Togo In 6 Days!

My Togo Team!
From the left: Bethany (staff) Max, James, Michelle (staff) Bethany, Stephanie, Sally

I can't believe the outreach portion of my DTS is already almost here! As I mentioned in the title I'll be leaving for Togo in just 6 days! Time most definitely flies by when your having fun, because my lecture phase has most definitely flown by. I have learned so much and made so many amazing friends in these ten weeks! I'll get right to the nitty gritty so you all can be more informed. This Tuesday (14th) I'll be leaving the base or as I've come to call it my home, and I'll be flying to Togo for 7 weeks. We'll start off in the capital city of Lomé, from there we'll voyage North to the towns of Agou – Nyogbo, and Kpalimé. In Kpalimé we'll be spending Christmas! This is also the town that one of my roommates is from. Her parents are the YWAM base leaders in this town, so I'll get to spend Christmas with her family! Next we'll be traveling to the town of Kara! Here we have the privilege to teach a computer course for the locals. The computer course was created with the intention of teaching basic computer skills to the locals but also as a way to share the gospel. Our idea is to invite people from the local churches and ask them to bring a friend who is not a christian. We'll have time for computer training then a time for giving testimonies and sharing the gospel. After our time in Kara we'll head further up North to a town called Tamberma. In Togo the further up north you go the more indigenous the area is, therefore Tamberma will be the most indigenous town yet. In all the locations we'll have plenty of opportunities to preach in churches, teach in schools, minister in hospitals as well as prisons, and plenty of street ministry to boot. In the past few weeks my team and I have been prayerfully preparing for this time and I'm so excited to see all God is going to do! If you have any questions about my trip to Togo feel free to send me a message!

Sadly I won't be able to write any updates in Togo. Instead, any message that my team sends out to our families, will be copied and pasted on here by someone!

Lastly, if you feel led to support me financially, I still need $900 to complete my tuition payments. Any financial or prayer support, (or both!) would be greatly appreciated! If you would like to support me financially refer to my past blog posts for more info! Thank you everybody for supporting me throughout my time in Switzerland and in Togo!

Blessings,
Grace

Oh, This Has Gotta Be The Good Life!

Life is good. Seriously did you know that having classes five days of the week talking about one man (Jesus-for those of you who were struggling) being in a community of YWAMers, eating Swiss chocolate and cheese on a regular basis, waking up to the view of beautiful mountains right outside my window, living in Europe and so much more is the best.


The sweet view from my window!

A big shout out to all my wonderful supporters! I now have all the money for my next payment portion! THANK YOU! I am so blessed to have all of you in my life.

I have also recently found out where I'll be going on outreach! ......TOGO!! Here is a picture of where Togo is located along with some helpful facts.



*The prominent language spoken is french
*120,000 are living with aids (number taken in 2009)
*Christian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51%
*32% of the population is below the poverty line

I'll be leaving for Togo on the 17th on December and my final tuition payment is due two weeks before then around the beginning of December. The final tuition payment will be anywhere from $569 to $2,277. I'll let you know as soon as I know the exact cost. If you have any questions feel free to shoot me a message!

I'll leave you all with this song! We are learning a dance to this song for our outreach! So good.

Have a spectacular week!


Dancing Generation-Matt Redman
(sorry the video wouldn't load!)

Swiss Update!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the long gap between blog posts! I have been crazy busy with everything going on, but I love it! I have so much to say so brace yourselves. :)
I'll start off by talking about how amazing the food is here! I could probably write an entire blog post about just how amazing it is, but since my blogs have been so few (thus far) I'll focus on the beefy stuff. To give you an idea though I'll say that I have three meals prepared for me everyday and each dish is so tasty. Since many different ethnic groups are represented at this base, the meals are usually foreign to me. It is so great to be able to get a taste of many different nations. The cheese and chocolate is indescribable!
But the food is not even the best part!
The lectures are always my favorite part of the day, which is good because sometimes we'll have up to five hours of lecture a day. The speakers have so much to offer and I learn so much from them. Each speaker has something different to speak on and they all have so much wisdom to share with us! This week Paul Hawkins is speaking on The Character of God, I find myself taking notes constantly! Really it is amazing!
Tomorrow we find out what our two destination options are for our outreach!!!
Since our class has many people, (25 students+staff) our class will split up and go to two different locations and we will find out where those locations will be tomorrow!!!

Things to pray about~

*God will show me what option to choose for my outreach
*I will be able to process all the amazing teachings I'm taking in and be able to apply them in my life.

Financial Info:
The next chunk of tuition is due before November 4th and I still need $1500. Please prayerfully consider partnering with me financially. I believe that God has called me to a life of missions and He has only affirmed that call during my time in DTS. If you feel led to partner with me long-term or donating just a one time gift, both would be gratefully received. To donate simply go to the PayPal link on the right side of my blog or you can send your donation to my church address at:

6200 Monona Drive
Monona, WI 53716
USA

and receive a tax deduction! If you write a check make sure to make it out to Monona Oaks Community Church with an added note the says my name and YWAM. That way you can receive a tax reduction and the accountant at my church will know that the money is for me.

Thank you all for supporting me with your prayers and financially!

