whoaaaaa, my spirit is aliveeeee
He's re-positioning my heart and now my whole life
You guys, I don’t even know where to begin…
DTS (Discipleship Training School) is like a dredge that descends down to the bottom of the inky black Mariana trench of your soul. It drills down through the mud and decaying matter, through the very crust of the Earth, to the white-hot molten magma at the center. Then when it gets there it takes hold of the core and pulls until the world that you once were is turned completely inside out!
DTS has the incredible power to do this because Jesus, God Himself, is at the center!
Here’s what I’m going to be briefly sharing about in this newsletter:
my old beliefs and my new beliefs
what we’ve been learning about in class
the transformation of my body, soul, and spirit
what it’s like having a 1-on-1 mentor
brief updates on worship, intercession, electives, and ministry
outreach preparation
quiet time and bible study with a friend
prayer requests
my old beliefs and new beliefs
There are so many truths God has restored it’s unfathomable. So I’ll just share one:
I used to believe sexual exploration was empowering. Yet even before I knew Christ I felt how deeply my experiences wounded me. Now I know I am meant to be filled up with love from our Heavenly Father and sex is for within the covenant of marriage. In marriage and sex, two people become one which is a powerful part of God’s design to bring sanctification to us and glory to Him and also new life! Without the commitment of marriage though, sex overexposes us and leaves us with all kinds of physical, emotional, and spiritual wounds.
Well, this newsletter started off heavy. Lol!
what we’ve been learning about in class
Each topic is covered for one week. So we just wrapped up Freedom week and next up, is Holy Spirit!
The Nature and Character of God
Hearing God’s Voice
Jesus and the Cross, Lordship of Christ, Fear of God
Father Heart of God
Relationships
Freedom
Still coming up…
Holy Spirit
Worship and Intercession
Evangelism and Spiritual Warfare
Outreach Preparation
the transformation of my body, soul, and spirit
God gave me a body, a soul, and a spirit. Since the fall of humanity, life on Earth has been marred by sin. Thus our bodies, souls, and spirits from one generation to the next are a hot mess. We are far from who He created us to be, our original design. The brokenness, the separation from God, is obvious everywhere you look.
The gospel truth is that God is so good, so he gave us a way back. He gave us his son Jesus, who died to pay the price for our sins now and forever, who was resurrected and brought up to be seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Because of our belief in Jesus, we are saved and free to die to our old sinful selves and be resurrected to life everlasting with our Godly family. The coolest thing is the process starts here on Earth…
The moment I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, my spirit woke up and came alive in Christ! Hallelujah!
But our bodies and souls don’t catch up to speed quite as quickly. Our soul is composed of our mind, our emotions, and our will. So basically the way we think, feel, and behave. This in turn influences our bodies and our health.
If you have a spirit alive in Christ, you and Christ together can begin to bring healing to your soul and body. He supplies truth and power; you supply desire and action. It’s the work of a lifetime and it won’t be completed this side of heaven.
Now it makes sense why I got so distracted by the new age and holistic health movements, because it’s close but no cigar. It’s working backwards from the body and the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of the soul, trying to “fix” a broken spirit that just misses the One (our triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) who loved us first.
what it’s like having a 1-on-1 mentor
Amazing! We meet once per week. I can tell her anything and she balances perfectly between being a comfort to me and challenging me.
brief updates on worship, intercession, electives, and ministry
Worship is one of my favorite times to really gaze upon the face of the Lord. I try to gaze upon Him throughout the day because I know He’s right there. And if not, he gets my attention.
Intercession is something I’m going to be responsible for on outreach. It’s essentially praying for others. I pray for the places we are going on outreach, specifically God has put San Dionisio Del Mar on my heart. I pray to end bible poverty. I pray for my friends and family. I pray for those still struggling with the sins that tried to take my life. I pray for the whole world!
Electives are only the first 6 weeks of DTS, so they have now come to an end. I worked with Ships and Homes of Hope. Both were super chido (Mexican for cool) and I learned a lot, especially about evangelism.
Ministry for me takes place in the local drug and alcohol rehabs. It’s strange because I know and love people who abuse themselves with drugs and alcohol and it breaks my heart, always has. But I don’t have any judgement of them, I just wish I could help more. The ministry time is nice though because people at the end of their rope want to know what the Lord has for them. So they eagerly pray, worship, and have fellowship with us. I used to think I couldn’t heal because I hadn’t hit rock bottom. If that’s you, talk to Jesus… He will show you the truth of your reality.
outreach preparation
We’re starting to meet 5x/week with our outreach teams to prepare to go!
I learned I’ll be responsible (with others) for food and intercession.
I also get to prepare two sermons (30-50 min each) and my personal testimony, plus daily devotionals.
I’m still raising $2,140 USD - due Nov 24. I also need a sleeping pad, water bottle with a filter, and church clothes before we leave on Dec 9! Good Lord, please come through and send me.
quiet time and bible study with a friend
I’m not going to write about my personal quiet time actually, because I need to actually go do it. K, bye.
My dear friend Caitlin and I are starting Bible study together. We’re starting with Acts which I’m very excited about because it’s apparently about missions and the Holy Spirit. I’m expecting all kinds of mind blowing stories to prepare me for the mission field, which will be great because I already finished the third book we are asked to read for our DTS called “Making Jesus Lord.” It’s so good! Let’s go!
prayer requests
please please please
pray for the restored health of everyone on base
pray for our teachers and leaders to be led by the Holy Spirit
pray for us students to be met by the Lord in our understanding
pray for unity within each outreach team
pray for open hearts where we are going and in all the nations
pray for new partnerships to be formed to share the gospel and do good works together, long term
pray for all finances to be raised
pray for protection against spiritual warfare
Thank you for reading and supporting my work in missions!
The quickest way to give is PayPal.com/AlyssaRoman or Venmo: alyssanicoleroman <3
THANK YOU!
Love,
Alyssa