YWAM Honolulu

I'm Going Home!

2010-06-30T05:44:00.000-07:00

(Goodbye)
Bellos Beach, Oahu -->

My last Post was at the Beginning of SBS and this post is at the End. Pretty lame on my part , I am sorry guys and girls who read in disappointment of my commitment to continual updates.

This is our last week of class. We are studying the Book of Revelation. First time reading it was this week. Pretty intimidating until you understand the Original writing context.

I am going home soon. almost 3 years ago I became a Christian had my life flipped upside

down literally and have been in YWAM ever since. Some of my family still is not "saved" and my church at homes knows me as the guy in missions. Time to change that. I have a burden in my heart for my family. I am tired of hearing other people tell me "God has his hand on your family" and not being able to be there for it. I may be dumb in some ways to want to be involved but its my family and I am so excited to go home and be a part of what God is doing. He is closing the door here for me at Honolulu. If I can give a 2 year commitment to the mission field, young people, and the lost. I can give 6 months commitment to my Family. Im excited Im nervous Im scared Im ready Im confident. I know where God wants me. I am grounded in Faith Deeper than I thought I ever could be. I am more patient than usual and Willing to serve in any way possible. Time to come home. Time to see the Faithfulness of God in my family and see his hand instead of hear about it. I am so thankful for my church at home. To give to a young kid who in some ways is bold but also blind. I praise God that people can see his character in me even when I cannot. Thank you all of you for your prayers that moved mountains in my life and for those who labors long hours of the day spending your lives to financially support those on the field. What you guys is seen in Heaven and rewarded greatly. It truly is the concept of laying down your life for a friend in my opinion. To put your vision and dreams into the hands of others an work and slave a job to see it come to pass. Praise God. Because you know what. for 6 months I will do that. and I also know

of the Joy it brings. It is unexplainable!

Goodbye Hawaii with beautiful majestic sunsets and beaches. Goodbye friends that I have gone so deep with and experienced life in so many ways that will maybe never happen again. Goodbye Paradise in more ways than one.

Hello Home, family, friends, hello exact place where God wants me!

-Nick Triola

<-- Hartville, Ohio

(Hello)

SBS has begun

2010-04-19T17:19:00.004-07:00

Dear All,
Today is awesome, we had our first day of lecture for the School of Biblical Study Core Course. Most people in YWAM refer to it as SBS Core. Its a 3 month inductive Bible study going through some books of both the old and new testament.

Its exciting to learn how deep you can go with God and his word. But also at the same time its mind boggling and leaves you in a place where you must trust in Faith that God is who he says he is. So amazing. I look at this school as a win win situation because as I get confused I go to the Lord and he gives me revelation on what I am learning and also Daily we are learning powerful truths in the word. So no matter how difficult the Lord is there to show you new things.
I am incredibly blessed to be in this place. Think about it. How often do you get the opportunity to live in Hawaii the Paradise of the WORLD and at the same time study the living word of God in depth for 3 months straight and that is your only job. It is a blessing ladies and gentlemen. And I am so thankful to God and all who support me in this time.
For where I am at in my life this is perfect. To become a student again and focus on the word. I grew up not really reading the bible and when I got saved I was told you should read it everyday. Those are two extremes. It has been a constant struggle for me to read the bible continually and now is a time to dive in.
The analogy of a tree and its branches and roots is used I guess. The roots must grow for the tree to grow. These next 3 months are a time to expand the roots and foundation.

Schedule for is pretty busy when I'm not in class I'm studying and doing homework. I remember last year I was living on base when this school was going on. We always made fun of the students because they were like hermit crabs hiding in their rooms studying. And after one day I feel like I'm beginning to understand it!

Before I finish up though some of my goals for this school are to:
Go deeper with the Lord not only in head knowledge but also in my heart
Spiritually see God in new ways
Figure out the next step after SBS
Use this as a tool in leadership and discipleship and evangelism
be a light in Hawaii during this time
Soak up all the school itself has like a sponge
Be challenged and stretched in new ways mostly academically

This last picture is of one of the beaches here in Hawaii its called Lanikai its where a lot of post card photos are taken. This will hopefully be one of my study spots!

Until next time

Nick Triola

Little Kids

2009-10-30T13:33:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday we all had our community outreaches to different places. The group I am a part of goes to an elementary school every Wednesday to help tutor little kids. This was my first time to be at the school and man was it fun. I got to work with 1st graders for about 2 hours. We got to help them with reading and writing, and also cutting and gluing. Oh man do I miss the days of cut and glue! The days when you wore shoes on the wrong feet and had no idea, had a booger hanging out of your nose and could of cared less.

It was honestly a lot of fun and very rewarding to be able to invest in these little kids. At first I was kind of thinking okay you know all that I am going to do is help them and then leave and that's the end of it. And I kind of had this attitude of like am I really going to help them at all? But about half way through our time of being in class. We had one project where the kids were supposed to draw their family and then color the pictures in and write sentences about the pictures. I'll be honest, those kids could draw! I was really surprised at how quick and easy it was for them. Anyways, At one point this kid was drawing himself and his brother and he gave himself a sword in one hand. And so when I saw that drawing I was like hey can I draw you a sword in the other hand? At first he didn't want to let me but then he said okay sure. So I drew this cool looking sword. Then a couple students gathered around and said "Draw me one draw me one" And so I ended up drawing about 6 more swords, 2 battle axes, a couple shields, a dagger, a couple knights will full gear and a samurai sword. The drawings were not even good, but to them they were amazing! One kid said he was going to go home and show his mom what I drew for him.

