Nat's November News

Hey Everyone,

Well, well, where does time go? It’s December already and there seems to be countdowns to Christmas everywhere.
I’ve been keeping busy since my last newsletter, but at the same time I haven’t done a whole lot.

Wedding!
The main thing I’ve done was that I went home for 2 weeks for one of my best friend’s wedding. It was my first time being a bridesmaid, and to really be involved in planning a wedding. I never realised there was so much involved, and so much potential for things to go wrong. It definitely makes eloping look attractive whenever that day comes. But in the end everything came together. We survived the hours of hair and make-up, and the rain held off for the outdoor ceremony. It was a very lovely day, and we had fun!

At the base
While I was away there were a few things that happened at the base.
One of these was a fundraising dinner we held for YWAMSA. From what I have heard the night went really well and we raised about $3000 for the base building fund which will go towards surfacing our driveway (it’s an awesome dirt road that becomes an adventure to drive after rain), and to various other building projects we are hoping to do around the base.

Also we sent a team down to Schoolies at Victor Harbor. Every year a team goes down from YWAM, and we pick up rubbish and man road blocks. Apparently these are the jobs no-one else wants. I’m not sure why, who wouldn’t want to wander around from 8pm-3am picking up rubbish, or sit at a road block in the freezing cold (and sometimes rain) for hours, move traffic cones for buses and explain to person after person that they can’t drive into the festival. But we have an awesome time. Sure, you don’t get much sleep, and you get dirty and cold, but you get to hang out with Schoolies as they are celebrating finishing school, some more sober than others, and just chat to them, and at the same time we get to serve them and ensure they have a fun, safe time! We get to show them God’s love without saying a word. It doesn’t get much better than that! And overall the Schoolies appreciate what we do.

Other stuff
In the small amount of time I’ve had at the base this month I’ve continued to work in the office with student applications, and doing some more work towards starting up our communications/ promotions department.

This will probably be my last newsletter for the year, as I am flying home for Christmas in 2 weeks, then right after Christmas we head up to Byron Bay for an outreach over New Years.

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope I get a chance to catch up with you over Christmas, but if not, I pray that you have fun and safe holidays.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support this year. It means so much to me to know that I have people behind me as I am following God’s call.

Love,
Nat

Praise Points:
-An amazing year
-That money was raised for the base at the fundraising dinner
-The chance to visit family and friends
-Holidays

Prayer Points:
-Protection while travelling
-Financial provision

Nat's News October

Hey Everyone,

How time flies. It seems like I just sent out my last newsletter, and I’m already late for my October one. Well, I’ll get right into what I’ve been doing:

SAYCO

On the first weekend in October, 11 of us from YWAM went to the South Australian Youth Camp Out (or SAYCO). It is a camp run by the Uniting Church for teenagers. We went along as chaplains, which meant that we were available to talk about any spiritual questions the teens might have. Mostly we just helped with practical things, like setting things up, and driving around in golf carts in the freezing cold in the middle of the night as security (actually lots of fun), and we got to hang out with the kids. We also got to pray with the teens and leaders at different times, and one of the guys on the team got to pray with one of the teens to become a Christian, which was awesome.

VMTC

Last week at the base we had a prayer ministry school called VMTC (Victorious Ministries Through Christ). It was a really good week. A bit of an emotional roller coaster as we talked about different things in our lives that we struggle with, or have been involved in, and had prayer over them.

God really challenged me in a few areas. One of these was the area of how I view myself. This has something that I have struggled with for a while, God has been showing me that how he sees me is so different to how I see myself. I know that this is something that is not going to happen overnight, but I know that God is calling me to accept what He says about me. To accept that I don’t need to strive to live up to His expectations, that He has amazing plans for me that I have no idea of, that He has given me extraordinary gifts and talents. And I know that if he is calling me to believe this, He will walk with me every step as I learn to accept it. It is all stuff that I ‘know,’ but I don’t really accept in my heart, and it isn’t reflected in the way I live.

Another thing that Go

d has been challenging me on, is being open with people, and being vulnerable with areas that I am struggling with. That’s part of why I want to share this with you. Also so that you can pray for me and keep me accountable, let me know if you see me slipping back into my old habits.

NLM

I seem to have more acronyms than usual in this newsletter. NLM is the National Leaders Meeting. It is a conference run twice a year in YWAM Australia. It is mainly aimed at people in leadership, however it is open to anyone who is interested in learning about leadership.

This week I’ve had the privilege of not only beingable to attend the NLM in Melbourne, but I was also part of the planning team. This meant I got to hang out with the national YWAM leaders, and help plan some of the night sessions. The theme of the conference was ‘The Kingdom,’ meaning God’s kingdom, but we decided to use the theme in the events we were planning. So we had a ‘Kingdom Quest’ (fun night) and a ‘Kingdom Banquet’ where we honoured some people who have been involved in YWAM, in various roles for many years (they had been in YWAM for over 100 years between 5 of them). The fun night was completely crazy. We had jousting, and people building castles using their team members, and all sorts of random things. To end the night we cream-pied the team leaders or ‘kings’ who were some of the national leaders.

