Back home, an update!

Hi friends, I thought I would write another update since returning home. It feels like I have been home for much longer than I actually have! Getting back into a routine just has that effect on someone I think!

I want to thank you again for supporting me on my DTS, as it was truly a life changing trip. I've been home since the end of June, working at Starbucks and currently getting my level 1 certification as a volleyball referee. I'm also back at UFV for my second semester studying for a BA in Global Development and a minor in French. When I write it down it sounds like a lot, and actually it is a lot. It's been super hard coming home from an amazing God-centered community, and being thrown back into university. At the end of my DTS I was really seeking out if I should stay in France and continue to serve at the base, whether I should pursue some other form of missions, or come home. And to be honest, God calling me to drop everything and move to South Africa would have almost been easier than coming back to Abbotsford, as that is just who He has made me to be. I'm not naturally drawn to be at home, it's not where I'm most comfortable. (Family I do love you.) Sounds cheesy, but I really do love the adventure of being in new places, being free of the responsibilities that home brings. (Don't we all!) But God is still the same God who was with me all throughout my Ywam experience, He is still speaking to me, still teaching me, still challenging me.

As much as I love the aspect of "adventure" in missions and in life, I really do love being in control of my "next step" and knowing where I am going next. That is something God has been teaching me to let go of, being able to listen and obey him step by step. I don't know whether I will finish my degree at UFV, whether I will transfer, whether I will study abroad, whether I will go back to France, etc etc the list goes on. I am learning to deal with my impatient heart, wanting Him to just tell me what to do already! I just know I need to be open-handed and willing to go where He is leading. There is a beautiful verse in Psalms 73 that reads, "Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny." The challenge is trusting that even with the restlesness of my heart, He is still holding my hand, still guiding me. And actually delighting in the process! (Ps 37: 23)

I think for me it's good to have short term goals, as I am just so eager to travel again. I want to finish this semester strong, first of all. I am really eager to get back into missions, but university is a real priviledge as well. I'm not saying univeristy is the be-all-end-all just like going back to Ywam isn't the be-all-end-all. I am just in love with Jesus and wherever He leads I will go! Step by step.

I miss my friends so much! I miss our Monday morning worship and tea, I miss walks into town with Kirsten and Shelby. I miss volleyball with Jesse! I miss the weekend baguette sandwiches! I miss Hanna and her loud hungarian skpe calls in our room, and us all hogging Jean-Pierre (our little heater) in the morning (If he burns out, just kick him and he starts back up). I miss Graham's animal impressions way too much. I even miss one-on-ones with Helena! :) Who couldn't miss our outdoor laundry machine, never really knowing if your clothes will dry, or what setting even dries them?! I miss doing the dishes upstairs, getting locked in the pantry by your "friends", don't get me started on lectures. I'm so thankful for Ywam Biarritz and the community I lived with for 6 months. I could say so much more!

I am praying for another opportunity to go back to Biarritz. At the base they have an awesome outreach during the summer! It focuses on reaching out to the young people in Biarritz during the summer. The high intake of young people that come to party and surf make great opportunities for the base to meet people and share the love of God. I have heard many good things and I'm praying that I will be able to go this summer! I will keep you posted on how that progresses. But I am willing to jump on a flight and head back there in a second. ;)

 

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever..

Psalm 136:1

Update

Hi friends,
So, we're finishing week 3 in Ireland, and outreach will be over! We fly back to Biarritz on Saturday, and have a final debrief week there, then I will be heading home.

 

Dublin, where we have been for the last 2 weeks.

 

Hiked here, this was in Rostrevor, and we joined their ywam base for a week of teaching.

 

The balcony of our Dublin apartment, booked with airbnb. Small, 2 rooms for the 6 of us, but really nice.

 

More of Dublin.

So yeah, we spent our first of three weeks in Ireland in Rostrevor, staying with the Ywam base there. It was great, we heard teaching from possibly my favorite speaker to date, Stefan, from South Africa. Enjoyed what he taught and how he spoke so much. It was a great week for our team to sort of refresh and re-connect with Ywam. Great week.

