Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas everyone!! It's hard for me to believe it's Christmas when I'm sitting in such a heat wave. 

We are currently at LIV village working with their holiday club. We are involved with everything from games, to crafts, to children's programs, to Christmas parties. 

Today it was so hot we changed the outdoor games to dodge ball in the school hall. 

Due to the shortage of water in the area we have daily water restrictions.  The water is shut off between the hours of 11 and 4 everyday. African time, which means we have no idea when we will have water and when we won't. Oh, life is an adventure!!! 

Please pray for rain!!! We need it! 

I hope that everyone of you has a very merry Christmas!

The Thanksgiving Braai

The last few days here in Drakensberg before we head toward Durban. Last night we had a fantastic braai to calibrate the greatness of what God has done while we have been here in South Africa. 

Our ministry time here has come to a close, but we know with all our hearts that God is still powerfully active in this place. 

There are many people who have touched our lives while we have been here, and those people along with their ministries will remain in our hearts and our prayers. 

We thank God for his goodness and faithfulness. We thank Him for his answered prayers and for the honor of planting seeds in this community. We thank Him for the hearts that were turned to Him and the ones turned back to him. We thank Him for this opportunity, and as we head toward the next stage of our mission we thank Him for what He is about to do!

The full love for South Africa

It's a down day for us here in South Africa. So far life has been really good and really busy!  We have been doing a lot of children's ministry. Lots of songs and games. My Zulu is up to maybe two words now!  :) 

We have also had the opportunity to work at a community garden putting up a shade cloth. 

We are stationed at the Drakensburg YWAM base and while here we have been joined by the Durban YWAM DTS team and a group of short term mission high school students from the Durban area. 

It has been a beautiful blessing getting to know them and being able to serve with them. 

We will continue our ministry here for another week before heading to LIV village for three weeks. 

This week I got to know a 12 year old Zulu girl with a huge heart for Jesus. She has inspired me to keep doing what I'm doing, loving people with the full love of God. 

Like anywhere in this world there Is great need here! I can feel people's pain and I can hurt with them. But Gods love doesn't change or weaken with our human weakness and pain. Each person is loved with the full Love of Jesus matter their circumstances or life situations.  

One week away from South Africa.

Galatians 6:9-10 Let us not become weary in doing food, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believes.

In one week we will be leaving for South Africa.  The excitement has been pretty high around our house for the past week; I can only imagine what this week will bring. We all feel ready for this, with the details falling into place and the last minute plans coming to life, we wait in eager expectation.

The rough plan is to fly into Johannesburg, drive to YWAM Drakensburg in Winterton, be there for about 2 weeks before we head to an orphanage right outside Durbin. We will be spending the majority of our time at the orphanage. Around the first week in January we will be heading to the YWAM base in Durbin and spending the remainder of our time there. We will be headed back to California around January 18^th and have a week a debrief time here.  Time is flying!

Meanwhile back in California at the present moment….

Last weekend a few of us has the joy of visiting the home of one of our teammates.  Alisi is apart of a Fiji family from Sacramento. Her family was throwing her a fundraising dinner. It was an honor to become apart of her family and her Church so quickly.

We were also able to explore Sacramento a little bit.  It was a very enjoyable time and we came back to base with a whole bunch of oranges from the tree in their front yard.  So FUN!

Teaching has been good the past few weeks.  Our training in the gifts of the Spirit was great and powerful.

When Jesus left this earth to go back to heaven, He left us a helper so that we would never be alone. As a follower of Jesus Christ we have the full power of the Holy Spirit living within us. 

John 14:26,27 But the counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you I do not give to you as the world gives Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing, He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.

As a result of us walking in the Holy Spirit, our lives should be reflecting the life of Christ.  We should be portraying the fruits of the Spirit as well as the power of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-26 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

1 Corinthians 12:4-6 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all men.

The Holy Spirit in our lives is made known in many different ways. Always working, the Holy Spirit is a constant source of growth in our lives. Teaching us, molding us, and building us up for the kingdom of God. 

The Holy Spirit is always a gentleman, not a bully!

Hope that today finds you in a great place with you friend Jesus! If your not sure what I’m talking about, let me know, I would love to explain this more to you.

THIS ONE THING I WANT YOU TO KNOW, JESUS LOVES YOU WITH ALL THE LOVE OF THE FATHER! HE CREATED YOU AND HE DESIRES TO HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU!

Thank you everyone who has been partnering with me through prayer and finances! I believe that God loves and rewards those who give in love and joy!

Love you people!

Jodi

This week! Oh yeah! So fun!

Hey everyone! 

This week has been a amazing adventure! Days are starting to fly by!  We found out the locations we will be while in South Africa. We start in the drakensberg mountains at the YWAM base. We are spending the majority of our time at LIV Village, an orphanage right outside of Durban. The last few days we will be wrapping things up at the Durban YWAM base. 

