Life on the base so far...

Life is busy here on the base. At 5:50 in the morning I wake up with the others in my dorm room. We hurry a couple blocks away from the base where we all meet for morning prayer and breakout into groups for different excercises. We have the option of volleyball, walking, or running. I've been running the past two weeks. Yes, to those who are familiar with me I know that sounds funny but running is challenging to me and I work on bettering my time every day. We run east of the base down a bike path to the Swan river. It's a gorgeous view from the bike path, with the sun rising in the distance and I usually stop in the middle of my run to enjoy the view and to also work on my abs and triceps. I walk back just in time to have my breakfast, my quiet time and then to begin morning work duties.

Class begins normally at 8:30. We begin with worship and sometimes prayer for one another and then continue with our session until noon. After lunch at 1:30 I'm needed in the back where I re-stock the large pantry and coolroom for the whole base. Yesterday, I made a pickup of groceries with Rob, a former pastor who now works at YWAM. We go to Cash and Carry the Australian equivalent of a Costco and with five large trollies of goods, millk, frozen foods, pantry items, and massive ammounts of toilet paper, we checkout and take them one by one to van. It's hard for me to belive that the huge spread of items is only for one week. We will come back next week and pickup the same amount. It's just me and him. He's an older man in his early sixties. We talk about his past, what he did when he was a pastor, where he came from, and how he became a Christian. He becomes my tour guide on the way to the Cash and Carry and tells me everything I could want to know about Perth. By the time we're done re-stocking everything back at the base it's close to 5:00. We take a break drinking ice coffee before we finish up and I take a seat for dinner.

The night's activities vary depending on the day: Monday night we have class, Tuesday night is small group, Wednesday night is free, Thursday night is evangelism, and Friday night is the service we have at the base which runs until about 9:00pm. I'm reminded as I write I once heard the rumor that one church support their college students to go to YWAM because it was too much like a vacation. Nothing could be farther from the truth here at the base in Perth.

Being so busy has been difficult for me. Normally I like having time to my self but in this environment it has become hard for finding personal time. I have been a little frustrated because of this until recently I had a conversation with one of the staff here. We had taken tonight to have dinner at the home of a staff family. YWAM is not only made up of young people but there are actually many families here who are here on staff.

This evening I had dinner with Danny and Laurie Taylor. Although YWAM's mission is focused on youth, many of the staff have their own families. Danny is a tall bald headed man who looks like he could be a football player. Laurie is a short burnette who is pregnant. They have an 18-month year old. Sam, who is bulky like his father, has a fascination with wheels and loves his little wagons and cars.

As we relaxed in their tiny living room, I told Laurie about the problems I had been experiencing having very little time to myself. She explained to me that she had felt the same way when she did her DTS but she learned something through that experience: There is a flow of the Spirit that comes into our lives when we sacrifice things like personal time. It caused her to rely on God for her strength rather than taking personal time to be alone. Her comment surprised me and I meditated over it that night. DTS is about making room for God in the sacrifices we make. We all came here giving up the comforts of home and many times the comforts of a marginal Christian life. The sacrifices we make, although uncomfortable at times, are necessary for us to really get the most out this experience here and I feel at peace with this.