Facts and info about the YWAM SDTS (FYI, what I'm going too)

Hey Guys!!
YEAH!!! I finally got my Blog set up, sorry Marshall I didn't use World Press, but this one worked better with my Gmail account. Plus, World Press was too confusing...

So, this is my 2 days before I leave for the adventure of a lifetime!!
Well hopefully its just going to be the first solo adventure, and there will be thousands yet to come, but I think YWAM is a good start.

Ok, to start this off, I'm going to explain what exactly it is that I am about to embark on.
First, I am going to Oxford, New Zealand.
(So not Oxford the University)

Oxford is a small town on the south island of New Zealand, the population is 1 400. So, that's what? The population of my highschool!
Its a small farming town, but its about 45 min out side of Christchurch.

Christchurch is the biggest city on the South Island. The population is ruffly 369 000 people.

Now, I am going on a program called YWAM, Youth With A Mission.

The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is a six-month training program that aims at helping students to know God more in-depth, and preparing them to tell people everywhere about Jesus. The DTS (so YWAM) is broken up into 2 phases.

Lecture Phase:
12 weeks of classroom, where there is discussions, workshops, small groups, personal study time, and lectures.

Outreach Phase:
10->12 week field assignment. The school is broken up into small teams which travel throughout New Zealand and overseas countries putting into practice what was learned during Lecture Phase. Teams will serve with established missionaries, practice evangelism, and help disciple the Church.

Cool eh?

Ok, and I'm going to a SDTS, Snowboarders (and skiers) DTS,
(apparently we can't discriminate against those who haven't figured out that it is way more fun to go down a mountain on 1 slab of wood than 2 peices of wood... )
This DTS focus more on the lovers of snow

For the first three months in New Zealand, I will be having a freaking amazing time with cutting edge speakers that will give us the tools to apply them into the snowboarding culture, and the world around us.

Then they mix up the schedule with activities to challenge and strengthen our relationship with God and with others.
Such as...
-> Weekly small group interaction
-> Classroom teaching
-> Worship and intercession times
-> Study time
-> Community and base work duties
-> Missions and outreach activities (which includes going into Christchurch to hang out at the skate shops, and hang out)
-> As well as interaction with the local church and community.

And, being a snowboarding DTS, we hit the slopes a couple times each week; on Wednesdays, we ride at Porters, and on Saturdays we head up to Mt Hutt! There are also various opportunities to explore this beautiful country during our free time.

Man, tuff life... I'm so excited!!!!