The past week and a half, we have been working with 2 main groups of people. One is with a church called St. Catherines, and with an afterschool homework club.

What is really cool is that we had no plan, and no ministry connections before coming here. I think we got here on a Saturday, and so the next day we went to the nearest church which was St. Catherine's. We tried to make any connections we could to see if any ministries were in need of some people, or anything we could do. We got connected to a guy named Paddie, who was super stoked to have us, as he said they were about to cancel their Kidz Club at the church that afternoon, because they didn't have enough volunteers. So we have helped with that Sunday club on sundays, and it has been good. One of the women that helped Paddie, was helping run this homework club in another part of town, and we got connected to her, and every day for the past week and a half we have been helping kids with homework, and playing around with them with this ministry at this community center. The kids are between grade 2-grade 7ish. They are really great kids and I've really enjoyed spending time with them. It's interesting to see the different types of kids that we have worked with. In Marseille, the children were on the difficult side, and also had the toughest lives, with incredibly big families and very low incomes. The kids usually get married at around 16-17 and start the process all over again. It's sad, but Deborah has an amazing ministry and is changing lives, week by week. In Bosnia, I found the kids hard as well, partly because i had 0 of of the language, and they didn't seem as open as the kids in Marseille, and because they were older and more difficult to connect with personally. The Marseille kids were rambunctious and crazy, but younger and I could communicate with them at least! And now in Dublin, the kids seem very open, super easy to connect with, a lot of them have super bad language and call you and each other all sorts of stuff, but in general they are really good kids.

It's surreal that outreach is almost over, that DTS is almost over. But it has gone pretty slowly for me, which is good, and I'm pretty ready to make the move back home.

Thank you for all your continued support and prayers.

For now, our team could use prayer to finish up strong, and that the last week in Biarritz would be awesome. Also for guidance in my next step, not sure what I am doing after coming back home.

Thanks!

Update

Hi everyone! Sorry for not posting in a while! Outreach has been picking up speed these last weeks but I wanted to share some pictures and a quick update as well.

We left Marseille on may 2nd. The last week we helped with a VBS for Roma kids. I am going to miss the people we worked with a lot, they have a special place in my heart because I found Marseille a very difficult missionfield, a place I would never want to be a lifetime missionary in. But the missionaries we met are so amazing and we were so lucky to get to work with them while we were there. 

I had no idea what to expect from Bosnia when we were packing up and getting ready to leave Marseille. We had an overnight stay in Istanbul in our 11 hour layover! But magically we arrived into Sarajevo and I have been loving every minute so far here in Bosnia. 

Its much more relaxed and rural than France and reminds me a lot of Cambodia- Which I love! We arrived during a heat wave and it was 33 degrees! A German missionary who we had been newly connected to met us in the airport and drove us to his home, where his wife and 4 kids (soon 5) live. We stayed in their basement suite. For 3 days we hung out, explored the city, met another ywam team, ate street food, and participated in this family's prayer/worship meetings they run. A very powerful moment I want to share was that there was this woman who had been wanting to come to this fellowship time but hadn't yet. This fellowship time that we attended with other Bosnian Christians was the first one she had come to, because the very same house we were in was where she was held captive in the war in '95. She was very emotional and shared some of her story with the group and it was a powerful moment of her taking a step to overcome her incredibly painful memories, and a great opportunity for others to pray for her. The history here in Bosnia is very real and everyone has been majorly affected by the war, if that makes sense. Its so interesting to hear young and educated people talk about the state that their country is in, with the economy, unemployment, healthcare, you name it. Bosnia got ruined by the war in the nineties. Thankfully God wants to restore hope in this place and we get to be a tiny part of what he is doing.