We are getting more and more excited as it gets closer! 

Please continue to keep us in your prayers!  

The Crossroad DTS and the  DTS will be splitting up after our flight lands. This will be challenging on all of us as we have grown so much together. We know that this is what God desires us to do and so we are eager to share stories and what God has done for both groups!

Pray for safe travels and God encounters. 

Pray that we can be an encouragement everywhere we go!

That we can come alongside the ministries and missions and build them up to continue the long term mission. 

Pray that we will grow personally and in our own faith as we walk the path set before us!

Please continue to pray for finances.

Here are a few notes from this weeks teaching by Stephen Bell. Pretty Great. 

  You inhabit the praises of your people! 

Thankfulness keeps us from entitlement. 

Your value isn't in what you do, it's in How God sees you. The value He has placed on your life is the full Love of The Father. 

The Son only does what he sees his father doing. A life of complete surrender to his father. A life of yes. 

Keeping our focus on the father so that when the problems come, the kingdom of heaven is already activated and your ready to go. 

Live in the relationship with the Father. Always connected and aware of what our Father is doing. 

Matt 3

Jesus life was an open access to heaven and the Father. He also had the Holy Spirit on him and walk this life with him. As a son of God. 

This is my son who I love. 

This is how the father described his son on the day of his baptism. Intimate heart connection. 

Identity.  What is the proses of us becoming confidant in being a child of God. 

Father renew our minds to the reality of our relationship with you. 

We have been restored to right standing with God. 

Renewed to the revelation of the truth of the gospel. Is the word in you? 

2cor 3:12-

The glory of The Lord no longer fades away. It remains on us.  Where the spirit of The Lord is there is liberty. The glory of God is revealed in the face of Jesus. 

What we get in return when we give up everything to God is a way better return.  

Sometimes God will have to offend your mind so your heart can go deeper with God. Your heart with God will go where your heart won't even know there is a go. 

The glory of The Lord is revealed in the face of Christ. 

Is it revealed in yours? 

The Armor of God

Good Morning, Happy November 1^st!

Right now I’m experiencing the very surreal moment of quiet.  When living in a house with 16 other people this just doesn’t happen real often.  I love the fun and community of this place, but I am, at the moment really enjoying the peace and quiet! J

This was another busy week in Chico Ca. WYAM CDTS.  Our topic of study was on Spiritual Warfare and how to face it head on! Way to go John Clark for the great biblical teaching!

I'll try to get a summery of the weeks notes up soon...

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Last night a few of us joined our team leaders in praying through the night for the Street Pastors of Chico and our YWAM street team as they where out being lights to the city! It was a real blessing to be apart of the night.

Only about 3 weeks to go before we leave for our outreach, please keep us in your prayers! Please pray for God’s direction and for discernment for us as we make plans and prepare for different styles of outreach.

Thank you all so much for your love and support! I wouldn’t be here without you!

God bless!

Jodi

Relationships and Research Projects = My Week!

The Drankensberg Mountains S. A.

Matthew 22:37 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind.

This week was a week of Relationships. Here are some thoughts and reminders on having healthy relationships...

We have been created to have a relationship with the God.  God wants to be a friend of ours, not our slave master.

Unity is humble hearts Honoring each other according to the Value God has placed on them.

Love- is desiring and choosing the highest good for another.

Recognize the Lies and how the Truth has been twisted to become a lie...
Truth-You are different...
Lie-There must be something wrong with you....
God has made each person unique and different.  We all make up this unique world. We are all a unique expression of God's creative mind.

When we accept a lie we conform ourselves to that lie and make it apart of who we are.

Good questions to ask yourself in a relationship of any kind...
Is it loving?
Is it wise?
Are we stiring up emotions in others we dont have the commitment to fulfill?

IT's NOT ABOUT ME!

Healthy Relationships don't just happen they take commitment and work.


This week flew by like a blink of an eye. 
We did some research projects of South Africa, It's beginning to seem real and exciting!
We have also been studying the Spheres of influence and where focusing on Family this week... We spent some serious time just praying for families.

Thank you to those have been supporting me through prayer and finance!!!! You are all amazing!!! I have truly felt your prayers this past week, and have been so blessed by your support!!! 

I am now at $1000 to go to make my financial outreach goals. Keep Praying! 

Love you guys!
Jodi

My Newsletter update

Jon and Julie - My really fun Team Leaders!

Hello,

Some of you may have already received this letter via e-mail, but for those of you who haven't....

As some of you know about 6 weeks ago I started my Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Crossroads Discipleship Training School (CDTS). Thank you all for your prayers and support in this mission! I couldn’t do this without you!! 

