Hey all! Sorry I took so long to get on and let you all know I am here! Its been a little crazy around here, as I'm sure you can guess. I arrived Thursday evening, but didn't make it to our campus or bed until late due to registration and everything. And yes I said our campus, the Ships DTS (and related courses) have our own campus... and its almost right on the ocean! Its positively marvelous! Friday, we had an orientation at the big university campus, and had lunch up there before a free afternoon (spent swimming, in both the ocean and our pool) and then we had dinner at the big campus followed by an absolutely amazing Aloha Ceremony, where they welcomed us to Hawaii, with hula dancers, a flame thrower, and then a flag ceremony, with flags from all of the nations currently represented on the campus. After that... was worship! It was just as I remembered it! Standing there I could feel the constrains on my heart fading away... the joy and passion I had received the last time I was here just all came back to me. I remember the words God told me though Danny last trip when he said "Grab that fire Dawn. And hold onto it." I knew I had lost that fire, lost that flame. But our God is faithful, and he rekindled the flame in my heart.
Saturday, we spent at the beach, only to come back and swim in the pool. And yes, I did get sunburned haha, but luckily it seems to be turning into a tan already. Yesterday (Sunday) we went to one of the local churches called Solid Rock. There were many native Hawaiians there, which I found so exciting. I loved the message from the pastor as well, he was going through Matthew 16:19 talking about having the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and how with keys we can lock and unlock things. The Bible says we can bind, we can bind the devil, and put him in his place, and because of our authority he will stay bound. We have that power. We also have the power to loose bonds and chains that bind us. The keys give us the power to do both of those. We have that power! We can bind and loose! I was actually thinking about this today as we were discussing things with my DTS, and trying to remind myself that I have the power to tell the devil no, and tell him in a way that binds him to where he cannot come back against me with the same things. I was also reminding myself that as I had the power to bind the devil, I had the power to loose the years worth of chains he has wrapped around me. We have that power! How incredible is our God????
This morning we had another campus worship at the university, and then we spent the day beginning our lectures and then spending time with our DTS group this afternoon. I have already had several opportunities to sit down and talk in depth with several of my teammates, and I LOVE getting to know them, hearing their stories, and hearing how they came to be here. I am so excited to see what God does throughout this trip! I know He's going to mold and shape each of us, and also use us to sharpen each other. I love the comradeship and bonds that are already growing between all 33 of us, and I can't wait for God to draw us closer to each other and help us to become a family with Him as our Father.
Blessings on you! and mahalo for everything you have done.
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