We took a 6 hour hot sweaty bus ride to Banja luka where we are now. Here we are working with a South African missionary who has been here for 12 years. We are doing practical things around the building like helping clean out storage, and also with an orphanage where we hang out with kids. On Friday nights we run a conversational English class. It has been awesome so far. I love so many things about Bosnia. 

Sunday it was my 19th birthday. I blew out candles on a cake with the fam via Skype! My day was also special here with brownies made for me, a cake, and a cupcake given to me during the church service as everyone sang!

Yeah! So I hope that gives you a good idea of what I'm up to. Here's some pictures.

 

Picnic in Marseille

 

 

One of our last beautiful days in Marseille.

 

 VBS in the last week of Marseille.

 

Skits for the kids! (I was the official photographer)

 

Welcome to Sarajevo.

 

Public transit = those super old trams!

 

Cheap Pekaras (Bakeries) everywhere! You can get a fresh loaf of bread for .75 cents Canadian!

 

The team!

 

Went up to some ruins and had lunch with an awesome view.

 

AMAZING Bosnian food! 

 

I got some beautiful shots of some of the VBS Roma kids but not really allowed to post them on the internet, unfortunately. They were a blast! 

 

 Met some other people who volunteer and fly in from the US to help with this VBS! The left is Hanna on our team.

Yeah, so that's just a few pics of the trip up to now. Thank you for your prayers! Keep our leader, Timo, in your prayers because he's come down with a virus and has been MIA the last few days. He is on the mend though thankfully! 

Thanks everyone

 

Marseille, Week 1

 

Hey everyone! It's been an awesome week 1 of outreach here in Marseille. Monday is our off-day,  and it has been super nice, great weather here in general, around 19 and sunny! 

We have been doing a number of different things for ministry here. Lots of evangelism, and chatting with people through a number of different things. We do a coffee/tea station in the park, prayer walks, and on Wednesdays we help with a kids club in a poor neighborhood.

Thanks for your prayers and support. That was a super quick update, and Here are some pictures of Marseille!

Update

Hello friends and family!

Lecture phase here in Biarritz is almost at a close, very bittersweet for all of us. We are excited for our outreach and getting on the road, but we know it's going to be so hard to be separated! Some have started packing already, and as soon as we leave, the next DTS' students will start arriving, so we will have to pack up all our rooms and everything! It will be weird!

Last week we had a powerful week of teaching on spiritual authority with Mariette Lowe from South Africa! It was a great week and I learned a lot! This week we have another African actually, speaking on Missions! He has worked with different rebel groups in Africa and has pioneered Ywam bases all over Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Hearing some of his stories has been so amazing- stories of how God has turned around many young rebels' lives for his kingdom, rebels and cannibals who have killed and raped too many people to count, but no one is past the point of the Father's love and affection, and it's beautiful how God transforms lives such as these in Africa, as we are hearing about.

So, despite the terrible weather outside, we are doing are best to enjoy the last week we have together as a DTS and hoping that it goes slowly. ;) It's so cool to look at everyone and how much we have changed since the beginning of DTS. I personally have experienced so much change in my own life. At the start/before I came to DTS, I felt as if God was not speaking to me, and nothing was changing. I was going through the motions and I felt stuck. Why does being a Christian seem so hard!? Why is it worth it!? But since then I have had so much revelation, through the Holy Spirit and through teaching. I came to realize that this isn't about me and when I experienced the love of the Father, everything changed. We aren't just slaving away for some God who commands us around and forces us to serve him, but God sent his son for us to be in relationship! We aren't trapped in a religion, but we are set free in this relationship. When we seek God with all our heart, we will find him. That's a promise that I held on to, and I've been changed. Jesus did it all on the cross, and surrendering my life to him and his will for me, is the best thing I could ever and will ever do!

Psalm 16:11, "You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever."

Now we are definitely excited to see the ways God will move in and through us as we head off this weekend into different parts of Europe. Sunday afternoon my team will be taking a train to Marseilles! Your prayers are appreciated, just for safety, a smooth journey, and for the team to get along well. I can't wait to see all the ways I am going to be stretched and challenged during the next 3 months. I will try to update as often as I can, and put some pictures and stories up!

