Leah's Blog

Snow!

2009-10-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we woke up to snow! This was very exciting to me but to my husband and I'm pretty sure every other Montana resident it was not so exciting. Eureka is home to bad weather, fog and rain (year round!) but almost never snow so the whole thing was a new and really beautiful experience. I'm told that in about 3 months I'll hate it....we'll see:)

In other news....Kyle and I have joined the staff of Catalyst, our Church youth group! We we're approached last Sunday about this and asked to pray about it and come check it out on Wednesday night. When Wednesday night came around we had made our decision to be apart of the team. It's a big youth group and really wild...we're excited! This Thursday-Saturday we'll be headed down to Billings for a big youth conference with the staff and about 50 kids from the youth group. We're both really excited about being apart of Catalyst....who knows maybe we can convince a few of them to head over to Maui;)

That's most of what's been happening in the last few weeks. I really need to post some pics...especially of the snow! haha! We'll see if I actually get pictures up this time:)

Six months later...

2009-09-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

It's been FOREVER since I last updated my blog! So many things have happened I don't even know where to start!

In March I moved back to California where I was working and getting ready for the wedding! It was a busy time but very special. I feel so blessed that I had a few months to spend with my parents before getting married.

Kyle and I were married on July 25th, 2009! The week before the wedding was one of the most stressful weeks of my life! On the day of I finally settled down (with a little help from champagne!) and decided to just enjoy the day. The day went by so fast and almost seemed like a dream. It was so beautiful and I have so many people to thank for all of the hard work they put into our special day.

After the wedding Kyle and I headed to Puerto Vallarta Mexico!! It was amazing:) Our honeymoon consisted of eating too much at every meal, drinking 'Dirty Monkeys', riding 4-wheelers in the jungle, going on crazy zip-lines in the jungle, hanging out in the pool and of course...other things;) After our honeymoon we headed back to California for a few days and then we drove to Montana to start our new life together.

Kyle and I started working a week after we got home which was a HUGE blessing. Kyle's been doing flooring installation and I've been working as a bank teller. I can honestly say I would never have imagined myself working as a bank teller but here I am counting back cash and writing everything down on carbon paper...haha...the bank I work for is old school!

So far the adjustment has been easier than I thought it would be. Kyle and I are loving being married and having so much fun. I'd love to have a friend or two but I know that takes time so I keep praying! That's our life right now, I'll try and keep the updates coming! I'll post some new pictures soon!

They're Back!!

2009-03-03T18:31:00.000-08:00

The fall school returned from their outreaches last week, the teams went to Borneo, Bangladesh and Ch!na. It's always a blessing for me to hear about what they did and how they've changed.

The team that went to Borneo spent much of their time teaching and praying for people. They saw many people healed and 50 people were saved! The teams told stories of coming to a church and praying for people for up to 3 hours. It was such a blessing to hear that God is moving and active in the most highly populated Muslim country in the world.

The team that went to Bangladesh worked with Compassion International working with children. The team was also given an opportunity to minister to many Muslims including a witchdoctor. It was awesome to hear about how this team really pressed into prayer and sought God's heart for this country.

The Ch!na team spent most of their times in English corners and building relationships with university students. I loved how intentional this team was, they got to know people and invested their time and were able to eventually share with them the hope they have. They saw 13 people saved, praise God!

As always, it's so encouraging for all of us to hear about each teams outreach. It's a reminder of what's going on all over the world and how God is moving everywhere!

Kona!

2009-02-16T16:31:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Maui and feeling refreshed from an amazing time in Kona! While we were in Kona we had six lectures in total with about 20 hours of teaching time. Our speaker was Kris Vallotton from Bethel Church in Redding, California. Kris is the founder of 'The School of Supernatural Ministry' which now has over 1,000 students each year. Some of our lecture topics were honor, gifts of the spirit, prophecy & healing and freedom in Christ. He was a very straight forward and challenging speaker. I really appreciated his boldness and the ways he challenged us. Kris encouraged us to "follow the ways of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy" 1 Cor 14:1. He has an amazing ministry in Redding and told us some amazing testimonies of what God has done through them.

I also spent a lot of time in the prayer room seeking direction and refreshment. Kyle and I feel called to long term missions and every time we pray and ask God for further direction or more detail he reminds us to be patient and trust him. We are waiting patiently for the details about our future but for now we are content with waiting and trusting the Lord.

