Helloooo Kona

It has been almost a month since moving my life to ywam Kona. Whew. I am loving it so much! So thankful it is part of God's plans for me to be here :-) God had some surprises for me when I got here, and tells me He has more... (how could I NOT be excited?!) My first surprise was being asked to join the leadership team for the Mission Builder ministry that is here. (click on this *What is a Mission Builder?* to get more details). As of now, there are about 90 Mission Builders that range from all ages and come from all over the world. Their purpose is to come for 1-3 months to serve the ywam Kona base with whatever department that needs volunteers (kitchen, grounds, housekeeping, office work, etc). Since ywam Kona is the biggest ywam university in the world, volunteers are very welcomed to help keep the campus running.

With that being said, my job as a Mission Builder leader is to help with the logistics of the program. It pertains to preparing rooms for MB's, laundry, airport pickups and dropoffs, and other tasks. That is the logistics part of my job. Yet, the heart and focus the leaders have is to help bring community and discipleship among the Mission Builders.

This past couple of weeks has seemed a bit of a blur because of all the adjusting to a new place, new personality of a base, new ministry, new everrrything :)) with all this going on, I have been praying about God's purposes and plans for me here, and how long He wants me on the Mission Builder ministry. So far, I know for sure that He wants me on the Leadership Team until the end of June, and will wait for His guidance for my time here after that. He definitely has me trusting Him in new ways :) I have a feeling God has more plans for me while I am here, and am stoked to find out.

If you get the chance, please pray that God will continue to work through me to help build community here. That He can work through me to point people to Jesus with whatever walk of life they come from. And for a continued love for the people He brings into my life.Thanks so much!

That is just a peak into my world! Thanks for reading =)

~Violett

p.s. here are some pictures of our corporate base worship that takes place at least once a week :)) one of my favorite things!!! Fifty-seven nations represented this quarter.

Our Team!

Glimpses of our ministry in Asia

Building Friendships

Volunteering at Ophanages

Christmas Parties

Where to start? Whew. So much has happened in the last couple of months since my two co-leaders and I lead a team of fifteen students to Ch!n@. The past week has been emotionally up and down from an overwhelming thankfulness of all that God did in and through our team in Asia, to saying goodbye to our "kids" after they graduated from their DTS. After walking through life with them so closely the last six months, it is not the easiest to say goodbye. Yet, I am extremely thankful for all that God has done within their lives and what He is calling each of them to do.

From the start, our abnormally large team has had quite the adventure! During lecture phase, God told us that it wasn't an accident we were such a big team, and that through us He was going to do big things in Asia. :) How exciting is that?? It is such an honor join God with what He is doing in the nations! It is one of my favorite things.

You may be wondering what we did there. Our main ministry was friendship evangelism with university students, where we would split up into small groups and make friends with the students, looking for opportunities to share our faith and love for Jesus. We were able to build many friendships, and share the gospel with many people through our big team! Something I loved about this area of ministry we focused on, was the way God went before us and continued to bring us person after person at just the right timing in their life because of their hunger for truth. He has perfect timing :) As a team, we loved coming home in the evenings and sharing with each other the stories of what God did daily-it was awesome!

Other areas of ministry we focused on were: connecting with churches already there, and helping them with their outreach opportunies such as Bible studies and English Corners; along with creating and running several weeks of "VBS" for some of the kids that were near us (this is a rare opportunity); and volunteering at orphanages on the weekend.

Since we were there during Christmas time, we helped with a lot of Christmas parties and were able to share the gospel many times with skits and friendships made there. One example of how God worked through us was at our first Christmas party. We were asked shortly before to perform a skit...so we scrambled to get ideas together asking Him to shine through us. We ended up acting out the birth of Jesus and used random scarves as sheep ears and shepherd head wraps, and singing several Christmas songs. To us, it didn't seem to be anything special-but later we found out twenty people accepted Jesus as their savior! So exciting! And that is just one story of God doing amazing things.

