Big Steps Forward

FCM, Future Plans and a Wonderful Guy

So much has happened since I last wrote you!  I graduated from my FCM (Foundations of Counseling Ministry) school last Thursday night.  Outreach was amazing, I learned so much and was so blessed!  We spent 6 weeks working at a children's home in Cavite, Philippines (2 hours outside of Manila).  Our main focus was teaching and practicing giving counsel.  My favorite time was facilitating our small group times after our teachings.  My group was made up of a handful of teenage girls.  I was amazed at how open they were, how much they trusted me to share deep secrets and struggles in their lives, and at how the Holy Spirit led me to be able to minister to them, encourage them and pray for them.  

Then we ended our outreach by spending 3 weeks in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.  We stayed busy giving seminars in churches 3 weeks in a row!  I loved teaching and seeing people receive revelation from their Father!  My favorite time was working in a women's drug rehab center and getting to invest in 2 pregnant teenagers' lives!  I'm amazed at how God used me in so many ways despite the language barrier and my very different upbringing in comparison to these people.

So you're probably wondering what's next for me now...I will be returning to Vietnam to be on staff here with YWAM!  Toward the end of lecture phase, God really put Vietnam on my heart and started to give me some very clear direction and confirmation about staying here long-term.  The base here has the vision to pioneer an international DTS for the first time (since they have only run pure Vietnamese DTSes so far), and I really have a heart to get involved in this!  More details are still to come about this...

Now, for more very, exciting news...I want to introduce you to my boyfriend, Daniel (English name) or An (Vietnamese name)!  We met on the FCM and started dating in May while we were on outreach in the Philippines.  He is on staff with YWAM here in Ho Chi Minh City and was also a student on the FCM school.  Daniel was raised in a Christian Vietnamese home.  We share a vision for missions, discipleship, teaching, DTS, the nations, and worship leading.  We both love music, coffee, movies, ice cream, going on motorbike adventures and drinking hot chocolate!  I feel so amazed at the way that God led us together and is continuing to lead us forward.  He is an amazing man and I hope you can all meet him one day!  

To end, I just want to say thank you to all of you who have supported me, prayed for me, encouraged me and been there for me throughout so many years of life and ministry!  I'm coming home for a month in August/September, so let me know if you want to get together!

Blessings,
Cassandra

My Small Group Girls in the Philippines        Ministry Time in Hanoi
My FCM graduation in a traditional Vietnamese dress

What's Next...

Now that the school has ended, I will be staying in Vietnam for one more month to get to know Daniel's family and get more connected with YWAM here.  Then I will be in America from August 8-September 7 (arriving in MN on August 13), before returning to Vietnam where I will focus on learning the language and culture and praying more about how specifically to get involved in ministry here.
 
Prayer Requests

* for refreshment after a busy, life changing 5+ months of FCM
* for wisdom, guidance and grace as I begin a new season of life in a new nation with a new culture and new language
* that God would continue to walk with Daniel and I as we begin our relationship and pray about the future and the direction that God would lead us in
* for a fruitful time at home as I will only have a few weeks there
Teaching in Hanoi
Daniel and I 
Email:  gsprincess88@yahoo.com
Website: www.mcii.org/ywam