I found a common ground to relate to these kids and they were all so excited about my drawings. It was so awesome! As soon as I finished drawing for them it was time to leave and as we were walking out the doors a few little kids came and held my hand and wanted to walk with me as I left. So I had to tell them no and that I would see them next week. They all wanted hugs and said goodbye the entire way down the hall. It was the cutest thing ever.

It was so amazing to be able to invest in these kids that will someday be leaders and teachers and parents and make an impact on this world.

Don't get me wrong some of them were a pain in the butt. 2 of them were fighting during reading punching and tackling each other, another kid was running out into the hall and then falling on purpose to see how far he could skid on the floor. Others were running from end to end of the room constantly. And it was hard to keep them under control, but it was worth it and fun!

I am really looking forward to going back next week even though I will have new class. I was asked by our contact to go and work with kindergarten kids. I told her Heck Ya! Even better! So all that to say, I love little kids and I think we as people have a lot to learn from them as well. To see their Faith and Trust in us as adults even if they don't know us well is really a parallel to Child Like faith in God. How much more should we trust God and we know him very intimately. I encourage us all to take time out of busy days and try and invest in others. Little kids at Elementary school or even our neighbor next door. it is worth it and you will be more than blessed by stepping out!

-Nick

DTS SEPTEMBER 2009!

2009-10-02T00:25:00.000-07:00

Aloha Everyone! Mahalo for reading my blog hope you enjoy,

Okay so I have been here in YWAM Honolulu for a solid month now and I am so excited for what God is doing. I am currently staffing DTS and the students have been here for 1 week. Us as staff have been together for 3 weeks now meeting and praying and getting to know one another and it has been amazing.

To commend these students. They are all hungry for God and they are all in a place in their lives where they are learning how to get intimant with the Lord and they are also learning how to fully surrender to him.

They are also very honest and open and bold and when you ask any of them a question they get real and don't hold back. it is so awesome!

I feel like all these staff here are my friends and I can truly trust each of them. We as staff are raising the bar as far as seeking God. We have strong acountability and we are seeking God hard and running to him daily! God is using our fire for him and he is pouring it onto the students!

Personally I am in a place where God is my best friend, he is my everything, he is my identity and my passion he is consuming me to the depths.

I invite the Lord to everything I do and try and include him in the little things.

I am learning how to REST. Normally I am a busy man and don't know how to say no but i am learning how to say nope!

one thing God told me as a leader is, "Seek me hard and passionately and as you do that bring these students along side.

the past 2 months that i got to spend at home God showed me my pride, fear, insecurity and he is working me through each of those things daily. I feel like i am so much stronger in my character and identity. I feel like a true man of God and I am happy with who God made me to be. I feel so strong in the Lord that no matter what Life brings me and God will conquer!

And whats cool is last night the lord re assured my heart and said to me "Nick, there is no circumstance that this life can bring that will keep me from loving and pursuing you"

How great is our God you guys?

His love is a powerful thing. I pray that you would catch fire for him and let your life be only about glorifying God and thats it!

- Nick Triola

Pray for Dave

2009-06-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

Please Pray for Dave.

Dave is a guy I met in downtown Honolulu living on the streets, homeless. He is 50 years old now and has 2 college degrees, one in pre-medical and the other in communications. He was happily married and his wife left him out of the blue, and because of this tragedy he turned to alcohol to heal the pain or so he thought. Now because of his addiction to alcohol he is homeless in Hawaii and is having a very difficult time getting back on his feet. His plan is to get a house of residence to apply for jobs. Once that happens he wants to go back to school and continue his journey for Truth. He is what we would call a skeptic, hes a very smart guy. Very intellectual and sometimes thinking is his biggest weakness because he does it too much. He's very cautious about Christianity so he is studying it in depth.

Cool thing about Dave is, The Lord is after him. He has a counselor she is a Christian lady and he tells me stories all the time about how she gives him the gospel and answers his questions all the time. She told him once that she would do what ever she could to help lead him to the Lord no matter what. Also Dave gets visits from the Salvation Army crew. They have brought him bibles, books and share with him 2 times a week usually. They pray with him all the time and try and help lead him closer to the Lord each week. He also attends AA meetings for alcoholics. This a Christian based organization, they have this 10 steps thing or 12 steps thing I forget how many. But Dave always shares with me where he is at. Side note, all the steps in this program are one by one leading each person closer to God. For example one of the steps is "Believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior of this World" so all the other steps are Gospel based. And Dave has me, not anyone special, a random kid fro Hartville Ohio who loves Jesus and tries to live in Obedience as much as he can.

Every Friday Night Since April we go do street evangelism and I am leading it with this guy Will. Every Friday night I visit Dave and sit and talk and just love him.
The first few times I really wanted to preach to him but the Lord said just wait. I was getting very impatient but the Lord kept saying "Just Listen" so I did a very difficult thing and held my tongue didn't interrupt and just listened. So finally one night the Lord was telling me to wait and so I was. The next thing I know Dave finished his sentence and we both sat in awkward silence for about a whole minute both staring at the pavement. And Dave looked me in the eyes and said "Why are you here? Why do you come every Friday and share with me? whats your story?" And then I realized, Wow God good idea on the waiting thing. I took it from there, Told him my testimony, why I do what I do. We talked about college and he thought it was crazy that I am 21 and not in college. And i just kind of told him a little bit about not needing a degree for security of my life and how God never opened a door for it nor did he ever speak for me to go. Dave thought that was abosutely insane but i think it was good thing that he learned that about God.