As a team, we were reminded again and again it wasn't through our planning, ideas, words, actions, ability, or wisdom that won people to Jesus... we are not anything special! But God taught us that when we are willing, He can work powerfully through ordinary people to bring Him glory. Many times it was the moments we least expected people to be interested in the gospel that God showed us His power. Because of this, we continued to learn how important intercession and prayer is in life! God moves to the sound of our voice... We started to see the power of this along with worship in a much deeper level while is Asia. Which has helped grow our faith in our personal lives as well. I know for me, I don't want to start my day without His spirit empowering me-I don't want walk in my own strength in what He is calling me to do! I was shown again and again how dependant I am on Him, and the difference prayer and God's presence makes in every area of my daily life.

I am so proud of my team! And wish you could hear all the stories of what God did and how He grew/changed each person on our team. Yes, we faced challenges. Yes, we had bumps as a team like any outreach does...but God proved Himself faithful again and again and we came back excited and thankful :) He is moving in the nations, and I am so thankful I got to see a piece of it while in Asia.

Now you may be wondering what I am doing next? :) :) As my commitment is coming to an end at YWAM Maui, I feel the Lord is leading me to serve at YWAM Kona for a season. (Another island in Hawaii). I am not sure for how long, nor do I know all the plans He has for me there, but I will finish my time at YWAM Maui in April and fly to this sister YWAM He is directing me to. This decision has come through a lot of time, prayer, and seeking of confirmation. It takes a lot of trust in moving from one place to another when all I have is His direction and my small faith, but I am growing more and more excited! And I know that I can trust in the goodness of my Father that He has proven to me over and over again-that He has good plans for me, and will take care of all my needs. And from the continual revelation of His love for me, I can't help but live my life for Him...wherever He takes me, I will follow.

Thanks for reading! I will post my new address soon that will change starting in April. :)

Also, thankYOU for your support with prayer and finances in my life! Know that you helped send out my team to Asia-you helped change lives :) I will keep you updated with my needs in the future as I continue with YWAM. I appreciate you, and want you know that you are an answer to prayer for what God calls me to do.

~Violett

Thanksgiving and Goodbyes

Here is a glimpse of the many, many hours of focused learning and teaching that the students and leaders have been involved with the last couple of months:
Our base has just finished a Thanksgiving celebration! Which, ofcourse, involved delicious food. It was quite interesting with all the nationalities represented at an American celebration :) Here is a glimpse of our feast:

We are also preparing for our outreach to Asia, which we leave for in only TEN days! I have been packing and simplifying my life this weekend, getting rid of items I don't need that have gathered the last couple of years since I have been here. (Note: all my packing and cleaning is being done with Christmas music playing in the background ;) I will then pack whatever possessions I have in a storage tub that will be put away until I return in February.

The students have one more week with a speaker/regular schedule, along with one last weekend to fully pack and clean our house before leaving for Asia. :)) Picture this for our last weekend: 43 students/staff scurrying about packing, skyping friends and family, last minute shopping for outreach needs, last beach visits, putting things in storage, laughing, talking, excitement, nervousness, team meetings, and an abundance of facebook goodbye statuses. :) Good times.

Speaking of what needs to be done, I am off to finish some logistics for my team's outreach! I will be distant from the internet for the next couple of months, but will update once I return in February with details of my team's time in Ch!n@ and also with information on where I feel God is leading me after my time with YWAM Maui.

xoxo

What does a normal week at YWAM Maui look like for Violett? :) :) Well, let me tellll youuuu

*Monday-Friday*

5:30 AM

Rise and shine for running and Jesus time :)

7:30 AM

Breakfast

8 AM

Base Worship (Monday & Friday)/Intercession (Tuesday & Thursday)/Apologetics(Wednesday)-students also attend all of these activities.

9 AM

DTS Staff Meeting

9:30 AM

Student Chapel Talk

10:00 AM-12:30 PM-Teaching time/Different speaker & topic for every week*

(where the magic happens...God+speaker+36 students & staff=awesomeness :)

12:30 PM

Lunch

1:30-5 PM

Staff Fellowship with all staff (Monday)/DTS Staff Growth Group (Tuesday)/

Community Outreach (Wednesday)/Team Growth Group (Thursday)/Laundry Run (Friday)

5 PM

Dinner

6 PM

(Monday) House Cleaning

7 PM

Team Time (Monday)/Outreach Prep (Tuesday)/Town Run (Wednesday)/Night Teaching with Speaker (Thursday)

A glimpse into my world.

