on broader more figurative content. Previous weeks contained messages that were possibly received differently by each student based on their perception and walk with the Lord, but obviously still abiding in truth. One of many things I love about YWAM is that each week we have different speakers. Each one was specifically chosen by YWAM leaders through prayer. Every speaker so far has been unique and conveyed their message so effectively. By switching up the teachers it helps us students stay engaged and receive all we can each week because we are not tired of hearing the same speaker teach the same way on different topics. Sometimes if we do the same things over and over without changing it up or trying it from a new perspective it can cause us to live from habit and not from the heart. I decided to switch it up this week by not going to the gym in the mornings. (I still did the mandatory workouts once a day with my trekking team) Instead of going to the gym and preparing my flesh for trekking and outreach I decided I would spend that time in scripture and prayer strengthening my spirit. In that strengthening I got humbled time and time again this week. Through the process of humility I gained a deeper understanding of God and myself. My experience's also gave me a deeper understanding of why it is so important to be living for an audience of One.

In todays journal it will be a little more relaxed and chilled compared to my last entry. I was happy I could write that though and maybe spark a flame in some of you. To others it may of been too harsh or far out there but I was just speaking truth, not my truth but the ultimate truth that is scripture, and like Kanye West says "Telling the truth is crazy in a world full of lies". This entry is heavily based on being led by the Holy Spirit. When Jesus Christ died on the cross then went to heaven after his resurrection he allowed his Spirit to live in each one of us. The disciples begged Jesus to stay on earth but He proclaimed that he had to leave. Jesus says how by him ascending to heaven the Spirit of the Lord does not only reside in Jesus but now it resides in each one of us. When we are baptized it is not just by water but also by the Holy Spirit. When we lay down our lives for Christ, he gives us a new one and lives in us. With that spirit comes great authority and strength. All authority that is in heaven is also in us and we can channel that strength to the extent in which we believe. The ending of this entry if for the ladies and y'all even get a poem, so I hope you enjoy. Leave a comment with anything that crossed your mind while reading this!

This may be the realest entry I have written. When I started writing I had a list of what I wanted to write about. I planned on talking about many different things, but as I was led by the spirit I felt led to write what I felt. What I felt comes from my own past and the passivity and lukewarmness I used to live in. I ask that before reading this you ask God to open your heart and mind for what he has to speak to you through my writing. That you may be receptive to his voice and possible conviction. this entry is about the great commission. The great commission is what God has called us to do. To go out into all the world and make disciples of every tribe, tongue, and nation. 

This journal is a recap of events that have happened spread out over the past 2 weeks. Like I have said before there is so much that goes on here and I am having so many amazing experiences. This entry touches on some of the events that were left out of my last journal. I fill you in on the revelations and growth that came from my first experience with fasting. I also write about a prophetic prayer regarding my original design. Then I write about some encounters I have had with Hawaiian natives while being here on the Island of Hawaii. I conclude this entry with a paragraph explaining the picture in this blog which is the supplies I have to provide for my trekking journey though the Himalayan Mountains.

   My third week of YWAM entailed many great revelations, realizations, and moments of my humility being stretched. The topic of class for this week was freedom. The partially painful but incredibly healing pure heart week which took place hitherto led perfectly into this weeks pursuit of freedom. Pursuit, meaning striving toward, I say that because since we are flesh we never truly have freedom. Yes, once we have the Holy Spirit residing in us we can live in righteous freedom but to think we are fully free may be the greatest stronghold one could have. To live in complacency and lukewarmness. We should always be interceding and asking God to reveal the places in which we are weak. "Freedom is discovering your identity and purpose in Jesus and tearing down every stronghold that opposes your ability to walk in the fullness of that identity and purpose" (27, Salvation Encounter). I want to be continuously pursuing freedom throughout my whole life and especially now. I want to be the most spiritually and mentally prepared I can be for what God has planned during outreach. I will inform you on where I am going and what I will be doing for my outreach in December in this journal. I pray that everyday I can step into the fullness that God has for me so that everyday of outreach can be lived to my fullest.

