Only 72 hrs to go!

Guam Ho! Well friends and family- Christmas has come and gone once again- and now I'm super stoked on NEW YEARS in GAUM! This holiday season was one to remember from beginning to end- I got to help cut down my own tree, cook half a pig (and it was AMAZING) So delicious. This last week was outreach prep and it's been more of a down time for our teams, we've practiced skits and journal entries, last minute details and fun times. Tonight was a battle of our favorite spider Jordan vs. (what ever was found in the laundry room) Jordan, our resident lounge spider lost out to our new reigning champ, Charlotte; such is base life. Thank you all for your phone calls, letters and gifts- they were very much appreciated over this Christmas time. 

Another team from NZ arrived back from 4 weeks in Suva Fiji and are staying the night. Sometimes the base bubble can become so restricting- and having a new team come in was fabulous and refreshing. It is inevitable that the YWAM world becomes your life, however perspective is everything, and I have to keep reminding myself that there is much more moving on in the world than just lecture phase and outreach. Anyways that's enough processing for now. The next entry will be from Guam!

Much love,

Laura Yemen

The Final Week

This week was on evangelism- and it was just in time! I spent last Sunday crying to a friend that I did Young Life with about how much I miss it all- and who would show up the next day but a regional YL leader that had us sing YL songs every lecture! I was in Heaven! That and multiple phone calls from so many that are near and dear to me made this Christmas week so much more bareable! Guam is a mere 8 days away- and their is so much to be done. My room mate left this past Friday, and my x BLS leader has also permanently left. The Base leader moves off the base and away from YWAM and a new director takes over on Jan 1st. It is warm here, sunny and charming! ( I know you are all in a deep freeze right now!) Please pray for faith, and provision for Guam. For me personally, I really could use prayer for wisdom and patience. There is more to write I'm sure- but for now, I really need to shower! ( I got stuck on the rd after my brakes fell apart on my bike!) That's another story for another phone call! Bless you all this Christmas! 

One Week to go...

It's the final week of lectures, and oh my goodness I am not ready to go! There is one final week til outreach and traveling to Guam. it's 12 hrs on the flight over to Korea, then another 4 to Guam. We have to get a visa for the Korean on our team, and as usual it has been left too long. It's hard to ask for prayer when we have created the need for it! I have to also pack up my entire room and store it away somewhere for 2 months- I am frankly a little annoyed since I am staying on for the next DTS, but that is base policy. 

We had a youth group come up this week end, as well as a birthday for a close family/base friend's daughter- who is dating one of the staff. This week was unbelievably hard to go through- we had a kiwi teaching on the Lordship of Christ and taught us the parallel of the Old testament and new testament covenant. It was a 12 hr prayer and worship session on friday, where it was a giving day, openness and brokeness, healing, praise, anointing and more worship. People cut their hair, gave up their pass ports, laid down their tickets home, gave up their families, ipods and cameras. It was heart breaking and exhausting. It was almost harder to go through the second time.

Fortunately I got your care package that same day mom, thank you so much! I also got the birthday card from Stacy and family, and Tracy's christmas letter. It all couldn't have been received at a better time. My room mate and ex BLS student is leaving for her home on the 19th, along with one other student who isn't going on outreach (she never planned to go, it was just the lecture phase for her) It's going to be very strange to come back to this place- 6 ppl are leaving. Oh, and I just got news this Wed that I am leading the next school with the base director, Adrian! I'm beyond overwhelmed- But then I really stop and let God be God, and know that he has called me to this, and greater things than this. It sounds like some students are already making plans to stay on to help around the base for a little while after! 

Another blessing is that I got to see two students from New Castle that I did my DTS with- They came up to visit The base director's daughter who just finished her DTS there. They had just got married and are now heading back to New Castle for one more school- then they might move here!!! It's crazy! It really is amazing to have seen them after all these years! That's enough and all for now. It gets warmer here every day, and last night was the biggest full moon that I've ever seen (besides the harvest moons). I've been listening to that cd that you made me Jay, everyday!

loves laura

To Auckland we go...

Well folks, it's been a fabulous week of birthday cheer phone calls letters and yes, christmas packages. Thank you again for your support. I'm just writing to you from my BLS leader's parents' home in Auckland where we staff spent the day wondering the streets of Auckland. Queen street is the 17th Ave equivalent. I got to go to several galleries, including an amazing glass exhibition! There are tonnes of surf and board shops all over the place, but everything is DOUBLE the price, I don't think the NZers know the extent that they are getting ripped off- I know there's shipping costs and such, but this is outrageous! 

Friday night some Tongans came over and danced and sang some traditional stuff for us, and tonight after exploring Auckland we went back to the house and set up the projector and watched the movie 21. The boys then practiced what we learned on friday night with the dancing to tecno- and it's made for another fairly memorable night here in NZ. 

Lectures were fantastic- and Kiwi named Jono talked on the Holy Spirit, it was very well presented and very thoroughly researched. It was awesome!!