Love,

Violet

Asia, Here We Come!

HERE IS MY TEAM!!!! YAY!

I am beyond blessed with the opportunity to help lead this team to Ch!n@*. Our team is double the size of the "normal" size our base sends out, so this team is equipped with three leaders instead of two. God has truly orchestrated the dynamics of the leaders and all of our differences/gifts we bring to the team; and I am so excited to see how He will work through our team of 19 people :)

The weeks are already starting to fly by, and soon the first month of school for the students will be finished. Before the school began, the staff prayed asking the Lord what the main theme was going to be for the school as a whole. We all felt that the theme of this school was going to be brokenness, and how God wants to restore and shine through brokenness for His glory. After getting to know these students, we have found that many of them are broken from difficult circumstances. Yet, it is so exciting to see how God is taking wounds and brokenness in exchange for healing and redemption. As a whole, this school is so hungry for Truth. Hungry to walk in more intimacy with God, hungry to hear His voice, and hungry for heart change...perfect :)

One of my favorite things as staff is getting to know the students, walking with them in life during this time and at the same time challenging them in their relationship with God. For example, I just walked with one of the girls on my team to a little store down the street to buy a snack, and got to hear how God was bringing new freedom in her life. Awesome.

I thank God for His timing with the brokenness He has brought me through, and now able to have better insight with the students that I am honored to work with for the next five months. Throughout my time at YWAM, He has opened my eyes to see the brokenness of my heart from wounds and disappointments in life... to see how I had formed walls toward God and other people from these wounds. And from these places of brokenness, God has been faithful to root out lies and heal wounds. I have never experienced such freedom and healing that has brought new revelation of His unending love, and also brought me into deeper levels of trust that wounds kept me from completely entrusting Him with these areas. Isn't it funny how our mind and heart can say and believe different things? We can know truth about God's character, and scriptures to back it up... yet do we believe it in our hearts? I am believing more and more how we have to fight for our hearts and for the hearts of others.

I also want to share my financial needs in this blog. I am still about $2,000-2,500 short for this time as DTS staff (depending on the flight ticket to Asia, which is more than expected). If you are interested in helping me financially, please make checks payable to "YWAM Maui" (for a tax receipt) or "Violet Stoltzfus" if you are not interested in a tax deductible receipt. Thank you for your consideration and for your encouragement that comes in more ways than just financially :)

Thats all for now! Thanks for reading!

~Violet

*spelled differently for security purposes

Reconstruction

Three buildings being renovated. Moving our kitchen into a different building. All staff moving into different rooms. Department training. Base cleanup. DTS staff training. Spring school graduation. Fifteen days until our fall students start arriving!!!! AAAAAAAAA! :)

Here is a tiny glimpse of the reconstruction that is happening on our base:

Through this crazy time of reconstruction and other various things that have to be done before our next school, we are discovering on a new level what it means to have Jesus as our source of strength. Stress over time will eventually reveal what our functional source of life is.

Stress + Time = Source of Life.

Also! I was preparing myself to be Kitchen Head again during our school this fall, but was asked by our leadership if I would be one of the DTS leaders instead. A DTS leader is a staff that works directly with the students during their three months of school at our base, along with leading a team of students on a three month outreach to Southeast Asia. It is going to be a huge school for our base :) we have 38 students (and counting)! This responsibility is one of the most demanding and time consuming jobs here, but can also be one of the most rewarding. I am growing more and more excited about being apart of this school that starts in September and will continue with outreach until March. I will happily keep you updated on details, the students, and what God is doing as time continues.

Being a DTS leader also increases my needs financially to an extra $2,000-2,500 (expenses for the outreach to Southeast Asia), and I would love if you would prayerfully consider partnering with me in this need. Thankyou for your support in other ways as well-I am so often encouraged when having a rough day by many of you :) thankyou, thankyou, thankyou!

~Violett

Diving Deeper

Do you ever feel like your heart might explode from dreams and desires that arise? that has been happening to me often, especially this past year. praise God for our hearts...from them flow the wellspring of life! yet, what do we do with desires that seem to grow that have not yet been met...or may never? do we push away our desires/dreams, numb our hearts and by doing so-kill our hearts?

something i have read recently by John Eldredge states:

"As our soul grows in the love of God and journeys forth toward him, our heart's capacities also grow and expand: "Thou shalt enlarge my heart" (Psalms 119:32).