I'm always amazed at the perspective I get while I'm in Kona. There are 1,000 people living on the base (that doesn't include the staff living off base) and so many of these people have radical stories of their journeys with God. The founders of YWAM live in Kona and are such people of faith. There's also a man who was imprisoned in Iran and beaten daily and now is leading a DTS to "extreme places" which include Northern Iraq and Afghanistan. There are people from all over the world living at the base in Kona. I was reminded of what I'm a part of and why I've been doing what I do.

If you'd like to know more about YWAM or any of the things I've mentioned feel free to e-mail me! Thank you to all of you who helped me get over to Kona! God Bless!

2009-02-10T19:57:00.000-08:00

Aloha,

As most of you know my commitment to YWAM Maui will be ending in the beginning of March. I will be headed to Eureka where I’ll be working and finishing wedding plans. Leaving is defiantly bitter sweet, Maui has become my home in many ways and the people here have become like family. Leaving will be hard but I feel blessed to be able to spend time with my family before moving to Montana.

Leaving Maui does present some last financial needs. I’m still needing to buy a plane ticket to the Mainland, I’m in need of $250 for this ticket. I’m also mailing some of my things to Eureka which will be significantly less expensive than flying with them. This will be another $100 for shipping. These are my needs at the moment. If you would like to support me on this venture back to Eureka you can make checks payable to “YWAM” and post to Leah Brandenburg P.O. Box 790237 Paia, Hi 96779.

Thank you for all of your prayers and financial support over the past 3 ½ years. You have been apart of hundreds of changed lives (including mine!) and bringing the hope of Jesus Christ to Nepal, Thailand, Myanmar and China! Thank you for trusting me and believing in what God has called me to do, we’re investing in the eternal!

Love,

Leah

Engagement Photos!!

2009-01-30T13:58:00.000-08:00

Kyle and I had our engagement photos taken last weekend! We had to get up at 5:30am so we'd be there for the sunrise, it was definitely worth it! We'll be getting married at First Covenant Church in Eureka, Ca on July 25, 2009 at 4pm.

Kona!

2009-01-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

The second week in February I plan to go to the YWAM base in Kona, Hawaii for a conference. The speaker will be Kris Volloton from Bethel Church in Redding, CA. The week is entitled "When Heaven Meets Earth". The three major YWAM base's DTS schools in Hawaii will be gathered in Kona for the week. The meetings will have around 500 people at each one, with daily worship and prayer.I'm excited for what God has for this week, and what can be learned and received!!! Kyle and I both felt the Lord prompting us to go for this week. Pray that it would be a time of renewal and that it would spark more passion in our lives for the Lord! Thank you to all of you who gave so I would be able to attend this conference, it's such an answer to prayer!

A Testimony of God's Faithfulness!

2009-01-23T19:39:00.000-08:00

Aloha,

You've heard me say that one of the things I love about YWAM Maui is the transformations that I get to see in people's lives. I've asked one of the DTS students in the school to write out his testimony so all of you can read about the transformations I'm talking about! Erik's story is a reminder that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God and that He is ALWAYS in pursuit of our hearts. I hope God speaks to you through Erik's story.

"My name is Erik; I’m 24 years old and am from Dellwood, Minnesota. I am a student at the Maui YWAM. I became a true Christian last march while in a drug treatment program. I had been lost in drug addiction and alcoholism for almost six years before having an intervention. I was a daily user and was lost in a useless life of sin and selfishness. Everything I did had a negative result and everywhere I went I left a path of destruction in the lives of people I encountered, especially my family. I would disappear for months at a time and neglect to inform anyone around me, at some times my family didn’t even know if I was still alive. However, Christ had a future planned for me, in December of 2007 my friends and family organized an intervention and demanded that I attend a Christian drug rehabilitation facility called MN Teen Challenge, I agreed to give it a shot as I had seen my life begin to slip away.
While in Teen Challenge God got a hold of my Heart, at an Easter play at a church I gave my life to Christ and accepted that He had died for my sins, and that He had a will and future already planned for me. Over the next nine months I learned what it meant to be a true Christian and developed my relationship with the Lord. As my time in the program was coming to an end I had to face what I was going to do after. I prayed continually and had a team of people praying for me, after a couple months I felt it had become clear that I was supposed to participate in a YWAM course. I felt led to this because it was a good opportunity to give back to God’s kingdom, which I had spent so much time destroying, and because it was an excellent chance for me to avoid old friends who could potentially tempt me back into my previous lifestyle.
Here at YWAM I have already built close relationships with fellow students and staff and I look forward to strengthening those. I also expect to bring my relationship with the Lord to a new level through devotions and prayer. I am looking forward to the outreach portion of this course, which I will be serving in Indonesia, where we intend to spread the Gospel and assist the community in any way possible.
I am so thankful for the changes the Lord has brought about in my life, without His influence I probably would have been dead by now, but instead, I am presented with an opportunity to spread the love that He showed me to people all over the world."

