YWAM's Discipleship Training School (DTS) is a personal journey into one's own faith and the Gospel as it was meant to be understood and shared. We do more than make disciples - at YWAM San Diego/Baja, we help young adults get to know God so they can make Him known in untouched communities across the nations.
Through our Christian community and missions training curriculum, one former DTS student was able to develop her own sense of ministry and disciple to those she encountered during and after her DTS. Her unique perspective of God's plan for her life is just one of many transformation stories to come out of DTS.
Read her testimony below, and when you're ready to answer God's call and start your walk into discipleship, apply for a YWAM DTS today!
DTS Student Testimony - An Intimate Discipleship Training Experience
Well, after five months in Mexico - the most beautiful season of my life - I am home in Massachusetts. I wish I could tell you that I am so happy to be home, but truthfully, it's been a hard transition.
I am a 21-year-old college student studying political science on the North Shore of Boston, Massachusetts. Following 2 years of college where my heart was filled with anxiety, I felt the gentle voice of God telling me to breathe and rest in Him.
I chose to listen to His voice and obey this call to surrender. I came to YWAM San Diego/Baja to be a part of the discipleship training school in January of this year. I intended for my time in San Antonio Del Mar to be a moment for me to return to my first love and find room for me to breathe.
In truth, it was so much more than I could have ever imagined.
Transformation Beyond the Discipleship Training Curriculum
The growth during my time at YWAM's missions training was beautiful.
God restored a posture of humility in my heart. My soul rejoiced as I felt myself returning to intimacy with Abba. I returned home to my identity as a daughter and the intimacy with my Father that I was created for.
In this season in Mexico, my heart was filled with warmth as I encountered Abba as the Gardener -the beautiful one who sows beauty from ashes in the hearts of His beloved.
In the week of the campus phase in which we learned about the Holy Spirit, our teacher led us in special moments with the Holy Spirit, and something wonderful occurred.
We were told to ask God to show us how we see ourselves and then for Him to show us how He sees us. I was sitting there, hoping I would feel something from the Spirit, when I received two images.
God's Word as Powerful Spiritual Imagery
The first image I saw was a pottery piece. It was a clay pitcher that looked like it was covered in dust. I remember thinking that this has an obvious purpose and yet, it sits here covered in dust and is not being used. It's so funny to me how the Holy Spirit plants these thoughts in our minds.
The image that followed took my breath away even further. It was the scene of a warm kitchen, looking at the sink and out a large sunny window. Through the window, I saw Jesus Christ.
He stood there in the garden in His linen robes. He reached down to pick flowers and walked back toward the house. Eventually, he came in through the side door. When he entered, he reached up onto a shelf to get the same clay pitcher I saw earlier.
He filled the pitcher with water from the sink and placed the beautiful flowers he'd picked inside. He put the pottery piece onto the window sill and returned outside to continue gardening. My heart felt so full I thought it could burst.
This was His dream for my life. I am a vessel. A clay pitcher was created to hold the beauty that the Gardener sows from ashes. The flowers are all of the beautiful stories of merciful restoration.
Experience God as a Gardener in the Nations
After the campus phase, we entered into the next season - outreach. My team went to Veracruz and Chiapas to be the hands and feet of Jesus. My soul is still rejoicing from the hearts we encountered and how the Holy Spirit touched them.
I am someone who loves plants a whole lot. You can ask anyone on my outreach team - I was loving the plants of southern Mexico!
When we were in this small town called La Moral in Veracruz, we were walking the streets and sitting with people in their homes. These days were filled with hope and fulfilling conversations. On this special morning, I saw this house with the most beautiful garden and I just felt like I needed to meet the person behind this garden.
We knocked on the door and sweet Rosalia came out to greet us. She had this warm smile as I explained to her how much I loved her garden. Rosalia invited me into her home and walked me around to look at the plants and the flowers.
I fell in love with this monstera adansonii that was in her garden. I really fell in love with it. Like, my heart broke having to leave it behind! That plant is my dream plant that I have been searching for back home for years.
As we talked, I felt the Holy Spirit press onto my heart to tell her about the Gardener who sows beauty from ashes in the hearts of His beloved. A few days later, I got to go back and bring her a Bible and it was so special.
Maintaining Spiritual Growth - Coming Home From DTS
Coming home again has been difficult. I miss Mexico with all of my heart and am forever changed by my DTS experience.
Yesterday, I went to my favorite place here in my hometown - my plant store and I couldn't believe my eyes! There, I found a beautiful monstera adansonii. My dream plant! The Gardener really does love me!
There was a prophecy I received from the Spirit as I spent time listening in prayer before outreach. It was the words of Isaiah 51:3:
For the Lord comforts Zion;
He comforts all her waste places
and makes her wilderness like Eden,
her desert like the garden of the Lord;
joy and gladness will be found in her,
thanksgiving and the voice of song.
It was a prophecy fulfilled in the hearts of the people I encountered in Veracruz and Chiapas, as well as in my heart.
I fell in love with the Gardener in Mexico. I fell in love with His words and His promises. It feels so special to have this to cling to as I come home. It fills my heart to know of His dream for me and His intent for restoring the hearts of those that He loves.
What a joy to know that Jesus is in the home we visited and the spirit is filling the hearts of the people we encountered. The Gardener is bringing joy and gladness in my heart and the hearts of those we sat with.
What an honor to experience how a DTS can make disciples through fostering personal growth and a deepening of faith. It's pretty awesome to be on the ground floor of the next generation of church leaders, baristas, photographers, Christian influencers, and - of course - gardeners, who choose discipleship as their core heart.
All hail the Gardener - The one who sows beauty from ashes!
What to Expect at DTS
YWAM San Diego/Baja has hosted thousands of DTS students to our two stunning beach-side campuses, both just south of the U.S./Mexico border.
During the campus phase, students participate in daily worship, specialized DTS electives that play on their unique passions, and general missions training. Then, we send students on international mission trips so they can spread the good word to the nations!
The entire experience lasts roughly 5 and a half months and gives students the tools and confidence they need to take control of God's plan for their lives in global missions. Want to know more about DTS? We have all the answers you need in our comprehensive DTS FAQ.
Do a DTS with YWAM San Diego/Baja Today!
Whether you're searching for a meaningful gap year experience or simply want to grow your faith and become closer to God, DTS is right for you!
Don't miss out on the chance to transform your life and the lives of those in your chosen sphere. Apply for a DTS today and join the thousands of young disciples across the world who have grown through their experience with YWAM San Diego/Baja.