These pics are a bit modge-podged but for the most part are just some really good pics that I got from some of the other students. They aren't a complete showing of course of these last few weeks but are some good pics of some of my really good friends. Yeah, I wish I had a picture of everyone from our school but got some really good ones here nonetheless.
This week was Michaela's 21st birthday... so this last Sunday we had a crazy big birthday party for her and everyone dressed up like celebrities. I chose to go as Joe Dirt because I thought it would be funny... he was a character in a rather less reputable comedy movie quite a few years back. I thought it would be funny... and it was... even though I felt rather gross as the most redneck character of all time throughout the party. No worries... these are some pictures of my friends in our outfits.
Friday evening was not only the unvailing of the mustaches... but also was a costume party. That's why so many of us young men were dressed to suit the flavour of the mustache we had cut. The girls also got to partake in the costume party so here are more pictures of the costume party. By the way, we were celebrating the fact that we are entirely done with the New Testament... 26 books down and only the entirety of the Old Testament left to go.
So this month here in the SBS was Janu-hairy. Most all of us guys in the school grew out our facial hair for the entire month... at least growing out a mustache. Some of the other students and staff sold out throughout the month but many of us endured the persecution of the ladies to end up with sweet mustaches. Tonight we had our end of the New Testament celebration party where the mustaches would finally be glorified. These are the end results in slide-show fashion. Some of us have more fully developed mustaches than others... but all had been grown out for the entirety of the month though some are hardly recognizable. The party was a costume party by the way... so we tried to dress in the most appropriate attire to enhance the feel of our 'staches.
The DTS (Discipleship Training School) left just yesterday to go on their outreach. They are going to be doing some amazing work, unfortunately I can't tell ya'll what for fear of compromising their situation. Tuesday evening was going to be their last time that we would get to spend with them so our SBS met up with them for a time of worship, prayer, and encouragement. It was a great time of getting to send them off and speak truth over their lives and pray for God's grace on their outreach. They also got to pray for us in our studies this year and just were an amazing blessing. 
These evenings have come to be my favorite times here at the base, for in these moments we are functioning as the body of Christ, lifting each other up in prayer as we intercede on behalf of each other. This is the opportunity in which we get to love each other and speak truth to each other's lives... these are the times that I truly have come to value... when we cry out for God to be real and work mightily for our brothers and sisters, for we all belong to him.
This time was extra special because these are the two largest schools and this is the first time we have had the chance to come together and pray for each other as a collective. The DTS is about 50+ students and our school is 43 students... so it was a blessing to get to be all together just praying as God put it on our hearts.
Many of the DTS students were a bit nervous because they have never been on outreach in a foreign country, or at the very least they hadn't been for a prolonged period... they will be gone for two months... carrying nothing but their backpack to some very remote locations as well as into big cities.
The SBS students were truly blessed too, for now is the time where the work begins to get monotonous if we aren't careful. It was such a blessing to have the DTS students intercede for us that God would give us a joy as we study his word... that it wouldn't become drudgery but that we would be refreshed by his word and press in more and more as we see Christ.
During the winter here there isn't much to do on weekend evenings so I thought I would come up with something. I found out that there is a really awesome little lodge nearby where they have swing dancing and thought I would take some people to check it out. For the last few months now I have been coming here with groups of 8-12 of us from the YWAM base to have a fun night with live music and swing dancing. It's been a blast, and we are all getting a lot better. I figured I would show off some pictures.
This is the band that plays... "The Company Brass"... they are actually really nice guys who play for three hours together every Friday and Saturday night just like clock work. They play pretty much the same songs every single week but they are awesome. They are seriously amazing musicians who play great swing music and a little bit of Latin stuff as well as the occasional Waltz which I love.
This is the crew that happened to come this week, a rather large bunch of folks. We end up bringing pretty much the same four or five guys every week because the rest of the guys at the base don't know what they are missing out on and we have been having a ton of fun. Every week different girls come though because they all want to come and so I am having to make them take turns. One of the things that has been fun is bringing different people from the different schools here on the base. Three of us here are from the DTS (discipleship training school), two of the girls are from the School of Dance here, and six of us are from the SBS (school of biblical studies... that I am in). 
Here I am, dancing... This is my friend Erica, she is from the school of dance and is a really awesome dancer. She has been one of the girls who comes quite regularly... so she is one of the girls who is a better dancer. She really loves coming and has been one of my best recruiters to get more people.
This is my good friend Jeridan from the SBS. He's one of my classmates, a wonderful young man... seriously a great man whom I absolutely love. Yeah, I can't say enough good things about this guy. This is Chrissy from the DTS, a sweet girl that I just recently got to know a bit better and she is sweet as can be. It's funny to be here at the base with 200+ people. They are all so wonderful but unfortunately you don't get the chance to get to know them as much as you would like in the busyness of everything. Jeridan is an absolute champion though, I truly enjoy his presence.
This is what the dance floor looks like from the side... it's kind of small and the room gets crowded rather quickly but Fridays and Saturday nights have presented themselves to be quite enjoyable now that I found this place. Perhaps by the end of the year I will be pretty darn good at it.
We have been playing a lot of ultimate frisbee lately and figured that a little snow wasn't going to stop us. Most of the time we try to play SBS versus DTS which makes for fun games. For the most part our SBS team is filled with wiser players who throw better so we usually win. The DTS kids are mostly like 18 or 19 years old though so what they lack in skill they make up for in hustle. Sometimes they play a bit too hard and take us out a lot so it takes a lot of patience but is fun nonetheless. I end up having to be the wise old boring guy who gets in their face and tells them they need to chill and not kill us, I guess after hurting my knee this summer playing ultimate I just can't stand to see people getting close to being injured.
The game this day happened as the snow started to come down... this was Wednesday right before most people were heading home for Thanksgiving. It was a blast... some people were wearing their snow gear and most people had gloves on because it was just frigid cold.
The best part about the day was that you could slide along the frozen ground... slipping everywhere.
All in all I am not sure how much longer this will go on. The DTS leaves on Monday for their outreach portion of the school so there will only be SBS and the other small schools here until Christmas. Ultimate might have to wait a while until this spring, hopefully we can keep ourselves busy with other winter sports. Snowltimate was fun though... we'll start getting more snow here soon.
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" [And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he replied, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."] And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
(Acts 8:35-40)
So imagine being Philip and you dunk a guy in water and then the next thing you know you are teleported 50 miles away to a different place... kinda weird... just a little bit.
As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation." And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour.
(Acts 16:16-18)
This one is pretty darn funny... Paul puts up with this girl and then... after a certain point... Paul just snaps and decides that he has heard enough of her. I guess we all have those kind of people in our lives.
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him." And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.
(Acts 20:7-12)
This is my personal favorite... Paul talks so long that a kid falls asleep, falls out a window and dies, Paul runs down and brings him back to life,... but Paul isn't done, and talks until daybreak. And I think some people are long-winded, apparently Paul didn't know when to quit talking.
Jeridan Dyck, from Montana but Canadian. This guy has the most amazing booming low voice you will ever hear... think James Earl Jones. He is also on my basketball team.
Mike Holden, from England, this guy is super cool and has the most amazing accent .
Amy Todd, from Montana, she is a special girl whom God is going to use in a very special way someday soon.
Anna Adkins, from Texas, she is super sweet and super smart, really I love her because she is always letting me borrow her white out.
