Required DTS Coursework

True story, folks ;)

An overflow of abundance

My dear friend, Christy, took this a few week
ago when we visited the Volcano National Park

There are so many things to be thankful for. Thankfulness is such an important part of my daily walk with Jesus. There is actually power in an attitude of thanksgiving. It becomes us as we lift our eyes out of the darkness of self-pity and onto the blessings God has sprinkled all over our lives. Ephesians 5:15 says

¹⁵ Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶ making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

We can make the most of every opportunity by enjoying every moment in life and relishing in all the little blessings God sends our way. This was a beautiful lesson I learned reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp. This morning I was so blessed to be able to walk to my parents house with my studly husband. The sky was slightly overcast so the small journey was delightfully cool. When we arrived we made blueberry and banana (handpicked from my parents tree) pancakes with scrambled eggs and bacon.  While breakfast was served we ate outside on the lanai and made plans for snorkeling adventures later in the day. What an absolutely abundant morning! But not everyday is like this, of course. Saturdays are such a welcome reprieve from the hectic weekdays, BUT EVEN SO I still can be thankful for a healthy body the Lord has given me to keep up with the vigorous schedule.

I can thank Him that at
7:30am-- I was able to help clean up our own classroom after the 1st 5 weeks were spend in the Ohana Court

8:00am--I basked in the transcendent glory of our Risen Lord in worship and communion for an hour

9:00-12:00pm- David Gava lead our class in our first preaching experiences on the parables Christ told concerning the Kingdom of God...so rich and everything I need for life. Righteousness, Peace, Joy, and the Holy Spirit; this is what makes up the Kingdom of God.

12:00pm--I partook of the delicious and healthy lunch our talented cafeteria crew put on

1:00-3:00pm--More glorious worship to the One who deserves it all and then interceded on behalf of Cambodia's salvation and revival.

3:00-5:00pm--I got to serve this amazing campus by cleaning some really dirty flagpoles and setting them up in preparation for the big Christmas Celebration in a few weeks

5:30pm-- I got MORE food for dinner. Most folks in the world barely get one meal a day!


6:00-8:30pm-- I was educated in a most entertaining manner involving skits, songs, and homemade movies on the 18 Foundational Values of YWAM < You should check this link out to see how YWAM rolls. I'm so blessed to be a part of this God honoring organization!

8:45-9:45-- Find myself in encouraging conversation with another couple living their life, which lead to some amazing revelations of how I can live my life in even more freedom that Christ gives me!

10:45--I kissed my sweet husband goodnight with a happy heart from a full week of full days

The last part of the passage in Eph. 5 from verse 18-20 says,
^18b Instead, be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This thankfulness gives us joy which gives us a light heart. Conversely, complaining gives us despair resulting in a heavy heart.

Which do you choose? Joy or Despair? You'll never regret thankfulness, I promise :)

Much love to you all!  

Heart Surgery

So how do I sum up 2 of the most heart changing and life altering weeks of my life? Words really won't do it justice, but I hope the life I continue to live will support everything God has been doing in Jonathan and my lives personally and together while we've been here.

The Bible verse that we had read at our wedding was from Colossians 3.

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We didn't know at the time, but since we've been here, God has been molding our lives to reflect exactly what is in this passage. I just realized that this week when our speaker, Eric Swanson-Dexel, had us open up to this passage together to discuss relationships within community. Then it hit me.

God revealed to us the first week how dearly loved we are as His children.

Since then, we can open our hearts to Him and freely to allow Him to mold us into people that are full of "compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."

Forgiveness is such a defining part of who we are in Christ. Jesus died so our sins could be forgiven. We are people marked by forgiveness SO THAT we too can forgive others. What incredible freedom we find when at last we can forgive and seek forgiveness. I've had to make some difficult phone calls in the past couple weeks, because I realized that either I needed to seek forgiveness, or I needed to give it. Jesus is so faithful, and I can joyfully tell you today, that those relationships have been RESTORED because of the forgiveness Jesus offers. Wow!

Love. Love I've been learning is absolutely NOT a feeling. We feel good, we feel bad, we feel jittery, excited, or anxious, BUT we DO LOVE. I can say with all honesty that I love the dirty, scruffy, bedraggled man sitting on the corner of the drugstore with a sign for $$, so I tell him how he too can find true freedom from the bondage to drugs and alcohol BECAUSE of the LOVE Jesus gives. I have begun to ask the Holy Spirit to give me His heart about all these kinds of people so I can GET OVER MYSELF and learn to love those who need it the most.