We just came off a week of connecting with several YWAM bases from the area. There were about 250 of us learning and living together.  It was a great opportunity to connect and grow with several new friends!

This past weekend we had the chance to take part in “Church on the Street”. We were able to talk to lots of people, give them food and some other needs, and just hang with them for a while.

We have been studying several quality topics such as-

            Listening to God / Hearing God’s voice

            The Fathers Love & The extravagant love of the Father

            How to get Freedom from Shame

            How do we love God…God’s love language

            Truth Box…What are the “Truths” you have in your thinking that are not true?

            What is your view of God, and where did it come from?

            Fear of the Lord / Radical Faith

If you have any questions on any of the topics, let me know and I will pass on some of the notes that I took during the sessions!

Fishing! I caught one...It was at least 3 inch long!

Plans for outreach have been taking shape.  We will be leaving for our 8 week outreach to South Africa on November 22.  While there will be serving along side a few different YWAM bases doing anything they need from Children’s programs to Building projects.  We were working on our face painting skills the other day!  Today we were practicing our Children’s songs!

I am still looking for financial & prayer partners for the out reach phase. My current need is about $2000 before our launch date of November 22.  If you feel God is leading you to support me financially, Send Money to YWAM Chico!

Address the Check to “YWAM Chico” send either a note attached with my name on it, or write my name in the memo portion of the check.

Send checks to:

CDTS Registrar 

Youth With A Mission 

15850 Richardson Springs Road

Chico, California 95973

Or…

If you would like to send money online please follow this link and make sure you mention my name so they know where the money should go.

https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/ywamchico

If you feel God is calling you to Pray, here are some things to pray into!

A growth of unity within our team.

For finances to be met for all our team members.

For the lives we will be reaching out to while we are here in Chico Ca. and those we will be connecting with while in South Africa.

For hearts to be awakened to the Truth of the Love of Jesus!

For a boldness for our team to speak truth.

I would love to pray for you as well, so please let me know how I can pray for you!!

Thank you,

Jodi Noordmans

Why did God make you?

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 3 in 1. Different yet the same. A perfect picture of love and relationship before the beginning of this world. 

Why did they/he ever create us? 

-not because He was lonely. No. He lived in the perfect relationship. 

-not because he was bored. No.  Perfection doesn't get bored. To say this would be to say that we save God. 

-not so He could rule as a king. No.  This would imply He had a self esteem issue. 

-not to worship... He loves our worship but that's not His reason for creating us. 

A perfect God doesn't need anything from us. A perfect God with a perfect relationship desired only to expand His perfectness. 

He created us to be apart of that relationship with Him. He created us to be more of the Good thing that already was between God the Father. God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. 

I am a gift from God to God. An expression of love. 

God didn't have to create love, He is love. God has no beginning, Love has no beginning. 

Gods love grows bigger with every soul. His love doesn't divide to be split evenly between everyone. We are all recipients of the FULL love of God! He's not holding anything back!

Gods love for us is unconditional. There is nothing that can change His love for you. 

Life update including Outreach info!!!

It’s been a crazy few weeks here at YWAM Chico!

Over the past few days we had several West coast YWAMers here for a conference. It was a great time just to connect with YWAM family! I made lots of new friends!

Between classes we have been able to get in a few quality hikes, a trip to visit the Red Woods and Ocean, play some pool games, sit by the pool, ride some horses, go fishing, all involving a lot of laughs!

A few serious thoughts from the past few weeks…

Where does your concept of God come from? Are we getting our ideas about God from God?

Proverbs 4:18 The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine.

This world will be transformed through relationships.

We can’t change what is done to us, only how we choose to respond to it.

A choice always has a consequence. Choice determines destiny.

If you cut your chains, you are free.  If you cut your roots, you die.

In other news…

We will be leaving for South Africa on November 22. We have been working on our outreach preparation, which includes anything from prayer to face painting.

Some of you have asked how my funding is coming, the update as of today is that I am still looking to raise about $2000. If you would like to become an Out Reach financial partner, You can send Checks directly to YWAM Chico.
Address the Check to “YWAM Chico” send either a note attached with my name on it, or write my name in the memo portion of the check.

Send checks to:

CDTS Registrar 

Youth With A Mission 

15850 Richardson Springs Road

Chico, California 95973

Or…

If you would like to send money online please follow this link and make sure you mention my name so they know where the money should go.

https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/ywamchico

Thank you everyone who is already a partner! I am so blessed by all of you!

Thanks,

Jodi

LET HIM LOVE YOU!

Love one another.

John 15:9-13-14-15  When you guard my commands- never letting them out of your sight, you will make my love your home, just as I have guarded my Fathers commands and make His love my home.  As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  

 Greater love has no one that this, that he lay (aside) his life for his friends. 

 You are my Friends! When you do what I command, I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his masters business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit- fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command, LOVE each other.

