This past week, our Fall 2011 Discipleship Training School students returned from their outreach phase serving in Africa and South America. On Monday, each team gathered their favorite stories and personal testimonies to share with the current students and staff on base. It was especially of great encouragement to the Winter 2012 Discipleship Training School as they begin their outreach preparation.

Togo Team

The outreach phase is a time of practical, hands-on ministry where students can live out what they have learned during lecture phase. Three DTS teams traveled to Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali, and Brazil for seven weeks. The teams, adorned in their visited country’s traditional clothing, performed a cultural dance and song, singing in the native language of that land. Students introduced themselves one by one in the language of that culture and shared story upon story of how God worked in their lives and the lives of those they encountered during their time in Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Brazil.

The stories retold from the outreach teams carry a common theme: broken barriers.

The students witnessed and experienced walls come down, lives open, and cultures collide. The teams participated in evangelism and mercy ministry, partnering with established ministries along the way.

Burkina Faso & Mali Team

For the Togo team, visiting the children’s ministry in the northern village of Tamburi was a definite highlight.

“Why this particular ministry stuck out for us during outreach was because we could really see God connecting us to the culture. It was really inspiring to see how God truly can break down barriers,” says one student.

The Burkina Faso & Mali team witnessed how simple songs and dances can unite cultures, and the Brazil team grew in their understanding of community as they were united together as a team.

Brazil Team

The impact from their time serving on outreach was obvious. Thousands of people throughout these four countries heard the Gospel message, hundreds received Christ into their lives, and numerous more received practical support in the form of mosquito nets for families, care packages for prisoners, and food donations for widows.

But it doesn’t stop there.

The DTS students are also going home changed people because of their outreach experiences. Equipped and empowered to follow after God in their lives with radical and radiant faith.