Another step closer

Today I met with Anders (pronounced with a silent "d") from Denmark, who is leading the April DTS to Mexico this year. He is 29 and married to an Amercian girl and they have one child. He was lovely to talk to.

He told me that the DTS students are actually expected to do exercise together at 6.00am, which is an initiative to get them out of bed early and encourage them to spend some quiet time with God before they eat breaky. Wow!

On Monday nights they have lectures until 9.00pm or 9.30pm. On Tuesday night, they have small groups after dinner. On Wednesday night, they have a free night. On Thursday night they do evangelism and on Friday night they have the praise and worship meetings. Then on the weekends, maybe once every three weeks depending on how many students there are, they are required to do duties. He said as a maximum I can go home three times for the weekend during the twelve weeks and work is not an option due to the intensity of the weekly duties. He said he can make an exception with regard to Sunday nights and allow me to continue doing VLC bookshop if I want to.

I also had a tour of YWAM, which was the best bit. He took me to see 224 Lord St, which is the big communal dorm. Surprisingly, I actually quite liked it. The bunk beds are separated by big shelving units and every girl gets two shelves and some under-the-bed storage space and a tiny bit of hanging space. There are a few showers with all inclusive areas, so you can take your stuff in and lock the door. The whole dorm building is split in two halves with guys on one and girls on the other. They share a huge kitchen and there is a small area within the corridor with two small lounge chairs where people can sit and talk. I can see how people can easily make good friends in that place.

I filled out all the questions on the application form about my family, areas I feel I need to grow in, my conversion, etc... and went ahead and paid about $55 (ouch!!!) for a national police clearance. Now I also need a medical health report (praise God that Julz is a GP) and three referee reports from a pastor, teacher and friend. Talk about a full-on application process! The total cost is about $9,000 for six months. I really hope that Bev goes ahead and rents my place. I offered it to her at $100/wk for the first three months, then $150/wk for the next three months when I go overseas to Mexico.

Oh, somehow I have to break the news to mum. Why does it seem to hard!