.in thanksgiving.

Hello all! Thanksgiving is coming up here in the States on Thursday and so along with that we receive such a fantastic opportunity to think of the countless ways we have been blessed and provided for. It is such a wonderful time of reflection and even remembrance of how the Lord has given to us so abundantly. He has given us great families, friends, communities, dreams and vision for the future, finances to make it through to the next day, the list goes on. The God we serve truly is a God of provision. With that, we can never forget that the God who created the whole entire Earth, the whole universe, our provinces and states, created us. Yes, us. God created us in His own image! Think about that for a second. That a God who is greater than all things, even the universe, an eternal God that we as humans can only understand a fraction of, would create us in His own image. That is crazy in itself. But then to hear and know that this God would come to Earth as a humble man and die such an excruciating death on the cross, taking all sin and death that ever was and ever will be on Himself, thus providing us the opportunity to have relationship with Him.. that's crazy. I think we have a lot to be thankful for. I sure know I do. Because that is some good, good news. With all this, I really am thankful for all of you who take the time out of your day to read this blog, to pray for me and what is going on here in the Pacific and in Asia, and for those who have provided for me financially so I can continue to do the work God has called me to do. You are such a blessing to me in so many different ways!

Now as the snow begins to fly more often over there, things around here begin to change. We have four outreach teams getting ready to head to Asia in a few weeks, going to Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and then a great big Asian country. You know what it is. Right after they head out, we go right into DTS staff training to get ready for the winter school that starts at the beginning of January. There are six of us DTS staff for this winter quarter which means there'll be three outreach teams going out. It is certainly shaping up to be a busy month or two coming up. 

As far as local outreach goes, we have been able to invest more and more into a local community called Happy Valley with our community outreach times. It is a very poor neighbourhood here on Maui but the Lord has provided so many doors and opportunities for us to bring His light into the darkness there. At least twice a week there are people in Happy Valley helping them do homework, hanging out and playing with them, and then actually being able to go into some homes of the children and talking with parents about Christ. It's amazing how some of these doors are being opened and the transformation that is beginning to happen. God is good, I'd say. 

With all this, we need prayer out here. There is a lot going on but we certainly can't do it without people like you who are in intercession for what is on God's heart for this ministry. A few prayer points include...

• personal finances for me. I am starting to raise money for Asia in the spring so I certainly need the Lords' provision in that.
• doors to be continually opened in the community, specifically Happy Valley.
• that the right students will come for the winter school (we still have lots of room for you!)
• staff - we need more staff! we're at many of our limits with the staff we have so if we want to grow, the Lord has to provide in this
• finances/housing/property for the base so we even have the ability to expand

Thank you so much for reading this post. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your prayer and support that you continue to provide me with. It is such a privilege to be able to do what I get to do. That I am in a position to help disciple and equip young people to go out and change the world in so many different ways. What an honour. And it is an honour to have all of you impacting the world alongside me. So thank you! I'll never stop saying it! Hopefully I'll get a new post up around Christmas time so be looking for that. 

In Christ, 

Dave 

John 1:5 "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

So the fall season has arrived here, and with it comes new schools, new people, and new opportunities for servanthood and growth. Now even though the leaves aren't falling from the trees and the temperature isn't dropping, there is still the obvious feeling of fall here on Maui. I know there's no snow, no migrating geese, and no midterms (for me, at least), but Starbucks still does sell Pumpkin Spice lattes here in Hawaii. Good enough for me. Anyways, fall does bring all kinds of craziness here to YWAM Maui. It is a season which we've been anticipating for a long time since we haven't run a DTS since the spring. It is good to be able to have so many new men and women from all over the world who so eagerly desire to learn and share with others about God and the Christian faith. This fall, we have 36 DTS students from the States, Canada, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, and Scotland who have been split into 4 outreach teams going to Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and a certain large Asian country where I've been twice. Try to figure that one out! It's such a blessing to be able to disciple, train, encourage, prepare, and grow with these amazing people as they go through lecture phase and then onto outreach. The DTS is entering its 4th week of lecture on Monday and will be learning on hearing the voice of God. They've gone through some Father Heart of God/healing teaching as well as Basic Christianity (basic Christian doctrine i.e. the Trinity, the Apostles Creed, etc.) and Worldview week (looking into different religions and worldviews, discussing how ideas have consequences, etc.). It is an amazing group of students and I am so privileged to be able to do what I do full time like this.

