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!