Thank you all!

 

 

Update!

Hi everyone! It has been an amazing week once again here in Biarritz and I have many amazing stories to share!

I'll start with last weekend. The sun was shining, and my roommates and I woke up early (for a Saturday morning) around 8am to clear the room for mold cleaning! (We had to take out everything from the shelves, and take out our mattresses, blankets, basically everything so that it would get really clean and nothing would get bleached!) Thankfully the servant hearted staff had a go at the mold and Kirsten bought some croissants for us as we sat out in the sun with some coffee. Word on the street was that we were going to go to a little outdoor market where we could get some good deals! So we headed over there, a van full of us, and we got to an empty lot, where the market was supposed to be. Disappointed, we headed home. Some people went to the mall, but me and some girls had a better idea- rent some scooters and ride around the city and head down to St Jean de Luz! It sounded perfect! So we headed out, and finally found the scooter rental place (after we got a little lost, but then met the most adorable French grandma who helped us.) So I start speaking to this French owner of the shop, who tells me that they only have bicycles...so...another dead end. We talked for a while and he made it clear that he really didn't think it was safe for us to go out on the scooters, he didn't trust us, long story short. (Although I have driven a scooter in Cambodia multiple times, if he only understood the traffic I have been in! ;) Well, thank-you nice man for either caring for our safety, or the safety of your motorcycles, anyways, disappointed again, we thought we would not waste this beautiful day and we decided to take a bus to St Jean de Luz, a city near Biarritz. Turns out we get to the bus stop and there are no busses coming for a while. So we spontaneously hopped on a little bus to Bidart, and the kind bus driver dropped us off at the beach there!

So we hung out at the beach, it was a little windy, so we headed up into town, after stopping at the viewpoint over the ocean, the mountains of Spain in the background, so beautiful. As we walked around Bidart it was like we were in a movie, everything about it was just so perfect! We started seeing these posters for "Carnaval" that was happening, in Bidart, on the very day we were there..and we started hearing some music and as we followed it, we basically stumbled upon Carnaval! There was confetti, live music and dancing, and lots of booths and candy! It was the most bizarre, yet awesome moment! We thought we were in a movie!

We were absolutely starving, and what do you know, we stumbled upon the most amazing restaurant. It was again so surreal and we felt so blessed. It was the most delicious food I have had since coming here, and for totally reasonable prices! It was so awesome. After, we headed back to the carnival and had some crepes, and got some pictures with people, and got our faces painted!

We all felt that God knew that this was happening and he wanted to bless us by leading us there and totally surprising us. And surprised we were! It was such a great day.

Also, another crazy story, was that all my finances have been raised for outreach! I woke up the morning of the deadline, with about 900 euros that I needed. (This was Monday the beginning of this week.) And I wasn't nervous or anxious about it, I trusted that God would provide, just moreso in the next few days or week. Anyways, that day I got a small donation, and that night the teams got together and really prayed and asked God for the money to come, and it came! Through many different people I raised about 1500 euros! Praise God!

The Surf and Snow DTS that our base runs in October returned from their outreach and so we have had lots and lots of people in our little house this past week! On Thursday night they had their "graduation" night and we had a nice dinner and dance party! Meeting them has been so fun, such a cool group of people, wish we had longer to get to know them, but they are all leaving and heading home within the next couple days. It's cool that the different DTSs overlap, so when we get back from outreach it will be the same thing, and the Music DTS that starts when we leave will be there.

Thanks for reading! Until next post! (Some more pics below!)

Steph

 

Cool graffitti in Bidart!

 

Looking out at the ocean in Bidart!

 

The restaurant down the street from Carnaval.

 

Update

Hi everyone!

