Up until 6 months ago I had no idea what YWAM was, let alone what it meant to be a 'ywamer'. I was leaving for South East Asia in a few days, beginning my year long sebatical, when my mum suggested I send an email to the base in Rarotonga. I was headed to New Zealand after Asia and thought, 'what the heck, it's close and I love the island'. I sent an email, threw together my application package, and left it in His hands.
While I was in Cambodia I got the news: I was accepted. As I began to research the organization I grew apprehensive about what I was walking in to. Questions popped up. What would the leadership be like? What was expected of me? Will they accept me for who I am? Let me explain that I am generally a very anxious person. I made the decision to take a year off my well paying, secure, safe job to travel the world and see what I could find. Throwing caution to the wind I left my cat with my parents and set out. It was not an easy transition. I was worried about a myriad of things that I needed to deal with when I got home, and they haunted my thoughts the moment I left canada. I would wake up in a panic, worried about how I would find a new place to live and what my options were for returning to work. Always, in the back of my mind, I was thinking about the chaos I had waiting for me when I got back.
The day I turned up at the Rarotonga airport, and found myself wrapped in a warm embrace from Kate, is something I'll never forget. She picked me up from the airport and drove me back to the base, inviting me for dinner with her family. It took a few days but I started to notice something was changing. Something was missing. It felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was at peace here in Rarotonga, on the base of YWAM. I was so struck by this feeling of peace and calm; my mind not constantly racing with the demands of the future. It wasn't that I didn't think about what needed to be done, it was that I knew it would be ok and that God had a plan for my life. It's something that I will take with me and remember when I feel weighed down and anxious about things to come. I have been blessed with 3 months here in Rarotonga, and have been shown the grace of God.
Carly Koeppen
Mission Builder
Canada
#ywamcooks #missionbuilder #myamazingtime
While I was in Cambodia I got the news: I was accepted. As I began to research the organization I grew apprehensive about what I was walking in to. Questions popped up. What would the leadership be like? What was expected of me? Will they accept me for who I am? Let me explain that I am generally a very anxious person. I made the decision to take a year off my well paying, secure, safe job to travel the world and see what I could find. Throwing caution to the wind I left my cat with my parents and set out. It was not an easy transition. I was worried about a myriad of things that I needed to deal with when I got home, and they haunted my thoughts the moment I left canada. I would wake up in a panic, worried about how I would find a new place to live and what my options were for returning to work. Always, in the back of my mind, I was thinking about the chaos I had waiting for me when I got back.
The day I turned up at the Rarotonga airport, and found myself wrapped in a warm embrace from Kate, is something I'll never forget. She picked me up from the airport and drove me back to the base, inviting me for dinner with her family. It took a few days but I started to notice something was changing. Something was missing. It felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I was at peace here in Rarotonga, on the base of YWAM. I was so struck by this feeling of peace and calm; my mind not constantly racing with the demands of the future. It wasn't that I didn't think about what needed to be done, it was that I knew it would be ok and that God had a plan for my life. It's something that I will take with me and remember when I feel weighed down and anxious about things to come. I have been blessed with 3 months here in Rarotonga, and have been shown the grace of God.
Carly Koeppen
Mission Builder
Canada
#ywamcooks #missionbuilder #myamazingtime
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