The Simple Life | 2014 Marriage Of The Arts

Life in Florida has been great. Yes the sun is glorious and a lovely surprise in February. Yes the sand on the beach is like powder and the sunsets are out of the movies jaw dropping type of sunsets. Hey someone has to live this life, right?  haha

It has been hard at times for sure. Moving to a new state, saying bye once again to my family, being away from my fiancé, living in multiple houses with fellow staff I never really met prior to this and jumping into this unknown adventure of pioneering a discipleship school with not quite all the pieces into place. Hey someone has to live this life, right? Haha

In all seriousness, this is one of the hardest things I have stepped into, but at the same time an incredible privilege. One of the coolest things ever has to be hearing the joy in a students voice and seeing the awe in their eyes as they explain the first time God’s love truly reached their heart and wasn’t just an idea or theory in their head. Who I am to witness the Author Of The Universe melt walls that have been built up for years right before my eyes? He has seriously been pouring out His love on us. Lavishing his love.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

1 john 3:1

I love how so often I set out to serve, pour into others and change the world, but walk away feeling more changed, more challenged and more poured into than I gave. Being a staff member in this DTS is no different. Our Father is so good to never leave us as we are and have grace on us to use us as we are. He has had so much grace on me to be in this leadership position.

If one thing has been repeated over and over this last month as speakers have come in and out it is that we are unconditionally loved by our Father. And from that place of knowing, not only with our heads, but with our hearts that we are loved beyond reason, we are compelled to love others. The simplicity of the gospel has been clearer than ever before to me. I want to serve and I try, but I often run out of my own strength. Very quickly I run out of my own patience. I just can’t seem to muster up enough compassion. My prayer has changed from Jesus give me more strength, more compassion, more patience, to Jesus give me more of you. I want to know more of your love for me! When we experience Jesus in such a close way we have no choice, but to want to invite others into that goodness. We are compelled by the love that we know to extend that same love to others, even when it doesn’t make sense.

It sounds so elementary, so basic and so as if I should have got this when I was in first grade, but I don't think I want to leave this place of simply asking to see more of His love. First grade was pretty awesome anyways. haha

One of my favorite illustrations comes from JD Greer. We often view the Gospel as a diving board into the pool of Christianity, when really the Gospel is the pool that we dive into. The pool that is endless.

There is always more.

And I am so pumped and thankful to be able to explore and dive into the more with an awesome staff team and students who amaze us daily. 

The photos are few, but enjoy. More to come soon.

 Time of staff training before students arrived.

 Florida Sun

 Matchy matchy staff team.

Opening evening of 2014 Marriage Of The Arts in Sarasota, Florida. 

There is always so much joy when friends visit and serve. 

Some of my favorite times in this DTS have been at the local prayer house.

Florida Talk | The Next Step

Before we get to more important things I thought I would start by looking up a bit more information about the state of Florida. Because to be quite honest I’ve never been to Florida in my life. Heck, I’ve never been to the east coast of the US. Here are a few random facts for you and me.

1. Florida winters average anywhere from 53-68.
2. Florida’s population ranks 4th in the U.S. behind California, Texas & New York. 
3. The capital of Florida isTallahassee. 
4. The Florida state animal is the Panther.
5. The Florida State Marine Mammal is the
 Manatee.
6. Florida is not the southernmost state in the United States. Hawaii is farther south.
7. Gatorade was named for the University of Florida Gators where the drink was first developed.
8. The largest lake in Florida is Lake Okeechobee.
9. Just north of Haines City is the Baseball City Stadium the spring training home of the Kansas City Royals. Haines City is known as The Heart of Florida.
10. The Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin American Art in Coral Gables, is the first and only museum in the United States dedicated to the preservation, diffusion, and promotion of Hispanic and Latin American Art.
11. The state constitution allows for freedom of speech, a trial by jury, and pregnant pigs to not be confined in cages.
12. Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.
13. You are not allowed to break more than three dishes per day, or chip the edges of more than four cups and/or saucers.

I hope that gives you a better idea of the Sunshine state. Probably not, but it was fun!

