English Second Language?
October 19, 2020 - January 1, 2030
English Second Language?
Is English Your Second Language?
With so many people going to YWAM bases internationally, there is a high possibility that you’ll want to go to one that isn’t your home country. No need to fear; DTS is a beautiful opportunity to become stronger in speaking another language that isn’t your first.
Here at Marine Reach, we value internationals and LOVE learning from different cultures and languages. That definitely doesn’t discredit any worries that you may have to fully commit to stepping into an English speaking country. Are you worried about doing a DTS that isn’t in your native tongue? Here is one perspective who went through the same experience!
Andrea Wenger, 25, Switzerland
To be honest, the language wasn’t really a concern when I was choosing the location for my DTS. Growing up in Switzerland, I had learned English in school – not that I was really good at it – and after my apprenticeship, I went to a language course in London, England to
improve my knowledge or lack of it. That’s when I really started to love English. A couple of years later, I arrived in New Zealand. I realized pretty quickly that, while my understanding was decent, I often had a hard time finding the right words and would need to stop mid-
sentence. As a perfectionist, that was pretty annoying but since most of the people around me didn’t speak German, I didn’t have a choice but to try and make mistakes to learn and improve. The people were amazing, most of them were so willing helping to find the right words or were just really patient letting me work it out. A couple of friends I had asked to actually correct when I made grammatical mistakes, so while the Lord was working on my heart, healing wounds and redefining my identity, I also improved in my English.
Something else I realized as soon as lectures started was that my christian- / church English was lacking. I mean I never really needed those expressions and I sometimes didn’t get it. I needed to learn to ask for help for people to explain what these words meant or I had to look them up. Again, people were so willing to help and explain meanings, so it was not at all frightening or worrying, I think having to speak a different language, having to ask and learning to make mistakes was something that was part of my DTS experience. The patience people had towards me and the way they were willing to support revealed a part of God’s
heart for us. That he is patient for us to learn and to teach us…
Something that I really recommend that helped me getting into the language quicker was reading the Bible in English. It not only helped get the vocabulary faster, but I ultimately rediscovered the Bible. Because I had to read intently not skipping words or sentences as we
do when we know a language really well. The “new” way of saying something touched my heart in new ways. And I had to look up words again and again, the meaning of them. I questioned more why these words were used for that context, I was more aware of what I was reading. This is something that stuck with me, today I keep looking up the meaning of words – just in their original language. I keep asking myself why the author chose these words and what they wanted to emphasize with them. But I also keep trying to read the Bible as if it was
my first time, to not lose the wonder of it and to cherish the small discoveries.
It was a beautiful journey to do my DTS in another language, it had its challenges for sure, but I would do it this way all over again.
“Prayer and Passion completely changed my outlook on the true power that prayer has. It had always been something that I knew worked and I did, but it was boring. Being a part of this stream gave me new understanding of how prayer is worship and fuels the power of heaven connecting with earth. It will move you to a place of praying out of your relationship with the Lord rather than giving him a list of things you want. You will gain a newfound intimacy with God as your prayer life is propelled.”
Tilly Logan, 21, Australia
“Before I did the Go Pacific DTS, I was expecting the Lord to do a lot of amazing things through me; and He did. However, I never expected Him to do so much work in my own heart. I drew a lot closer to God, experienced freedom, and I learned to believe in the ‘Jonas’ that He says I am. My relationship with God has become deeper and more serious, but at the same time it has become more fun and casual.”
Jonas Sørensen, 21, Denmark
“The Justice Movement stream really opened my eyes to what justice looks like through the eyes of God. Justice is more than making wrong right, it’s walking in mercy and humility. Justice is bringing light and life to orphans, widows, immigrants, and hope to anyone who is oppressed.”
Naomi Wilson, 18, AB, Canada
“I have just finished my Worship DTS at Marine Reach NZ.
When I signed up for the worship DTS I thought it was just about praising God. It’s about the role we play as worship leaders, it about how you lead the worship session, when to pray, and when and how you end. I recommend the Worship DTS to everyone who is inspired by the worship at your home church.”
Adam Pelletier, 36, BC. Canada
“Medical Compassion DTS was a truly an incredible experience. Working in health centres, hospitals and pop-up clinics grew my interest in medicine and allowed me to practically show the love of God. For me, the most transformational aspect of my Med-Com DTS was the focus on compassion and its importance in achieving true holistic healing. This is an experience like no other!”
Matthew Bassett, 18, Orewa, NZ
“Doing SPHC was an amazing experience. Not only was I given the opportunity to continue to grow spiritually, but I learned things that can be used in a very practical and much needed way. SPHC gave me the opportunity to show the Father’s heart to people in a very unique way and love on the person in front of me while helping them in such a simple way.”
Karunia Been, 20, Portugal
“Since being here at Marine Reach, my hunger for God has continued to grow more and more. In the Kingdom Come stream, our heart is to see the world changed by the message of His love and the demonstration of His power. It’s such a privilege to be apart of a group of people so on fire for Jesus!”
Joseph Pope, 25, Virginia, USA
“Before doing the Justice Movement stream I was so full of hatred and anger toward the perpetrators of human trafficking; completely lacking the love God has for them. But through the stream meetings and prayer it’s been a beautiful journey in which God has shown me how deep and vast His love is for ALL His children. God completely changed my view and I couldn’t be more thankful for this experience!”
Kara Spencer, 19, BC, Canada
“The Medical Compassion DTS gave me a glimpse into the medical side or missions. The compassion part was what caught me. I saw that when we see with Jesus’ eyes of genuine compassion, we must get our hands dirty.”
Brady Picking, 21, Pennsylvania, USA
“I decided to do a DBS because I wanted to know as much about the Bible as I could. And yes, I learned a lot about the Bible, the historical background and so on. But my biggest gain from the DBS was to learn and see the Bible come alive and active in my own life. The Bible used to be a boring book to me, with a bunch of unrelatable stories and letters. During DBS I got to know how to apply God’s Word to my life and how to be discipled, transformed and guided by it. My life changed so much through that and is still changing. I believe that’s what the Bible is for, to lead us closer to God and to help us to become more like Him.”
Silas Bauer, 22, Germany