t minus thirty-six hours, ready or not togo here we come!!

I am down to my last few hours in Kona...36 to be exact! 36 hours left of the lecture phase of the most inspiring Discipleship Training School I have ever had the privilege of being a part of. I remember boarding a plane exactly 4 months ago today not knowing what to expect, not realising that the people I was about to meet would impact my life forever, being welcomed in to a family that I would chose to commit to and live life with, resulting in changing the course of my life, plans and ultimately the world forever!!!

As I have been reflecting on these past 11 1/2 weeks with various people I have been reminded time and again at the Lord’s sovereign hand through it all. Nothing can hold us back from the GREAT gifts He has for us.

We began this school with our students getting to know our staff with a week of hearing our testimonies and learning to hear the voice of the Lord, then jumping right in to a time of purifying our hearts and realigning ourselves to the Lord with a week of “Pure Heart”. After Tom & Donna shared with us we were blasted with a firm foundation in the word of God and a boosting of faith by the incredibly humble, gifted and wise Trent Sheppard, Dan Baumann & Christian Gonzalez.

The foundation these Godly men gave us enabled us to openly embrace the following three weeks of encouragement and empowering of Holy Spirit with Amy Sollars, Chad Dedmond and Bob Hartley! Bob never ceased to amaze us daily with his acuteness to hearing the voice of the Lord - often getting phone numbers of people in our class!!

After being empowered we were trained through a week of circuit riders, which pumped us up to hear Garth Gustafson, who was fresh in and fiery from Cambodia to remind us of our call to the nations and our desperate need to know the word! Last but not least we have the honour of finishing our lecture phase off with the Father of Awaken - Andrew York and our wise and adventurous friend and other Awaken leader Kat Hobin on the importance of kingdom family and community. This was just the message we needed to hear as we are launched out to the nations!! Can you see what I am talking about in terms of inspiring! All I could think of this morning was - GET ME TO THE NATIONS!!! This progression of greatness could have only been sovereignly put together by our great God!

As I look back Through Andrew’s teaching this week I am reminded of something he shared from

Acts 1.8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea andr Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Jesus is just about to ascend in to heaven and leave His disciples to fulfil the great commission that he has given to them when He turns to say these words to them. Jesus is wanting them to know that there is a kingdom of POWER that is available to them. 1 Corinthians 2.4-5 speaks of how Paul’s weak message was not made strong through His words but through a demonstration of the Spirit.

Through all that I have learned through this school what sticks with me the most is a simple truth! It is not me, my words, my power or my strength - as much as I would LOVE to think that it were - that changes people’s lives but it is the POWER OF GOD at work in me!! I need to realise that I have full access to the Father as a daughter! A daughter of the Almighty God - again the ALMIGHTY GOD NOT the God who is sort-of-mighty BUT the ALL-MIGHTY God!! Think about this for a minute, allow it to sink in...we serve the ALMIGHTY GOD, nothing is out of his power or control!

Through this knowledge and understanding the Kingdom of POWER is readily available to me (us). I just need to reach out and take hold of it! Take a risk, take a risk daily! I was again challenged by Andrew’s words when he asked us if we really knew what we were asking when we prayed the Lord’s Prayer to have God’s Kingdom come?! Heaven is bursting at the seams to be released on earth!! How can we be a part of seeing Heaven released on earth?? How can I in West ArFica be a part of seeing heaven released there??!

I have the opportunity to step on a plane in 36 very short hours to voyage across the globe to Togo & Nigeria, West Africa! This will be my first time to this remarkable continent. A place that is close to my heart some might say it is even in my blood...line :) As I pray for heaven to be released on earth and take a step of faith (and risk) in going to the nations I go expecting God to show his power! To show His power in ways I can’t even dream of! But dream I do!!

I can hardly wait to see all that the Lord has in store and stored up for my team and me.

I invite you to Join me - dream with me, Pray with me, expect with me for the GREAT, marvellous and impossible things the Lord is bursting at the seams to do in these beautiful places. I hope you will join in my journey as I take a leap of risk that will without fail change my life and these nations forever!