Community: Friends and Family

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God has blessed us with amazing friends who have been in DC this month visiting and some local DCers that we have gotten the opportunity to get together with! Jesus, thank you for such amazing friends you have placed in our lives! 


Renca Dunn, one of our amazing staff, has a heart of worship and is very gifted in worship.  She loves worshiping, which is a legacy that has been passed down from her mom and grandmother.  Recently, she producing music videos in ASL!  She just finished one, where she involved our community here in DC, so I wanted to share it!  We are blessed to be serving with Renca and others in our community and this video gives you a glimpse of the blessing it is!  Renca did a great job! 

The name of the song is "In This Together" by Rapture Ruckus. Enjoy! 

Danny and Elissa, a couple that Dan and I love getting to know, from our church in DC. Both of us have busy schedules, but every time we get together with them it is such a life-giving time! We love that we can see them at church every Sunday, but we are so blessed by we can get get together alone for a lunch date after church with this amazing couple, and we had the opportunity to do so this month. 

Alissa, a friend from college in IL, around 9 years of friendship, and her housemates from Fla came to DC for a weekend.  It was great to see them all.  They are such a fun bunch! One night, Alissa and I went on a dinner date one night, where we just caught up on every aspect of life!  It was great. She also was able to bless us by interpreting for a friends wedding, so I could fully enjoy and support Dan! We love you Alissa!

Jack and Lisa Kody!  Jack Kody teaches the Father Heart of God week in our DTS's and was back to teach in another DTS near DC.  But this time, his wife Lisa came along with him!  They are an amazing couple, who just being around them and seeing them interaction, I feel I grow in my love for my husband and for God! It was amazing to spend and get to know Lisa during their visit. We got together with them for dinner one day and then next day I contacted them to see if I can see them again! And we did!


Jason, Kimberlee and their five kids, one in the womb, have moved into Embassy Church this month.  It has been so amazing for our community to see their family love each other and love God! It has also been great to see Kimberlee so often and be able to fellowship, talk and share stories together.  And have energetic kids around the base.  It is a huge blessing to have them so near! I have definitely taken advantage of spending precious time with Kimberlee and her children!  


Cynthia and Scott, were visiting their son, Justin, who lives and attends Gallaudet University and I had the opportunity over 8 years to see them again! They were both at the first silent dinner that I attended as an ASL 1 student in Normal/Bloomington, IL.  They encouraged me from that day to continue learning ASL and were so patient with me when I was learning.  They are an amazing couple and love to laugh.  It was amazing catching up with them and Justin this month. 

Ruiz and Urbanski Wedding 
May 24th 2014
My sister is now married! We greatly enjoyed being with all the Chicago family and seeing everyone!  The trip was too short as always but we were able to spend a great deal of time with family as we prepared for the wedding on Saturday! It was beautiful! Enjoy some pictures! 

The siblings at the rehearsal dinner! 

Tiffany getting ready! 

Our nieces, the flower girls! Lily and Kiersten, my sister Michelle's two daughters. 

Ringer Bearer and Flower Girl

Bride and Groom hugging my parents

We also got to see one friend and some family before the wedding! 
This is Rachel, a friend since 3rd grade.  It is always nice to catch up with her and see her two boys.  Jacob is below, her older one heading out for a baseball game. 



We made it a point to see both of my grandmothers before the wedding to spend some time with them. Above is my father's mother, grandma Ruiz, with my dad and aunt Sandy.  I love just talking to my grandma Ruiz, just relaxing.  When I enter her home, it seems all business passes away. And below is my uncle Paul and my mother's mother, grandma Kubala.  I love playing cards with my grandma Kubala! She plays hard too! It was a blessing to see them both! 


God has greatly blessed us with a great community of friends and family! 

Praise Report and Dan's extracurricular activites

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Praise Report:  
God has provided a van! Just last week, Dan and I drove to NC to meet with the principal and another administrator at Cary Christian School in Cary, NC about borrowing one of their 15 passenger vans for our summer tour.  We had a great talk with them, filled out some paperwork and let us  borrow a van for the summer, as the school does not use them when school is not in session!  And they said that we could take the van the next day, a week before school ends, which saved Dan and I a trip back to NC.  I love our Heavenly Father and how he provides! Thank you all who have prayed for us and for a van!