We are also running the SBFM this fall (School of Biblical Foundations & Missions) which is designed to help one think critically, build a greater foundation, and to be able to take that into the field. The ten students taking part in SBFM this fall will be diving into Truth and wrestling with the big questions of today as they prepare for their own outreach to Asia this winter. Two of my students from the team I led to Asia this past spring have come back for SBFM which is so encouraging (another one of my guy students came back on staff!). If you've done a DTS I highly recommend looking into this.

I still haven't told you what exactly I'm doing this fall so I suppose I will do that now. If I were to give myself a title, it would be the kitchen manager. This takes up the far majority of my time. Basically, my job is to keep the kitchen running. I don't necessarily work directly in the kitchen and make food (although I will often help the staff if needed) but I manage all the food, making sure we always have enough to feed 75 people daily.

In addition, I meet with the leadership team here at YWAM Maui once a week to discuss how living on base is going and to kind of be a voice both for staff who live on base (leadership members live off base) as well as a voice for leadership back to staff. It is a greater leadership role for me as I help advise or give ideas to leadership and carry the authority of leadership on base as well. Please pray into this specifically as I know I will be subject to greater spiritual attacks and the like.

All that being said, this is my daily schedule, which will give you a better idea as to what my days consist of.

Daily Schedule!

Monday-Friday: Breakfast 7am, 

Lunch 12.30pm, Dinner 5pm.

Monday: 8am: worship, 9: prep kitchen staff on lunch, 10: meeting with department heads, 11-12.30: clean fridges, 1.30-5: prep dinner staff, do inventory, prep breakfast staff for next morning

Tuesday: 7am-12.30: kitchen shopping in Kahului, 1.30-2.30: prep staff on dinner, put food away, organize fridges/pantry, prep breakfast staff, 3-5: meet with Leadership team, 7-9: run outreach prep for China team

Wednesday: 9am-5: prep lunch staff, do kitchen laundry, clean kitchen areas, prep dinner and breakfast staff, work on other tasks

Thursday: 8am: base intercession, 9-5: prep lunch staff, inventory, kitchen shopping, catch up on other work in pm, dinner and breakfast staff prep.

Friday: 8am: base worship, 10-12.30: men’s growth group, 1.30-5: help prep weekend food, prep dinner staff, organize and clean before weekend

Saturday: spend time in God’s beautiful creation!

Sunday: 7.15am: leave for church! we serve wherever we can (I help out with worship team & sound techs or play bass), 1pm back home!

It's a busy schedule but I can say with all my heart that it is worth every ounce of energy, every penny, and every sacrifice that I need to take. I can confidently say to you that it is worth it for you to pray for this ministry here as well as whatever else the Lord leads you into. Like I mentioned before, I consider it such a privilege to be able to do this. The fight is in this generation and our hearts are to see young people build a foundation, fall in love with Jesus, and then be sent out into the world, into society, into government, family, education, business, Asia, Europe, or wherever. It is worth it. He is worth it. The world needs to hear of the love and grace of God and I am so excited to be so directly involved in that! 

All this being said, thank you so much for all the prayer and support that you have extended towards me. I am truly blessed to have the support and footing that I do back home and in amazing places like Winnipeg and North Dakota, to name a couple. I will post a few prayer points at the bottom so please do continue to pray for me and this ministry as together we see young people released to make a difference and bring light into the darkness! 

