Ready!!

Just about two weeks until I leave for Japan with the eight other people on my team. I am so excited, but there is still a lot I need to get ready. I still do not have all the warm clothes I need and other essentials. It will all work out I'm sure, its just that it is causing me to be much more busy than usual.
Last weekend I hitchhiked to Hilo which is on the other side of the island, it took us about three hours to get there, but it was a blast. We brought our hammocks and slept in a banyan tree, which is a huge tree that looks like it could be just a bunch of trees clumped together, but it is all just one tree. They are incredible. Sleeping in the tree was not such a blast because it rains so much in Hilo, so we were wet and cold. I did not bring a sleeping bag because the one I have was much too large to bring, so I brought a thin towel. I was freezing. But the next day we had breakfast at a sketchy diner and then walked around downtown
Hilo. It was nice to be away from the YWAM campus and be in the 'real' world again. But Hilo is a really sad place, it looks like a tsunami hit it and nobody tried to fix it up. The buildings are really old and covered in moss and grenery. Most of the people are homeless hippies, infact one of the guys who was traveling with us talked to this Korean man who did not have a home and then bought him lunch. I felt so helpless because I knew that most of the people in that Hilo were in the same situation as this Korean man. And we couldn't buy everyone in Hilo lunch. We took the bus all the way back to Kona, it only costs a buck! We got back in Kona on Saturday night. It was a wonderful trip, but I don't think I ever want to go back to Hilo. The rest of Hawaii was absolutely beautiful, lots of rolling green meadows, waterfalls, and mountains. :)
This week our lectures will be with the other YWAM DTSers in our main 'Ohana Court.' One of our speakers will be Andy Byrd, a young, really energetic speaker. I cannot remember who the second will be.
Well I have to go to lecture now. Please email me if you have any questions :)
Naturally,
Demetria

Roots and Fruits of Pride

Hello! I am so sorry that I have not posted in a while, I am always crunching on time here, there are always things to be doing! But God is good!
Last week our speaker was Matt Rawlins, he was amazing, he spoke on the Fear of God. This totally rocked my world because I thought to fear God meant exactly that, to be afraid of Him. But Matt turned my whole perspective and gave me the biblical view. To fear God is to revere Him, that means to be in awe of His majesty and power, to be aware of His greatness! Matt also gave us the truth that he lives by, "God is big enough and God is good enough." The way he explains this is, everything is made up of nature (the 'stuff' we are made up of) and our character (how we react to the world around us). God's nature is His greatness, He is omnipotent,and omniscient (sorry for my bad spelling). Think about the universe and the millions of galaxies in it! He created all of that! It shows how great and large He really is. That just what God is. (Our God is big enough.) But God's character is who He is. He is holy, good, gentle, kind, just and loving. (Our God is good enough.)
So if our God is always big enough and always good enough, what have we to fear? I am so excited about this! What an amazing God we serve!

This week our speaker is Faith Dutton from Austrailia. I love listening to her speak with her accent, its such a blessing. She is speaking on relationships. But not just with the opposite sex. She is speaking about our relationship with God, friends, and family also. Because God is a God of relationships. He wants us to have a great relationship with Him and with the people around us. How cool! I can't get over it!
She started out talking about looking for your soulmate. She used this quote which I will never forget, "Stop looking for, 'the one,' and instead be, 'the one.'" Do you want a spouse who has integrity? Start working on how honest you are. Do want a spouse that is selfless? Start putting others before yourself! I love this. It has really put a fire in my heart for righteousness in everything I do.
Faith also brought up the point that most of our sin is stemmed from pride. I struggle with some of this because I believe most of our sin stems from insecurity, but I am open to whatever is really true. Here are some of the things she brought up that shows if you have pride in your heart:
"The Roots & Fruits of Pride,"
by Floyd McClung
1-"I am better than you" attitude
2-Insecurity or low self-esteem (she says this is a root of pride and not vice versa because when you think you are not pretty enough or good enough according to the world's standards you are looking God in the face and telling Him that He messed up on you (the God who has never made a mistake. ever.), His creation.)
3- Ungratefulness
4- A judgemental spirit
5-Envy (rejoice for others instead of being jealous of what they have)
6-Self-Pity (the answer to self introspection and pity is humility)
7-Fear of Man
8- Touching God's glory (taking credit for all things good, instead of giving glory to God "from whom all good things come")
9- A reserved attitude toward others (lack of vulnerability)
10- Unteachable Spirit
11- Sarcastic Humor (Sarcasm is an evil but subtle tool of destruction, especially in the western world. In the guise of laughter, it tears down.)
12-An Independent Spirit (Pride promotes rebellion against authority. Humility gives us the freedom to support someone we don't agree with)
13- Impatience with others
14- Unforgiving attitude
15-Organizational comparisons (Pride says, Our group is better than their's)
16- Island Mentality (Pride says that it doesn't need anyone or anything else. Humility longs for others in an attitude of servant-hood)
17- A Spirit of Comparison (Comparison has only one goal-to see who's best)
18- Encourages Disloyalty (gossip.)

This has really helped me point out and acknowledge the pride in me, so that I can pursue a more humble spirit. Faith was a wonderful speaker and I am so grateful that she spoke this week.

Faith left on thursday, so on friday we had a speaker who was speaking for only one day on Cross- Cultural Communications. It was a overview on how to view other cultures and be respectful. And to also really be like a child in new cultures, trying to learn the culture to the best of your ability and not to be afraid of looking like a fool. I love studying new cultures so this was super exciting for me.
In my attempt to ready myself for Japan, I have been downloading Japanese music and watching some anime and learning some key phrases in Japanese. I love it. So much. I am super excited to go to Japan but I am also going to miss all my YWAM friends who are going to other places for those three months. It is a challenge to get really close to people in three months time and then have to seperate. But now I have good friends from all over the world! What an exciting experience!

This weeks speaker is speaking on destiny, I wonder how this will be...
Naturally,
Demetria