In between writing the scripts for the dramas, practicing for the Burning Ember tour and directing the practices for our team.  Dan has had the opportunity to do some things for the first time! 
 In Kyrgyzstan, God called Dan to say yes to giving to anyone who asked based off the verse in the sermon on the mount.  "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." Matthew 5: 42 As God continued to speak to him through this verse, he realized that this verse did not only mean money but meant whenever anyone asks anything!  Shortly after this revelation, Dan was asked to teach on the Nature and Character of God and the Belief tree for our YWAM DC staff and to videograph a wedding of a friend.  Feeling the nudge of HS, reminding him to give to anyone who asks, he said yes to both! And he did an amazing job with them! Enjoy some pictures that we got of them. 


Dan teaching one morning for YWAM DC staff on Nature and Character of God and the Belief Tree.  Basic concept of the belief tree is that everything we do in life is based on our roots (beliefs).  If our roots are solid and based on God's word then our values (the trunk), our decisions (branches) and actions (fruit) will all line up with the Word of God.  So when we are looking at a action of ourselves or another person, we need to not only correct that action but need to go back to the belief system of the person and make sure the belief is aligned with the Word of God.  He did a great job teaching it. 


Video man for Ikaika and Noelle's Wedding 


Ready to go for the busy day! Can you find Dan in the picture below? 




Pali and Alissa Matiya, who was in DC for the weekend from Fla, helped to interpret for the wedding so I could be on call if Dan needed anything!  During the ceremony, it started to rain.  So I got a umbrella and got to move with Dan to hold the umbrella to protect the camera.  :) I was so proud that I could help!


Dan is finishing up the editing for the wedding video of the wedding, which he has really enjoyed, before we fly out to Chicago for my sister, Tiffany's wedding, next week Saturday.  We are looking forward to spending some quality time with my family and celebrating this day with Tiffany and Derek. 

Derek and Tiffany 

Family Fun Times

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As a team and family, we have decided to value each other and value fun! In the mist of serving, we know that God values our relationship with him more than anything else so we value our relationships with each other as well!  Since January of this year, we have planned times of just having fun in the mist of praying, practicing for the Burning Embers tour, planning for the second ASL DTS in the Fall and so much more!  Here is a blog sharing some of the fun things we have done as a team! We know that God loves it when his children take time to just enjoy each other! 

Hiking at Billy Goats Trail in MD






Bowling 
Brandon was hitting strikes and spares for both games! He got highest score at 165! 


My foot is up and hand pointing steady to get the split! 


Overnight Backpacking Trip at Harpers Farry, WV on Appalachian Trail

It was Brandon and Kari's first time backpacking with tents, food, and a stove for an overnight hike and all of our first time hiking the Appalachian Trail.  We hiked 7.3 miles to the shelter for the night, set up our tents, a girls tent for me and Kari and a boys tent.  Kari and Brandon got more water from a spring using a water filter while Dan cooked soup and Jonathan made a fire! Chatted and then went to bed. Woke up had some oatmeal for breakfast and hiked the 7.3 miles back to the car!  It was amazing to be in God's creation and out of DC and the world for two days! It was good family time too! 





A Day in the Life of a DTS Student

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A Day in the Life of a DTS Student from Dan on Vimeo.

Want to know more about the ASL DTS? Do you want to set apart 5 months of your life to just get to know God more? Are you unsure about your future or what to do with your life? Come to the ASL DTS and spend 5 months going deep with God! I know you won't regret it!
Check out this video to see a visual example of a day in the life of a DTS student in YWAM DC's ASL DTS! For more information check out: www.ASLDTS.com

Burning Embers Summer Tour Across America

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  We are getting ready for our Burning Embers Summer Tour! The last month has been filled with practices, practices and more practices! Dan has headed up practices by researching, scripting and directing 3 of the 4 major dramas for our performance.  Dan has done an amazing job! 


