CHINA OUTREACH!

We found out today that we are going to Hong Kong & Northeast China for our outreach phase on Sept. 21st!
We will be gone for 7 weeks and as part of the preparation we are learning Manderin together! How neat is that!
I will keep updating the blog as we find out more information but we are all very excited and eager to go!

K & L

HIKING

We had a great time hiking yesterday up one of the gorgeous Swiss Alps yesterday. There was steep climbs, strong cold winds, and as we got higher-SNOW! In July, snow. It was a great day, very tiring but so worth it for the amazing views. Check out our facebook to see some more sweet pics!

PLANNING OUTREACH

We have now started the process for planning our outreach phase as a class to another country. This will most likely be somewhere in Asia but we are now finalizing dates, places and finances. The first portion of our finances is due next week, a little earlier than we had anticipated and we do not have all of it yet. We are praying for ways we can raise this support but if you would also pray with us in this time that would be much appreciated. In one sense, it's exciting to have the opportunity to see God's awesome provision but it can be challenging at times to know that He does provide and how He will do it. If you would like to help us financially in this time, please email me and I can give you more details.

HOW ARE YOU?!?!

Please email Kyle or I and let us know whats going on with you, we want to share both our experiences and hear yours as well!

WEEK 5 CLASS

Tomorrow starts week 5 already of school, I can't believe it's going by so fast! This week we have a teaching on the Character of God. It will be very unique as we are receiving this teaching via satellite with Amsterdam! Our speaker will be in a third location (can't remember right now) and will be speaking to our class and a YWAM class in Amstrerdam so it should be interesting! How cool is it that we can experience class with people a few countries away :)

Well thats all for now, until next time!

Bless ya heaps (as our Aussie's say...)

K & L

You all can see other Switzertland pics of us on Kyle's facebook, thanks!

New week!

Lydia:

As The Regeneration outreach ended last week, I was a bit sad but also relieved and excited to get back to the exciting routine of DTS. We had an awesome opportunity to hang out with Dustin and Katie (guy who does unicycling and his wife from Minnesota) for the weekend, seeing different sites, factories and ending it with yummy cheese fondue!

Our week started off and went full speed quickly! It between classes of 'Foundations in Missions' we have been biking, playing volleyball, and serving in our 'practical miinitries' (Kyle's is housekeeping/landscaping & mine is hospitality). I have been challenged huge through the biking because I quickly learned that I didn't know how to bike like I thought I did. We biked 10 km as a class, going down many steep, bumpy, rocky hills in the forest followed by twists and turns going upward for what felt like an eternity!

We started discussing this week in class about how being a missionary is something we all do, in every country we live, wherever we work, whatever we like to do and whoever we are related to or friends with. It was really inspiring to talk about how no matter where we are at, we can make difference in that worldview.

As biking starts again in a few minutes, hopefully these hills will feel a little less scary!

Swiss Pics

Swiss Night!

Yesterday we had 50 more people join our base for about 10 days from Kona, Hawaii and other areas of the world. We had a Swiss night yesterday to celebrate their arrival that consisted of Swiss cheese fondue, fresh bread, swiss chocolate and traditional Swiss games like stone throwing!
This team came to take part in our 'Regeneration' outreach at the Montreux Jazz Festival, a huge festival held every year in Switzerland with world famous performers such as Norah Jones, Billy Idol, Missy Elliott and many more! The team from Kona will be doing a variety of dances and other performances.
Today was our first day at the festival. While things were still getting started, we took some time walk around, meet people and pray for the festival and the city that will be held over the next 2 weeks. There were some performers and a lot of shops open selling local artistry work. It was very hot so some people enjoyed a nice dip in Lake Geneva. Kyle and I were asked to help record the festival everyday through photos and journals that will be put on another blog. I will let you know what the blog site is soon!

Au Revoir!

Lausanne

Lausanne is more beautiful then we ever anticipated and the people both on campus and in town are so wonderful! It was a great way to be greeted and welcomed into Switzerland.
Wednesday we arrived here and it didn't take long before we were right at home, greeted by everyone on campus, including the other 8 students in our class (8 girls, 2 guys) and our staff, as well as general campus or 'base' staff as they refer to it.
Thursday we did orientation of everything on campus and then started our classes which was just getting to know each other, and these classes will be Monday to Friday. But next week everything will be on hold as we are all participating in a huge, worldwide jazz festival downtown. Not too sure what we will be doing yet but we'll find out soon!
Yesterday we found out what our 'work duties' were going to be on campus. For those that don't know, YWAM is fully volunteer based so in order to keep the base running smoothly, everyone participates in a different area of service. Kyle and the other guy student, Felipe from Brazil, are in charge of general maintenance and gardening. Myself and another girl from Australia, Sarah, are in charge of hospitality, so anytime a guest comes to stay on base, we take care of their rooms and help make them feel at home!
Today was amazing, we took a trip into town and really got to see the view of the mountains. We took a trip into Switzerland's largest Cathedral. It is 900 years old!
We slowly made our way down to the lake and enjoyed a refreshing swim as it was another hot, hot day. On our way back we passed a park area near the waterfront where a huge TV was set up outside for the soccer game! Many people gathered around to watch and cheer, so cool!
As our first week wraps up, we'll see what next week has in store...