Labor of Love: LDC Week 2-3

Okay… wow…

We are now halfway through our leadership development course and I am amazed at how DENSE each week has been with content. The impartation is non stop!!!
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Here are just a few topics from our sessions in the last two weeks:

• decision making in a team
• different type of team leadership
• personal strengths and weaknesses as a leader
• confrontation and knowing when to be tough or tender
• dealing with conflict in a team
• finding resolution in conflict
• the process of mediation
• dealing with offenses, with or without cause
• finding freedom from signature sins
• exploring areas of ministry development from our experiences
• coaching for growth

​The staff blow me away with how servant hearted they are and how much time, effort, and prayer they put into each session. It’s simply astounding and raises the standard for how Tessa and I want to lead our schools. There is so many creative ideas we will be leaving with! Not only that, but to see the staff participate in our times of ministry is also refreshing to see that they’re not just ministering to us but allowing us to minister to them.

There’s way too much to share in one update. Instead I’ll share a highlight for our pioneer team, our family, for Tessa, and for myself.

Our pioneer team has been able to formally come together to begin praying over each other and over Vancouver Island. One of the points that has come up during the sessions is that ministry will come out of who we are as a team. That’s something that we’re praying more intently about. What’s been awesome is that we have been able to meet with one of our YWAM fathers from Canada and gain his insight and some of the history of the region we will be pioneering in. We also talked about how we can work together with our strengths and some of what the process can look like in our decision making as a team.

Where we live.

Our family is benefiting in so many ways from this course! Much thanks to Jevon, we have been able to fully participate in all the sessions and workshops in this course. Mateo is getting well acquainted with the outdoors. A funny story, while I was walking Mateo back to our cabin Mateo says, “look daddy a snake!” I didn’t fully believe him until I saw that I had walked right over it. I was very surprised and encouraged Mateo (and yes I was a little scared until I realized it was a garter snake). This happens a lot, where he will spot something and I’ll think, surely he’s making this up, but then I find out that he really did see what he said he saw. My son knows what he’s talking about, lol!

Tessa has been getting so refreshed from this time. One of the staff had said to her that she looked totally different than when she first arrived. That she had a spark in her eye and had more life beaming from her face. Last night we had a date night set up for all the married couples by the staff. It was a little awkward at first, but it definitely positioned our hearts in a more intimate way by the end of the night. We wrote down ten things that we were thankful for that we saw in each other then wrote down something that we were believing God for in their life. We shared them with each other and read them out loud. It was such a special night!

From our date night that the staff set up for all the married couples.

Part of the forum discussing areas of vulnerability while in their leadership roles. Lf to rt: Pete, Luba, Rite, and Stephe.

For myself, I’ve been so blessed from getting to hear unique insights from some of our YWAM leaders. My favorite parts have been the discussion panels and getting to ask questions. They’re very candid with some of the experiences that they share. They’re share their weaknesses with us. They’re explaining in detail some of the insecurities and ways they worked through their insecurities while in their roles. It reminded me, as far as I go in being vulnerable with people in our schools, that’s as far as I can lead them. Overall, I’m just getting reminded of the type of leader that I desire to be and the one that God is shaping me to be. One last thing, two areas that are now on my heart to take teams to: Russia and the Caribbean. There are some people here that are leaders in those areas that are quickly becoming “life long” friends!
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That’s all for now! I wish I could share more and I just may but I guess for now, enjoy our photos! Thank you so much for your prayers!