Team Orange

There are a total of ten students and five staff on our DTS. For outreach we will be splitting into two teams. We spilt for two reasons, one being that fifteen people is to many to be traveling around villages with, and two, because we can reach more people. 

We prayed a lot as staff about how we should split the teams and came to the conclusion that its best to have God pick the teams :) So we gave each team a Color. Chris and I were Orange and Duane and Becky (our married couple) were Green (One of our staff isn't going on outreach with us). Then we told the students to pray about what color to pick. We didn't tell them what staff was what color and they weren't allowed to talk about it or tell anyone what they had gotten. They were to write their color down with their name and put it in a box. 

At the end of the week we pulled all the papers out and announced the teams. Team Orange ended up with four students and team green got six students. 

The teams were definitely hand picked by God! I really feel like the people who's personalities work best together were put together. Also Orange team needed to be smaller, cause we will be traveling a lot more and going into small villages. 

That said, I would like to introduce you to my amazing team Orange!

I'll start with our lovely ladies.

First up, coming in at 5 foot 2 is my amazing co-leader Christina! 

Chris is absolutely incredible! She's a country bumpkin from New York that loves India, being creative, and Jesus. She can always make me laugh! Chris has such a heart for God and is such a servant leader! She has been a great roll model for me and been teaching me how to lead the way Jesus leads. I've been so blessed to have her! I really look forward to leading this outreach with her! 

Up next, coming in with a beautiful smile is Teresa (T-bomb)!

Teresa is super sweet! She is a Floridan who definitely does not like snow, but chooses to have a good attitude about it anyways. She loves music and has an amazing singing voice! Teresa has a kind spirit and loves God with all her heart! Her desire is to serve him in anyway she can. Teresa is very sensible and will be able to keep all the rest of us crazy kids from killing ourselves :) She makes me smile!

Then last for the Ladies is the one and only Elisabeth!

Elisabeth is an awesome young lady of God! She's from Washington and absolutely loves cooking, worshipping, and adventure! Its always a good time when Elisabeth's around. She's always so cheerful and always spreads her mood to others! She has a special gift for intercession. Elisabeth is also super organized and responsible! I'm really excited about having another organizer around! She Couldn't imagine the team without her!

Now for the Guys...

Coming all the way from Canada we have Andrew!

Andrew is our crazy Canadian who is always up for a good time! Everyone loves picking on him, and if he didn't dish it right back I might feel sorry for him. I'm pretty sure everyone makes fun of him cause they're just jealous though :). He brings heaps of joy to our team! He earnestly pursues God daily and adds so much to our team! I don't know what we would do if we didn't have an "eh" here and there every once and awhile.

And last, but definitely not least is Matthew!

Matt is "Normally Awesome!" He also said to say that he's hot and muscular too haha! He's from Montana and loves everything involving snow! He also really likes golf. Matt is often the life of the party and when him and Andrew are together, no one is ever bored. He has a super amazing heart and is totally on fire for God! He's gonna be a really awesome leader and I'm super glad to have him on my team! Oh and I'm sure his muscles will come in handy too :) 

Prayer Around the Fire

Just keep swimming...

Week seven of lecture phase is drawing to an end. I can't believe how fast time is flying by! The last few weeks have been both powerful and somewhat challenging. The "honeymoon" phase is over and our students are really starting to feel the strain of pressing in so hard for so long. Now is when their true desire for God is coming out. They are having to decide whether or not they want to continue pursuing God whole heartedly despite the fact that they are tired, people are getting on their nerves, they're homesick, and having to deal with other distractions that life has a habit of throwing at us. We all have our bad days, but for the most part everyone has been doing an amazing job of choosing to have good attitudes and being helpful even when they don't feel like it. I am so super proud of them all! They have proven themselves to be incredible men and women of God! My heart is just bursting with love for them and I feel so blessed to be able to be their leader!

Prayer points

1. Pray that we would all continue learning what it truly means to die to ourselves and live for Christ.

2. The students (and Staff) where given the opportunity to stay in India for an extra three months to work with our English teaching ministry. Some of them have decided to stay and some are still seeking God in it. Please pray that they would have clarification on what they are supposed to do.

3. Pray for energy, motivation, and good attitudes for everyone, staff and students.

4. Pray for health. Cold season is definitely here and trying to focus and have a good attitude is ten times harder when you're sick!

Thank you all so much for your prayers! Blessings on you!

In Christ
Naomi Joy

Cutting Wood like a Ninja!

Work duties! Like a boss!

Camping!!

Week 1

Week one was, to say the least, AWESOME! We started our week with a speaker from Minnesota. He taught on the Heart of God and having an intimate relationship with him. It was a powerful couple of days! Everyone had really cool encounters with God. It was not only impacting on the student, but I also got allot out of it. It was a nice refresher. He taught till Wednesday and then Marty our base leader took over with Hearing the voice of God for the rest of the week. Friday we took the students camping at a place called City of the Rocks. It was so beautiful there! We bouldered, rock climbed, hiked and slept under the stars. It was a blast and definitely a really great way to start the DTS! I have great expectations for this next six months! Please pray that things continue to run smoothly and our communication stays strong.

Orientation

Ywam Camp

Here is a picture of the Ywam camp I'm working at taken from a half mile hike up a big hill. It's so gorgeous up here! God is such an amazing artist! He makes so many beautiful things!

Making dinner for 20 with this Cutie!

Day One!

Today was the first day of DTS!! Whoohoo! Most of the students arrived Saturday and the rest came in Sunday. We have an awesome group this year. There are six girls and four boys from all over the place. We have students from Canada, Hawaii, Washington, Florida, and Montana, just to name a few. They are all very hungry to learn and on fire for God. I'm super stoked about how God is going to use them and work in their lives.