I remember one Friday night just sitting there with Dave and we were talking about stupid stuff and I got fed up with that. I was tired of talking about useless stuff, spending every friday night just talking about nothing. And this boldness of the Lord came over me and I began just preaching to Dave. I remember sitting there getting so fired up, I was swinging my arms and almost yelling and I was shaking because I could feel the presence of the Lord on me. I was telling Dave truly why I come out every friday night. I told him about hell and about Gods love and sin and everything in the Gospel. It was so awesome. I have never had that happen to me before during evangelism but after it was over I felt so good. Like I had all this stuff stored up in my heart and I needed to share it with Dave. He listened to every word and was blown away at how a kid my age could be teaching him about life. No glory to me at all please dont think im trying to build myself up. God has been giving me a Huge heart for Dave.

The last conversation Dave and I had, he still has some doctrine issues and theology to work out before he believes fully in jesus as lord. Which is fine because I don't want him to pray a prayer and then continue with his life, I want the Lord to save him, so he can do what ever he needs to learn about God.

The last question he did have for me is this. "Nick, the Faith you have in what you believe is amazing, deep down I want that SO SO Bad, but how do I know that If I ask Jesus to come into my life he really will?" I will leave this question for those of you that read this, how would you respond?

Dave is still not Saved but he is on a journey to finding God in a REAL way, please pray for him. I am proclaiming and declaring his salavation In the name of Jesus Christ, please do the same with me and intercede for Dave.

APRIL DTS

2009-06-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

The Date today is June 2nd. It's been too long and Im back to write again.

So far DTS staffing has been awesome. It has been a giant bundle of emotions and experiences. Sometimes its really easy, hard, fun, stressful, boring, relaxed, busy, challenging, a breeze, energizing. It is the most fun thing I have ever done. To look at it in real terms, my full time job is loving God and helping others know and Love him. Being available at any time of the day for anything that they may need. Someone to talk to, someone to pay for their food, someone to pray with, someone to laugh at, someone to vent to, someone to seek the Lord with, someone to just talk or just hang out with. I get a chance to seek God and also help others seek him and know him in a powerful way.

The Winter DTS teams have arrived today from outreach so we have a very crowded base right now. The returning school is awesome and had an amazing trip and the school I am staffing right now is in a place of growth and revelation with God. So seeing these two groups merge the next few days will interesting and im sure a lot of fun.

We have had some amazing speakers come through and just really pour TRUTH into all of us. It has been so amazing for me. I feel like I am learning more now than I did in my DTS, which is a good thing I think. The way the Lord is challenging me to live out what I say I believe has been difficult but yet awesome!

So as far as the DTS goes. This group of students is very unique. 90% of them grew up in a Christian home and have known the Lord from childhood. But they have had the pressure of life and lies of the enemy weigh them down to a place of believing but not knowing God. So now the Lord is fully redeeming them back to their original design. They are being redeemed from all the lies of satan and beginning to believe and know God in a way that they will never run scared again. Its awesome to see and its such a blessing to be apart of.

Pretty soon they are going to be leaving to Fiji, India and Nepal, and China. And then I will be headed home to work and raise support and just serve in any way. This next month is going to be extremely busy and crazy but man will it be awesome for the students. Its going to take a lot out of us staff but it will be so worth it. So we are going to finish our lecture phase with a Bang and really see the Lord work and reign in all our lives.

- Nick Triola

HIT THE GROUND RUNNING

2009-03-27T15:08:00.000-07:00

ATTENTION EVERYONE!
This is the time for me to live out what God has called me to do. In a few days I will officially be a YWAM Honolulu DTS Staff. I will be a Leader to young people some older than me and some younger, and we will grow in the Lord together, seek God together, pray together, succeed together, fail together. I have been waiting patiently so long for this day. Literally I have been waiting 561 for this time to come. Day one of my DTS in Salem, Oregon I knew that this was what I wanted to do with my life. I have to be honest when I say I am freaking excited. My goal with this goal is as follows. I want to hit the ground running. I want to prayerfully enter this time of Leadership. As I have been praying into this time of my life the lord has spoken a few powerful leadership things for me. First thing is that I want a servants heart. I want to serve above all else. I want to see the students from Gods eyes and serve them as much as I can and any way possible. The next thing is a heart of compassion. I want Gods heart for these students. I want to be broken to tears over these students. Because thats how much God loves us. His love for us moves mountains in our lives. his love never runs dry it never fades and it is always there. And God has radical eternal plans for these students. He has called them to YWAM Honolulu to seek him and grow in him and it is my responsibility to lead them. God wants to use this group of people to shake the nations up for Jesus. He wants to bring his heavens down into this evil planet and stirr us for his kingdom, with these students. These students have passion to be released, they have dreams, goals, visions, desires to be released. They have so much ahead of them and I am here for them and solely them. This April DTS is not about me its about these students. Students who have made sacrifices to come. These students are leaving their family they are leaving their friends, boyfriends and girlfriends and jobs and careers and security. They are leaving it all behind for Jesus. And I get to be their leader. What a privelige it is to be here and staff. I dont care what troubles come my way, what kinds of attacks come my way the Lord will endure WITH ME. And together God and I can do anything. Phillpians 4:13 has changed my life. It says " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" and I say to you full heartedly that I can and will do all things that God calls me to do. God has called me to be a Leader of this DTS and be a staff and pour into these kids, God has called me to serve them and love them and have his heart for them. So anything less of that is Disobedience to me. I write this note to ask you to pray for me. Your prayers will give me heavenly strength, heavenly boldness, courage, peace, joy, patience, etc... So please keep me in your prayers as I serve as a Staff.