The sun is shining this lovely morning in Biarritz. This week we were originally supposed to be staying in Madrid for evangelism, but our leader said that God told her that we should stay in Biarritz instead, and have a focus on community. So this week has been pretty relaxed, and we've been having big breakfasts together and sleeping in a bit later. So it has been very nice!

Funny story: Last week Steve Ahern from Australia was sharing on Wednesday night. In the middle of his talk, a mouse started walking up above him on a pipe against the wall! One of the guy leaders who had been hunting the thing earlier in the day jumped up, grabbed a rag, and squished it with his bare hands...so that happened. HAHA! It was actually so funny. But we have been having problems with mice in the downstairs of the house, a couple days ago the boys killed another one. I was also sitting upstairs in the pantry reading, and I heard a strange noise, looked up, and the small light hanging from the ceiling was moving back and forth, and it sounded like a rat was chewing it. So that also happened. haha! Just as long as they stay out of our bedrooms I am fine! :)

The weather these coming days are supposed to be very nice, and we are very excited to get outside as we have been trapped indoors the past week. We will probably go down to the beach and play some volleyball, hang out, and explore more of the city. It should be around 17, 18 degrees and sunny!

Also, I am still trusting for about 1100 euros for outreach fees, due in a few days. If you can support me, it would be such a blessing, you can email me at stephaniebweiss@gmail.com, or facebook me. If you could pray for the finances to come in, and for the rest of the team, it would be so appreciated. Our team made a video, https://vimeo.com/120875397, so you can check that out on vimeo!

Thank you friends!

Steph

Our europe cities outreach is almost here!

Hey everybody!

As you know, I am currently a part of Ywam's discipleship training school here in Biarritz, France and it has made such an impact in my life so far! Each week is filled with lectures, worship, community outreach, spontaneous trips, games, and an amazing community! The DTS has bonded so well and we have really grown immensely during these first few months. 

The next 3 months will look a lot different, as we are splitting up and sending out 4 different teams to various cities in Europe for outreach! My team and I will be outreaching to Marseilles, France, Banja Luka, Bosnia, and Ireland! In Marseilles we will be joining up with another team and we'll be in the streets doing evangelism, and later working with a kids VBS program there. In Bosnia, we are going to spend time at an orphanage, hanging out with the kids and teaching some English! and in Ireland we don't have a specific plan yet, but Timo, our outreach leader, is working on it! The information is still being worked out, but I will continue to update as we go and when I find out more.

If you would like to partner financially with me and give to this outreach experience, I am still trusting for 1600 euros before the 6th of March. God will do amazing things through this team and I very excited, but still trusting for provision with finances. If you would like to give, that would be awesome! You can email or facebook me, stephaniebweiss@gmail.com, and I will give you further details. :)

 I am so excited for this experience and so thankful that I can be a part of it. I encourage you to stay updated with my blog! Appreciating your prayers and support during this time,

Stephanie

Philippians 4:6-7, "Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Here is a pic of the team!

Valentine's Shenanigans

 

Thought I'd share some pictures from our fun Valentine's after dinner party!

 

My GORGEOUS roommates!

 

The January DTS!

 

My outreach team!

 

 The lovely Kirsten.

 

 Fun night! I am already pre-missing all of these wonderful people! :)

Exciting News!

Hi everyone! I've got some super exciting news to share with you all! Our outreach destinations have been revealed and my team will be going to...drum roll... Marseilles, France, then flying to Banja Luka, Bosnia, and then to Ireland! We will be leaving at the end of March, and coming back mid-June. I am super pumped of course and I have a great team I'm excited to bond with. Our team leader is Timo, from Germany, and there is me, Cassidy from Oregon, Christian from Washington, and Hanna from Hungary.

In Marseilles we will be joining up with another team and will be working with kids with an organization there. In Bosnia, we are going to teach English to orphans, and in Ireland we don't have a specific plan yet, but Timo is working on it! Haha! I just have pretty vague information right now about what we will be doing, but I will continue to update as we go and when I find out more.

