New Beginings-Sports DTS 2014

       Hello friends and family, first off thank you so much for your support through both prayer as well as financially.  You are truly amazing people and I am thoroughly excited to call you my brothers and sisters in Christ.  Let me just remind you and tell those of you who are not aware of what you are a part of by supporting me-exactly what you are a part of by doing so. 

       You may wonder, why did Michael even need to go over to Australia 5 weeks before the DTS started?  I have heard mixed ideas on why that might be, one of them being…Vacation.  That is not a true fact. In the past 5 weeks we have been preparing heavily.  We have been a part of many lectures, for the first 2 weeks the lectures were called TAA.  This is governmentally required for us on the Basic Leadership School to do in order to be able to assess students on their DTS, we also learnt things about different learning styles and how to work with them and adaptability through it, Health and Safety, First Aid; we also consumed much homework to show competence in this.  In the 2 weeks after that, we had Basic Leadership School lectures, these were structured more toward personal growth and development.  We had many biblical based teachings helping us learn how to be mentors, how to love others like Jesus calls us to, how to lead worship and intersession prayer and even time management skills and figuring out how to structure everything in the best way possible; these being just a few things.  The following week we did things together as a sports staff team, we spent time praying over each student and getting words for them, preparing who would take on each task during the school, planning for weeks ahead and things such as cleaning their dorms and preparing their rooms as well.  We also spent a weekend getting to know each other better, we went to the beach and chilled, shared testimonies, sang karaoke and got some awesome Mexican food as well.

From left to right: Raymond-Vanuatu, Danielle-Canada, Jeff*school leader-Canada, Lauren-Australia, Me-USA

Staff Retreat-Sunshine Coast

Intense Karaoke Night-Jeff and I

       So there you have it, you have officially met the Sports DTS Staff of 2014.  We will be there along the way of the DTS helping each and every student grow in their relationships with God.  They will be mentored, prayed for and with, pushed in many ways, encouraged and assessed.  After 4 months of growth, the team will separate and go separate ways to different nations to spread the word of God in many amazing places and challenging situations.  2 leaders will be chosen to go to each location and will lead their team together. When I find out more information I will let you know exactly what this will look like, locations, teammates, co-leader of mine, etc....
       To step more onto a personal level, I would like to share a bit about my personal growth in the time that I have been back.  God has been really speaking to me more and more, he has been showing me more revelation of who he is and who I should make him be in my life no matter the circumstance and how hard things are; because then it is then when things begin to get easy.  God calls us to lean on him and not try to use our own strength and understanding, it just won't work no matter how hard we want it to.  God is our Father-He is LOVE, apart from him nothing else matters to me; of course family and friends matter to me, but without Him I have got nothing at all.  He has just revealed to me that I need to 'stand firm in who He has called me to be and to rely on him in everything. 'This verse was given to me by a friend of mine who felt lead to share it with me.

     
       Joshua 1:5-9 ESV

 5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go.8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

       My passion for Christ is just unbelievable, I never want to let it become less in any way.

Be ready for some crazy stories of what God will do in peoples lives I am able to touch through Christ as well as major breakthroughs in my own life including healing, healing in my jaw in which I have had issues with for over 2 years.  It says in Psalm 37:4 that if you "Delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart."  I believe that in time I will be healed of this ailment and be set free from pain and discomfort of my jaw.  It is a desire that it would be gone, and if i am delighting in my Lord I believe He will give me this desire. 

Prayer Requests:

*That God would set me free of the Jaw issue.

*To grow in his heart that he has for this DTS and the students involved in it.

*That He would continue to reveal and show me the paths he has for me to take in this life both on this BLS and after.

*God would keep providing me with supporters and financial aid in order to keep doing what he has called me to do.

       Thank you as always for taking your beautiful time to stop and read and to invest into what God is doing, it is phenomenal what God is doing and is going to continue to do, I am so excited to be apart of it.  If you feel lead to donate financially to me and what God is doing here, please let me know this.  There are many ways to do so and I can tell you how to go about it, just email or Facebook me and I will let you know.

                                                                                   God Bless You,

                                                                                                              Michael G. Norris