- Nick Triola

There is None Like Him

2009-01-25T15:04:00.000-08:00

These past few weeks have been super busy and awesome! God has been revealing himself to me a lot lately and I feel so blessed. To begin to receive God's heart for the Nations is an intensely powerful thing. I have been really meeting with God during worship the past few weeks. It has been so amazing! Its not about me or what I do. Those two statements are so selfish and do not involve God at all. Its about God and being used by him. If God said "Nick I am done using you" I would have to be okay with that. He saved me! What more needs to be done than that? Nothing! God has radically changed my life and given me passion and joy and zeal and truth! I want others to know God the way that I have been able to. I want to see people walk in the fullness of what God has for them. I am tired of Satan lying to people who are children of God. Its time to stand up for what we believe in and seek God like we never have before! Its time to pray more than normal, Fast more often than not, Worship more than Sunday mornings, Read the word and meditate on it! We need to seek God like other peoples lives depend on it. One of the Leaders of our Base passed away last week. His name was Kevin Darrough. He died of Cancer but battled it for 8 strong years! He was supposed to die 3 months earlier but by the Grace of God he fought until the past week. This guy was amazing! Even though I did not know him that well I feel like I did. He may not of won thousands of people to Christ but what he did do was impact peoples lives forever. Any person that Kevin Darrough impacted, they are lasting fruit of his life. He was a man who never held back anything! He was sold out for Christ. He brought joy to a room just by being there. He was hilarious! He gave prophetic words to people all the time. I was told that sometimes during worship he would just bust out in song before God, and he could not sing! Sometimes he would just begin dancing before the Lord but he didn't know how to dance. He loved God so much and never cared what other people thought of him. And so Kevin's life with God has spoken to me the past few weeks. The torch has been passed. Its now our chance to live our lives sold out for Christ. I want to be live Kevin Darrough and never hold back. I want to see peoples lives radically changed and have them be everlasting fruit! Kevin has inspired me to live my life in a way that always seeks God and never holds back. I want to give it my all during worship every day we have it. I want to pray for others as I would want them to pray for me. I want to live out what I learn in my quiet times and in lectures! I want to see us as Christians seek God more and love him more and be like him more. We all have areas of our lives that need improved. Lets go to God and not hold back, Lets seek his will and his plans! When is the last time you asked God his plans for your life? Try it and see what happens, see what he says?
God is at work in all our lives! whether we are at home, college, working, overseas. He has radical plans for each one of our lives. We need to trust God with our lives. We need to lay down our own desires and pick up his. If God created you and knows everything about you then why is it so hard for us to trust him fully. Because of satan and his lies and our flesh! The last thing satan wants is for us to walk in the fullness of Gods plans for our lives. Knowing God and growing closer with him gives us Faith that moves mountains, Joy that surpasses all understanding. Love that captivates the hardest heart. The statement "There is none like him" is completely true and I love it because it sets God apart from all the rest. You know? No one else on this earth compares to him at all. I love thinking about that and as I continue to serve here in YWAM Honolulu please also realize that also. That there truly is none like Him.

- Blessings!

Nick Triola

Back in Action

2009-01-25T00:45:00.001-08:00

The picture above is CJ and I posing by his back windshield that got shattered today at the beach, Below is a pro surfer at Pipeline.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

the picture above is the sunset at the nearest beach, below is the mountains, this is the view from the porch right by my bedroom.

Back in Action out here at YWAM Honolulu. The students are now all here and have began their first 2 weeks of DTS. So far so good I am still learning names. I have been doing very well. God has been challenging me with Leadership lately. I am in charge of work duties in the Yard with students from Monday through Friday. So that is exciting! We all work together raking, mowing, weed eating, trimming trees, washing cars also. Its weird to not have Brandon here because last quarter him and I really hung out a lot. We did everything together. So now that he is on outreach God is really challenging me to walk in my own shoes and live out his calling on my own. Which is fun and hard and good for me all at the same time. I am so excited for this next quarter with DTS. After meeting with the Director of the school, I was asked to be involved with one of the teams for the next 3 months. So along with Base staff I am now currently a DTS Support Staff. Meaning I am a part of a team until they go on outreach. It is so exciting and also very challenging. God is really stretching me a lot and I love it. It sounds weird to love a challenge that seems impossible but for me its really good because it causes me to lean on God. I cannot staff without God. I cannot live without God. So having more responsibilities here is causing me to go to God and really rely on him for help. Its great I love it. Another thing that I forgot to mention was that I am also helping run evangelism for this school. Its so much fun and at first I thought I would be so bad at it but so far I love and God challenges me every time we go out Tuesday Night. Last week I talked with an Atheist and actually really enjoyed our conversation. He got angry and wanted me to leave but I told hey I had a lot of fun talking with you! All that apologetics studying I have been doing is reallly paying off. It is allowing me to see things clearly and also point out falsehoods in the lives of people who deny God. Not in a judging way but in a way that I can understand their reasoning but at the same time have a rebuttle with Truth. Its really awesome! So at this current stage of my life God is really challenging me as a leader. I am in charge of a lot of stuff on the Base and also have a small role in the DTS school this next 3 months. I am super excited to see how God continues to reveal himself to me and how he continues to use me!

