First Week

First off I'd like to apologize for not updating sooner. Live is pretty scheduled out here for us, but it's no excuse not to blog. Thank you everyone for your patience.

July 15-20th

What an amazing first week of YWAM I've had. The first week was orientation week. This was a time to really get to know our surroundings and the people that we will be living with for the next 5 months! After run orientated by the staff our DTS coordinator Cheyne came back up and started to speak some prophetic words to some students. Now I have never heard anyone speak out prided ic words and have always wondered if they were truly words from The Lord. Then he looked at me... He said "I have had this feeling that you have been running, and going and saying busy your entire life and God just wants me to tell you that this will be a time of rest for you here at YWAM." My eyes started getting heavy with tears and at that time I could feel the Holy Spirit pressing on my heart saying be still and rest in Him. I now know that prophetic words aren't just something that happened in the bible but they were real and tangible.

During our lecture times we spent time telling our testimonies, being transparent and asking the Lord to give us salvation through the repentance of our sins. It felt so freeing to be myself share my heart and not feel judged. All of us have had a rough past but despite what we have gone through the Lord can heal and restore the broken. I was prayed over and I could feel the Holy Spirit present and lifting baggage off my heart. I can see lives be transformed and hardened hearts become soft and pain turn to victory. Our God is GREAT and He is moving mountains here in Tauranga.

On Thursday afternoon we packed an overnight bag and headed to Auckland to sail our new ship M/V Pacific Hope to its home here in Tauranga. The M/V (motor vessel) Pacific Hope was purchased in Japan and will be Marine Reach's new medical outreach boat. The van ride was around 3 hours long. Cheyne our DTS leader was the driver of our van and his son tagged along with us. The ride consisted of songs, car games, Liz trying to braid my hair and being very unsuccessful, and lots of laughs. We stopped somewhere in Auckland and I found a Starbucks!!!!! I was soo excited to say the least.

We arrived at the port and got acclimated to the boat. Our first task was to have a mock fire drill... this was epic. We had old life vests and filed out to the bow of the boat where they did a dry run of how they would put out a fire on the boat... it was pretty awesome... just wish I was part of the fire brigade. For dinner we had some type of orange chicken and rice. Mmmm it was really good. After dinner, a group of us walked down the block to the convenience store where we got some goodies... Mt Dew was my choice. ;)

I was super excited to see the Sky Tower... The Sky Tower is the highest man made structures in New Zealand and you can even walk around the top pergola and sky jump off the side of the tower. Its kinda like repelling, not bungie jumping. I am really wanting to make a trip and do it but I know that my sister is reading this and having a heart attack thinking to herself, did she get permission from her doctor to do that. Well Micaela, Dr. Anderson said I was healthy and I know that God is my only protector and healer ;)

The next morning we were off to sail to Tauranga. The trip took around 14 hours but we extended it because we had a ceremony planned for Saturday afternoon. After leaving Auckland we got right to work working on things to make the boat look nice and function properly. I was lucky, I got to paint the deck of the bow. While painting the captain announced over the loud speaker that there were dolphins at the bow of the boat. BOOM we were right there!!! We had a front row spot to watch the dolphins swim in the wake. They were so majestic. I told God that I would like to see a dolphin in real life and he blessed me with 7!

Saturday morning we arrived in Tauranga where the boat would be housed. There was a ceremony to welcome the boat. We were blessed to have a Maori tribe welcome as well. The Maori people are the indigenous people of the New Zealand. The Maori culture plays a major roll in the lives of people in New Zealand. During this ceremony a worrier challenges the new comer to see if they come in peace. The worrier then places a token and in our case the captain of the ship picked it up representing that we all come in peace. After they greet each other with the Hongi. To do this, you have your eyes closed touch nose to nose and forehead to forehead and you exchange a breath of life with each other. It was pretty breath taking to watch.

After our ceremony we provided tours to everyone that came to show off the boat and show the vision of the pacific hope. The boat has a lot of renovating to do which consists of placing a dental clinic with two chairs in one of the rooms and a ophthalmology and optometry clinic in another. Once finished the boat will be able to travel to remote islands and provide medical care to those who have never recieved care before. Being a part of this process has inspired me and placed a vision in my life and the boat has a special place in my heart already. To see what God will do with the boat and the lives that it will impact is so refreshing. What better way to show Gods love then to go love and restore hope to those who never though it would be possible. To give vision back to the blind and to heal a lost soul is what Jesus did when he was here and we can do with The M/V Pacific Hope.