Dave Grabowski

Prayer Points:

• that I can lead with transparency, integrity, and humility as I manage the kitchen and work with leadership 
• spiritual protection for myself and the base (we have bulls eyes painted on our foreheads)
• that the current DTS can continue to grow more and more in love with the Lord and be so excited for what He has in store for them
• continued direction for me as I myself learn and grow into whatever the Lord does have for my life.

John 8:31 "...if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples"

Hey all! I'm sorry about taking so long in getting a post up but it's here now. The last time I updated you all, I was just getting back from Asia and transitioning into a new role. The summer has pretty already come and gone and fall is soon to be upon us. This means new people, new experiences, new ministries, and new growth. Before I get into what the fall has in store, however, I will briefly give an update as to what went down here on the beautiful island of Maui this summer. 

June flew by fast as we debriefed from our trip to Asia and transitioned into our Reformation Generation seminar, which ran all of July. The fourteen participants that attended came from all over the U.S. and Canada and learned all kinds of stuff, from prevailing worldviews and devotional life to what it really means to walk out your beliefs and so many other fantastic things. It was a very energetic month here on base as they became prepared a bit more for life in university and the workplace. If any of you are wondering, the Reformation Generation Seminar runs every July and is open to anyone who wants to attend. It is designed to give participants a better foundation for their beliefs so that they can stand firm on the Truth while being challenged in university or workplace settings. If this is something that interests you, email YWAM Maui or talk to me and we'll get you some more information!

July came, July went. August came, August is just about gone. I had the opportunity to go to the big island for a week and a half with my wonderful family this month. It was an amazing time for renewal and even a reminder of how the Lord has blessed me with such an amazing family and upbringing. We did some scuba diving, some fishing, some driving, and a whole lot of time just hanging out with each other since we all have our own crazy lives now. 

After Kona, I got right back into the swing of things now. This fall I will be serving the base as kitchen manager. To sum it up, I will be doing whatever it takes to ensure that the kitchen is running well and the food we are putting out is the greatest tasting food ever made for 70 people at a time. I am really excited for the opportunity to both disciple the staff under me as well as DTS students that will be here this fall. It will be a big school this fall with around 40 people attending. This is very exciting for us as we anticipate what amazing things the Lord has in store for this base and the upcoming year. 

Some prayer points:
- that the Lord will bring the right students to the base
- continued wisdom & discernment
- vision for the future (both for the base and me personally)

Thank you so much for reading this post! I am ready and excited to see what God does here and in Asia this fall and coming winter. Please feel free to email or message me if you have any more thoughts or questions regarding my ministry here on Maui and in Asia! 

In Christ, 
Dave Grabowski

.He is faithful.

Hey all, it's been so long! The Lord has done so much in the past few months I think it's time to tell you all about it. 

The last time I posted, we were getting ready to leave on our grand adventure to the wonderful country of Chin@. We arrived there at the end of March and hit the ground running. Our main ministry while we were there was evangelism and discipling university students. The city that we were in has many universities in it which means many English speaking people. Nearly every day we would spend time in the morning as team, worshiping and interceding, working through various teachings for our own growth, and just fellowshipping with one another. After that we would split up into our individual schedules, spending the rest of the morning and afternoon either making friends at the universities and sharing the gospel or hanging out with friends we had already made and continuing to tell them about Jesus and disciple them in that. I think it's always such a neat thing to be able to make friends in other countries and to just be able to hang out with them like you would a friend at home. This is a very practical and fruitful way of sharing what Christ did for us on the cross. In the evenings, we would each have different Bible studies or English corners that we'd go to. Each team member was usually paired off for these or went in a small group. During these studies and English corners, we would be running and/or teaching them. Some of our weekly topics that we taught on included the Parable of the Sower, the Vine and the Branches (John 15) and the Parable of the Rich Fool, to give a taste. We also had the privilege of running our own study several times where we invited all of our own friends that we had made. It was good to be able to have something of our own that we could run with. These specific ministries produced a lot of fruit and planted many more seeds. Altogether we saw 16 people saved by the grace of Jesus during our time in Chin@. Praise the Lord!!! It was so amazing to see how rapidly God moved in their hearts and even to be able to harvest the seeds that were planted from previous teams, especially the team before us. God is good. The title of this blogpost is "He is faithful". This really speaks to how our outreach went. We regularly asked the Lord before we left to go before us and prepare the hearts that we were going to reach out to and really just to be able to see fruit and see God do amazing things. And He did. In big ways. I've got a lot of stories that you'll just have to ask me about in person sometime because writing them out on here would not do them justice whatsoever. So please ask me. God is faithful. Never doubt that. Never doubt that His love never changes and it never fails. He will always be there for you and always pick you up when you fall down. He will always answer your prayers and always shower His love on you. Why? Because He's the perfect Dad and He loves His children. 

