This week, we had Alberto from a local church, The Gathering LA, speak to us about leadership. It was really good to hear a teaching on this topic from someone outside of YWAM. I love that YWAM LA brings in others from outside our community, as it allows our community to grow beyond our "gates".
Alberto also had us break into groups to work on a project. Each team had a leader, who has a future ministry or business they plan to start in the future, and two others to help present it. I was with my friend Jack, and we worked with our friend Hannah and her vision to start a gluten-free bakery here in LA that employs women who are coming out of human trafficking, giving them the ability to learn life skills and be mentored in a loving, safe community. Alberto wanted us to write a mission statement, vision statement, and values for the business, as well as figuring out practical details on how it would raise support and recruit volunteers/employees. It was amazing to be able to listen to my friend and hear her heart behind a dream I have heard her talk about for a while now. We helped her put her ideas onto paper and helped her communicate her thoughts to be presented. I'm excited to see this dream become a reality in the near future. It was humbling to be apart of someone else's dream and how I could honor Hannah by helping her accomplish (however small my part was) her goal. We then presented it to the class, and heard from 8 others who have ministries and businesses they want to start to glorify the Kingdom.
On Fridays, we normally do local outreach. This week, we went to Venice Beach to do evangelism. Our goal is to be a light to those who don't know Jesus. I love how evangelism doesn't mean to shove Jesus or the gospel onto others, but to show him, even if we don't mention his name. It means building relationships with those around us. I love that this can be done in so many ways and that there's no formula on how to do this "correctly". I was with two of my friends, Taylor (Canada) and Molly (Denmark), who had never been to Venice, so we used that to our advantage. We explored the boardwalk, talking to whoever would respond back to us and ended having a few great conversations with people. One guy seemed really hunger to learn more about his purpose in life, but wasn't sure if believed in God. We encouraged him to ask his questions to God and wait for a response. He said he loved to journal, so Molly bought him a journal and encouraged him to use it. This was the best Venice experience I've ever had (I went a lot last summer with Mission Adventures, the high school program I staffed here at YWAM LA) and it wasn't because a bunch of people got saved, or I was able to be great. All that happened, was I had a chance to speak into someone and be honest about what I believe in. I didn't try to make anyone believe in what I believe in and I don't know what will become of this guy in the future. I am so thankful for times like this. It's all about being bold and listening to the Holy Spirit and anything can happen!
I can't believe we are finished week 9 already!
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