I am so touched by all the maracolus things that God is doing here in New Zealand. I can feel the Holy Spirits presence in me and in this community. Gods love pours out through the people and I am blessed that God has made this a part of my journey! Thank you again for being patience with me because writing doesn't come easy for me. I pray that God is doing amazing things through your lives as well and can't wait to share more about God encounters here at YWAM. Love you all and miss everyone a ton!

With Love,
Mallory

Off to Auckland

Having fun with the fire drill

The Sky Tower in Auckland

The sail into Tauranga

Arrived

Wow, what an amazing weekend I have had in New Zealand. Thank you everyone again for all the love that you have provided me with to get me here. I couldn't have done it without your support. I have been so blessed already by the people that I have encountered here and can't wait to see what God will do with this group of people. Lets back track a bit to where I left off a few days ago. 

I arrived in Fiji at 6:30 am Fiji time. As I stepped off the plane and was serenaded by lovely music, it felt so surreal. I was a bit nervous to go through customs for the first time and wasn't sure as to what they were going to ask me but it ended up being an easy process. I grabbed my bags and headed into the main lobby which wasn't very large. An Australian guy that I spent time chatting with in LA at the Fiji airport as well. I was very comforted by the fact that he had a long layover in Fiji as well. We went into their little cafe to grab a bite to eat. After talking with him for a few hours we decided to grab a cab and do some sight seeing. It was a culture shock to be one of few americans in this little town. God was good and blessed me with protection and I was able to really enjoy His beauty. I even got to see a Fiji fire truck :D

I went back to the airport and proceeded to check in for my flight. This is where I ran into problems... They saw my carry on and backpack and said that I needed to weigh each of my bags. The lady said that my bags were to heavy to take with me and that I would need to check them both in. I explained that I had all my medications in my bag and that I wasn't going to check the bag in and allow someone else to handle my bag. She ended up grabbing her supervisor and he told me the same thing that I couldn't take my bags along with me. I again told him that I was going to New Zealand for 6 months and that was the reason why I had so much medications. He asked me what medical conditions I had and if I had taken my medications today. I felt very uncomfortable telling him this information. He started saying that he would be contacting someone in New Zealand to tell them that I was bringing a large amount of medications into the country. He finely negotiated with me and stated that I could bring one bag that weighed around 20 lbs... drawing a blank on what there metric system is. LOL. Anyway, I had to check in my backpack which had things to keep me entertained on the plane. On top of having to check in my bag I had to pay $200 Fiji dollars which is around $100... I started to cry but knew that God would provide. 

The flight from Fiji to New Zealand flew by... literally ;) Mom you would be proud of me I ate chicken curry. The other choice was lamb which wasn't brave enough to try. 

I arrived in Auckland, New Zealand around 6:30pm. Butterflies were about to escape from my stomach, I was filled with so many emotions but was soo blessed to finally arrive after around 34 hours of traveling. 

DTS staff were waiting with a warm welcome and hugs at the airport. The girls told me that we would be waiting in Auckland for 2 other girls that were arriving later. We ended up grabbing a bite to eat at subway and having a cup of coffee while we waited. One of the girls flights was delayed and so we only picked up one girl. We had a long drive back to the base around midnight, what was only suppose to be 3 hours turned into 4. I was able to sleep for half the time but woke up with excitement. Might have been the fact that I REALLY had to use the bathroom. I guess people in New Zealand never take road trips because there was NOWHERE were we could use a bathroom. Three stops later we finally found a bathroom. Praise Jesus for the little things. 

We arrived at the base around 4am. Everyone was obviously asleep so I hopped into bed and had no problem sleeping. 

Saturday morning I woke up around 8am... tried falling back asleep but I was wide awake and ready to meet everyone. The morning was very laid back and relaxing. A group of students were driven into town by one of the staff to shop for anything that we forgot. This was my first time being able to see the beautiful land that New Zealand has to offer. 

The rest of the day consisted of lunch, unpacking, taking a nap, socializing and playing games, dinner and family time. I went to bed around 10pm which is really early for me but I was exhausted!!!

SUNDAY JULY 14th 2013

Woke up at 630 am.... which is crazy because I'm not usually a morning person. We were presented with a couple of choices of local churches and were able to pick a church that we wanted to go to. The church I went to had great worship and amazing coffee :)

After church and lunch we got to go to the beach and Mount Maunganui. What a beautiful place.. I started up jogging up the mountain and power walking up the steps but that didn't last for very long, but I made it to the top and what a sight it was. To be fully engulfed in Gods beauty was soo surreal. My pictures don't do justice to the beauty at the top of the mountain. 