That was the bulk of our ministry in Chin@. Our students grew so much in boldness for the gospel as well as teaching, discipling, and really receiving the Lord's heart for the people of Chin@. Every second Saturday, however, we received the opportunity of doing some orphanage ministry. Basically, we would serve in whatever way we could, whether it was playing with the children or helping the workers bathe them, it didn't matter because we were there to show them God's love. It was a good reminder for me that God loves even the most lowly and destitute of people just as much as He loves me. So who are we to not care for the orphans or widows? We also had the privilege of going to the crazy city/state/republic of Macau. If you are not aware, Macau was formerly a Portugese trading port but is independent of Portugal now. It has its own legal system, monetary system, etc. but is protected by Chin@. We went there to work at an orphanage for ten days as well as renew our visas to Chin@. Working with children for more of an extended time was a big blessing for all of us since our team had a big heart for orphans which was birthed largely in the other orphanage. We went to Macau towards the end of May and really began to wind down our outreach there. It was a good opportunity to spend more time with the team since we were always split up in Chin@. After Macau, we spent a few days back in Chin@ debriefing as well as spending some last minute time with our friends. We took off to Maui on June 1st and arrived on the 2nd and spent the following week debriefing here and as I mentioned beforehand, graduation was on the 8th of June.

Personally, this was a very challenging season for me. I came back on staff here at the end of December, as you all know, and dove right into leading an outreach team. It has been a very steep learning curve the past 6 months but I have seen the Lord's hand on my life so evidently the whole time. The biggest thing I've learned over this past while is so cliche. I've probably heard it taught way more than I can count in my lifetime. It is.. get ready.. this will blow you away.. DON'T RELY ON YOUR OWN STRENGTH! Why? Because it will fail you. Time and time again it will fail you. How many times have we heard the proverb "Trust in the Lord will all your strength and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6. We hear it so often but do we actually practice it? Do we actually listen to this instruction? God is good and He is faithful. We need to believe that. We need to come to a place of brokenness where we realize that we can't but He can. Where we understand that Jesus is EVERYTHING and we are nothing without Him. Think about it. How humbling is that? How true is that? Out of this brokenness and this submission, He can work. Basically, God has been teaching me and I hope that He teaches you that I will never be able to accomplish anything without Him. I need to get over myself and so do you. I won't be able to have peace unless I give Him all my trust. Philippians 4:4-13. One of my favorite passages in the Bible. I encourage you to read it and rest in that. Rest in the fact that God is God and you are not. That we can't do anything without Him. And that He is faithful and good and loves His children and is just and full of grace. Remember too that it is by grace that we have been saved, not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2). Grace is a gift given to us freely. Think about that. Think about the grace of God given to us through Jesus' death on the cross and His resurrection three days later. Think about that everyday and let it transform you. We will never understand grace completely so that gives us the beautiful opportunity to meditate on it always, in all areas of our life. That's my challenge to myself and my challenge to you. to think that God, who is HOLY, would come down and die for each of us on the cross, an excruciating death, taking all of my sins and all of yours, past, present and future, with Him. That He would defeat death, defeat sin, defeat destruction and torment and rise again so that I could have life. So that you could have life. And life to the fullest. Abundant life! That is why I live. That is why I do what I do. So that people can experience this too. Who am I to keep this to myself? 

