Spring is Coming!

This is an exciting new season that we are moving into at YWAM Oxford. We just finished week one of the Backpacker's Discipleship Training School (BDTS) and the new batch of students are pumped and ready to go. It's a real blessing to see their hearts so eager for God. The fruit of our last month of prayer, intercession and worship is evident.
During our first evening of worship one of the songs that we sang had this line as the chorus:

Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

God spoke to me very powerfully through that and confirmed His call for me to be here right now. Those four simple lines describe the reason that I am here so perfectly. When I initially felt God calling me to staff this DTS the term "chain breaker" kept on popping up again and again in my mind. This is my prayer.
Isaiah 61 is one of the passages that God has given me for this time. Both for myself and for this DTS:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
You shall be called the priests of the LORD; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast. Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy.
"For I the LORD love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed."
I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

It is such an honour to be a part of what God is doing on the Earth. This has been a busy, busy week. Here's a few of the things that I have been up to. Last weekend was spent driving to and from the airport and welcoming new students onto the base. Our welcome barbecue was on Sunday night. Each of us staff has a few areas of responsibility. Some of mine are organizing base and community work duties (and hopefully inspiring a good work ethic), being the house monitor for the guy's residence (the ghetto), and helping to plan the weekend activities. We haven't started our full schedule yet but next week I will also be co-leading a bible study group, leading a Friday night outreach in Christchurch (which I still need to plan, oops) and leading a small group of three guys (hopefully getting some one on one time with each of them as well). There are a lot of logistical things to get done but the first priority is always to be discipling the students. The school could be really efficient and well run but it would be worthless if lives were not eternally impacted for the Kingdom.
Thank you to all of you for partnering with me in prayer. As I told the students in my testimony on Friday, I would not be here if it were not for those who have dedicated themselves to praying for me.