You can take the Girl out of Hawaii...

 Hello Friends and family! 

I have officially Graduated School of Biblical Studies! Currently I am on outreach with a couple of my classmates touring along the East coast through the southern parts of the US and as we go we are partnering with churches along the way teaching as we go. I am so thankful for all the love and support of friends and family and partners along the way! 

So the inevitable question at the end of every school is "Whats next?" in the midst of studying I had begun to feel God prompting that there was about to be a big change in my life. When I left Montana the plan was to go back and continue in the Discipleship Training School department and continue leading students as they had a life changing encounter with God in a 5 month time span. However, God loves to watch us make plans like we know what we are doing. I began to get the sense that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. This feeling would overcome me in the most random moments like when I would be taking the classroom trash to the dumpster or when I would be walking back to my dorm room on the other side of campus at 11:45 PM after studying all day. At first I thought it was just a sign that I was in the right class and that I had done SBS at the right time, But as weeks went on I began to have more confirmation that I was exactly where I needed to be. Along with these moments of complete peace there were also many invitations to stay in Kona and staff at Youth With A Mission there. If you have been in Ywam long enough you know that there will always be a need everywhere you go, and being someone with 5 years experience I came into Kona knowing that would be something that people would notice and in a way there would always be a role for me to fill. So these invitations (while flattering) were not the big pull but they did get me thinking. Finally there was an invitation from one of my staff and good friends to join SBS Staff in Kona, but to be honest I don't even remember her asking me to consider it and I have been told it was a very quick no (which I completely believe). I continued my studies and continued enjoying the sweet community around me, taking full advantage of living on the island with sweet sweet friends. 

The third and final quarter came faster than any of us imagined.  I finally got to the point where I could not ignore the Lord any more and I let myself think "maybe I am supposed to stay in Kona". Once I spoke it out loud there was no turning back. I started conversations with my School leader and the final confirmation was in one particular conversation about what I would like to see happen in the School of Biblical Studies when he informed me that he had been turning away some of my classmates from staffing the school next year because there were too many people wanting to come on staff, however he wanted to make room for me because of what I was passionate about seeing. After this I decided to commit to coming back to Kona Hawaii to staff the School of Biblical Studies with a focus on Outreach (both local and international)! 

So what does this mean!? This means that this September I am moving to the Big Island and will be getting the opportunity to love, encourage, and disciple students for 9 months at a time as they dive deep into the word of God and let it transform their lives just like it transformed mine. I will be having a special focus on creating opportunities for students to give back to the community in Kona and to pour out what is being poured into them through the word. I will also be organizing opportunities for them to continue their studies and go on an international outreach to strengthen the global church by teaching the Bible. I am a firm believer that Christianity is not something that you merely study, but something that you live out through your actions. Because of this, I am so excited to lead students in making our community a better place through service projects or to take them cross culturally to share the knowledge they gained. 

For those of you who have been faithful supporters these last 5 years THANK YOU and know I STILL NEED YOU in this next adventure. I am hoping to continue in partnership with Ywam Montana and am working on continuing to have my payments processed through them because I firmly believe that my time with them is not over yet. For those of you who want to know more about this next chapter and the way that I will be continuing to serve the Lord in missions Please feel free to reach out to me through Facebook messenger or through Email at bear.sierra@gmail.com 

As I get ready to start this new ministry in a familiar place I have a couple prayer requests. 

1. Pray for the outreach I am currently on, touring the east coast of the USA teaching in churches. 

2. More financial partners! Hawaii is expensive and more outreaches are on the horizon so I am in need of more people to partner in what God is doing. 

3. Transition from Montana Home to Hawaii Home. while I am so excited to start whatever God has in Hawaii, I am grieving the beautiful community I have become apart of in Montana. 

Thank you to those who have partnered with me and who are continually praying for me! I am ecstatic to step into what God is doing with Ywam Hawaii and in awe with how "full circle" God is. in all of this I have learned that you can take the girl out of Hawaii... but she will eventually go back. 

Aloha