Please pray for me in this way:
- Time Management
- My daily devotions to God would stay priority
- Patience with God and his plans for my life
- More wisdom and discerment as a leader
- Boldness when sharing the Gospel During evangelism!
- Constant revelation in my life with God

"The Fellowship of the Unashamed"

2008-12-20T14:17:00.000-08:00

I am part of the "Fellowship of the Unashamed."
The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made. I am a disciple of
Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down,
back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present
makes sense, and my future is secure.
I am finished and done with low living, sight walking,
small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams,
chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position,
promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I now live by
presence, lean by faith, love by patience,
lift by prayer, and labor by power. My pace
is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my
road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few,
my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought,
compromised, deterred, lured away, turned back,
diluted, or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the
presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy,
ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander
in the maze of mediocrity.

I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I must go until
Heaven returns, give until I drop, preach until all know,
and work until He comes. And when He comes to get
His own, He will have no problem recognizing me.
My colors will be clear.

I am not ashamed of the gospel . . . Romans 1:16

God has been really speaking to me a lot through this letter. If you have just read this I even recommend that you read it again sometime, maybe print it out and post it in your room. I was told by Brandon that a 15 year old kid wrote this and shortly after that he was martyred for his Faith in Jesus Christ. Every time I read this I think about my life with God and what I am doing to live out my Faith. I love reading this because it Fires me up for God. It makes me look from a heavenly lens into what I do everyday and it puts me in check of what I am doing. I love it! I thank God for this kids boldness, it is one that we can all learn from. I pray that someday I will be able to stand that way and walk that way with God the way this 15 year old kid did. He has his eyes set on the right prize!

Even when I read this right now it makes me think about having revelation of the Cross. If any of you have ever had a revelation of the Cross then you know how powerful it is what i am talking about. I was having worship one night in the prayer room with a couple of people, we had an i pod and speakers so that was our worship. And as I was sitting there I started thinking about Jesus and what he did for our sins. And you know what, God really spoke to me in that instant. It wasn't like this audible voice that out looked the speakers or anything but it was more a chain of ideas in my mind that played out like a movie. I thought about my Sin... all the things that I have done today and in the past that were hideous in Gods eyes. And I think about the Cross, where Jesus Christ came in my place. First of all He left Heaven his home for us. Imagine that difference. We cry when we have cold water overseas and spicy food that makes us poop a lot. Yes it is true when we travel across the world for others sake and for God we have struggles. But imagine Jesus sitting in Heaven telling the father I want to go there and be one of them. He left his home in heaven and came to a screwed up world FOR US! we didn't have to ask him to come, he came. Even before we knew it he was here for us. so now it is like this. While i was still yet a sinner he died for me. Even when I hated God when I never praised him or gave him Glory for anything he died for me. I basically spat in his face everyday that I was living for myself and he still beared the cross for me. What kind of Love is that? someone please answer me that. Who does that!!!!!! im serious it blows my mind. When I say the statement "There is None Like HIM" it gives me goose bumps because of how he loves us. Who is this God who Gave his ONLY son for us. Let me tell you who he is. He is the Alpha the Omega, the beginning and the end. He breathes stars into creation. He spoke the world into motion. He Died on a cross for me and he gave me LIFE TO THE FULLEST. He has given me a new heart, one that hears his voice and hates what he hates and one that loves what he loves. And there is none like him. And we all need to see who he is right now today, in our lives and we need to look back on our past and see who he was then and how he was there in our lives even when we didn't want him to be. I have to say . I look at the world and how it hurts and crys and is alone. and I think about the fact of people not having God. Not having a savior. I see people struggling and lost and miserable and I think, How can they go through this without God. How do they live this lifestyle and not have Jesus as an immovable Pillar to lean on. It breaks my heart.
- Nick Triola

I AM HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

2008-12-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

"Eternal God, this holy night is radiant with the brilliance of your one true light. May that light illuminate our hearts and shine in our words and deeds. May the hope, the peace, the joy, and the love represented by the birth in Bethlehem this night fill our lives and become part of all that we say and do. May we share the divine life of your son Jesus Christ, even as he humbled himself to share our humanity. Amen. "

