Four Months in Manoa

Greetings from YWAM Honolulu deep in the heart of Manoa Valley, Oahu, Hawai'i!

I'm settling in and making this place home, and figured I had better write you all! I have two roommates, Jonna (Pronounced Yoh-nuh) from Finland, and Krista from Tennessee. These two girls are going to be staffing the SBS with me. The other staff for our school is made up of 4 married couples/families.

The DTS from YWAM Honolulu is preparing to leave for outreach this Thursday. They are headed out in four teams to China, Thailand, Cambodia, and India to preach the Gospel and serve in practical ways, from teaching English in China to ministering among prostitutes in India. They have been very welcoming and friendly despite our limited time with them.

And then there is our SBS, which starts ONE WEEK FROM TODAY. Oh man. I think that just registered in my mind. We have around 20 students coming. We had a few accepted students who weren't able to get their visas to the USA... but we trust that God has plans for them even in this unexpected (in our eyes at least) turn of events!

So as we look forward to the arrival of our students from around the world, we are busy preparing our classroom and dorms for them. And busy preparing to teach as well. Our school leader, Plamena really champions us. She wants us to teach as much as possible, to give input in decisions for the school, and to grow in our teaching and leadership gifts. It is really a blessing to have leadership that is so dedicated to serving and developing the staff working with them. We even have two full-time pastoral staff who will not have grading or teaching responsibilities, but will be there to care for the hearts of us staff and students. Such a blessing!

A few things to pray for:

• Our students who still need visas - for favor with their interviewers and the US government
• Our students who still need finances - that God would provide and give them creative ideas how to raise the needed funds
• Relationships among our staff team to be strong and healthy - we are still getting to know one another and most have never worked with one another before this school
• Pray for this SBS to be a school marked by joy and a passion to learn - both our staff and students

Akua ho'omaika'i oe

Jillian