The Greek meaning of the word Pure comes from the process of heating up metals. When a blacksmith would smelt metals, the false materials would float to the top then be scooped out by the smith until the only thing left was the pure metals. This is interesting because that means we do not have to BE pure but instead purity is a process. We must remove the negative things from our lives to become full and complete. Through extracting false things in our lives we become pure. This journal will explain the second half of pure heart week. Pure Heart week here at YWAM is a week where we do exactly what is written above. We go deep into our minds and extract what is not good. We replace those voids with truth so that we are not living in fear or lies. I will also talk about the support and community that has been so encouraging while I have been here. 

Journal number 3! It has been a little longer than I would have liked, but here it is! Finding time to post my journals will continuously be a struggle while I am here. I am happy that is one of the only problems I have. There is constantly something happening and there is always something to do. This journal gets vulnerable. I Want to be transparent with all that I do. There is not much I can think of that has not been brought to the light. I cannot stress this enough that I pray this website is a reflection of my inner most being which is supposed to be a reflection of God. 

This journal has been written throughout this week and finalized on Wednesday, it is a recap of Sunday-Tuesday. A struggle I was not prepared for was that I am having so much fun and so many encounters with God that I do not even know which ones to share. I have been journaling for myself everyday so I can try and remember all the crazy events, then I try to condense them and write them in these entry’s. This one is long and full of amazing experiences. I hope you enjoy.

My first journal in Hawaii! I am so excited to share my first experiences on the island and with YWAM! This entry was a difficult one to write because just from Thursday-Saturday night so much amazing things happened. God has continuously showed himself already in The first 3 days. I wanted to post this last night but I have kinda always been on the go. I advise you to read the whole entry because the ending is so cool. I have been writing this from Thursday when I left, to the time in which I publish this which is Sunday night. I hope to write another by Wednesday and I will talk about what did today because so much happened just on Sunday! I hope you all enjoy and if you feel led, leave some support or feedback in the comments!

Wow, this is crazy! Only 1 day until I leave for Hawaii! I am so excited and I feel like it just all the sudden came out of no where. This will be the last journal I write in Minnesota for a long time. I hope to write this weeks second journal on Saturday. Then I can fill you in on how the first couple days went and give input on my first impressions of YWAM, the people, and Hawaii in general. I am so excited and grateful that I have the opportunity to go to Hawaii and later the Himalayan mountains, somewhere like Hawaii may be considered by some as paradise, but I believe paradise is a state of mind and not a location.

This entry is going to be mostly about health and fitness. I will go deep into who I have been working out with and what I have been doing in the gym. There are many aspects to a healthy life that go beyond lifting weights. I have tried to create a lifestyle that encourages the best version of myself, and as I go on everyday I am learning more and trying to improve. I hope to share some of what I have learned!

 T - 9 days until I leave for Hawaii! I am so excited and I cannot believe its actually happening. My whole life I always said I would go somewhere far away for college and it looks like I was right. It gives me a sense of peace and I feel my younger self would be happy knowing I am going to Hawaii. It feels as if I am keeping that child in me alive. I think we all created future beliefs and expectations for ourselves while we were children and I can confidently say my younger self would not be disappointed. 

In todays journal I will be analyzing and breaking down a previous poem. I wrote this poem in a moment when I felt overwhelmed by grace. I want to explain it so you can share the beauty of it with me.

Super excited to write my second Journal Entry! In this I will inform you on my experience in Utah and what I have been doing to prepare spiritually, mentally, and physically for YWAM. The last 3 weeks have been a great time for me to visit with friends and family before I leave for Hawaii. I am super excited to go, but I am also having a great time in Windom and traveling. Since the day I moved back to Windom from Morris, I have visited Colorado, Utah, Sioux Falls, and Vermillion. It has been a great way for me to connect with family like Morgan and Mackenzie in Colorado. Ayden in Utah. Clay, Mom, and Dad in Windom. Meadow in Sioux Falls, and Mia and her boyfriend (Rye) in Vermillion.

     Hello!! This is exciting! this is my first journal. In this I want to talk about my plans for this website in terms of how often I post and what the content will consist of. Like it says in the Home page this blog and website will be a form of expression, it is myself expressed through poetry, visual media, art, the design of the website and the words typed in each journal...