-Rev. Richard J. Fairchild

It is so nice to be home. I have a cold from the weather change and am still on Hawaii Time. That means I am 5 hours behind on our schedule, I am staying up late and sleeping in like crazy. I am thinking by the time I get used to our time zone I will be ready to go back to Honolulu.
Since being back it has been so nice to see everyone, it's really refreshing t0 be here especially for the Christmas holiday. I am so excited to get caught up with everyone. I feel like I just got done with something so big and so exciting out in Honolulu. For this time I have at home I want to rest in Gods presence and spend time with him as much as possible and really just get rested up and recharged I guess you could say. This time spent at home is not only for resting and visiting. Someone at our base gave all the Leaders a word the day before we left and it was not to forget about God while at home. It is going to be so easy for you guys to go home and just get caught up relaxing and visiting and just taking time off. Well do not forget about the Lord. You need to spend more time with God than the people around you. So that is exactly what I want to do, Rest in him, rely on him and seek him and get all prayed up and rested up and ready to go for the January school.
One thing that I love about YWAM is the opportunity you have with God. The sky is the limit and if you have an idea, YWAM is a great place to put it into action. But anyways I love Discipleship, there are so many different aspects of it and I think that's why it is so much fun. It's a challenge too and that is also why I love it! Because when you are a leader, everything you do and say represents who you are, so when you love God and he is a priority in your life everyone else sees that and knows what kind of person you are. But at the same time when you are slipping and not spending time with God, people also see that. So for me it is a challenge to constantly be pursuing God A. because I should be anyways and B. because as a leader you have to be setting the pace.

Anyways, It is so good to be home, I am so blessed by everyone here in Hartville I love it. This will be an awesome time of friends and family and God and cookies and pie and treats and good home cooked food!

Rain Rain Go Away!

2008-11-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

Today it is 3:07PM

I finished my delicious iced caramel coffee with extra caffeine about 30 minutes ago. I am sitting in the Coffee Bean with wet feet and pant legs. My umbrella sitting beneath my chair soaked and drying while closed! At this very moment I wish I had another coffee because the one I had was amazing... So far better than any I have had since coming here. The flavor was just amazing I wish I could have one for free. So I woke up last night in the middle of the night maybe 4:30 AM to the sound of pouring rain falling from the trees outside my room. It wasn't the light sprinkle or steady drops that I heard. It was the heavy sound of big fat drops splashing to the pavement. So anyways what I am TRYING to say is that it has been non stop raining, down-pouring since the middle of the night. It has slowed down since I came to Coffee Bean but it is still steady rain. The creek behind our property is extremely high. It is rushing above the water line on the sides and there is debris everywhere flowing down through the water, theres big tree branches and plants and trash. So today I want to update everyone on my life.

Today I am sitting here Blessed more than ever because of who God is in my life. There is none like him NONE! Last night some of the students and I and another staff person had prayer and we just spent time In Gods presence. we had intense prayer for about an hour and then we talked for a little bit and then we listened to worship music and worshiped God. To sit in a room with all the lights out and the music blaring loud and focusing solely on God and what the song means to you, it is a powerful thing. I could do it forever it seems like. Even though I would honestly probably eventually fall asleep ha ha. Anyways my favorite thing about last night was first of all, none of it was scheduled... it was spur of the moment people who love Jesus wanting to be with him and set aside what ever they are doing to be with him. and the second thing that I loved is that we did not have anything specific to pray for. we came in to it all open to how ever God wanted it to go. We waited on the Lord and let him guide us. and he did, he told us who to pray for and how to pray he really guided the night. I didn't leave the room until about 1:30 and we started at 10. And the reason I say that is because time flew. it was as if we were only in there for a half hour. and the next thing I know its 1:30. When you are spending time with God time flies! and it was awesome! Times of prayer with the Lord where you make it a point to have no agenda set before hand are my favorite because it submits my wants for Gods. And I always walk away from Prayer feeling full and strengthened and ready for anything that this world could throw my way. I sometimes honestly feel as if I could move mountains or fly like superman. Because when you hang out with God and rest in his presence you realize who you truly are in Christ. And the one truth that I will always stand on and trust in is that With God ANYTHING is possible. Now for you to read that is one thing, but for you to experience this fact with God in your life is a complete other. God told me this sentence when I was in Thailand. Then he put it in my heart, then my mind and then it became a reality that no matter what the task for how impossible something may seem. With God it is fully possible and sometimes more!
I just finished reading the book "The Shack" and I would like to take this time to state my opinion of the book. Opinion number one, read it! ha ! Just stop reading my blog and buy The Shack and read it. I want to say one thing though. I have heard mixed opinions on it and you cannot slam it and say you hate it until you read it. It has given me a stronger perspective of God and how he loves us so deeply. It also shows hod God can take any situation and turn it for Good. I love it! I read the book in 4 days total . And for me that is really good! I never read a book that fast unless its good. So please hear me and read it before you slam it. If you read for what it is, Just a story, you will love it, but if you study and try to break it down and pick at everything in it you will not like it. So I have to say Chew the meat and spit the bones if you know what I mean.
So to update everyone on the school here in YWAM and the current situation. The DTS is getting ready to leave. They are leaving in about one week. And I am sad. I am going to miss them so much. There are 4 teams total. One team is going to Kyrgyzstan with Brandon and his co-leader Katie Miller. Another team is going to Cambodia, the next is going to Bangladesh and the last team is off to the Philippines. I am so excited for them and how God is going to use them and change them and grow them. This school of 34 students is very anointed by God. They are all super hungry for God in their lives and it shows not by what they say but by the way they live. I am so impressed by all of them. They all have grown in so many ways. They are becoming what God wants them to be. They are finding their Destiny in Christ. and I want to say it is a Beautiful thing to watch. To see someone's life transformed by Christ is the most majestic thing to see ever! its better than any beach Hawaii has to offer or any mountain the Rockies could show! its the best thing to watch! If you have never experienced what I am talking about either pray about coming to YWAM or find a young person who is hungry for God and invest your life in them. Pour into them with who you are and what you know! So they are leaving in a week and soon this Base that is more a family than a school is going to be completely empty almost. The students bring refreshment and energy and Childlike Love of Christ. They bring a fragrance that only God can create and I personally will MAYBE cry when they leave because I will miss them so much. I am not prophesying that either. Ok fine I will admit sometimes I cry ok, I'm a man I'm tough ha ha. You know what they say "Real men are not afraid to cry" so leave me alone you can't judge me!
They are going to bring to Kingdom of God to places that have never heard, seen, or experienced before. They have my every blessing and prayer that they would live in the fullness and nothing less!
For me I am going to continue to Base staff and keep the grounds of this base cleaned up and looking nice, also i will continue to keep the vehicles running smooth with problem free rides! Without having all the students here work loads will increase immensely but you know what. I get to do work everyday with the Lord Jesus. He is included in everything that I do and I will get it all done with his help and not on my own strength! About two weeks after the students leave I come home to Hartville Ohio and I am excited! the way I miss my family and friends is deep! I cannot wait to see everyone and catch up and just be with them! Coming home is going to be a good break from here and time of rest and fellowship. And then I will come back strengthened and ready to take on the Yard and Transportation to the fullest of my ability with Christ. And I will also be working with JANUARY DTS STUDENTS WOO HOO! As for right now I am done , It has been a treat to sit here and update everyone on my life. I am so blessed! Sometime I should write a Blessings Blog and let it go for pages and pages because it could and will!