The past week we have had some really nice weather, as well, so that has been nice for a change. The teaching by one of the base leaders here has also been incredible this week. Every single day I just think I am so blessed to be here and so thankful for life. On the average week-day here we wake up at 6:45, or more realistically we roll out of bed at 6:59 for breakfast at 7am all together. Fresh baguettes and muesli are always for breakfast. Then we have time to start the day with Jesus and get dressed and ready for morning chores at 8:30, and we do that until around 9 and we start lectures shortly after. We learn in the classroom until lunch, with a few tea/baguette breaks in between! Then after a delicious meal cooked by the base staff we usually have free time and various chores we are designated to do. (I am in "hospitality" so my day chores would usually involve laundry, card-making, or baking for special events! Others are spread out between chores like dinner dishes, property maintenance, lunch dishes, dinner prep, etc) If the sun is shining, though, we usually try to kick it outside and go for a walk into the city after lectures or play volleyball or something fun outside. Dinner is at 6:30, and we could have movie nights, game nights, free nights, or dance class- one of the students is a ballroom dance instructor! So there is lots going on usually, and it's awesome. Also each day of the week we usually have another "event" that happens weekly, like for example, Mondays are small group meetings, Tuesdays we have Europe cities project, Wednesdays we have evangelism, Thursdays we have community blessing, and Friday mornings are worship. So as it is Friday night as I am writing this, I am very excited to sleep in tomorrow! Tired for sure!

So yeah! I am super excited for my outreach that's happening somewhat soon. And life here is going great as you can tell from my updates!

Here are some pics I took recently!

 

Fireplace in the classroom!

 

Just a random house we passed.

Crepe time!

Update!

Hey everyone! Time is flying by here in Biarritz, already at week 5! Last week lectures were on repentance and forgiveness, by a Ywam leader from Perth. I thought I'd share more specifically what kind of things he talked about, I'll highlight some things from my notes:

-True repentance is not just about confession, but about allowing Christ in and being truly willing to change.
-Our greatest need is to know God.
-Repentance is about a changed life, from self centered, to God centered.
-God wants us to have a transformed heart that wants to make the right choices for the right reasons. Why have we decided to follow Jesus? We talked about some of the primary motivators for many Christians: blessings, and discipline. Though God can use this, they are not sufficient because they are self centered. Our primary motivation for following Jesus should be a deep revelation of the worthiness of God and the un-worthiness of self.

Personally it was very good to dwell on the simple thought: Why am I a Christian? I appreciated that the speaker highlighted how good it was to be honest with God and how much God loves honesty. It's not about earning God's love, it's about a genuine relationship. And no matter how many times we are unfaithful, God will always be faithful.

So as much as this week was a more serious one, I was very encouraged and learned a lot and realized a deep need for growth in my relationship with God. I could write pages and pages of what we talked about but I won't. ;) Instead I'll talk about the awesome trip we took to the PYRENEES mountains! Lectures last week ended on Thursday, and so we took Friday up to the snowy mountains of France, and it was so much fun. Getting there, however, was a bit difficult, as our chains kept breaking, and we kept stopping to help others get up the mountain, too. But after carefully winding our way up the snowy roads, we made it, all 3 vans and one car of us -all the staff came too! It was nonstop snowing all day! And it was so beautiful! We had choices to ski, snowboard, sled, or just hang out, and I wanted to do it all, but in the end I chose to snowboard. Best decision ever! It was my first time, as for a few of the other snowboarders, so one of the leaders, Timo, helped us learn. It was so much fun! Most students just went sledding, but a couple went skiing and a few of us went snowboarding. So yeah, we stayed there for lunch and then headed home around dinner time. So it was an awesome time, and I hope I can snowboard again before I leave!

This week is on relationships by Leah Thompson one of the base leaders here! And we are planning to go to the outdoor market in Anglet on Saturday. Should be a good week, and I'll update again next week. Ooh we also find out our outreach teams and places soon I believe. I'll keep you posted!