to live is Christ and to die is gain

Hey everybody!
We've been VERY busy here at the base so I haven't had much extra time to write. And I've been sick the past couple days so all I could do was rest and pray. I'm still not feeling 100% so if you all wouldn't mind saying a prayer, it would be greatly appreciated.
Anyway, classes have been INTENSE lately. Last week we had the base director of Las Vegas come and speak on evangelism. But it wasn't the typical, in-your-face, I'm-gonna-scare-you-into-accepting-Christ kind of evangelism. We talked more about the great need for evangelism, especially in a part of the world called the 10/40 window. 10/40 stands for latitude lines on a globe. The area in between is called the 10/40 window. Basically, inside the window are all the poorest countries in the world, and the majority of people-groups with whom the gospel has not yet been shared. It is there that missionaries are most needed but out of all the missionaries in the world, only 4% work in the 10/40 window. After we heard that we were challenged to take up an oath to God that we go wherever He called us anytime, anywhere, even if it meant giving up everything. We had to really think about the decision and all that it entailed. We would have to give up our dream of marriage, possibly. Give up our house, friends, family, church...life to go wherever we were called. Some people couldn't do it then and there. I made the oath, knowing that fear would try to stand in my way if ever something like that did come into being. It was at that moment that I had a revelation of what giving up your life so that you can truly live really means. I saw it from the most extreme perspective and it finally made sense. It's scary, but beautiful at the same time. Talk about a life of adventure! Anyway, he also talked about different ways to evangelize that don't involve bashing somebody over the head with a Bible :)
On another note our outreach locations in December were announced, I'm going to Mexico City, Chiapas, and Oaxaca, all in Mexico. The other locations are Morocco and Haiti. We also picked our local weekend outreaches. I'm working with kids doing a VBS! I'm excited for it to start, which will be this weekend.
We're doing a ton of stuff around here! And it's all so great. I hope everyone back home is well!
Dios te bendiga!

Life in Maz!

Hey all!
So, life here has been fantastic lately. We started classes yesterday with the base director, Brent Madsen, as our speaker for the week. We're starting off with topics such as the Nature and Character of God. It's been so exciting to have class all morning talking about our God and how great He is. Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays we have worship before class and Tuesdays and Thursdays we have intercession. Both have been intense and challenging but it just pushes me to grow and learn, not only about myself but about our amazing God!! Afternoons here usually consist of lunch at about 2 o'clock, then cleaning duties for an hour or two before dinner at 6. Personally I think I got the best afternoon duty...dinner prep! I get to work with our authentic Mexican cook learning the secrets of the delicious Mexican cuisine! It's so much fun! And after dinner we usually have free time. Most people either go to the pool (we have a pool on our base, people who come to visit from other bases are so jealous!), go to the beach (conveniently located across the street), or just go for walks down the loooong boardwalk or to the plaza, centro mercado, or delicious taqueria for a late night snack. It's incredible how much of a family we feel like already. We don't mind doing different things with different people. And probably the best thing is that ethnicity doesn't matter. The native Mexicans, the Americans, and the people from random places like Portugal, England, and Canada all get along splendidly. Mazatlan is incredible. I can't really put into words how much I love it. This experience is going to be so life-changing! I know that already, I've changed. Inside and out (my tan is pretty good right about now, not gonna lie). I'm excited to see how else God pushes and changes me. Talk to you guys later!
Dios te bendiga!!

Day 5 in Mazatlan!

Hola de Mazatlan! We (the DTS students and staff) have been working hard everyday since we arrived to move into our new base. The day we arrived in Mazatlan was the day the base was purchased so we've had to do EVERYTING to get it up and running. It's been a lot of fun and a lot of work. But we are the pioneers of a brand new base! The toughest part is that it's been about 90 to 100 degrees everyday and we don't have air conditioning. We are right on the beach so we have water close by but there is very little breeze to cool things down. Needless to say it is VERY hot and we are constantly sweating :) Also, since the base is brand new, we have limited internet access for a few weeks. Our only way to get on the internet is to use the computer at our base director's house which we go to maybe once a day and we all have to share. So my posts won't be as frequent as I would like for another week or so. But we are already loving Mazatlan. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen and the people are so friendly and welcoming. I'm excited to start our outreaches and get to meet even more of the locals. It's been an exciting adventure so far and I can't wait to see what God has coming!...