YOU GUYS! my life has been RADICALLY CHANGED!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-15T22:21:00.000-08:00

i have to write this right now... i have to tell you about God... God is amazing he is everything to me... he is the best thing that ever happened in my life... he is the perfect he is the all mighty God he is everything to me ... he is my passion he is my reason he is my everything... you guys God is longing for you.. he wants to spend every DANG Second of everyday with you... please go to God ... give your life to God let him run your life.. practice hearing his vioce... seek him like your life depends on it cuz it does.... knock on heavens door until he answers dont quit dont give up dont ever quit!!! God is waiting to love you and hold you in his arms and be with you... he sent his ONLY SON jesus christ to this earth from heaven and he killed him on a cross
and jesus christ did this for us so that we can have relationship wthi THe HOLY PERFECT GOD and he did it because he love us and he was the only perfect sacrifice for our nasty piss poor sins .... he did this for us you guys.. if you have any questions at all about what you just read and want to know more you facebook wall me... you contact me however you need to and we will talk! we will answer your questions!
when you encounter the love OF GOD you will never be the same... you will have your life changed forever and ever and it will begin something new in you...
SO i was a senior in highschool and i was having a blast with my frends
we drank alcohol and got blasted drunk and had fun ...we did stupid things and laffed together and had fun... i began to drink because there was no reason to not have fun....and i love it... i was this goofy funny hpyer kid who made everyone laff and brought smiles to everyones face... i brought joy to ppls lives... and i always smiled not sure why... but i just loved life for some moments. i say some momnets because deep deep down i was empty... i woud go to bed every night and wonder and think about why am i here...i wud ask myself these questions over and over... and say why am i here... what was i created for... i told myself i wanted to have a life that meant somthing i wanted to do something important and help ppl and change things and be a leader or something i wanted to make an impact somehow or somewhere! but i ididt know what that meant...
so when i was 19 years old i was working full time making great money.. i had a future with this company and i was getting promoted and i was alredy the yungest person to work for CINTAS.... and i was still lost... money doesnt mean anything to me... i didnt want to be rich i didnt want an amazing car... i just wanted to know what i was here for ... i wanted a a radical life of adventure and amazing times .... and my brother brandon was gone... he was in DTS .... he was finding himself in CHrist..... and let me tell you something that shakes my heart everytime i think back to it... my brother brandon got his life changed... God did work on him and he changed him radically for the better of Gods kingdom i look up to him so much.. if it wasnt for him i woudnt be here today... and he came home from his 6 months DTS and he was NEW... he had passion in his life... he had fire in his eyes.... he had a purpose and he was dirven.. .he had a smile on his face that is undescribable .... he loved jesus.. he had his life changed you guys... God did this he made my brother a new creation PRAISE GOD THAT HE DID... and my brother loved me .. he came home and he cared about me... he wanted to spend time with me... he wanted to tell me about God he wanted me to know God and he was persistant with it.... He told me about God and he helped me to understand... he showed me to the cross.... and one night i had a dream that shook me up,... it gives me goose bumps to this day to think about it... it was a dream that i had that God gave to me and it was the reason i gave my life to God... if you want to know about it please ask me it is too long to type in this note.... God gave me a radical dream while i was sleeping.. .that sunday i gave my life to God i surrendered my every desire to jesus christ.... ised to hom " God i dont know what to do ... i need you lord.... here i am .. .take my life... do what you want with me lord jesus.... use me God .. .send me where ever you want ,change my life God ..." and ever since that day I was "Saved" god transformed my heart and i was a new creation the bible says. THIS IS IN CAPS BECASE ITS AMAZING TO ME.... I HAD PASSION... I HAD A REASON.... OGD GAVE ME A REASON TO BE HERE HE CHANGED MY LIFE.... HE GAVE ME A REASON YOU GUYS.... HE DID THIS TO ME.... HE CHANGED MY LIFE !!!!!!! ahh!! I LOVE IT I had passion i had fire in my eyes and nothing was stopping it... that next few months i went to YWAM i did my DTS and let me say something... I FELL IN LOVE WITH GOD i did.. i fell in love with him... God gave me a reason and he changed me daily .... i have a best frend his name is zack campbell.. he has helped me with God he has shown me TRUE PASSION ..he has given me a reason to keep going he has shown me Godly strength... he is an inspiration to me to the fullest.... when i got home from DTS in march i spoke at church.... it was april 13th 2008