But the sword cuts both ways. While our heart grows in its capacity for pleasure, it grows in its capacity to know pain. The two go hand in hand. What, then, shall we do with disappointment? We can be our own enemy, depending on how we handle the heartache that comes with desire. To want is to suffer; the word passion means to suffer. This is why many Christians are reluctant to listen to their hearts: They know that their dullness is keeping them from feeling the pain of life. Many of us have chosen simply not to want so much; it's safer that way. It's also godless. That's stoicism, not Christianity. Sanctification is an awakening, the rousing of our souls from the dead sleep of sin into the fullness of their capacity for life.

Desire often feels like an enemy, because it wakes longings that cannot be fulfilled in the moment. In the words of T. S. Eliot,

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire. (The Waste Land )

Spring awakens a desire for the summer that is not yet. Awakened souls are often disappointed, but our disappointment can lead us onward, actually increasing our desire and lifting it toward its true passion".

This is what i feel like is happening to my heart... growing more in love with Jesus, which is growing my heart's capacity to more desires, open to more love from Him and people, open and growing towards the dreams and desires that i hope He has put inside of me...yet, i am realizing that this opens me up to the possibility of more pain, disappointments, and discouragements. i hope my rambling is making sense. i have come to learn that as my heart grows, changes, and is healed by having a relationship with Jesus- it can become more vulnerable. YES, we grow in His truth, strength, gifts of the Spirit, and how to fight the enemy's attacks. this grows our compassion. grows our intimacy with Jesus and love for people. grows our desire for the beautiful things in life that God points to as most valuable. by all of this, our walls fall. our wounds are touched by the Lover of our souls. our rough edges grow to be more like Jesus. our hearts overflow to others. we are challenged to grow into who God calls us to be, and by doing so are opening up who we REALLY are to people around us-giving what we may be afraid is not enough to others and may be rejected.

And through all of this, we are challenged to dive deeper into who He is... to not shrink back with what He calls us to do, or shrink back with who is raising us up to be through His redemption. by not shrinking back from Him as we continually lift to Him our dreams and desires. i am learning what this looks like. i have been asking Him what does it look like to not kill my heart and its desires because i want Him to have my heart that is alive... what does it look like to hold these things in surrender to His will and plans for my life, and live my life so abundantly with Jesus that I will be completely satisfied even if these desires do not happen.

That has been my wrestle with the Lord lately. entrusting Him with all of my heart in those areas, yet longing to fully trust Him as my Father, my Redeemer, Friend, and Lover of my soul... that whatever His plans are in my life-wherever and however long... i long to live in surrendered trust and intimacy with Him.

So i am learning through the times that it feels like my heart is going to explode, that diving deeper into Jesus with these things... allows my heart to rest. i might not see some of these things happen, but can trust that He brings beautiful completion and satisfaction to my heart. His love makes life worth it. my life, after all, is not about me-but about His glory.

Another quote:

The whole life of the good Christian," said Augustine, "is a holy longing." Sadly, many of us have been led to feel that somehow we ought to want less, not more. We have this sense that we should atone for our longings, apologize that we feel such deep desire. Shouldn't we be more content? Perhaps, but contentment is never wanting less; that's the easy way out. Anybody can look holy if she's killed her heart; the real test is to have your heart burning within you and have the patience to enjoy what there is now to enjoy, while waiting with eager anticipation for the feast to come. In Paul's words, we "groan inwardly as we wait eagerly" (Rom. 8:23). Contentment can only happen as we increase desire, let it run itself out toward its fulfillment, and carry us along with it.

It is starting to make more sense to me... how our longings continue to show that we were made for more than our earthly life. these desires, in the end will point to Him. without Him, nothing will satisfy us. the deepest longings, desires, and dreams are nothing without Him in it-without Him as my first love. as i surrender these things to Him, i am beckoned to love Him more deeply-challenged to want Him more than these things in my heart. if He chooses to give me these things, then i can enjoy them to the fullest because He will continue to be first and they will be blessings "on the side".

Hope my thoughts encouraged you :)

Violett~~