2009-01-12T13:26:00.001-08:00

Aloha!

The new DTS is off and running! All of the students and DTS staff just returned from Exodus ( a three day camping trip with no toothbrush, deodorant, or a change of clothes with only ramen and oatmeal to eat! It's a great way to get to know each other).

On Tuesday they were told they would be moving locations when really we had a feast waiting for them! We call this feast 'Love Feast'. During Love Feast we have a time of foot washing for all of the DTS students, new staff and mission builders. Base staff washes their feet and prays for them. Just as Jesus washed his disciples feet as an act of serving them we start each quarter doing this as a way of telling them we are here to support and serve them during this time. The foot washing is followed by a time of worship and thanking God for all he has done and is yet to do!

With new staff, mission builders and a new DTS starting this is a very busy time for everyone on base! Please pray that God would give us grace and patience during these next couple of weeks. If you or anyone you know is interested in doing a DTS or mission building please feel free to get in touch with me!

God Bless!

The Holidays

2009-01-04T23:05:00.000-08:00

The Holidays are over and soon the base will be busting at the seams with lots of new staff and a new DTS coming in!

Christmas was very quiet and relaxing with only 9 staff on base over the holidays. The break was much needed and a time to just hang out with people that in our normal base atmosphere you might not normally spend much time with. Kyle and I both missed our families but it was nice spending the holidays together.

A new DTS will be here on the 10th and our base will go from 9 to 60 is just one week! I'm looking forward to the start of a new quarter which will be my last with YWAM Maui. I think I'll appreciate everything a little more considering it will be the last time for most things.

Please pray for this quarter and that God moves in the staff and the students!

New Blog

2008-12-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

Aloha!
I hope to keep all of you more updated on what's going on in my life through this blog. I'll be letting you know what's going on at YWAM Maui as well as in my life! Enjoy!

Update!

2008-12-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

Aloha,
This last year has been full of adventure and changes. The year started off with staffing a Discipleship Training School (DTS) and leading a team of eleven to China. I returned to Maui in July and just two weeks later headed off to California and Montana where Kyle (my then boyfriend, now fiance!) and I met each other's families. After a month on the Mainland we flew to Scotland for two of our friends wedding. After an incredible summer we headed back to Maui to begin a new quarter on base. After being back in Maui for only a month Kyle proposed! It's been an incredible year and only now have things started to slow down.

I am now working as the Personnel Director for our base. I oversee our staff, short term volunteers, guests and base functions. Kyle and I are also leading weekly times of base wide prayer. This quarter has brought many challenges and stretched me in ways I wasn't expecting. I have had to rely fully on God in every area of my life, this does not always come easy to me. A verse I keep coming back to is Hebrews 12:1-3 " Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning it's shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him whoendured such oposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart". I've learned that all I can do is fix my eyes on Jesus and run after him.

I am nearing the end of my commitment here at YWAM Maui. I'll be returning to Eureka, Ca in the middle of March. While in Eureka I'll be working and wrapping up wedding plans! After Kyle and I are married we will be moving to Montana. While we are there Kyle will be working and I'll be finishing up school. We hope to invest into Kyle's home church and share with people what God has done in and through us during our time in YWAM.

Kyle and I both feel called to missions. We are still praying into where God wants us in the future but are excited about the plans that He has for us!

That about sums up 2008...I wonder what God has planned for 2009?

We're engaged!

2008-12-18T15:24:00.000-08:00

Kyle and I were engaged on September 5th 2008! We'll be getting married July 25th 2009 in Eureka, Ca!

The Nelson's and Brandenburg's Meet!

2008-12-18T15:06:00.000-08:00

During Thanksgiving my family and Kyle's both came to Maui . It was such a blessing that they were able to come out at the same time. We all had a blast and took advantage of the short time we were all together.