It is the enemy's WORST NIGHTMARE for me to truly realize the person God designed me to be. As soon as I claim the purpose for which I was made, I step into my Father's amazing realm of light and love and immediately am propelled to share it with others BECAUSE of the JOY that I experience. I am a daughter of the King, and can have all power and authority in Jesus name, because of the blood that was shed and His resurrection power now flows through me. This is God's desire for you as well.

All this gives me such a beautiful peace. Peace in spite of the uncertainty of the times. Peace in spite of no paid job. Peace in spite of no for sure plans after our DTS. Peace that passes all understanding. I am nothing without the guiding hand of my Father and I would have absolutely nothing, and even my best attempts to become something and have everything would be meaningless without the knowledge of His guidance in my life. I have given it all away, because I can not keep it; in the process gaining everything that I cannot lose.

Lastly, my personal relationship with Jesus has become so rich and colorful. He whispers in my ear the meaning of what I'm reading in His word. He shows me which way I should go. He gives me the strength for the next temptation I'm going to face. I know that my hand is firmly held by his warm strong hand anytime I begin to stumble. He nudges me forward when I'm supposed to bold. He gives me confidence when I'm to let others take the lead. My walk with Jesus has transformed the way I look at every situation in my life. I know that I can sing a made up song of love and gratitude to Him and that He laughs full of delight when he hears me. I can utter I love you in a crowd and He catches those words up like candy rain. He brings new friends into my life to encourage me and build me up. He sends a good friend across my path when my eyes are brimming with tears and I really need a hug. Jesus loves me just like that. None of my life goes unnoticed, nor does yours. He is just waiting for you to grab His beautiful strong hand and ask for His help.

Happy Birthday, Jonathan!

Last Saturday, we threw a little party for Jonathan's 29th birthday. My parents rented out the pool area at their condo/complex so we could have some fun and food. And we did indeed.

Yes, that's Jo-nathan. Thank you strawberry for saving the day.

Just a portion of some of the awesome people we've been getting to know.  :)

I love each one of these people SOOO MUCH! Ahh!

So I admit our short-comings with group photos now...lol

Us, on His actually birth-day ;)

It's crazy how life changes. What's so amazing is how the more we fall in love with Jesus, the more we fall in love with each other. I am so in awe of the man Jonathan is becoming because of the love of Jesus becoming more and more obvious in His life. I have been so astounded by the confidence and boldness He has instilled in Jonathan just since we've started school. I am SO PROUD to be his wife. My prayer is that everyday, Jesus will help me become better and better at being his help-mate, and be his biggest encourager and cheerleader. Here's to the next 70 years of life together ;)

Face-melting, mind-blowing goodness

Amy Sollers teaching on the Holy Spirit.

Kevin Norris teaching on Praise and Worship

The amazingly anointed Jonathan David Helser Band
Check out their website and music: http://jonathanhelser.com/jonathanhelser/Home.html

 Is it alright if I am super real and transparent with you all today? I really appreciate openness, so I’m just going to dive right in J

Worship. I’ve NEVER appreciated worship until I arrived on this campus. Maybe it’s because no one explained it to me. Maybe it’s because I didn’t care. Maybe it’s because I didn’t know how much I needed to give it to God. But Whoa! Worship has changed my life FOREVER. Worship is an intimate experience with the Holy Spirit when I appropriately display my love and adoration to Him (and here’s the key part) REGARDLESS of what emotions I’m carrying into the time set apart for worship. I didn’t realize that God cared about what I was feeling when I walked into a session of singing and praise. I’ve learned this week this amazing fact. God WANTS me to tell Him how I feel, BUT THEN give Him glory for how He is bigger than my world and problems. Go to the Psalms. You will see David do this OVER AND OVER again. In Psalm 28, David is telling God about the men that were chasing after Him, pouring out the concerns of His heart, and ends with this:

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

 my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

and with my song I praise him.

I have found this week that when I come to God honestly, confessing my troubles and worries, that I can better identify how God can help me OVERCOME those issues.