1 John 4:10-11 This is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His son as a sacrifice for our sins. Dear Friends, since God loved us, we also should love one another.

19-We love, because He first loved us.

Let HIM love on you.

This is a very brief idea of what we were studying last week.  It is such a simple concept, yet one that is very much over looked and not always lived out in our walks with Christ.  The idea of allowing God to change us from the inside out with His love pouring into us is something that is hard to grasp and maybe even harder to accept.  

Loving people with the love of Christ is mind blowing! To love people in that way is to give up every write or expectation to what or who we have made them out to be in our own little minds. 

Let God blow your world wide open by just letting HIM LOVE YOU!

Hearing the Voice of God

Hearing the Voice of God was the title of our first lecture week.  Sooo good. 

Some of my thoughts…

Quit asking God for what He has already given you.

Don’t put God in a box, He wont stay there.   

If you are a follower of Christ you have heard His voice. God doesn’t speak to everyone in the same ways. 

Philippians 2:13 

He is working in us to help us do the power of God, and when we agree he gives us the power to do it.

Lets not try to put a label on what “being filled with the Holy Spirit” looks like.

The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He won’t take more then we allow him to have.

God does have concepts that our minds cannot grasp.

It’s ok to be greedy when receiving the knowledge of God and Holy Spirit, Because as you receive you give.

Be still and allow God to show you what He wants to speak to you and then write it out.

                  Be still

                  Fix our eyes on the Jesus vision

                  Recognize God voice as a spontaneous flow.

                  Write… Try, Test and Prove the experiences and promises that God has given you. Stop trying to figure it all out and except it. 

There are some stumbling blocks that need to be turned into stepping stones.

SEEK HIM FIRST.

Biblical mediation combine with Analytical thought equals the flow of the heart.

Gods words trump my logic.

Reason will try to talk you out of Revelation.  Mediation will release Revelation and study releases information.  WE NEED BOTH

HE to who we are directing our prayers is way bigger then anything and everything we are praying about.

TRUST THAT GOD FORGIVES US

Gods love is very personal.

He has a very distinct purpose in making me.

The balance of Gods love for us evens out what He had to go through on the Cross.

By Law you are GUILTY, by GRACE- HE paid it ALL.

Friendship doesn’t happen by chance…

Person + Time = closeness

Person + talk = trust

Person + feelings = relationship

…It’s impossible for large groups to have this type of close relationship.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Rom. 15:13

Praying with the Heart of God changes things.

My failure doesn’t change Gods creature.

Humility is measured by the life that expresses it.

This is just a little taste of what we have been learning this week.  I could go on and on for a few more pages, but the just of it is you have a question, ASK, then LISTEN, and WRITE it down. God does speak. And I am so glad He does!

Hello from Chico!

Hey everyone. 

I've been in Chico for about 4 days now and it pretty great!  I have some really amazing people in my class coming from all over the world. There are 2 families and 5 singles in the Crossroads school, but we have joined forces with the DTS which has 7 people in it. 

My roommate is from Sweden. She's already awesome! :)   

School is good. We have just started with orientation. And get to know you stuff, so haven't learned anything to interesting. I'll keep you posted on that area. 

Financially I am doing great!  I believe I am about half way supported for my out reach phase($2000). And I'm so excited to announce that we will be going to South Africa for our outreach. It will be fun learning about the country and culture. 

If you would like to mail me or partner with me please send mail to:

Youth With A Mission 

Jodi Noordmans CDTS fall 2014

15850 Richardson Springs Road

Chico, California 95973

I'm not enough!

Never Enough.

Sometimes my heart screams at the thought of leaving. Not because I don’t want to go, or because I’m not soooo excited, but because of the people I leave behind.  

I have a lot of people in my life. People I love more then life itself.  People I fear for. People I feel for; If I could take care of everyone’s problems and solve them all, I would. 

In James 1 it tells us to consider it a great gift when tests and challenges come from all sides. Under pressure your faith is forced into the open and it shows it’s true colors. It tells us to not run too quickly from our problems but to walk through them and learn and grow from them, so that we can become full and complete. 

I know that God places different challenges and trials in everyone’s life and for me to try to take those away from someone would mean a missed opportunity for their growth. I hate to see my people in pain, but I believe that it is more beneficial for them if I learn to help them walk through that pain, instead of taking the pain from them. 

Something that God has been teaching me this week, is that I will never be enough.  I can do everything in my power and give my whole life to help others, but at the end of the day it’s not my job to be enough. It’s His job.  There will never be fulfillment in a person’s life without the presence of the Holy Spirit.  At the end of the day my only job is to lay them into Gods hands. My love for these people wont diminish or fade, but I will never be enough, and I don’t want to be enough. God is soooo much more then enough.