So my adventures with YWAM began the day I left for Germany thinking I would have an amazing life experience for 6 months and get my butt back to Texas. This is true. I had an amazing life changing experience encountering God at YWAM Herrnhut and was back in Texas 6 months later, but a month after returning to Texas after much praying and listening I jumped on a flight back to Herrnhut, Germany to begin the secondary School Of Intercessory Prayer and to also step into full time missions as a staff member of YWAM Herrnhut. At this time I was already considering joining the team that was being assembled to pioneer the YWAM Herrnhut satellite base in Sarasota. 4 months of life in Germany a couple of other countries here and there and I am back in Texas preparing to move to Florida for an unknown amount of time! There you go. It is settled. I hope Florida is ready for us!

But I am sure you are still confused on some details. To be honest I don’t have them all figured out, I never really do. That is the beauty of our hope in Jesus, we don’t always have to have the answers and details perfectly sorted out. He is our perfect Father whos ways are much higher than ours and will never leave our side. What else do I need?

But I will fill you in on what I do know =)

What the heck is “YWAM Herrnhut Sarasota satellite base”?

YWAM (Youth With A Mission) is the missions organization that I did my 6 month DTS (Discipleship Training School) with. Herrnhut is a small charming village in eastern Germany where the base “YWAM Herrnhut” is located. And where I chose to attend the MOTA (Marriage Of The Arts) DTS as well as my secondary school. This is now somewhere I call home. A satellite base basically means that we are still a part of the YWAM Herrnhut community and still carry the same DNA as the Herrnhut base. We are an extension of YWAM Herrnhut located elsewhere. In this case Sarasota, Florida.

What do you actually do?

I have the absolute honor to be a on the team that pioneers the base to run discipleship schools. Pioneering means we are doing something new. It means hard work and exciting times! Just as there were people who chose to walk along side me as I grew and encountered God in my DTS I will walk along side individuals who are students in the DTS as they learn and grow. This is anything from building relationships with individuals, interceding for students, teammates, provision, leading outreaches to different countries and in the states to cleaning, cooking, working out visa issues and answering the phone. Any tiny detail to big picture things you can think of that is needed to do missions there is a chance as the pioneering staff we will do it.

What is the YWAM Herrnhut DNA?

To put it plain and simple. Discipleship. Seeing more and more Europeans jump into missions. Reaching the most unreached countries, known as the 10-40 window, with the love of God and partnering with God to use art to do this.

Why Sarasota, Florida?

The beaches, duh! Just kidding. After much prayer, listening and exploring, the leadership of YWAM Herrnhut felt as if this is where God is wanting YWAM Herrnhut to expand. As I said above we are hungry to see Europeans, especially Germans, to rise up and go into missions. Notice I chose not to go to YWAM Tyler, Texas, but instead chose Herrnhut Germany. Why? Because if you are going to do something crazy like a six month discipleship school you might as well leave the country, right? Offering a base in the United States gives Europeans the chance to come to the states.

Sarasota also has a beautiful unity among believers and an art scene full of opportunities to preach Jesus!

Personally why did I choose to be a part of YWAM Sarasota?

First and foremost God gave me peace about it. Secondly, I love the states and I love Europe. I want to see the states won over for Jesus just as much as I want to see Europe won. In Florida I get the amazing opportunity to fight for both. I am excited to partner with local churches and do local outreaches in the states. The possibilities are endless of things we can do in the states! But at the same time I will get to pour into Europeans lives and continue to fight for Europe.

Are you doing this alone?

Of course not! I am so so so stoked to join an amazing team. As of now we have a lovely German-American married couple and their baby boy as our leaders, a happily married American couple, 3 other Americans, including me, and 2 other Europeans and hope to add to our team before our first Discipleship School begins in January! I was able to get to meet and get to know my team the last month or so I was in Herrnhut and I am so ready to jump into this adventure with these guys. We have an incredible team I hope to share more about with you in the future!

Is this like a job? Do you get paid?
This is full time missions. I have accepted the invitation that I feel like God has given me to be a full time missionary with YWAM Herrnhut. So this means, no I do not get a check every month that a boss man signs like you probably define a “real job” by. But I do consider this my job. We put our everything into this life that God has called us to! Everyone from the top YWAM guy to me receive payment from people who choose to become a part of our missions support team because they believe in what we are doing and want to be a part of it by offering monetary support monthly. It is an absolute privilege and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

What is this talk about a sports DTS?