Dinner time is becoming such a family orientated time. I love being present with these people and getting to know each of their stories. After dinner most of the girls got together for a Zumba session... what a blast. 

Today I have been learning to be present in each moment and truly opening my heart to this group of people that I get to call my YWAM family. I truly miss everyone back home but I'm so excited to be here and be open to what God has for my life. 

Its only 9:15pm here and I'm already exhausted... I know that I will be sleeping well tonight. 

Much love from New Zealand,

Mal

My backyard

New Zealand Bound

What a long day and my journey has only started. Lets start out with my morning...

0530- woke up

0600- breakfast

0730- finished packing

0800- ran last minute errands

1000- said good bye to Rob Jacobson ( what a blessing he has been during this adventure of a lifetime and be blessed with an amazing church family-Restoration Covenant.)

1100- finished last minute packing and got ready... Marley (my younger sister) braided my hair, thanks Marley! 

1200pm- placed my bags in the car and headed to the airport. I arrived at the airport and was able to spend time with my wonderful sisters, mom and also my bestie Sarah and her kids! Thank you for all the love and support that I received at the airport.

2:55pm (MN time) LAX bound... Tried to sleep but that didn't work out to well. I sat by a wonderful woman and her six month old and was able to chat with her which made the time go by faster.

Arrived at LAX at 630pm (MN time) 4:30pm in LA and tried to switch my flight to a direct flight to New Zealand but it didn't work. So I sat around and charged my electronics and talked to some friendly people that use to live in New Zealand. 

6:30pm(LA time)- went to the ticket counter and ran into problems with my luggage. I was able to check my large luggage just fine but they weren't allowing me to take my backpack and a carry on... My carry on contains all my medications ill need for six months which was over their weight limit. They said I would just have to "figure it out" and they wouldn't allow me to leave until I figured something out. I started rummaging through my bags trying to shift weight between my bags. I started getting anxious but at that moment I started praying, lord please allow this to work so that I can take my meds and luggage on board with me. One of the supervisors came back and said its ok an that I could just go and not have a problem. Praise The Lord that I didn't have to check anything else. 

So that brings me to now, 9:30pm LA time... Which means I've been traveling around 12 hours so far. The 7 hour layover has gone by pretty quickly which I'm very thankful for. Was able to call my family and get a bite to eat as well. 

I am beyond blessed by the overwhelming amount of support that I have received over the past few months. Thank you EVERYONE for your prayer and financial support. I am blessed to be able to listen to Gods calling in life and I look forward to what he has planned for the next six months of my life... I'm going to do my best to keep everyone update along the way! Love you all and ill let you know when I get to New Zealand.

With love,

Mallory

I hopped of the plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan. 

Minnesota to California

Luggage just made the weight requirement ;)

New Zealand Bound

GoFundMe

 

Click here to visit my account:

www.gofundme.com/319tl4

 

39 DAYS UNTIL I LEAVE! My gofundme account is up and running and I am so thankful and blessed by the support that is coming in. Like I've said before this mission isn't possible without your support. Thank you in advanced for your financial gift that you may feel led to give.

With Love,

Mal

 

 

Become a Partner

Hi everyone! God has placed before me such an exciting adventure. God has called me to go to New Zealand and participate in a medical mission with Youth With A Mission. I am convinced that when God calls us, He also is in the process of calling a team of people to join with us in the ministry. Our job is to walk in God’s ways in order to see His full blessing on our work. I can’t do this without YOUR help. I would love for you to partner with me on this mission God has called me to do. Your prayers and financial gift will allow God to build His kingdom and fulfilling the great commission. I need to raise $13,000 for before July 15^th! Would you consider partnering with me?

What’s a Partner?

·         A “Difference Maker”- This mission is possible with your help!

·         A person who commits to pray.

·         A person who gives financially.

Your Benefits-

·         Investing in eternal returns

·         Direct connection to the mission field

·         Encouraging newsletters/updates

·         A prayer partner

How to Donate-

·        Click the donate button to the right to make a secure payment via PayPal

 

Thank you for your prayerful consideration in joining my ministry and partnering with me in Gods calling for my life. May God bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you and give you peace.

Blessings,

Mal

My Heart, My Story

Bear with me this is quite a long post but I wanted to share my story with you! 