I went off there a bit but I guess that's the Lord at work. Thanks for reading through. You're all such a blessing to me. Thank you so much for your prayers and support and I hope that God's favour rests on all of you so mightily and beautifully. I'll try to get another post up here soon. Blessings! 

Dave

p.s. if you have questions, please facebook or email me. I'd love to share more but I must go eat lunch. 

.search my heart.

Hey all, I'm sorry it's been so long! There has been quite a lot that has happened since the last post so I'll do my best to fill you all in.

Last time, our school was learning about Identity in Christ, with our speaker hailing from the mighty settlement of Blackfalds, Alberta (represent!) It was a very pivotal week for a lot of our students as they learned about the inheritance and identity that we do have through the cross and resurrection. It really is amazing to think that you and I have been adopted into Christ's family and with that, the abundance of life that the Lord has given us. We've been given so much. It's overwhelming.

The week after that, we had a New Hearts week with speakers from the YWAM base in Kona. The Lord did a mighty work in so many of the students and staff. It was extremely encouraging to see baggage being lifted off and so much newfound forgiveness and freedom.

Two weeks ago, our lecture topic was evangelism. The students learned a lot about actually preaching the gospel and how to go about it with different people and some different situations that one might find themselves in. We also went door to door evangelizing one afternoon and saw four people come to know the Lord and two people recommit their lives to Christ. Praise the Lord!

We had worldview week last week. It was really challenging just to wrestle with why we actually believe what we believe. I really do challenge you to ask yourself that question. Why are you a Christian? Why do you believe what you believe? Dive into the Word. Dive into books or other resources. We all need to be diligent in building a strong foundation for our faith.

This week we're racing through the Bible. Basically, our base director is teaching on how everything in the Old Testament points to Christ, promises and prophecies alike. It is so cool. When I did my DTS last year, the Holy Spirit moved like mad during this week and really made the Bible come alive to me like crazy. Have you ever read the prophecy in Genesis Chapter 5? I implore you to look that up and let your mind be blown. It's such a blessing to be able to sit in lecture this week again and pick up on things that I missed last time around.

So that is what has been happening in the middle of the Pacific. We have about two and a half weeks to go until outreach to the biggest Asian country out there. You know which one it is.

This is my team! From left: Kate, Alex, Emmy (my wonderful co-leader), Justine, Madison, Rachel, Rebecca, Cody, Rachelle, Joel, Matt, Me!

They're such an awesome group. I love them to death. The Lord is going to do such an awesome work through them in Asia. So with all of this, I am asking you to continue supporting us through prayer. As outreach draws closer, so does the crazy. We have lots of preparation yet as well as financial goals that need to be met.

Here are some prayer points:
- Peace, wisdom, and discernment for Emmy and I as we lead this team
- Finances for students
- For the Lord to pave the way to Asia and that He is preparing hearts for what is about to happen
- REST! That we can really rest up before outreach and be fresh and energetic on the ground there.

Thank you so much for all of your prayer and support! You are all such a huge part of everything that the Lord is doing here and in Asia. Be encouraged and be blessed!

With love,
Dave

* if you have any questions, please ask me via facebook or email. Also, a quick reminder, please don't post the name of the country that we're going to anywhere on the internet for security reasons. Thank you!! *

how great is His love for us

Hey all! It's been 3 weeks since my last post so here goes. A lot has happened in the lives of the students since I wrote last. A couple of weeks ago we had the opportunity to go to the base in Kona for a week of teaching with all of the other D schools there. It was awesome having lecture with hundreds and hundreds of students. We had lectures given by Darlene Cunningham and Heidi Baker, among others. A major theme that came out of the week was living in a joy-filled repentance. Simply put, this means that as we repent and walk away from sins and junk in our lives, that process should be full of joy and happiness since we've been freed from that and the Lord is waiting for us with His arms wide open. Child-like faith!