The week as a whole was a lot of fun despite long days (first meeting of the day at 7.15), and coming off a really busy few weeks, I learnt quite a bit, both from the teaching sessions, and from being involved with the planning team.

It was also great to get to meet people from different YWAM bases around Australia, as well as catch up with some people like JJ, Amy, Sarah, and Kris who used to be with us in Adelaide.

While we were at NLM they had a commissioning time to pray for people who are taking on new positions of leadership. I was commissioned as the ‘Promotions and Communications Department Leader’ of YWAM Adelaide. This doesn’t actually change much in what I do. I just now have a title to go with the work I am doing in promotions and communications.

I could actually write more this month about different things that I’ve been doing, what I’m up to for the next little while, and include some more photos, but I’m out of room. If you want to find out more, you can always email me, or stay tuned for more updates, which I will hopefully write.

Love,

Nat

Nat's News- August & September

Nat’s News

August & September 2008

Hey Everyone,

PCYM (Principles in Child and Youth Ministry School)
Last time I wrote, we were just about to leave Nowra and head up to Brisbane. In Brisbane we met up with Tracey & Sarah who had been in India, and the team was back together again. We then ran a NIKO, an outdoor survival/ leadership training camp. It was so much fun! We then spent two very long days driving back from Brisbane to Adelaide.

After we got back we spent a few days wrapping things up and finishing the mountains of paperwork that needed to be done. Then on August 22nd we graduated. Most of my family came over for graduation. It was great to have them visit!

I learnt so much on PCYM. Not just about working with kids and youth, though I did learn heaps about that. But the main thing God spoke to me about was me. He helped me to realise the gifts that he has given me. That he has given me administrative and organisational gifts, and even though these aren’t what are usual considered ‘spiritual’ gifts, He has a plan to use them for Him. And it’s really been a time for me to grow in my confidence in myself and my trust in God. Looking back to the start of the school, and the attitude I had then that I was only doing PCYM because God told me to, I’m so glad that He won (and along the way He dealt with my attitude). And I’m so thankful for the amazing people that he brought along to be part of the school. For Sarah, Tracey, Liz, Guanah, Leah, Seph, and Ray & Shiree. They were an awesome group who made it easier for me to be open and gave me a safe place to share where I was struggling. (Thanks so much guys!)

What’s New
Now that I’m back at the base, I am continuing with my work with student enquiries and applications. This is a bit quiet at the moment as we cancelled the September DTS due to lack of numbers, but also so we can spend some time as a base to focus on building relationship with each other, and learning some new skills (It also has the benefit of getting things done that wouldn’t usually get done J). So now every morning we meet up as a base and then divide up into ‘work teams.’ These include Maintenance, Patch up, Admin, Kitchen/Hospo, Fundraising, Communications, and DTS. I am involved in the Admin team 2 mornings a week, the maintenance team 1 morning a week, and the other 2 mornings I am co-ordinating the Communications team. In the Communications team we are looking at how we communicate YWAM to other people, and also how we communicate to ourselves. So we’re doing new promotional materials, and looking at different ways to make communication better. I’m enjoying it so far, but it is challenging leading a team. Then in the afternoon I work in the office doing more admin stuff.

I am also continuing with the CML (Christian Mission Leadership School), and with my job at Burnside Christian Church.

Coming Up...

The next 2 months are looking extremely busy! Next weekend (October 4-6) I, with a bunch of others, will be going to South Australian Youth Campout (or SAYCO) to be chaplains. It’s similar to what I did with the PCYM earlier in the year, but these kids are just a bit older. We basically just get to hang out with the kids, and be there if they need any help.

The last week of October, the base is running a prayer ministry school to teach us some skills to hopefully be able to help people that we work with.

The first week of November, most of the base is heading over to Melbourne for the YWAM National Leaders Meeting (or NLM). Apparently it will be a good time of teaching and getting to know people from other bases. I’m heading over a few days early to spend some time with Amy & Sarah who used to be in YWAM here!

And, probably the most exciting thing that is coming up, on the 22nd of November, Dana, one of my best friends is getting married, and I get to be a bridesmaid!! I’ll be at home for almost two weeks, so I’ll get a chance to spend time with my family and catch up with people too, which will be awesome.

As for long term plans... well I know I’ve been rather vague about it for quite a while now, but I still don’t have a clear answer for it. I know that I’m going to continue with my role in the office, but I have a sense that God is saying ‘something new.’ I’m just not sure exactly what that means. I am praying about a few possibilities. Hopefully I’ll have a better idea soon.

That’s all for now. Stay in touch!

Love,
Nat

Praise Points:
-Everything that I learnt on PCYM
-All the things coming up that I get to be involved in
-All my awesome friends
-Everyone that has been praying for me.

Prayer Points:
-Wisdom in co-ordinating the Communications Team
-Clear direction for next year
-Calm despite the busyness!

Photos

For photos of what I'm up to, check them out here:
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/nat.broome

Nat

A new blog

Well, I now have a blog.

Just one more way that I can try and keep in touch with people.

Nat