%5B2%5D.jpg "1090 (1)")
Welcome
Thanks for stopping by! Our purpose here is to write thoughts, happenings, musings, and share a taste of our life. We hope you enjoy! Ian and Deborah.
Before DTS, I felt stuck. I had so much fear about my future, fear about making the wrong decisions and such confusion about my faith and what I believed. There was a stronghold of fear of man in my life, but I did not recognize it.
During my DTS, each week, God chipped away at a different part of my heart, a different part of my life. At least once a week, I was on the floor in tears. It was not easy, it was not painless, but it was worth it. He broke away the strongholds of fear; He broke away the strongholds of insecurity. He took me into His arms and reminded me every single day of His immense love for ME.
It was by far the most challenging six months of my life thus far. I was stretched to measures that I didn’t know I could go to. My beliefs were pulled into question and I was challenged to find out for myself what I believed. Jesus was there the whole time, holding me up when I had no strength to stand on my own.
If I could take one thing away from these six months, it is truth. And the fact that no matter what happens, no matter how I feel or what others may tell me, there is truth. And God’s truth always remains. Discovering His truth about me and about my life made a huge impact on me. It changed the way I want to live my life… the way I am living my life. I have a new identity and that identity is rooted in Jesus Christ. I suppose the question now is “what’s next?” truth is, I still don’t know. But I am not afraid anymore. I am on an adventure with my Savior. :P
Sarah Simpson
USA
-----------------------
Ian's note:
Beca was one of 4 staff on the DTS, and it was her first staffing experience. She knew nothing about us(Ian and Deborah) or much about Ola and Alayna so it was a huge step of faith for her, and I saw her exercise her faith every day! She was a joy to work with and had a major impact on the DTS trainees.
-----------------------
At the beginning of the DTS I really had no idea what I was getting myself in for. I knew that it
would be a teaching and stretching time but didn’t realise the extent of it. At the beginning I asked God for some words about what this next season would be. He told me I would see healings, abundance of gifts, and that it would be a time of learning trust.
Well I did experience all of these! One of the healings was to a Muslim woman in Turkey, where her unborn child was healed and the others were with the students where three experienced deep emotional healing during outreach. As a school we saw the money for outreach raised in one day and there was even extra, and as for the trust I am still learning (I believe it is a life-long lesson) but I definitely grew in that area, especially during outreach. During that time there were many moments where I didn't know where I would find the strength to go on or that I had nothing to give to the trainees (i.e. they would be having a hard time and I had no wisdom to offer) but God is amazing and when I was totally dry of wisdom and strength he was so faithful and gave me everything I need for that moment. He is strong when we are weak!
During this time I experienced what living life to the fullest in Christ is and learnt what it meant. God gives each of us specific gifts and helps us use them. I discovered that if I use these gifts for God I am full of joy, satisfaction, confidence, etc.; basically I am full of life! The Lord did a lot of things in my life in 6 months (more than I expected, but doesn’t God always blow our expectations out of the water?) and I am so grateful for every hard and joyous moment!
Beca Haight
Canada
This is a book that my parents read when my brother and I were small, and I could recognise a lot of their approach to parenting as I read it. Gordon MacDonald has written several books and I have found them to be stuffed full of wisdom and insight. He is very careful to only write about things that he is living out. He shares stories, both of his successes and his learning moments and helps us think about intentionality in how we steward our family.
Hey there! My name is Maddie Adams and I was a trainee on the October 2010 Discipleship Training School. I am one of those people who can say DTS changed my life. When I arrived in Scotland, I was full of fear and doubt and misunderstanding, but I knew that I had six months of loneliness to get through, so I may as well press on as hard as I could (Phil 3:14). Over the course of lecture phase day after day God had me lay myself down at the cross and just come into a deeper place of intimacy and trust with him. From not being able to trust God, He led me to a place where I found that I could lay my worldly life at the cross and I was reborn into the living relationship with God that I was desiring with all my heart.During the course of DTS I had a choice, and the choice was to either want the more of God, or stay lukewarm the way I was. I chose to go after God with everything I had, and I saw the miraculous, I dreamed dreams, I saw spiritual things and that was only because I stayed so close to God and refused to let go. He spoke something very clear to me when I was on outreach and it was the word "beloved" but He told me that I needed to let myself "be-loved" by Him and since that day I have been learning to rest in my Father knowing that He loves me and He is closer than I can imagine.
During DTS I was picked up and all the worldly desires were shaken out of me, and now at the other side I can see the glory of God working through my life and how now I want to be serving Him for the rest of my life.
DTS for me was the place and time in my life where I REALLY met God for the first time. It was the place where I got to know Him as someone not something. He grew me and I'm better for it. It was the place where I made my first real friends. The place where I quit looking around at what others were doing and focused on me and God. It was the place where I fell in love with the Father. It was the best 6 months of my life and I would not trade it for anything.
-Jeff McNelly, age 18, USA
Ian and Deborah Matchett
About Us
Ian and Deborah Matchett are serving with YWAM in Seamill, West Kilbride, and have two beautiful daughters, Zoe and Hannah.
Search
