Part 1 : Update
Part 2 : This weekend
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Part 1
Hey Brothers and Sisters!
I’m writing you all to tell you what I’ve been up to and what my plans are for the future!
As you all know I’ve joined YWAM in the amazing village of Herrnhut, Germany! :-) Since Sept 5th I’ve been attending the Photo DTS in Herrnhut with 50 students. Now it’s Oct and Photo DTS has ended and now I’m moving on to my normal phase of DTS with 100 students and learning more about my faith and who I am in Christ! Week 3 is almost over for regular DTS! Week 1 was about “Hearing God’s Voice.” A staff member from Brazil led that week, named Lucy. Week 2 was about “Spiritual Warfare and Intercession” led by a speaker from Brazil as well named Rogerio, but he is not staff. Week 2 was so intense for me! God has definitely blessed and annointed Rogerio for teaching and giving the truth intensely! Rogerio and I connected in a very special way. I was so happy that God has placed such a blessing in my life! Rogerio plans on coming back in May 2009 to Herrnhut to lead a 3 month DTS all about “Intercessary Prayer” and is basically begging me to come and join him for those 3 months! Sounds tempting :-D!!!
Mini Outreach is coming up in Nov! Mini Outreach consists of a 1 week outreach in Germany or in selected countries by Germany. God put 2 outreach options on my heart - Romania Outreach and Hamburg, Germany Outreach. Romania consists of 5-6 students and 3 staff travel to Romania and live in an orphanage for a week and minister to the children there. This outreach is also photography based. Along with teaching the kids about Jesus, we will also be doing photoshoots of the orphanage and the kids! The other outreach is to Hamburg, Germany. I lived in Hamburg for 2 weeks before I joined YWAM in Herrnhut. When I lived in Hamburg, I lived at the YWAM base there for 1 week as well. This outreach consists of a few students and a few staff teaming up with the YWAM Hamburg and all of us minister to the red light district in Hamburg. For 1 week we will be talking, helping, and ministering to prostitutes and be doing street evangelism. The reason why I want to go to this one so bad is because I know Hamburg, and I know everyone from YWAM Hamburg. It’d be a great oppurtunity to reach out to a city I’ve previously lived in with my other brothers and sisters :-).
This message is for all of you to know what I’m going through briefly. I also wanted to send this out to let you guys know I need 2 things : PRAYER AND SUPPORT! Go figures, right?! I’m a typical, cliche, YWAM student, and to be honest, I’m completely broke! But, I have complete faith that God will provide! I’m here for a reason, and I know God’s plans take patience and perserverance! With that, here is a list of things that I need from you, my brothers and sisters.
PRAYER :
+ Financial blessing to reach me (I’m already in debt around $2500 from not paying Photo DTS phase and I’m needing around $250 for mini outreach)
+ More faith (for God to provide my heart with more faith than ever! That I will never doubt Him or what He can do for me! Faith is the MOST IMPORTANT!)
+ Strength (to have strength to even get through the day! In YWAM it gets so hard sometimes to even have motivation to wake up and be selfless. Since we are a body of Christ here, we have to be selfless. There is no room for selfishness here, because if we are, then the whole body fails as the Body of Christ!)
+ Multiplication of Love (That my love for these students, staff, for the lost people, broken nations, sick, homeless, prostitutes, elderly, children, and ultimately God, will mulitply more and more daily. That I will know, understand, and become more SENSITIVE to God’s heart and how He feels.)
+ Outreach (That God will reveal where I’m supposed to go on “Mega” Outreach in Jan-Mar. I have the nation of Nepal on my heart, but I’m not for sure if that is even an option now. The Photo DTS will go on a separate outreach than the normal DTS students. I believe Photo DTS can choose between Ethiopa or an Asian country. Pray for God to reveal to me where I should go.)
+ Gods Will (Pray that I will WANT God’s Will for my life in YWAM and outside of YWAM. It’s so easy to pray for OUR wants, and not even consider what God wants for us! So, please pray for me to ask for God’s Will more in my life and that I will follow and be obedient to His Will and not be stubborn.)
+ Worship (God has been pushing me more and more to lead worship here at the YWAM base. Ironicly, I was asked to start leading worship at the base every Tuesday and possibly Wednesday and Thursday! I’ve been asked many times in Sept to lead worship and always denied it because I have a bad voice and can’t play. But, this time I realized GODS WILL, and accepted the offer to lead worhsip for 3 days a week. Seeing that God wants to use me in many different ways, why would I not want to do what He wants me to do? Please pray for God to guide worhsip and not me. I don’t want to play cliche worship songs, I want “Harp and Bowl” worship!)
+ Bear more fruit (Pray for me to keep bearing ripe fruit daily for God and others. Rogerio said an AMAZING quote “Apple trees don’t produce fruit to feed themselves, they produce fruit for others to come and eat and be blessed by food. That is how Christians should live. We should bear fruit for others to be blessed and not to feed ourselves with those fruit. We are here to give to others, and not to ourselves.” With that amazing quote, please pray for me to keep wanting to give, give, and give more!) SUPPORT :
+ I’m needing roughly $5000-$6000 to complete this school. Photo DTS has already ended and I haven’t paid yet. Mini outreach is coming up and I haven’t paid yet! Then there is “Mega” Outreach in Jan-Mar, then school is done. Please remember, prayer is more important than money. If you can’t donate for many didfferent reasons, then please pray for me! That is all I ask for! :-D
That is all for now my dear brothers and sisters!
Here is my address if you wish to bless me with photos, love notes, candy, Mountain Dew, Chipotle, or support!
Taylor M. Pool
JMEM / DTS
Untere Dorfstr. 56
02747 Herrnhut
Germany
Europe
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Part 2
This weekend was pretty intense for me.
I was able to try new things that God has been wanting me to try for a long time, hike up a mountain for 2 hours, and I guess many other things that could be interesting or not.
Saturday was a day to get up early and prepare Brunch for the base.
After preparing, I was able to practice for a few hours with my worship team for worship on Sunday. Let me tell you, I was so pissed at God and myself today. I was so angry at Him because I had no idea why He wanted me to lead worship, and I was so confused because He knew I couldn’t play and sing and do both at the same time. But, knowing what we cannot do, God can do! So, after having a horrible afternoon, I was able to go to the mountains in a small town called Zittau, hike up the mountians, and just be completely soaked in Gods beauty and be able to talk to Him. A great friend, Ralph, told me “What we cannot do, God can do, we just have to have faith.” That was what I needed at that point and time. Knowing I CAN’T do it, but God can!!!! Amen!!!
So, after saturday, came Sunday! (no way!?)
Tonight I took part in leading worship. Man, it was weird, good, interesting and nerve racking all at the same time. I made sure my heart was in the right place, as well as my team mates, and we all just wanted God to move, and not care how we sounded. It was so hard for me to actually get into the worship and play. Since it was my first time, it was a bit hard. But now I know how it is, and next time, I will be able to worship more, instead of play.
Thank you God for healing my heart and teaching me to depend on You more and more. Even though I physically can’t do anything, You can do EVERYTHING thru me. I just have to have faith.
My next time to worship is tues morning. This will be more my style of worship. No structure, no plans, just play, and let God put words on my heart to sing and notes in my ears to play. I’m pretty stoked about that.
Anyways, this is a great first post since I haven’t posted in a long long time.
Hope to talk to you soon, and I will for sure keep you guys updated more now!
With lots of love, blessings, hugs, kisses, smiles, laughs, screams, big hair…
- Taylor
