Meet the Staff: Melissa Hydes

May 10, 2012 //
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This week we want to feature Melissa, who may be the most determined, outgoing and friendly person you ever meet. We love having her around, it guarantees a lot of laughs and nuggets of insightful wisdom.

What is your role with YWAM Louisville?

My role with YWAM Louisville mainly entails me being a Momma to our two little girls, Maggie & Norah and also helping in the 4K department with marketing and promoting all the wonderful things that 4K offer.

Melissa is one of our most dynamic staff

How long have you been YWAM staff?
Since March of 2009

Why did you decide to do DTS?
When I turned 18, I really had a strong sense and “revelation” that every decision that I made from there on out would have consequences or benefits and those would now rest on me, since I was now an “adult”. When I graduated high school just two months later, I was unsure of what I wanted to go to college for and if I was strong enough in my faith to make it through those 4 years without having a lot of regrets & poor choices. I also felt like the Lord was asking me to come and know HIM more so that I would be equipped to walk in whatever calling He had for me and DTS was a perfect fit for that.

Where are you from?
Manvel, ND (population 330)

What’s your favorite Starbucks drink?
Latte with 1 Raw Sugar

Mac or PC?
Mac…thanks to my hubby

What one word best describes you?
Motivated

What do you like to do in your free time?
I love spending time with my girls, going to the zoo with them and just exploring the world together. I really enjoy people, so anything with people is a great way to spend time. I also enjoy reading & learning. Oh and EATING is ALWAYS  a great way to spend time =)

Favorite sport/team?
University of North Dakota Fighting SIOUX!!!

What is your favorite country you’ve been to, and when/why did you go there?
Haiti. Sonny & I went there twice in 2010 after the earthquake to help, first with medical aid and then the second time to work with YWAM Haiti to assist in the rebuilding process. It is my favorite country because it totally captured my heart. It made me realize that I could love a place that from the outside is very unlovable.

What’s the first section you visit in a bookstore? Why?
Personal Development. Why? Because to me it is vital to grow as a person. One of my favorite sayings is “Change your MIND, Change your LIFE”. That’s what personal development is all about.

If you could sit beside anyone on a transatlantic flight, who would it be and why?
Sonny, my husband. Why? Because he’s awesome!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
That’s a great question…but I don’t know =)

 

Everything Matters

May 4, 2012 //
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Today we are featuring a blog from a friend of our base, Don Stephens. You can find the original blog posted here.

Back when I was religious, I had my life all sorted into neat piles of “things that matter” and “things that don’t”.  Church, Bible study, prayer, and Christian music had value because those things were “sacred” and eternal.   But other things, “secular” things, were essentially meaningless:  Hollywood and hobbies, politics and parties, the way I dressed and the way I kept my yard.  It was easy in those days to prioritize: I merely had to sort the sacred from the secular and turn my focus full onto the sacred.  Now that I see the Kingdom I’ve come to realize that my twisted thinking was just one more remnant of hyper-religious, super spiritual yada yada.   The truth is, Everything Matters!


From the majesty of a sunset to the stripes of a caterpillar, ours is a world designed for glory and destined for redemption.  Every little piece of it.  Abraham Kuyper, the Dutch theologian captured it perfectly when He said,  “There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, ‘This is mine! This belongs to me!’”  There is no division between sacred and secular because there is no secular.  It all belongs to a holy King, from the tidiness of my car, to the trimming of my shrubs, to the brightness of my smile.  In fact, everything I do carries the seeds of significance.

I’m reminded of “The Broken Window” theory that became a crime-fighting strategy of former Mayor of New York City, Rudi Guilanni.  The theory says that there is a direct correlation between broken windows and crime rates.  When people go into a neighborhood and simply replace the broken windows of the vacant buildings, crime rates will drop measurably.  Glory begets community health as surely as neglect and broken windows beget crime.

So while our postmodern neighbors suffocate under the lie that says “nothing really matters”, we believers have inherited a message of hope, the glad news of a Kingdom where everything matters!

by Don Stephens, original post: http://donstephens.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/everything-matters/

Meet the Staff: Stephanie Martin

May 1, 2012 //
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Coming from Lancaster PA, Steph is a level headed well rounded woman of God.

What is your role with YWAM Louisville?
My main responsibility is in the Accounting department. This means that I write checks, process receipts, and keep track of the finances and banking. This allows me to serve our staff, teams, and students by helping them be sure that the practical financial details don’t keep them from doing what God has called them to.


How long have you been YWAM staff?
Since October 2010, so about a year and a half.

Why did you decide to do DTS?
I knew in high school that I wanted to be a missionary but also knew that I wasn’t ready to move overseas. Growing up in Lancaster, I had always known about DTS and YWAM and knew some people who had done training with YWAM. I decided to try it and am glad I did!

Where and when did you do DTS?
I did my DTS here in Louisville during the fall of 2009

Where are you from?
Lancaster, Pennsylvania

What’s your favorite Starbucks drink?
Hot- Vanilla Latte, Cold- Cafe Vanilla Frappucino

Mac or PC?
I currently have a PC but more and more I am becoming a fan of Macs!

What do you like to do in your free time?
I like to run, spend time with friends, read, and play ultimate frisbee!

Favorite sports team?
I love the Philadelphia Phillies!

What is your favorite country you’ve been to, and when/why did you go there?
I have a lot of favorites! I went to India for my DTS outreach in the winter of 2010. The people were amazing. I loved being able to minister to kids and talk with families in the slums. I also loved South Africa, which I went to in the winter of 2012. The ministry was so solid and again, I loved the people! Since most South Africans speak English, there was virtually no language barrier and I saw God change lives in a way I hadn’t experienced before!

Where’s the first section you visit in a bookstore? Why?
Most times I go to the Christian fiction section, because those are the books I enjoy reading. I also like to stop at the coffee shop!

If you could sit beside anyone on a transatlantic flight, who would it be and why?
A good friend so we can chat and laugh together!

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever eaten?
Definitely octopus soup. Last summer I was in a small village right by the ocean in Mexico. We were served a lot of seafood at meals and our first one was octopus soup. It was just chunks of meat in this reddish tomato-ey broth. I ate a couple of bites, but once I realized what I was eating, I couldn’t bring myself to eat any more!

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