My Next Right Step

Dear Family and Friends,

I have recently been accepted into Youth With a Mission's Discipleship Training School. Youth With a Mission is a Christian organization that operates to spread the gospel and serve others. Part of mission work is fund raising, without help from others I will not be able to attend this school. The full school fees add up to about $5,600.00. I do not have my full fees and am counting on God to provide for me. Please help me by donating money toward my Discipleship Training School.

The Discipleship Training School is made up of a three month lecture phase (beginning on September 26th, 2010) in which the other students and I will be learning more about God and his heart for us and the world. The feel of the lecture phase is similar to attending college, I will have assignments to complete and books to read as I grow in my walk with the Lord. If you would like more information about the curriculum you may visit http://ywamsandiegobaja.org/dts_curriculum.aspx?menu=DTS.

The next phase of the school is the two month outreach phase (with graduation February 11, 2011).  During the outreach phase the other students and I will be traveling away from the base to serve and share Jesus' love to people in need. I feel that the YWAM web page describes it best: “As a second phase of the Discipleship Training School, specially organized teams are sent out for 8 weeks of evangelism in cross-cultural situations. The emphasis is on the application of principles taught in the DTS lecture phase coupled with teaching on evangelism concepts and practices, equipping students to share their faith in a variety of ways.” (http://ywamsandiegobaja.org)

I have felt a call to spread God's love to others specifically through missions work since I was about 11 years old. I began to look into YWAM after a friend of mine attended a Discipleship Training School in Australia and absolutely loved it. Originally I applied to an arts focused Discipleship Training School in Boston, Massachusetts. Then last August I participated in a house build with my church and YWAM in Tijuana, Mexico. I absolutely loved the experience of helping a needy family and showing God's love through serving others. After that experience, my focus changed. I realized that I did not want to attend a school in which a large part of the outreach would involve me preforming for people instead of serving them and working with them. So I withdrew my application to the Boston school and applied at Ensenada.

I am pursuing a YWAM DTS because I believe it is my next right step in my walk with Jesus. I want to learn more about Him and grow in my relationship with Him. I want to serve others and show them Jesus' love for them. I want to be ruined for the ordinary.

If you would like to help me attend this school, you may donate via the online donation featured on this blog.  Even if you cannot afford to donate right now, your prayers are very much appreciated as I prepare to attend this school. If you would like to partner with me in prayer throughout this DTS as well as receive an update midway through, please email me at kayla391@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for your time and consideration,

Kayla Knowles