I dream of mine that I feel like God has placed on my heart as well as others in the YWAM Herrnhut community is to see YWAM Herrnhut pioneer a sports discipleship school, a school that uses sport to share the name of Jesus in the nations. My life was changed through sports ministry and I would love to change others lives through it as well. There is nothing concrete to this dream just yet besides my prayers =) We will see in the future!

Can I visit you?

Yes please!

How long will you be there?

That is a very good question. A year ago I would have never thought I would be preparing to move to Florida. I will keep you updated!

Will you take a photo of a manatee and share it?

You bet I will!

In all seriousness there are a lot of unknowns in this next step, but I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. I am confident I am in God’s will and in my opinion there is no better place to be. My God has proven himself time and time again in such creative ways that He is recklessly in love with me and everyone else walking this earth. I am choosing to take His hand again despite fears and questions because I know His character always overcomes circumstances. I am incredibly excited to dream up the impossible with the others on my team for each other, for the states, for our students, for Florida, for Germany, for YWAM Herrnhut, for Europe, for the nations and for our Father’s kingdom. I would absolutely love if you would continue to walk along side me in this next step.

I can’t tell you how thankful I am for the support, encouragement and prayers. Without those who send, those who are sent wouldn’t get very far at all. Our God is so good my friends. Praise Him at all times!

 This is a photo taken by one of my teammates on an evening walk in Sarasota. Seriously.

That lovely green star is where we will be.

This my friends is where we will be going, the 10-40 Window. 

And this beauty is few of the brilliant teammates I will be joining in November.

Germany Outreach | The Reality

Outreach is a hard thing to put into words that really suffice, even if it was only three weeks. God never stops speaking and I love it! I wasn’t supposed to be on this outreach in the first place, but I really felt like God was giving me a nudge to take a risk. It was more than I could ask for. The finances weren’t there, but He provided, the team to go on outreach wasn’t exactly there, but He provided. I was able to share God’s love along side amazing friends, work with ministries that are crazy passionate about His kingdom, see the beautiful country of Germany and experience the blessings that is the beauty of Germans who are incredibly in love with Jesus. There were a ton of laughs, some hard days, but God was faithful in showing me more of himself and giving me a deeper passion to share His love. He never disappoints.

I always feel like I cheat the places we go to reach out. I go to serve, teach and love and I walk away from the time feeling like I was served, taught and loved on so much more. I pray that wherever I step my foot that our Father’s presence overflows from what was poured into me by others and the Father himself. But you can’t give away what you don’t possess yourself.

I was reading through journals that I wrote in throughout SOIP and outreach. A prayer I prayed from the beginning of SOIP and whether it was teachings, prayers or in conversation this topic was constantly brought up throughout outreach.

The thought and desire that God wouldn’t be only some theory or idea, but a REALITY in our lives.

As I read through stories, thoughts, prayers and revelations that I journaled I was in awe as I read just how faithful God was to make himself known as more of a reality in my life these last 6 months.

In outreach God was made more of a reality through the friends and mentors he surrounded me with to grow and sharpen each other as we reached out. Through encounters we had with people on the streets of Germany that shared how they literally felt His presence through our words and joy. The reality that we are able to align ourselves by His spirit with Gods heart through prayer and worship.

On outreach I encountered God in such a personal way that I had never experienced before. And when you really get even the tiniest glimpse of His joy, peace, love and holiness you can’t help, but want to give it away and hunger for others to experience the same. God was faithful in showing me the reality that Christ lives in me. Before Jesus Christ died people had to go certain places and do certain things to find God, but it is a reality that through Jesus’ death and resurrection He lives in us in the fullness. It is a reality that He never changes and that He will never forsake us. It is a reality that He is love and is our provider. It is a reality that He is the perfect father and that we are seated in heavenly places with Him. It is a reality that His mercies are never ending and in His eyes we are Holy and blameless.

This is a reality that has been poured into me, but how do I do outreach or every day life that communicates this reality to others?

I’m not an expert follower of Jesus, but I do hear Him speak and this is what I feel like I’ve heard.