Sunday we had a big Welcome Bash with awesome food and Introductions and today our schedule started. We had worship and intersession followed by orientation. It all went really well!

I'm really getting excited about being staff! I'm finally understanding why God called me here. I am still working on figuring out my roll, but I'm beginning to get it down. Basically I just have to be myself, hang out with the students, be an example, and be there for them when they need someone. I also work in the kitchen, help plan events, and occasionally I give a teaching, or lead worship and intercession. 

So far I'm really enjoying myself. I know there will be challenges and I will definitely have to stretch, but I know that God will be there to give me strength when those times come.

I really appreciate your prayers and support! Blessings on you all!

In Christ!

Naomi

Prayer points:

1. I still need about 400 dollars of monthly support. I have no idea where its coming from, but right now I'm just trusting God to provide.

2. Wisdom to be able to speak into the lives of the students.

3. A willingness to be vulnerable.

And so it begins...

Hey y'all!

Well I made it! I arrived in Idaho today. It's so bittersweet. I'm so happy to be here for God, but at the same time my heart aches for everything and everyone I left behind. Saying goodbye was very hard! I know that God has amazing plans for the next few months and I feel so blessed to be able to be apart of them. God has also provided so much this last month and He has given me such a peace about my finances. I want to thank you all so much for making this possible! I wouldn't be here without your prayers and support!

Tomorrow I have my first staff meeting, followed by staff orientation. I'm looking forward to getting busy! And busy we will be for the next three weeks getting ready for the students to come. Lots of prep work.

Things you can pray for:

1. That I will be able to dig into this time whole heartedly without reservation.

2. Wisdom to know how to be part of a leadership team.

3. Being willing to open up and step out of my comfort zone.

4. An open heart to hear God clearly.

I miss you all already! I'd be thrilled if you would email or call me! I have a new phone number, so if you want it email me and I'll get it to you.

Yours truly

Naomi Joy

Living a Life of Love and Passionately Pursuing Christ

Dear Friends,

            I hope and pray this finds you well! I know some of you may have been thinking that I must have fallen off the face of the earth sometime in the past 8 months. I apologize for the lack of communication since I got back from my DTS. I would really appreciate it if you would take a few minutes of your time and read this. I would like to give you a quick update on my life.

As most of you know I returned from my two and a half month missions trip to India mid November. It was a bittersweet thing to leave. I fell deeply in love with the place and, most of all, the people. Even though by the end of my trip I was physically and emotionally ready to return home, I left a large piece of my heart back there.

When I got back, I went through allot of culture shock! Only the opposite of what I had gone through when I arrived in India, Going from living in a place with so little, back to a place with so much was incredible overwhelming!  I walked into Walmart looking for one specific thing and finding four different brands for that one thing. I just sat there and stared at them, trying to decide which one to pick. Ten minutes later I walked out of the store empty-handed feeling very silly that I couldn’t make up my mind. Now I look back at that and laugh, but at the time it was extremely discouraging! I just tell myself that I am on a journey to be like Paul, to learn the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

In January I went back to my old job working as an Office Manager for an electric company, and a little later on I got another job working with kids at the YMCA. I have spent the last seven months building relationships, working off the last of my outreach fees, trying to put some money in savings, and praying for direction for the future.

Because we have such an amazing Father in heaven, when we pray for direction, we eventually get answers. Which brings me to my next topic, the Future. God has told me to go back to Idaho and help staff the next Discipleship Training School (DTS) and spend some more time in India.

You may be curious as to what staffing a DTS involves and what value it has. Well basically I will spend three months of lecture phase helping the students learn more about God, hearing his voice, understanding his word, and learning to have a closer relationship with him. Then we will take those skills and teach them how to share it with others. During this lecture phase the students learn how much God values them, and they also learn to overcome hurt and brokenness from their own pasts. I will also be mentoring and helping prep the students for outreach. Then we will spend three months in India loving on people, using the skills we learned during lecture and spreading the gospel. That’s what I am going to be doing for the next year and a half, two years, provided the funds come in. I will be moving to Idaho to help staff the Fall Discipleship Training School on August 26^th. I couldn’t be more excited! And Nervous!

Here is where I need your help, and where you can become a part of my ministry. Over the last few months, I have earned enough money to purchase my plane ticket to India, but that’s it. The cost of living for YWAM staff is $430.00 a month. As of now, I don’t have any support. I need people who are willing to support me on a monthly basis so that all this can be possible. So what I ask is that you take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to pray about supporting me either monthly or one time. Whatever you can do, or whatever God asks you. Anything helps!

Another way that you can support me is through prayer. Prayer is every bit as important and even more important then financial support. Instead of sending out newsletters, I will be updating my blog regularly. I would be so encouraged if you would come follow me, be apart of my adventures, comment and share thoughts. It’s always comforting to know that I am not in this alone. I will hopefully be posting updates, stories, and/or pictures once a week. Provided I have Internet that is. Also if you would share my blog with others, the more people on board praying the better. Prayer is a powerful thing!

If you would like to support me Financially you can mail checks to me at:

YWAM Idaho Boise-Cascade

Attn: Naomi Geiger

110 West Market St/ PO Box 70

Cascade, Idaho 83611

For them to be tax deductible, write the check to YWAM Idaho and just put a note with it saying that it is for me.

I truly appreciate each and every one of you! You are all in my prayers! I would love to hear from y’all! You can email me anytime! My email address is Ngeiger92@gmail.com

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your Spirit!

Blessings!

Naomi Geiger

- Its not about what I can do, its about what God can do through me...