With Gratitude - Cassie Heavenor
Staffing a DTS at YWAM Kona was wildly different than I anticipated. Back in September, I was asked to solo lead a team of 4 girls through their discipleship training school. The first three months of lecture phase were amazing, as my students were falling more in love with God and getting radically encountered by His love. Three months in, we were getting ready to head out to America for outreach, to share what they learned with Universities across the nation. I was SO excited for outreach and so expectant for what God had.
As you know, or have probably heard, my outreach experience was cut short when I woke up with extreme back pain and was rushed to the Dallas Hospital, soon to find I had 6 kidney stones. I ended up flying home the next day for followup care (and eventually surgery) in Vancouver. My time home was really hard in the beginning. I was looking for any quick fix to get rid of these stones so I could head back out on outreach. Everyday separated from my team took on a new sting.
About 6 weeks into being home in Vancouver I was in need of surgery to remove the last concerning stone. I was excited to have the surgery and have my body feeling better again. Surgery went well and although I was keen to head back out to America, followup tests were mandatory to ensure this wouldn't happen again.
Unfortunately, with all my time spent at home, I have missed outreach. All of the outreach teams will join together in Orlando for debriefing mid-March, and I was given the option to go. Missing out on outreach was extremely sad for me. As much as I would love to see my staff friends and students again I don't believe it is a good idea for me emotionally and logistically to attend a debrief camp when I didn't actually lead an outreach. All that being said, my time staffing with YWAM Kona officially comes to an end here.
I don't know what the future holds, but I'm trusting that God has something new for me.
I cannot thank you enough for your support over the last 10 months. Your prayers and financial gifts never went unnoticed. I am extremely grateful to have such a strong backbone community through this whole experience.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Cassie Heavenor