You can’t give what you don’t possess yourself. If we choose to be in His presence every day with our everything. He will be faithful in revealing himself to us. By His presence alone we are changed. No one can walk away from His presence unchanged. He promises life in abundance. If He is our reality then in abundance we will be filled by Him and He will overflow from us and others will notice. If we choose to be led by the Holy Spirit every day He will lead us in practical ways to serve and love. But mostly we must be humbled by His fierce love and know that relentlessly pursues us and those around us. By His presence overflowing from us He is made known as a reality in others lives. 

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!

I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
    

I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in princes,
    

in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 

When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;
    

on that very day his plans perish. 

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
    

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

who made heaven and earth,
    

the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;  

who executes justice for the oppressed,
    

who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free; 

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
    

the Lord loves the righteous.

The Lord watches over the sojourners;
    

he upholds the widow and the fatherless,
    

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign forever,
    

your God, O Zion, to all generations.


The House That God Gave Us

So maybe a some of you guys have seen me tweet or Facebook about “this house God gave us” And maybe a few of you out of the some that have heard about this are thinking “Ridiculous, God doesn’t give people houses”. Well I am here to tell you YEEAHHHH HE DOES!

Here is how the story goes. Once upon a time little Allie Reyna was sad and maybe caught up in a bit of self pity because her really good friends left to outreach in Asia and due to visa and finance issues she was stuck in cold Herrnhut, Germany. Thoughts like “I am tired of shoveling snow and making cookies to reach out to the community” and “I am a missionary, I should be preaching the gospel in Asia not Herrnhut” consumed her head. Notice the selfishness and need of a perspective/heart check.

In this time period, one evening sitting in the Viltnis Café in Herrnhut, consumed by her need for WIFI a tax advisor walks in and asks Ashley, the barista for information to contact the leaders of YWAM Herrnhut. Allie vaguely hears the mention of a house, but continues with her eyes glued to her screen. Ashley invites the tax advisor to sit and have a free coffee as she gathers the information he requested. The man scans the café occupied by only Allie and chooses to sit directly in front of her. The self-consumed missionary says a short “hallo” with hardly a glance at the man expecting there to be a language barrier. To her surprise the tax advisor spoke perfect English and pursued a conversation with Allie using small talk of where are you from and what’s your name. Because little YWAMer Allie learned in DTS that God speaks to her, she realized that she should talk to this tax advisor. So she reluctantly set her phone down and found herself in the middle of an example of how God includes us in His awesomeness even we don’t realize it or deserve it. That evening God used Allie’s answers to the tax advisors questions of why she was in Herrnhut, what YWAM is and how she has learned more about God to answer prayers and change lives.

6 months later after Allie returns to Herrnhut from outreach in Asia and is walking home through the dark forest with a friend. The friend asks Allie “have you heard about the guy who is giving us a house because of your conversation with him?” After a few minutes of memory searching Allie is shocked and in awe to hear that because of her conversation with this tax advisor his perspective of YWAM was changed and has convinced his client to begin the process of giving YWAM Herrnhut a house absolutely free.

Months before little Allie existed at YWAM Herrnnut the YWAM Herrnhut community began praying and asking God for more property to house their growing community.

After DTS and visiting home for a few weeks Allie returned to Herrnhut to begin the School Of Intercessory Prayer. In this time that Allie was in the secondary school, the keys to this new house were successfully handed to YWAM Herrnhut and the tax advisor gave his life to Jesus!

Ok exiting story mode.

There you go! God gave us a house! And a man’s life was changed. This house now houses the majority of the 200 students that have just begun the Marriage Of The Arts and Revive DTS’. It is so stinkin cool that God has allowed me to be a part of this story from the beginning with a conversation until now where I spent the last couple of weeks in Herrnhut sanding, painting and nailing to prepare this house to be a home to so many students who’s lives will be changed by God through YWAM Herrnhut just like mine was.

I often get asked how I can trust God enough to leave family and friends behind and go to these crazy places on my own. It is because I know that I am never alone, I know that my God loves me enough to invite me to be a part of awesome stories like this one! Because I know my God doesn’t change. His character never fails. He is a provider and He is love. Whether He does it by giving me a house, money for a flight or gives me peace through scripture, He provides. This story will always be a reminder, an altar of who my God is and always will be! 

