It was my second week of School of Worship. First-thing Tuesday morning, Wendy asked one question. "What do you really think of God?" I squirmed. Growing up in the church, we didn't talk about this stuff. But here was a Christian teacher, pushing me to be honest. I mean, I knew the Psalms were littered with raw, messy lyrics. So I couldn't keep sugar-coating my theology. After class, I walked straight to the Prayer Room. Armed with my journal, I settled in to two hours of live worship and prayer. Time to be honest. Messy, even. Hesitant, I started to write: You are disinterested. You don't really care about me.…
Do you ever look back on a rough season and think, Thank you God I went through that, because now it’s coming really in handy? After my Discipleship Training School (DTS) outreach to the Himalayas—thanks to a rare little parasite—I was on strict bedrest for three months. It was similar to what the world is facing currently with quarantine and lockdown. My life completely turned a 180 and I could no longer do what I did before. My routines, my habits, and my plans all had to change in a matter of 24 hours.…
In the middle of my gap year, I travelled to New Zealand to do a Discipleship Training School (DTS) for five months. I wanted to take the time to grow deeper in my relationship with God, before I started university back home in England. I had always loved school, and I was so excited to start my degree in geography. I had big plans. I was going to become a research professor, teach, and earn lots and lots of money. But on Week 5 of my Discipleship Training School, everything changed.…
“Last minute Helen” is a nickname that my dad has called me since childhood. I like to think of it as being “time challenged”. It is very true that I am sure I can do 10 minutes worth of activities in two minutes, that the pressure of teaching or assignment preparation needs to be a ‘code red’ before I feel the urge to move, and I hate to be early to anything. But I have noticed over the years that God also seems to do things the last minute.…
What do I do with my life? It’s a question we all ask at one point, but now more than ever, we have an overwhelming amount of options. Not only do you need to decide what city to live in, but also what country. Not only do you need to figure out what school you…
I am currently in my Leaders Internship course with nine others, supported by an awesome team—all in the beautiful nation of Aotearoa (the Maori word for New Zealand)! The goal of these three months is to develop and understand our strengths for leadership, to learn what it means to be rooted in our identity…
My Transformational Development School (or Community Development School) was one of the most practical, hands-on courses I’ve heard of and experienced. During our three months of lecture phase, we spent lots of time in the classroom learning from some incredible speakers, and the time flew by because every week was another brand new…
I was standing on a balcony in the middle of the Himalayas. I was disappointed. I had just spent a whole month in that nation on outreach, and it still felt like it wasn’t enough time. Not enough time to do all the things I wanted to do. Not enough time to see God move…
It was a Monday morning, and the new house work duty list was up. Lunch dishes. Again—for the sixth week in a row. As a chronic complainer, I continued to wash the dishes because I had to—but trust me, I didn’t want to, nor did I find it fun. But, it wasn’t just the dishes.…
It was May when I found the website for Yachts for Life. I was fresh out of my DTS (Discipleship Training School), and God had been planting ideas in me about using boats in missions. I’d never sailed before, but I was willing to give it a try. I’d never sailed before, but I was…
