Hi, my name is Ava!

Last spring, I went on a group trip to Indonesia, and met people that changed my life. This was not a missions trip; however, it was ministry-based. In fact, I have never been on a missions trip. The two leaders of this trip, Blake and Johane, were the most spirit-led young adults I have ever met. The first night, they took guys and girls separately and washed our feet and prophesied over us. Despite not knowing me, Johane was able to speak into my life and prophesy things I had in my heart that only God could have known.

After that night, I decided that I wanted that type of intimacy with God. This trip also opened my eyes to the lost and how my heart breaks for those who do not know the Gospel. I found myself taking every opportunity I could to bond with the locals who were Hindu and tell them about the Gospel.

On one of our last days, Blake and Johane started talking about YWAM. They said that I would thrive at YWAM. I had felt God calling me to go on this trip to Bali, and I had great expectations that He was going to give me clarity on the next steps in my life.

YWAM stands for Youth With A Mission. They have bases all over the world, but one of their well-known bases is in Kona, Hawaii, which is where I have been getting signs to go. Blake had gone to Kona, Hawaii, and Johane had gone to the base in South Africa. One major sign for Hawaii that I got was when my mom's (Dance Coach at Liberty) assistant coach randomly said that she could envision me in Hawaii while I was in Indonesia on this trip. She had no idea that I was praying about YWAM, and get this, she had gone to YWAM herself!

You are probably wondering, what is YWAM?! YWAM is a 6-month long program. The first three months take place in Kona, where 300+ young adults come for DTS or Discipleship Training School. This is where we are trained in how to evangelize, open-air preach, start revivals, disciple people, and are prepped for what life will be like on outreach. During this time, we are praying about where God is leading us to serve for the next three months, which is our outreach portion. We are then split into small groups of around 10 that will be going all over the world to spread the Gospel and love on people. Places like Uganda, Turkey, the Middle East, Africa, etc. God said to make His name known to every nation, tribe, and tongue. I am so blessed to have this opportunity to experience mission work and to learn and grow alongside other eager believers my age. I have no idea where God will lead me, but I am excited. I know that the Lord is calling me to YWAM and that this experience will completely transform my faith. I learned in my interview that this is the last DTS in Kona. God knew this and orchestrated everything so perfectly. I am graduating college 3 semesters early in December, and then I will leave for YWAM. His timing is so perfect.

I am trusting that He will make a way for me to get there financially if this is what He has for me. I am paying for this trip myself and stepping out in faith. The program costs $8,000 which includes lodging and food and tuition, and then I have to pay for all of my travel fees which brings me to around $10,000. I am creating this to provide an avenue for God to work through His people. If you have read to this point, thank you for already investing time to hear my story. I am beyond grateful for any donations, no matter the size! And if you are unable to give money or do not feel called to give, then I hope you could pray for me going into this exciting new season of life! It is nerve-wracking, to say the least! Thank you so much, and God bless you!