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Keep updated with this blog about all the goings on in Panama:

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Next steps forward...

Can't actually believe how fast time has flown, I am in my last week here in Belize before heading to Panama on Saturday for outreach. The last couple of weeks have been truly awesome, we've had teachings on the holy spirit, God's pinky promises, comparative religions, a wrap up week and now we are in outreach prep week. Looking back over this lecture phase in Belize there has been a lot of tears and laughter but it has been an incredible journey of truly getting to know God and I wouldn't change a second of it for the world. Lecture times have been full of amazing speakers and God has challenged me every step of the way but looking back now I've never felt so free to just be me and walk in the knowledge and value that I am truly a child of God. I am so thankful for all the amazing people God has surrounded me with during this time especially Ally, our amazing school leader and Alyssa, my one on one and shoulder to laugh and cry on... I don't know how I could have got through this without them! Now we are shifting gears and looking on to the next stage... Panama. I am super stoked for outreach and we just found out we are getting there by bus over 5 days which means we will hit every central American country except El Salvador. We still don't know all that much about what we will be doing out there but we do know we have a dugout canoe with a motor for getting between the islands and reaching the remote villages. We are hoping to write a blog as an outreach team for YWAM dp's website so when I know the link I will post it and so hopefully I will be able to keep updating about what we are up to. But for now any prayers for this next part of the adventure would be so awesome :) I am fully expecting God to do some amazing things!

10 miles is a loooong way to run

The dts team plus leaders and anyone else who wanted to run

We did it!! So proud of my team, all of us made it (somehow) and crossed that finish line! Amazingly it was cloudy and drizzly this morning, which was such a God send, because it is so much easier to run when the temperature isn't at a billion degrees. We started at 6am to make sure it was cool enough, which meant getting up at 5 to make sure we ate in time.

Attaching (homemade) numbers

Looking all official

Not everyone was awake at that time!

I managed to run the whole way, I was determined not to walk at all and somehow managed it! I think it helped that Vange acted as my personal trainer and helped me pace myself and kept me going. She would keep running so I had to keep running! We crossed the finish line in 1 hr 23 mins :)

Thank you so much for all the funding and support, it has been incredible :) We are so much closer to reaching our goal for outreach, but we still have a bit more we need to raise so if anyone else would like to support us the link is: http://www.gofundme.com/footstepsforfreedom
I loved doing this for the team but I don't think I'll be running 10 miles again for a little while!!

Halfway house

I can't believe we're in week 7, over halfway through the lecture phase already! Time is flying and going very slowly at the same time, is that even possible?? We had another team join us for spiritual warfare week from a base in the jungle on mainland Belize and it was awesome to be able to bond with them and hear their stories. It's crazy just how close you can get to people in a week, I felt like I was saying goodbye to my brothers and sisters when they left :( The week after that we had teaching on relationships, from the assistant director of the Denver YWAM base. It was awesome to be able to hear his testimony of how his relationship with God and his wife have helped him come through a crazy number of struggles in his life.

On another note my outreach team is expanding. We now have 5 of us on the team (up from 3) and it has been exciting to see how God has built up that team. But I can't wait to learn more about what we will be doing as right now we have the location and that is pretty much it... it is definitely a test of trust and patience (especially patience on my part). Our outreach leader should be arriving back to base soon (he was on outreach elsewhere) so it will be nice to be able to meet the final member of our team :)

This week has been rest week, which I am so glad to have. Dts is such an emotional experience, I think someone compared it to heart surgery, which I would say is pretty apt!!! So it has been so nice to be able to hang out and develop friendships further and just generally be in fellowship with each other. Our volleyball skills in particular have got a significantly better!

Footsteps for Freedom!

So I am taking part in a 10 MILE (16km) sponsored run... ahhhhh it is going to be crazy especially since we are running along the beach and in about a billion degreess. But I am really excited about this because our whole DTS team are doing it together so we can raise money for outreach (the teams are going to Panama, Central Asia and The Democratic Republic of Congo). Recently we've been talking a lot about fellowship and I am so proud of all our team for coming on board particularly since most of us are NOT runners, but we need support!! If you feel like you would want to support/ sponsor us in this run the link http://www.gofundme.com/footstepsforfreedom
The run is taking place on the 17th May but our outreach funds are due on 9th May so we are on a deadline and still have a big amount to raise! Although we trust that God can provide I think commitment is a huge part and by doing this we are certainly committed (to sweating if nothing else). The run will start from our base here on Ambergris Caye in Belize and we will run along the beach into the town of San Pedro and touch the statue in the centre of the towns main roundabout and then come all the way back. We would be grateful if you feel it is on your heart to support us in any way you can, we need money but also prayers and encouragement because lets be honest this is going to be TOUGH for all of us. But as they say no pain, no gain and on the bright side, even if we raise nothing from this we will have got fitter for our outreaches, got mentally tougher and burned off a shed load of calories!

Our route eeeeeek

Freedom is a state of mind

Last week we had freedom week and it has been the best week so far here at ywam dp :) One of the biggest things I learnt was that we have all been given freedom through Jesus' death on the cross but being truly free is choosing to walk in that freedom. It's an active choice, it's a state of mind. For so long I found my identity in the things I experienced, I let my past define me and I contained myself within the limits I thought I had. But God calls us to define ourselves in his love, to find our value in the fact that we are his children and to believe that we are truly limitless. Last week felt like a week of counseling for me, only it was the best form of counseling anyone could ever have. I finally faced up to the hurt and rejection in my childhood and I chose to let it go. For the first time I fully experienced God's love in a tangible way and it was AWESOME. They say that dts is a school of the heart and last week completely changed mine, for I stepped out of bondage and into God's arms, into my freedom.

He put the stars in the sky

Throughout my time here God has been revealing himself in amazing ways and last week was just another one of those times. For our 'casita night' we decided to watch a film on the dock and camp out under the stars. Little did we know that God had an awesome show planned for us as it was a meteor shower that night. I must have seen up to 20 shooting stars and meteors that night and on top of that a family of eagle rays came and swam around the dock. They are without a doubt some of my favorite creatures in the sea, so majestic. God had his full glory on show that night that's for sure!

Eagle ray!!

One of the best movie theaters I've ever been to 

Slightly apprehensive about crabs so made sure the sleeping bags were done up tight

The after an interesting nights sleep (with our minds full of the possibility of waking up to crabs and raccoons) we were treated with the most amazing crimson sunrise over the Caribbean Sea. It's a hard life here in Belize!