To start off, I would just like to share that I have the most incredible roommates ever. I really could not ask for a more culturally diverse group of girls to live with. There's eight of us in one room including myself and we all get a long so great together. There are two girls from Korea, one from California, one from Indiana, one from Oregon, one from Arizona, and one from Chicago. It only took me about a couple hours of living with these girls that I felt at home and at peace. It felt natural, comfortable. As if I knew these girls for years, but it has only been a few days. Now, two weeks already today!!
The past week has been so draining; mentally, physically, and spiritually.. but in the best way possible. My schedule is full of God filled events such as a worship session early in the morning after a 6am breakfast, three hour lectures from crazy good speakers who have all been involved in YWAM for at least three or four years, media lectures about how to be a 'voice for the voiceless' though a photograph, having set aside times for intercessions (praying against unjust situations in the world such as child prostitution, sex trafficking, abortion, and so many others), and having missionary nights. Our PhotogenX group spends a few hours in our prayer room here on campus and pray for people within our group to encourage and build up spiritually. Our days here on campus are set up to be sort of hectic to help us get in the habit of not fitting God into our lives but scheduling our lives around God's plans he made for each of us. That way, later down the road when DTS is over, we have the good habit of asking God what he has planned out for us each morning when we wake up. The whole goal is to learn to not put God in a little box and put him up in a shelf and only take it out to only ask him for things we need or to have him take care of difficult situations when we cant do it our selves. To be honest, I didn't know how this would go during the first couple of days of being here only because we were so busy doing things such as ministry night, corporate worship with all of the Kona campus and work duties each day. But by the fourth or fifth day, I was able to get the swing of things and learn to adapt to my new schedule, which I enjoy doing.
Last Friday was just about the coolest days ever so far. I found out where I was being sent to on Outreach!! We had about eight options to 'choose' from. I say this because it really wasn't our choice to choose but God's. For me, it was an easy to figure out where I was suppose to go. I have always had a heart for Africa. Always, always, always. Specifically South Africa. Around this time last year, God showed me in a dream what I was going to do with my life one year later. The dream went a little something like this.
I was in a hot, dry area. There was a slight breeze in the air, enough to cool me down but ever so slightly. I looked down at my hands and saw that I was holding a beautiful Canon camera, not sure what one but it definitely wasn't one that I had already owned. I then looked all around me and noticed a small group of people with cameras as well who I seemed to know only because they were so friendly to me but never saw faces. All of sudden there were a large group of little African children surrounding me with the biggest of smiles on their faces and I could help but smile and laugh myself and photographing their sweet faces.
I woke up.
Never had I ever had a dream that was so vivid and seemed so real. Right then, I knew that I was soon to be going on a missions trip to Africa. Fast forward one year exactly from that day and here I am, living in Hawaii with numerous people from around the world. At the end of a normal day of lectures, one of the leaders of my PhotogenX group said they wanted to show us something on their computer. She played a video announcing our locations for Outreach. Greece, South Sudan/ Uganda, UK, Burma/ Thailand, India, China, Jordan, andddd South Africa. Boom. No hesitation. No second thoughts. I was going to South Africa.
Say hello to my South Africa team! (left to right)
Erika (leader), Madalyn, Sarah M., Kali, Sarah G., myself, Cammie, and not pictured is our only man who will protect us from all danger, Caleb!
Thank you so much for reading my blog and again, I apologize for the long wait in notifying all of you on what I have been up to. I try will make sure that there will be a new post every week to let you know more in detail about what God has been doing in my life and others around me.
To contact me directly for anything, you can email me at cpayala21@yahoo.com or shoot me a text at 805-558-6350, with your name and anything else you'd like to say. I will gladly respond right away. If you'd like to donate, you can mail checks to my home address at 17 E. Cedar Ln. Priest River, ID. 83856.
Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers. I love you all and can't wait to see what else God wants to blow my mind with!
Blessings!