The house sits near one of the entrances to Herrnhut. Every time a YWAMer would pass by the house on our way to the castle we would touch it and pray for it.

The courtyard behind the house. 

I am not sure I have ever cleaned so much in my life. 

I am not the most neat worker ever.  

The last weekend we worked on the house we got took a break to have a community lunch. 

For Freedom I Have Been Set Free, Lets go!!

The last week has been craziness! I feel like I have been in three different places at once. Last week of SOIP. Outreach and looking toward the future aka the United States Of America! All so exciting!

This past week I stood in front of a filled dining hall at YWAM Herrnhut for SOIP graduation. I was chosen to give a short testimony of my experience in SOIP.

Just days before I sat in that dining hall listening to my friends teach on revelations that they received throughout the school. Now, I am the type of person to always see how I could have done something better before seeing what was actually accomplished in me and through me. This last week with my school God was faithful in completely crushing my thoughts of shortcomings by illuminating the growth seen in my friends and myself. He tore down walls, shined light on gifts, revealed our authority to trample on lies and freedom in standing on truth!

I stood in front of my classmates, leaders, staff members and my friends, as well as family and friends watching online and it sunk in more than ever before. I have been set free. One of the first lectures we had in SOIP I remember our speaker saying, “You didn’t come to this school to learn more about prayer. You will learn more about prayer, but you came to this school to know the Father in a deeper way”. He was incredibly right. I mean I guess he would know what comes out of the school after doing it for countless years. But he was REALLY right. Haha. And in knowing the Father, there is freedom. I think the day that it really clicked was when I was reading the book we were reading as a school, Intercessory Prayer by Dutch Sheets. A man was telling a story about an experience in Guatemala and how he was super nervous about praying for this little girl to be healed in front of so many people. What if God doesn’t show up, he thought. Well God showed up, the girl was healed, revival was started and it was great! That day he recognized that there was no need for him to be nervous or fearful. He only had to be obedient as he heard God leading him and the rest was out of his hands. The statement that was carved into my heart from this story was this.

We don’t have to produce anything, but rather we distribute, as the disciples did with the loaves and fishes. (Matthew 14:17-19) Our calling and function is not to replace God, but to release Him.

And just because it impacted me so much he went on to say.

It Liberates us from intimidation and emboldens us to know that:

The Producer simply wants to distribute through us.

The Intercessor wants to intercede through us.

The Mediator wants to mediate through us.

The Representative wants to represent through us.

The Go-between wants to go between through us.

The Victor wants His victory enforced through us.

The Minister of reconciliation has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.

My entire life it has been far too easy for me to be the most critical of myself without any grace. Far to easy to beat myself up and kick myself when I was on the ground because I didn’t measure up. Especially when it came to my relationship with Christ. A lot of times it didn’t look like much of a relationship at all. It was Christ finishing the work on the cross and me trying to re-do the work in my own strength, but failing and failing and failing. I realized this pattern before, but never seemed to shake it. And not to say that I won’t struggle here and there, but the truth, for freedom I have been set free, has been rooted the deepest it has ever gone in my heart and I know it is my Father’s will to continue to deepen this truth, to deepen His gospel in my heart and yours. On the cross He has completed the work, He only wants a relationship with us because He loves us and the consequence out of this intimacy is the release of what He has completed. Through prayer it finally clicked. Pressing into this secret place of intimacy with my God I was able to claim the freedom that was freely given when Jesus Christ died and resurrected. The best part is this lives within me. This is above circumstances and situations of this world. Nothing can touch the freedom I have in Christ. I can’t really explain this freedom fully, but because Christ lives in me I am able to release this freedom to others. For freedom I have been set free, not only freedom for myself, but freedom for others as well.

A great way to try this freedom out is on outreach with friends, meeting strangers, and introducing them to the same freedom that was won for them on the cross. This overwhelming freedom that you really can’t keep to yourself.  As most may know I am on outreach now. Traveling throughout Germany, not to work or to produce anything, but to release to others what was so freely released to me. When we recognize the treasure that Christ is in us we have the power to set others free just as Christ has set us free. No striving, no measuring, simply being. Freedom =)