He has also had some great help.  His mom, Patty, has helped edit the scripts and our team has helped come up with great ideas for acting and making it more visual for our audience to enjoy!  God has truly gifted our team with many natural actors! Renca has been in countless performances at Gallaudet and other universities and wrote and directed one of our 4 major skits, theature was Brandon's major when he attended college, Kari researched some good dramas to use and is a natural actor, as well as Gabriel and Jonathan! Liza and Gabriel have worked on costume design.  We have all pitched in! 


Jonathan and Brandon have specially helped me with teaching me how to die properly. To be honest, I have had to be taught a few times. LOL I naturally do not know how to die.  No worries, the boys have seen many war movies, and have many options in ways of how to die. 


Liza giving Gabriel the cue of when to beat the drum for epic battle scene!  
Where Jesus gets all the victory and where I die.  Practicing has been fun and we are excited to be able to share the skits with the Deaf community around America! And know that Jesus will touch and draw hearts to himself through them. 


There is less than a month, until we are on the road!  God has already answered so many prayers and we know He is faithful so will provide everything we need!  Please join our team in praying for some of the things we still need before we hit the road June 1st! 


Prayer Requests for the Trip: 
-15 Passenger Van (Rent/Buy) for a low price 
-1 or 2, 4 person tents 
-People to sponsor miles for us to get across the country and back  
(Total cost of the trip will be an estimated 10,000 dollars)

-Finalization of trip plans (a few cancellations and new opportunities have arisen) 
-Grace to memorize lines/stage cues 
-People's hearts to be soft, open and sensitive to Holy Spirit moving in them
-FUN on the road and great team bonding time


Here are some flyers that Dan's mom, Patty McClelland, made as a way to get more people involved! 
Would you consider partnering with us to send the Burning Embers team across the country? 
Every dollar makes gets us another mile! 

Gallaudet University: Rockfest and 150th Charter Day Celebration

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 Gallaudet University

  
Rockfest/Brickfest is a traditional sport competition weekend between Deaf students from RIT/NTID and Gallaudet Univerity.  Rockfest is held at Gallaudet University during the even years and Brickfest is held at RIT/NTID during the odd years.  This tradition started in 1978, where the schools come together for one weekend a year to promote socialization in the Deaf community and have a competition in every sport you can think of! After 2 days of competition, they end the weekend with a Bash on Saturday night.  


This year, 2014, Rockfest was held at Gallaudet University and our team decided all to go and get involved with the action.  Many of us saw friends, from Galluadet and RIT that we have made along the years, going back to HS classmates.  It was amazing to love them by listening, giving an encouraging word or praying for when we were on campus. 

Announcing of the winner of the weekend . . .  and the winner is . . . Gallaudet University! 


This year is also the 150th year that Gallaudet University has been established.  April 8 2014 was the day, 150 years ago that the charter for the school was signed by Abraham Lincoln.  Our team, also was on campus, celebrating the day and the opening of a museum explaining the history of Gallaudet.  


I bumped into David and Alyce Reynolds, who were in from Freemont, California for the week for the Charter Day Celebration.  David was one of the first Deaf people I met in Normal, IL at a Silent Dinner and has been a great influence in my life.  He loves Jesus and completely welcomed me into the Deaf community and taught me so much ASL as well as answered all the questions I had about the Deaf community when I was just beginning.  He also was the one who encouraged me to attend Gallaudet University for my masters degree in Deaf Education.  I was able to share what God has been doing.  He shared how he still reads our blogs and is proud of what God is doing in me and through me. I know that was the heart of God the Father speaking through him. 


When I met David, I was learning ASL and being introduced to the Deaf community.  I had no idea what God would do in my life or how I would share Jesus with others and did not even see the connection between my heart for missions and sharing Jesus with my recent new passion of people who are Deaf.  But as I saw him, I was reminded of God's faithfulness and how he loves to use us in crazy ways.  I was reminded how how much God can do! I am currently fluent in ASL, with a husband who is on his way to being the same and our full-time job is to disciple Deaf people to know Jesus and make him known in the world! And I love it. I love how creative our God is and I love that the one thing I seek is to see him glorified on earth and in the Deaf community! Because He is worthy of every person's heart and soul because of what He did on the cross! Seeing David, made me praise God and his faithfulness and his amazing plans He has for each of us! 
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