 AND THIS WHOLE TIME I THOUGHT I WAS JUST SUPPOSED TO FEEL BETTER BECAUSE OF THE STUFF THE WORSHIP LEADER(S) WAS SAYING AND SINGING. SO FALSE!!

My worship experiences now have become a time when the Joy of the Lord LITERALLY becomes my strength. He fills me all the way up to overflowing…even on days when I’m so frustrated with the strenuous schedule of running up and down the hill trying to be on time only to find out the schedule has changed (again). WHOA! He gives me real joy that I can share with others!

 It seems every time I call my girlfriends back in Florida, I’m super pumped up and excited about what God is doing in my life, but I have to confess that sometimes I wonder why I’m here away from all my friends. Starting a new life somewhere strange is definitely a draining process. BUT. Jesus didn’t tell Jonathan and me to come here just to leave us here alone. He has been teaching us to call on HIM for HELP and the STRENGTH we need to continue on. He has been teaching us to live a life of FAITH. God is SO GOOD!!! The more we deliberately put ourselves in a position of utmost reliance on God’s provision and care the more we see Him do the miraculous.

My life will never be the same.

"Live-Lines"

We are now hitting some financial "live-lines" (better known as deadlines), so I want to give you all updates on where we are sitting financially.

In early August, Jonathan and I sent out 150 support letters to every friend we could think of with a stamped envelope included. I'm happy to say that we did receive about 20 of them back, resulting in just under $5,000. Praise God!! and THANK YOU for being faithful with what God has given you! We are in a very good place for this first $5,000 ($2500 x 2) deadline this Thursday.

Next month, the last $5,000 will be due. I encourage you to seek what the Holy Spirit is asking you to give. Even though I don't know how it's all going to come in, God has given me a peace that passes understanding. He brought us to this place, so He is going to bring us through it!

If you want to help us get past our last $5,000 goal please go to PayPal and use the email address datacatch@gmail.com , OR directly deposit money to University of the Nations. You just need to type in this information:

Name: Jennifer Freeman
DOB: Jan 3,1989
School: DTS- Community Transformations
Start Date: Sept. 2012
Under "Student" Select the Outreach Bubble and put in the amount you desire.


Words cannot express our thanks for your contributions!

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Luke 6:38

The Nitty Gritty

This past week has been very challenging. It's kinda where the rubber meets the road so to speak. This coming Thursday is our first big financial due date. All lecture fees are to be paid and each person is to have $2500 down for outreach fees.

Thursday, in class we discussed finances, and how to "do" them as a missionary. These are some very hard walls to break down in the mind of the average American Christian. I believe in hard work and earning my keep, but I'm also learning to take up my "cross" and follow Jesus. I've been tackling some pretty big giants recently. One giant I'm encountering is Worry. In Matthew 6:25-31 Jesus tells His followers to not worry about what to eat, what to drink, and what to wear. Instead He says in verses 32-34 "For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

How much faith do I really have? Do I really believe that God will provide this for me?  I then ask myself this, "Am I here trying to understand and see His kingdom?" YES! Next, "Am I pursuing His righteousness?" YES! So of course He will take care of my basic needs.

It gets better...
Jesus says in Mark 10:29 that if we leave family, possessions, or positions for the sake of Christ and the Gospel that "he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life."

Whoa, that's a promise. So here we are, at a school training how to be missionary for life, learning how to hear the voice of GOD, learning how to bring righteousness into our world by ending world hunger, stopping human trafficking, and bringing equality to the workplace, and learning how to be more like Jesus. What an amazing promise! God is going to bless each one of you that is striving towards His Kingdom and Righteous

This financial stiff has a tendency to really stress me out. I LOVE to have everything figured out and know how things are going to work, but that is not the life that the Holy Spirit has asked us to live. Instead, 

He asks us to obey Him and then watch as He gives us EXACTLY what we need for the step we have just taken.

Walking by faith requires us to act first and then see how God gives us the means to see the next part out. I am literally watching as God is giving me life "worksheets" with some seriously challenging problems on them for me to practice on until I get better at releasing my life into HIS hands. So far...it's been...challenging. Ha. BUT HE HAS BEEN SO FAITHFUL!!!

Keep praying for us! We feel each one of your prayers and we would also love to pray for you, so feel free to email me at jfreeman711@gmail.com.

Much love and Aloha!
~Jennifer