Swisssss

I made it! I wish I could write about just how great it is here or describe just how much I love it! Being here just feels right. Everyone is so nice and the love everyone has for each other is often times overwhelming. During these first few days we have mostly been doing orientation activites and get-to-know you games. It is so much fun to be in a school with people from so many cultural backgrounds. In my DTS class of twenty four people there is at least one person from every continent! This week we will be having Swiss night as one of our orientation activities! All I have been told so far is that there will be a lot of Swiss chocolate and Swiss cheese! Yum! I will also be part of the group that sets up for it. Today I found out that hospitality would be my work duty! So for an hour a day (sometimes longer!) my team and I will be doing tasks such as cleaning the rooms that the speakers will stay in making welcome signs for visitors and of course chocolate baskets!
On Saturday my team and I will be going up into the mountains to watch the cows come down for the winter! What fun! I can't wait to see more of beautiful Switzerland!
I am heading off to bed to get some much needed rest. Good night all!

P.S. Sorry for the spazzy blog post! Jet lag has a way of messing with my already very scattered brain.

Running At Mailmen Is What I Do Best

It was a brisk morning as Grace looked out the window impatiently. She knew that today could quite possibly be the day. She knew that it had already been approved and that all she needed now was to actually have it in her hands. After many trips to Walgreens, the Post Office, many forms filled out, essays written, and even a train ride to Chicago the time had finally come. As excited as she was nothing could have prepared her for the giddy feeling that swooped into her as she looked out the window and saw Jim, the Mailman get out of his car and walk toward her door, unbeknownst as to what he held in his hands. Before he could reach the door, Grace ran out and to meet him. "Do you know what this is" Grace asked as he signed the zillion of forms before he could hand the sealed envelope to her. Before he could even answer Grace blurted out "IT'S MY VISA FOR SWITZERLAND!!"

Countdown: 10 DAYS!

In order for my full tuition to be covered I still need around $5,800. Please prayerfully consider partnering with me financially. If you would like to deposit money quickly simply go to the PayPal link on the right side of my blog, or if you would like to donate and receive a tax deduction, you can send money to Monona Oaks Community Church at:

6200 Monona Drive
Monona, WI 53716

This Sunday I will be speaking at my old school (that is also a church)
Although it will be short and sweet pray that I will be able to

♦be really clear and easy to understand

♦remember to say all the important things

♦get other people as passionate about mission as I am

I will leave you all with this song, it's fantastic

T-33 Days Until I'm Off

So so very soon I will be leaving for switzerland to start my DTS! It's crazy to think that in almost a month I'll be living on a different continent embracing a totally different lifestyle than what I'm used to. I should be crazy nervous right?? Nope. Well yes at times, but not right now. Right now I feel excitement! Excitement about what I'll be doing, where I'll be going, how much I am going to grow (spiritually of course not length wise:) and the list goes on and on and on and well you get the point.
Alright, now that I have that out of my system I want to write about my financial situation. The organization that I will be joining is non-profit and for me to be a part of it I need friends and family to partner with me both financially and with your prayers. The total cost of my five month DTS is $11,000. My tuition can be payed in 3 portions and each portion covers different parts of my school. The first portion is exactly $4,315 and covers the first three months of the school which is also the lecture phase. Through my job being a noodler at Noodles & Company I have socked away enough money to cover this portion and also my airplane ticket to Switzerland. So right now I am in need of $6,263. The second portion of my tuition is $4,000 and is payable during the sixth week of my school (beginning of November). This will cover airfare, accommodation, food, administration expenses and other ground fees during the outreach phase. The last portion is $2,000 and is due the 10th week (beginning of December) of my school. This portion will cover the remaining cost of the outreach. Please pray about supporting me and if you feel led to help in any way please do! Right now I am working on getting a PayPal account set up so money can be easily deposited. For now though if you feel like you could support what I am doing e-mail me-graceaure@gmail.com and I'll send you my home address. If you are reading this sentence then that means that you actually read the entire post. So THANK YOU! Seriously you are amazing who ever you are! In Switzerland they speak predominately German and French and the half of Switzerland that I'll be they speak French, so I'll end with avoir une belle journéer! Meaning have a beautiful day!

A New Adventure

Hello everyone! I have decided to make a blog to keep all my family and friends updated on my life, but more specifically my time in Switzerland. In this blog I will be posting about my life in Switzerland, the miracles God will be doing, the transformation I will be seeing and feeling, prayer requests, and my financial situation for all my wonderful supporters! I want this blog to be about renewal and transformation. A lot will change during my time abroad, that I'm sure of. So stay tuned as I write to you all about what God is doing in my life in the land of the Swiss! Oh wow here I am so close to embarking on a new step in my life I can hardly contain my excitement! Very soon I will be on my way to Switzerland to start a new chapter in my life. Wow God is so faithful! I have had missions on my heart for awhile and through Youth With a Mission I will be able to fully commit my life to making his love known. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Youth With a Mission (I'll be referring to it as it is most commonly known as YWAM in future posts!) it is basically a world wide organization committed to knowing God and making Him known. The first step to joining YWAM is to do a Discipleship Training School (also, usually referred to as a DTS) which brings us back to me going to Switzerland! Nice little wrap around eh? So here it is, in just 39 days I'll be on my way to do my DTS in Lausanne, Switzerland! Crazy huh?! I'll be in Switzerland for the first part of my DTS, known as the lecture phase. For the first three months I'll be living in a chalet with other students from all around the world. During this time I'll be living out the first part of YWAM's motto--"knowing God." I'll be taught by teachers and my peers how to build an intimate relationship with God, develop personal character, and lead a lifestyle of expressing God's love to others. After the first three months are over my team and I will leave for the second portion of the DTS known as outreach. During this time we'll be "making God known." The exact location for this second half will be determined during the lecture phase. Phew so there it is! If this is confusing to anyone or if anybody has any questions about what I'll be doing leave a comment! I would love to answer any questions you might have!