Jenna is a recent graduate of YWAM San Diego/Baja's Photo-Story DTS. This is her discipleship training school story.
How crazy is it that six months ago I had graduated high school, finished my summer jobs, and was getting ready to move to Tijuana, Mexico, to start my discipleship training school (DTS) experience with YWAM San Diego/Baja?
I was overwhelmed at times, trying to decide what I would need for the next five months of my life in another country. I was packing up my childhood bedroom and storing all of my belongings away in boxes. I said goodbye to my family and friends and got on a plane, completely unaware of what I was about to get myself into, yet extremely hopeful.
Discipleship Training School: A Transformational Journey Through God's Heart
DTS is like a spiritual boot camp. It was one of the most intense, incredible, challenging, and life-changing experiences of my life. I went in as one person with a certain view of who God is and what Christianity looks like. I came out as a completely new and transformed person with a whole new perspective on the character of God and what life with Him is like.
Everything that I believed in and knew about before DTS was completely picked apart and rebuilt back up, now stronger than it ever was before. I finally took ownership of my faith and now understand the why behind the what of everything I believe in. DTS helped me to build a firm foundation for my faith and has given me the tools to carry out what we learned back in my everyday life.
The DTS Campus Phase: Discovering God in Myself
Now, I realize that DTS is different for everyone and everyone has a unique experience - I'm just here to open up and honestly share mine.
DTS was the greatest thing I have done in my life up to this point, hands down. It was amazing! Every aspect of my character grew and matured, even the parts I didn't even know were there or needed growth and maturity.
I discovered who I am as a daughter of Jesus Christ and what it means to be loved unconditionally by the Heavenly Father. I went from being a rather wishy-washy Christian to living every day in pursuit of the Lord, walking out in faith and seeking to fulfill His will in everything.
It changed my life forever.
Here are the topics that we touched on in the campus phase of my YWAM San Diego/Baja DTS:
The Nature & Character of God
Hearing God's Voice
Discipleship & Lordship
Intimacy
The Father Heart of God
The Holy Spirit
Photography & Missions (I was in a photo storytelling DTS)
Fear of the Lord
Identity
Spiritual Warfare
The Big Story of God
Learning to Hear God's Voice Every Day
To be honest, it's really hard to even know how to start summing up five months of insane growth and change in one short blog post. There is so much that happened; I heard God's voice and saw Him move in so many different ways.
I think one of my biggest takeaways though, is that I learned how to live every day with Jesus by my side. I learned how to talk to Him about everything and feel His presence no matter where I am or what I'm doing.
There’s no secular vs. sacred when you’re walking with Jesus. Everything is spiritual. While eating breakfast I would picture Him sitting across the table from me. While doing a wall sit during a morning workout I would pray (I only went a few times but still...).
I could feel the Holy Spirit moving in the room during worship, in the classroom, while walking around campus - everywhere. The Lord is present everywhere at any time and He desires to just go about our daily activities with us. He just wants to be with us.
When we invite Him into our day, our coffee date with a friend, our work meeting, or whatever it may be, it is always so much better than it would've been if we were alone. He wants to speak to us and hang out with us and bless us every day.
The Impact of Discipleship Training Schools
DTS changed everything for me. I went from thinking that God was some distant God in the clouds who you only turn to for the big stuff to experiencing His love in the little moments of my day-to-day life. I felt His presence stronger and heard His voice louder than ever before. At some times, it was as if He wouldn't shut up.
I learned how to talk to God and how to know whether it's Him talking back or not. I spoke to Him, heard from Him, received visions, experienced prophecy, and more. The Holy Spirit was not shy, let's just say that much!
I realized how important it is to give Him the room to move. I really can't and now don’t want to do anything without Him. My old life feels so foreign to me and I have seen and experienced too much to ever imagine going back to the way I used to live.
How to Serve God After DTS
Now that I am officially back home, it's amazing how easily that old life comes creeping back in. It takes conscious effort to fight the devil and continue living that dedicated, on-fire lifestyle I was living back in Mexico during DTS.
It doesn't come as easily here as it did there. There are temptations and old habits that I have been separated from for half a year that I now have to face and break out of. It's hard. It really is. But even though life looks different here than it did there, it doesn't mean that God is present and moving. I have been taught, trained, and given so many tools and now is the time to put that all into practice.
It's been a whirlwind of a journey but the journey has only just begun. I'm going to be learning and growing through my DTS experience for many years to come!
Do a DTS with YWAM San Diego/Baja Today!
Did Jenna's story inspire you? Do you have a passion for daily worship and want to follow Jesus into the global mission field? At YWAM San Diego/Baja, we welcome young people from all walks of life and locations to participate in our powerful DTS experiences.
DTS students will undergo two phases: the campus phase on one of our stunning campuses in Baja California, Mexico. The outreach phase is an international mission trip to a community untouched by God's story. Your experience will include a cross-cultural setting, local outreach, and missioning to the nations all to help your missions of Knowing God and making Him known across the globe.
If you want to know more about discipleship training school, YWAM has a ton of resources to choose from. Check out our frequently asked questions page for information about how DTS fulfills the Great Commission, DTS cost, and more. And when you're ready, apply for a DTS today.
