Our Family's Testimonies
Jan. 2016 DTS graduate, Megan Schilling
Holoholo and the amazing staff have a very special place in my heart! They were a huge piece in my journey with the Lord to figure out my life's calling! Before being a part of Holoholo DTS, I was lost and confused as to what my purpose was. I was passionate about missions, but little did I know that at the end of my DTS, I found God calling me to continue in missions full time! Before DTS I thought I knew everything I could about God. I had known Him my whole life, what else was there to know? Man, was I wrong! The first day of lecture phase I found there was SO much I didn’t know or understand about God. I had just been coasting by in life, but once I finally got to know our Heavenly Father more personally and intimately, it was impossible to keep my passion for the Gospel under control! From hearing God’s voice for the first time, to finally seeing myself how God has seen me since the moment He created me, every week left me more excited for what I would learn about God or what He would teach me next! Outreach completely sealed the deal for me! The genuine joy and compassion I felt when someone was touched by the Gospel continued to fuel my fire to share this life changing news with everyone around me! To sum things up: During DTS you will fall in love with Christ. You will be changed. You will be challenged. You will build friendships that will last a lifetime. Last but not least, you will enhance the fire that God has planted in you for the Gospel!
Sept. 2015 Holoholo DTS graduate, Josiah Rogstad
Holoholo DTS changed my life. I came into the DTS as a “Sunday Christian” living for God when it was convenient for me. I had no relationship with Him, and saw Him as just another person out there. However, I discovered during our first teachings that God desired a relationship with me and wanted to speak to me. This became a reality more and more as the desire to know God and have a relationship took hold of my life. God met me and changed my entire life. But he also challenged me. I had many areas in my life that needed work and I had to submit them to God. As I spent many late nights with God, He kept working away in my life until all those burdens I had been carrying were gone and I was free through the power of Christ. My life has never been better. When lecture phase ended we went to the Philippines for three months of missions work. I learned how to rely on God to get me through challenges. It was a little rough at first, but God provided exactly what I needed and matured my relationship with Him. DTS taught me how to spend time with God and seek His desires even in the midst of being busy. This is something I still apply to this day. After the outreach ended and we graduated and I returned home, I continued my work as a missionary on the home front. It has been a little over 3 months now and I feel more on fire today for God than I did when I first came home. Holoholo DTS changed my life and the staff and leaders were definitely a gift from God during such an important stage of my life.
Sept. 2015 DTS graduate, Ariana Yee
During my Holoholo DTS I had the chance to grow more fully into what it means to be God’s child, laying down some things that were keeping me from loving myself and others, and learning to more deeply receive God’s love and grace in my life. Both in Hawaii and in the Philippines, I was able to experience partnership and community within the extended family of Christ and was able to see Him at work in all of the places and communities we encountered. Not only was I able to grow in my relationship with God, but I was able to share with others how God has changed me. Our team had opportunities to share the love of Christ with those who have never truly experienced it and we were so blessed and encouraged to see God at work. In doing this, God has taught me a lot about myself and how He has designed me to work as a part of the family of Christ.
Sept. 2014 Holoholo DTS graduate, Caroline Williams
I came to YWAM at a time in my life where I was at my lowest. My whole life, I have felt as though I have been trampled on by fear. Fear was in every facet of my life and even extended to how I saw God. I always thought that He was angry with me or about to become angry with me if I wasn’t perfect. During my DTS, God used my fellow students, Holoholo staff and speakers to chip away at the lies that I was believing about God and myself. God showed me who I was, His precious daughter. He spoke against my fears and insecurities and showed me that He was my Father and that He wanted to relate to me as a Dad. He did a miraculous work in me that only He could do. By the end of DTS I felt completely free of my constant fear. Now I walk with Him as my Dad in sweet fellowship in my daily life. There are always ups and downs, but I know assuredly that He is with me forever and I have security in Him. When speaking of my DTS experience I think this verse sums it up for me completely. Psalm 40:2 “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”
