*Nashville*
NASHVILLE! Party city, am I right? Well, my trip to Nashville was for a YWAM house party :) But, I can bet this wasn’t the kind of “house party” you may be thinking of.
YWAM-FFNashville-House Party-2024
This trip to Nashville was extremely beneficial for what the Lord is having me step into this summer of 2024. I am getting the opportunity to bring more ministry into my hometown for the youth; some could call it a Youth Movement. Which is exactly what I spent my time in Nashville learning about. I got to be with 60 other students seeking the Lord in an Airbnb in the Tennessee countryside, and it was amazing! Better yet, I was with my wonderful cousin Kindra and amazing friend McKayla! We got to learn what it means to pioneer something new (yet so old, read your Bible:), and how to build a team to do it together. We had the practicals of this get-together with the lectures/class, and then we had the application part by getting to do evangelism! (This is why I’m writing this in my mission blog)
Amy, Tina, & Maria:
Everyone who attended this House Party got to go do evangelism on Broadway in Nashville; it was spectacular! I met three really cool ladies named Amy, Tina, and Maria. They were having a last hurrah before two of them got deployed in the army. I got the pleasure of talking with Amy for most of the time my group was with her group and she is a fascinating woman. Amy has a huge heart for her country and friends; she would do anything to keep them safe. I figured this by the way she spoke about them. She is so involved with her friends’ lives and even cared greatly for their children like they were her own. As I spoke with Amy more, I learned she was a Christian and her two friends were more on the Lukewarm and agnostic side. Amy loves her friends dearly and will always be a light to them and her friendship with them is truly inspiring. As our conversation came to an end, I got to pray over Amy and encourage her to continue being a light to those around her. She started to cry and I know the Lord was touching her heart and rekindling the fire inside of her.
Tara:
I met Tara the same night on Broadway as I did Amy, Tina, and Maria. Tara was around my age and she was just such a sweetheart! I asked her how life has been recently and she said “Really, good.” So I asked her why and she told me she had just been awarded manager of the year! Go, Tara! As we spoke more about her job and life, Tara told me how stressful being a manager can be. She said the finances at work haven’t been where she would like them to be and it’s been causing her a lot of stress. I then shared with her how God wants us to rely on Him in our times of stress and give Him our burdens. I reminded her that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. I then got to pray over Tara and after the prayer she told me that this was just the conversation she needed. (God knows when you have questions, He knows when you need a little push, He hears your prayers, and He won’t leave you hanging. Tara got the conversation she needed simply because the Lord prompted us to speak with her and she was open to listening. Let this story encourage you to keep one ear open and ready to hear what God may have to say.) Tara told me that she hadn’t had much time to go to Church but had been seeking God on her own time, she said she needed to simply have this encouraging conversation to stir her faith just a bit more.
Emily & Jenny:
Now this is a cool story…
It was Sunday afternoon and Mckayla, Kindra, and I were in downtown Franklin eating pizza for supper before going to the hotel. Little did we know that we would not be going to the hotel. After we got done eating we decided to go for a drive to see the countryside of Tennessee. We started driving around and I remembered a previous conversation about a cute little town close to the Nashville area. I remember being told this little town was a spot we should definitely go and see. So we started heading toward the Little town and as we got to the city line, Mckayla wanted to pull over. We stopped at his cute little area where the sun was setting and there was a neat little fence and a big field of hay bales behind it. Kindra said we should take some cute pictures here and so we did. While we were taking pictures I noticed that these two other girls were doing the same thing. So I called over there and asked if they wanted me to get a picture of them together and they of course said yes. So we continued taking pictures and I asked them where they were from. Both girls were living in the Nashville area and when we told them where we were from they were shocked that it was South Dakota. They asked what we were doing in Tennessee and I got to share with them about YWAM and the ministry and evangelism we had done over the weekend. Emily was so excited to hear about this from us because she had just thought about wanting more opportunities to do ministry. I was eager to tell her more about the Nashville YWAM base and the evangelism team that goes out every Friday to evangelize on Broadway.
Our conversation continued for around 3 hours, with topics like astrology, Bible study, human anatomy, the Gospel, and many others. We all got to know each other in beautiful ways, and I was so encouraged by the whole conversation. Jenny and Emily are two girls in their mid-twenties who are so ready to learn more about who God is, what His word means for us, and how we can apply His word in our lives. They inspired me to keep my hunger for the Lord at an all-time high. Never forgetting my need to learn more, and never forgetting that I will always have something new to learn. I cannot thank the Lord enough for that wonderful conversation that all started with simple obedience.
Weekend Schedule:
Wednesday: Left home.
Thursday: Made it to Nashville and checked in to our hotel.
Friday: My breaks decided to be done so we had to sit at a car dealership for a couple hours as they got fixed (Thank you Lord for not letting them go out on our drive down to Nashville). After the breaks were fixed we went to the Airbnb that YWAM had rented out for the get-together. We played games all afternoon and then had worship that evening!
Saturday: Session 1 started at 10am, we had worship and then learned about doing youth movements in our hometowns. We then had 2 hours for lunch and fellowship with the other people there. Session 2 started at 2pm and went on until supper; during this session, we were taught about the importance of having a team and working together. supper was up next and afterward, we made our way to Broadway to do some evangelism!
Sunday: We worshiped for most of the morning, it was amazing just getting to remember the cost that Jesus paid for us and how it was only by His blood we are made new. We then took communion together and after that, we prayed over each other. (I was crying for about the entire morning, the Lord was definitely using the people around me to tell me exactly what I needed to hear for the season I am in.) We had lunch at Airbnb and then around 2pm, we went to the factory in Franklin. Mckayla, Kindra, and I got coffee with two of our new/not-new friends and we also waited out a pretty gnarly storm. We then went back to the hotel to get ready for some pictures and a nice dinner in downtown Franklin. After eating we made our way to an amazing conversation!
Monday: Drove home.
