May '08 Update

May 1, 2008

Dear Family and friends,

HI! Greetings from the base of Youth With a Mission in Kona, HI. Sounds like a fun place, but, well, no trip to the beach the first month, and we don’t even have TV!  :-)  So it’s fun, in a different way. And one can visit the beach; I just haven’t had time, and that’s fine. But I’ve been getting to know some wonderful people, and learning a lot.

The main subjects we have learned about in the Discipleship Training School thus far have been: Week one: Hearing God's voice, and intercessory prayer. God's voice - always kind and gentle, speaks truth, would never violate you or His own character; there's life in His voice. The devil's voice - lies, accuses, confuses, very vague, general, condemnation (e.g. "you're stupid"). Your own voice - not always bad, always self-focused (e.g. “I don't want to get up in front of group to speak b/c I'm scared").

University of the Nations, Kona, HI, our beautiful campus!

Week two: The Cross. Four things that the cross fulfilled: 1) our broken relationship with God has been restored fully (Heb.10:19), 2) no price to be paid anymore; He has paid for us all, 3) you are FREE, 4) you're called to be His children as sons and daughters (Rom. 8:15).

Week three: Missions. Understanding the call of God on our lives (3 types of callings): 1) general calling - all of us are called to salvation, but not everyone accepts that call...(John 3:16 and Acts 1, 2) specific call - why am I alive; what's Your purpose for my life, Lord? Example - Paul was called t a specific purpose in Gal.1:1. 3) vocational call - (gifts) used to bless the kingdom of God. OK, enough sermons!  :-)


Christ the Redeemer, statue overlooking Rio De Janeiro
in Brazil. It’s 130 feet tall and Weighs 700 tons!

As I mentioned before, while I’m mainly learning about the Bible and about missions in general, I'm also in the Broadcast/Cinema (BC) DTS (Discipleship Training School) team where we learn how to make Christian media productions. The leader is Kenny Jackson, along with two staff members as well.

My Daily Schedule (which varies)
6:15 am-6:30 am - My alarm goes off (and I actually haven't pressed snooze yet; it's amazing!)
6:30 am-7:00 am - Go to breakfast
7:00-8:00 am - Take a few minutes to tie up loose ends (sometimes make phone calls or work on my journal for class) and then go to prayer room for my devotions
8:00 am - 9:00 am - Worship in what's called the Ohana Court (it's like a gym without walls and without bleachers and it has a stage for the worship band).
9:00 am-10:30 am – Lectures (includes: speakers from leadership, testimonies, small group sessions, etc.
10:30 am-11:00 am - Break
11:00 am-12:30 pm - More Lecture
12:30 pm-1:30 pm - Lunch
1:30 pm-2:45 pm - Workshop within our separate schools (mine being Broadcast)
2:45 pm-4:30 pm - We have this time free, but it's usually spent working on projects, whether in groups or individual stuff

Young boy in Rondonia State in Brazil, where I’ll Be. About
200,000 kids like him have no access to schooling

4:30 pm-6:00 pm - Dinner or work on projects
6:00 pm-9:00 pm – Other meetings, Bible studies, or workshops within our separate schools (not usually the full 3 hours; just varies)
Saturdays and Sundays – Church, every other weekend I have work duty (in the kitchen)sometimes a group activity planned. The 1st Saturday we had off, we played Dodgeball, teams of 6 each. I got to know some people I didn't know before. My group was the only one with all girls. We made it to the “semi-finals!”

We have approx. 450 students here now, including us DTS schools and also the 2nd/3rd year students at YWAM’s University of the Nations. I’m enjoying this learning phase, but also looking forward to the “outreach phase” of the DTS, in Brazil during July and August!

We have lots of Korean students! Korean words/phrases I've learned so far:
Hello - An nyung; my name is Cathy - Nae erum eun Cathy ya; turn off the light - Bull jom ggue julae; good night - Jal ja

More on Brazil. We will be on a YWAM base in or near Porto Velho (“Old Port”), Rondonia State, in NW Brazil, on the Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River. Also I’m told that there will be tarantulas and a snake or two around, 17 on my team (people, not bugs or snakes :-) ), and that one gets vaccinations before going. All for now.

Thanks for your prayers and for helping me get here!

In His love,

Cathy Welch

cathywelch@hotmail.com (e-mail address always usable), phone (704)488-5589 (usable through June 30th). Mail address (through June 25th) - CathyWelch, Broadcasting DTS, University of the Nations, 75-5851 Kuakini Hwy Box 432, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740