Hi everyone! 안녕하세요!
Merry Christmas!! 메리크리스마스!!
I hope all of you are doing well! It's been a crazy couple of months with Covid and the Election, but as I continue to pray for the nations, the US, for Churches, and for you guys, I have a deep peace and feeling of comfort knowing that God is in control and that we are in His mighty hands!
I am having such a wonderful time in Korea and learning so much serving the next generation in this Discipleship Training School! I have really felt the Lord's provision this year in giving me a beautiful community that I can share life with in this season! And I'm so grateful and blessed to have people I love around me to celebrate the holidays with!
We also celebrated my birthday in October with our DTS, and I was so overwhelmed and blessed by the love of the community here! It was such a special memory to spend my first birthday in Korea serving the Lord! And though I'm so sad that I can't come and visit home for the holidays this year, I trust in God's perfect timing, and I'm thankful to spend Christmas and New Years' in Korea with this DTS.
~DTS Lecture Phase Update~
A few weeks after my last prayer letter came out our DTS (Discipleship Training School) started. And after this comes out, the lecture phase will be finished, and we'll be moving on to the outreach phase of DTS! It's crazy how time flies!
Our DTS's promise verse was Zephaniah 3:17, and through this school, I've really felt that the Lord's faithfulness in showing us how He is with us and singing over all of the staff and students and quieting us with His love.
This DTS we were able to receive lectures from a lot of missionaries who have had to return to Korea because of Corona, and I feel God really used them in this time to help build up the next generation of evangelists and worshippers!
Our DTS had lectures on Hearing God's voice, Father heart of God, Worship, Intercession and Spiritual Warefare, Plumbline, Holy Spirit, Stewardship, Evangelism, and Missions. Though I enjoyed and learned a lot from all our speakers, my favorite lectures were probably Father Heart of God, Plumbline, and Holy Spirit.
Father Heart of God was our second week, and it was really amazing to see the students grapple with their false beliefs about God (He is a strict, unloving father; He only loves me when I do something for Him; He doesn't actively care about me or work in my life; etc.) and then be confronted with the truth of His amazing, abundant love for them!
Plumbline is an inner healing ministry in YWAM that focuses on our falsely held beliefs about ourselves and others that cause us to see ourselves and God incorrectly. There are many missionary and pastors' kids in this DTS who have received wounds from their parents or their ministries, so this lecture really helped us all to re-align ourselves with God's truth and to forgive those who hurt us and let go of the past.
And the Holy Spirit lecture was really intense! God became real to a lot of the students that week, and it was astonishing to watch as the Holy Spirit moved us to repentance, forgiveness, and to worship God in awe and thanksgiving!
When DTS started and the students first came, the atmosphere was very heavy and our worship team experienced a lot of spiritual warfare whenever we had worship sessions- there were even students who would just sit and glare at us while we praised. But now as we move into the outreach phase I'm really able to see how much the student's hearts have become tender and open to the lord. Now I can see them filled with passion and the love of God when we worship and it's such a beautiful and encouraging sight!
It's been such an incredible journey to go through, and we've seen addictions broken, recovery from mental illnesses, and lies being replaced with truth- just in the past few months. There's been so much forgiveness, and healing from trauma and pain by the grace and love of God. And I'm just so honored that I was able to be a witness to God's work in this season of restoration in these students' lives.
Our DTS has so many students with musical talent and giftings, and as this school has progressed they've started developing a yearning for worshiping God in spirit and in truth. I can really see how the anointing in their worship is growing as they become freer in Christ and accept the truth of their original design as image-bearers, beloved children, and worshippers.
Every night at the base there are two hours of worship that is open for anyone to lead, and as the school has gone on our students have gradually taken it over so that now nearly every night the DTS students are worshipping with each other!
And every month we have a 24hr worship day, and the last two months almost the whole 24hrs were reserved by our students! And after the worship finished there have been these beautiful sunsets unlike anything we normally experience, and I really feel it's God's gift of beauty and love to us for pouring out our hearts and letting the incense of praise arise!
So as we move into this outreach, I'm really looking forward to seeing the fire and depth of our worship grow as we rebuild the temple of David in our hearts!
~Korea Outreach prep~
This DTS Outreach will take place in Korea, but due to Government Covid restrictions, there is still a lot up in the air in terms of what we can do and where we can go. But as I have been praying for this outreach God has just kept on showing me a picture of the Red Sea parting, and reminding me through Exodus 14:14 that I don't need to do anything but trust Him, and He will make a way for us even if it seems impossible. So though there's much uncertainty, I'm choosing to trust God that He has good plans for me and my team in this new adventure.
Our DTS is splitting up into two outreach teams, each with 3 staff and 7 students!
Our Team's name is "Alabaster Jar / 아자" because we want our outreach and our lives to be like the beautiful act of worship in Matt 26:7 when the woman poured out an alabaster flask of perfume over Jesus.
Our team:
미지 MJ - Staff, Korean American, Our team Leader, amazing translator, strong and beautiful woman with the cutest personality.
Kittikhun - Staff, Thai, one of my friends from House of Prayer, great worshipper, and photographer, a goofy, creative, and fun guy.
시은 Sieun - Worship Leader/Coordinator, lovely and beautiful woman, thoughtful and encouraging to others, sweet voice, and beautiful worshipper!
지은 Jieun - Finance, the sunshine of DTS, beautiful and joyful heart, sweet like honey, and very generous and thoughtful.
진주 Jinju - Hospitality, cute and spunky personality, loving heart, great artist, beautiful singer, dancer, and worshipper!
병하 Byeongha - Korean Guatemalan, Chef/Kitchen coordinator, cool stylish guy, funny and sweet-hearted, loves to worship, rap, and write songs.
주광 Jugwang - Our Student leader, an amazing guitarist, loves to worship and produce music, peaceful person.
주환 Juhwan - Secretary, sweetheart, loves to worship and write songs, super smart, and the youngest member of DTS.
지형 Jihyung - Work Duty, amazing rapper and songwriter, diligent, kind, funny guy.
I am so excited to join these nine people as we do life together and seek God's will for this outreach and for our lives! We received Isaiah 61:1-4 as our team's promise verse, and it is such a beautiful word for the world right now. Our hope is in Jesus Christ alone and we can trust in His word!
Our Team's verse is Isaiah 61:1-4
"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations."
Prayer Requests:
That all of the students and staff would be able to fill their finances for outreach. (We still need about $2,000)
That God would open doors at the right times and provide places for us to go.
That God would surround our team with an umbrella of protection for this outreach and that we would not be exposed to the coronavirus or other dangers.
That I would be able to not serve out of my own strength but rely fully on Jesus for my strength and guidance.
Thank you all so much for your prayers and support! I really would not be here without you guys, and I'm so grateful to have your support especially throughout this season!
You guys are on my mind and in my prayers always, and I'm wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year wherever you may be! :)
If you guys want to keep up with our DTS team on social media you can follow us on Instagram: @i2idtskorea
with much love,
~Hope Starr 성소망
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