Something beautiful

In the nearly three years that I’ve been at YWAM Brisbane, I’ve seen close to 500 young people go through the Discipleship Training School program. It never ceases to amaze me how God takes each life and turns it into something beautiful that brings Him glory.

Here are just some of the recent transformations and testimonies:

• A self-absorbed young American man spent the first few months of DTS disobeying just about every instruction given to him. Instead of spending time with people during meals, he would take his laptop and sit on his own in another room watching movies. Or he defiantly responded to any questions posed to him in anger. Six-months later, during the week his DTS finished, this same man stood up in front of the YWAM base to thank all the staff for their patience and perseverance with him. The Lord had truly changed his heart. What was once a prideful man was now a smiling, joyful and servant-hearted man of God.
• Just as the last DTSs were finishing in August, I received a hand-written letter from a young Chinese student. She thanked me for regularly taking time to ask what was on her heart and honestly listen to her. I was not a staff member on her DTS, yet I was able to express God’s generosity by giving this young woman time.
• A young man taking the Basic Leadership School served alongside me in the hospitality department for a few months. There were times when I would be internally frustrated because it felt as though he wasn’t being owning his responsibilities. I prayed about how to handle the situation. Then one day he came to me, apologetically, because he realized he had been slacking off. Not only was this a great lesson in taking stressful situations to God in prayer, but also for this young man. He was growing in understanding the measure to which he needs to invest in the responsibilities given to him.