The Lord has always been abundant in my life. I don’t remember a time in my life that I wasn’t a Christian. At times I have had a hard time seeing Gods work or understanding why God does what He does but I have always relied in my faith. My faith has always been all I’ve had. For the past year and a half I was working for one of Minnesota’s largest volunteer fire departments. I was part of a program where six individuals lived full time at the fire station. I was living the dream that I had patiently prayed for and worked years preparing to do. I was so thankful that the Lord has listened to my prayers and had made me strong enough and healthy to do his work as a firefighter.

For those of you that don't know, I was chronically ill growing up. I was diagnosed with asthma and epilepsy when I was 18 months old. I was blessed by Gods healing hand and grew out of my epilepsy. I still struggled with asthma and found out that I had arthritis when I was 12. I spent a lot of time in and out of doctors, specialists and hospitals. I never would question God as to why I had to deal with so many health concerns. All I had was my faith in Christ. Senior year of high school 4 days before I graduated from high school I had a major asthma attack and some doctors didn’t believe that I would make it. I vaguely remember praying to the Lord to place his healing hand on me and to give me the strength to recover and live a healthy life. My parents prayed over me along with a strong church congregation. Three days later I was healthy enough to walk and graduate with my class. I owe my life to Christ and its His strength and healing power that I am alive today. I still live with asthma but I’m blessed and healthy to do his work that he has called me to do. I do not put any limitations on Christ and what he has for me, and my life.

As the year went on, while living at the fire department, I started going to church less and less relying on myself to handle my problems. Life started getting dark and I started becoming someone I didn’t know. I had hit rock bottom and thought that I was so far away from God that I started becoming very depressed. In the blink of an eye I lost the fire department. I was terminated and had to move out within two weeks. Once losing the fire department I really had a hard time thinking that I was worthy or good enough to do anything. I felt like I had nothing left to give. I cried constantly asking God if this wasn’t his plan for my life, then why would he have led me to the fire department in the first place? I prayed and prayed for the Lord to be present in my life again and for His holy spirit to guide me to where he wanted me to be. I knew that I wasn’t far from home with the Lord. I started praying and talking more to the Lord like I use to. I knew that I needed to start making changes in my life that would reflect someone that was a follower of Christ. I started realizing that I put so much of my worth into my job as a firefighter and forgot who I was in Christ.

February 24th 2013 the Lord was leading me to go to church that morning. Little did I know that Restoration Covenant was starting a new series called Life Hurts. The sermon that morning was reflection of what was taking place in my life. Pastor Rob was talking about how the Lord doesn’t passively sit by and watch his children poison their lives that he removes them from the situation and shows us His light if we openly allow Him to. I could feel the Holy Spirit pressing on my heart and moving in and through me. I asked the Lord to be present with me and I fully gave my life to Him again. A prayer partner prayed with me and over me and I could feel Gods presence with me, lifting off all the baggage that I had been carrying around with me. I truly could feel change happening in my life.

I am actively working on my relationship with the Lord. I want Him to be fully involved in all aspects of my life and not just some. He has given me new life and allowed me to be free from my demons and allowed me to drop off my baggage at the cross and to not look back. I want to life a life that is honoring to him and that’s why I believe he is calling me to YWAM. I know that I have things to work through in my life and I’m trusting in the Lord that he will lead me to his master plan for my future. I have been holding on to His truth that is stated in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God; those who are called according to His purpose.” 

Thank you for taking the time to read my story and listen to my heart. 

Blessings,

Mal

To Know God and to Make Him Known

YWAM New Zealand

Im excited to inform everyone that I recently got accepted to go to Tauranga, New Zealand with an organization called Youth With a Mission (YWAM). There I will be spending 12 weeks learning and going deeper with God, learning and experiencing the heart of missions. There I will also be provided with medical training. After the regular DTS classroom time in the morning a special “stream” is run once a week in the afternoon teaching a special course called "Basic Skills for Medical Missions”. Subjects covered are, Common Dental Conditions, Common Eye Conditions, Patient Assessment, Chronic Diseases such as Hypertension and Diabetes, Hygiene/Infection Control, Skin Infections, Wound Care, Health Education, Emergency Child Birth, Tropical Diseases and Nutrition. Qualified healthcare professionals teach the course and a certificate will be issued for it.
I am beyond blessed and excited for what God has in store for me and my future! Stay tuned for more updates!!

Blessings,
Mallory

If you want to read more about YWAM and the school that I will be attending in New Zealand visit the following websites :)

http://mrmdts.org/schools/medicalcompassion-dts/
www.ywam.org