Last week, the lecture topic was "Basic Christianity." It focused on the foundations of the Christian faith and how everything rests on Jesus. Our students learned so much about some of the more difficult concepts that we believe in and I really believe their faith was solidified in many ways throughout the course of the week.

This week, however, has been pretty crazy. Our lecture topic is "Identity in Christ." The Lord has revealed so much to both the students and us staff so far this week, with everything mainly centring on who we truly are, where we place our identity, and how pretty much everything depends on what our perspective is. We need to think spiritually! The students have really been blown away so far this week. God is doing so much in them. I'm so excited to see the Spirit at work in Asia.

The fall school gets back next week. Everyone is really excited to hear their stories of what the Lord has been doing both in Asia and their own lives as well. It will be a very busy but extremely encouraging and exciting week to be a part of.

That's about it for now though! The Lord is moving in amazing ways in the students lives as well as throughout Maui.

Here are some things that you can be praying for though:
-financial provision for students
-continual revelation for students and staff alike
-that the Lord will go ahead of us in all of the countries that we will be heading off to

Thank you all so much for your support. Keep interceding on our behalf. We need the prayer! The Lord is moving in mighty ways and you are such an integral part of it. Thank you and God bless!

Dave

P.S. if you have any questions, feel free to ask :)

all creation sings His name

Hey everyone! I'm sorry it has taken me this long to get a post up but my schedule has been quite full to the say the least. Anyways, I've been back here in Maui for 3 weeks now doing all kinds of things. For those of you who don't know, I am serving as D school staff right now. This means that I'll be leading a team to a very, very large country in Asia that looks like a delicious chicken on a map. This is the same country that I visited last year for my outreach. I feel extremely blessed and privileged to go back there and continue on some of the ministries that I had to leave behind last spring. We don't leave till the end of March, however. Right now we are in lecture phase so there is approximately eleven weeks of speakers that come in to talk on a variety of topics. This week the topic is "Hearing the voice of God". I think it's safe to say that the students have been blown away thus far by how easy it really is to hear God's voice and be intimate with Him. I'm really excited for the last couple days of lecture on this topic. Next week we have the opportunity to go to Kona (on the Big Island) to gather with the Oahu base and then of course the Kona D schools. I'm really excited for how the students will do there and just how much they grow and then of course I'm looking forward to how the Lord will speak to me in that time. Lately He's been speaking to me on fully submitting to Him and truly making Him the Lord of my life. It's been challenging and humbling for sure, but it's so good to be stretched and to see growth in my own life. 

I should probably talk a little bit about the students now. We have several nationalities represented in both the students and D school staff. There's a good handful of Canadians, Americans, a couple of Norwegians, a Finnish girl, a Swiss girl, and then a couple from South Africa that are leading a team to Indonesia. There's 28 students this quarter which is quite large for a winter quarter so the Lord has definitely blessed us in that. As I said before, I'm going to that big ol' Asian country and then we have teams going to Indo and Bangladesh. It is truly an anointed school. The students are really awesome and I'm so excited to see how they grow in this time and how much of an impact they're going to make both here in the islands, in Asia, and then at home. We're living in exciting times, friends. There is a lot happening all around us so take up your cross daily and follow wherever the Lord is leading you in this time. 

Here are a couple of things to pray about:

 -finances for students for outreach

 -continual guidance for me as I mentor others

 -that I can keep submitting myself to the Lord as He continues to work in my life

 -hearts to be softened in Asia as we prepare for outreach and that the Lord will just go before us in that

I think that's all for now! Thank you so much for reading this. Please remember that you're an extremely integral part in all that the Lord is doing here and abroad. I'm so thankful for the support that I do have at home or wherever you may be while you're reading this. You are all a huge blessing to me and I mean it when I say that none of this ministry can be fruitful without your prayer and support. So thank you so much and God bless! I'll try to get a new post up in a couple of weeks or so. 

In Christ, 

Dave Grabowski