that night Zack came and heard me speak..... i shared my Testimony of how i got saved ..its a long story and its not fully said here... but i shared my testimony and i shared about my trip to YWAM And i shared about GOd.... and Zack said something to me that will be with me forever.... he told me something that i will never forget.. it brings tears to my eyes because i see the truth in what he seid.... he told me that my smile meant something now... that before when i didnt know God i had a huge goofy smile .... but now it was full... that my life with God has given me a full smile and my smile meant something it was for a greater purpose than myself.... and you guys... for once in my freakin life i can sit here and tell you stories ALLLL DAY LONG ABOUT GOD.... if you do not know god if u are having trouble believing in GOd... talk to me.. ask me let me tell you about JESUS .... there is hope for youe... if u feel alone and abandoned ... if u feel like ur not living for the right things.. if u want passion and purpose and reason for your life because you have none.. let me tell you ! because of Jesus you have hope and you have a life with God waiting for you... a life of crazy adventure and a life that God has planned for you... God is longing for you..... Jesus died for you and you need to know it and repent.... that means seeing how dirty your sin is.... and turning away from it... laying it all down to God and asking for his forgiveness.... its about the fact that we are born sinners... we can not be born a christian..... repent of ur sins.... turn away from the things that u do that God hates... God hates sin.... let me tell you something... when you see how nasty ur sins are and you give them to GOd and u turn away completely from them and you go to GOd and you go to jesus and give him your life and you let God run your life... when you are willing to lay down your life for Gods.... you will find joy... passion...zeal... you will have a new smile and have fire in your eyes for God... you will be changed forever... and let me tell you something... Salvation is the most powerful supernatural miracle that can ever happen to a person... it is something that YOU CANNOT DO ALONE... something that requires God... it is only because of Gods grace and mercy that any of us can even get saved.... so please look for God search for God... please see that God can change your life.... im tired of seeing satan win in this world... im tired of seeing SAtan blind people and make them think that God is not real... did u know the scariest thing to satan is you finding out who you are in CHrist... he will do anything to keep you from that... Satan loves it when people think there is no God because then he has won... he knows that you are not a threat to him.... but let me tell you something... i am a threat to satan because i know who i am in christ and i know that satan was already defeated by Jesus .... you see Jesus beat satan already he has already lost... he is going to go to hell forever... and since he knows that he is trying to take as many ppl with him as he possibly can... well im here to stand against that... if you have any questions at all you ask me and you talk with me.. i do not have all the answers but with God i can find them for you... i can do my best to help you.. im tired of seeing satan win.. .because things that are from satan are emtpy ... they are dark and seem nice when really they are not... like drinkin its fun while you do it.. but at the end of the night you al know its empty and its not something that can go on forever... some peopel love their sin... some people love sinning so much they wud never give it up... let me tell you somethings.... if sinning was NOT fun then no one would do it... but sinning is what keeps you out of heaven... alls it took for adam and eve was ONE Sin.... thats all it takes for hell is one sin.... satan loves it when you stay in your sin... but let me tell you something... is people who are annarexic having fun? no.. .are ppl who are addicted to drugs and HAVE TO HAVE THEM . having fun? ppl who kill for money and drugs and sex... are those ppl having fun ? NO they are so wrapped up in thier sin they cannot get out! the arms of satan are wrapped around them so tight they cannot get out.. .and the only person that can get them out is JESUS because satan was already defeated! .... Jesus is the only and mighty power to save... he can pull you out of any life you are in.. no matter how bad or how deep you are Jesus can get you out...!

-Nick Triola

Coffee Bean, The Ocean

2008-11-11T21:04:00.000-08:00

Here it is the first Blog post I have ever done. I titled this "Coffee Bean" because I am sitting the Coffee Bean right now to write this. It's actually a pretty cool, chill place. Its a coffee shop with couches and tables and if you buy a coffee or tea you get a little card that gives you free internet for a hour, but if you set it up right on the website you can get free internet as long as you need. And also since the YWAM Base does NOT have wireless internet, this is the place to go. Usually every single night of the week and weekend this tiny little coffee shop is overtaken by YWAM'ers, its hilarious. Anytime I come in here I know that I will not be alone. IF I wanted to be alone I would walk a little further and cross the street to Star bucks, but its a longer walk and more money for less internet time.
So it has been almost 4 months since I left Hartville Ohio to Find God in many new and exciting ways. These past 4 months of my life have been quite life changing for me. If anything at all though they would be strengthening for me most of all. Finding out more about myself and seeing how through Christ ANYTHING and truly ANYTHING is possible. Being on Base staff I am busy all day until dinner with work duties. This area of Staffing has given me a huge heart for Serving and Doing things unto the Lord. It has opened my eyes to see how powerful and amazing it is to serve. It has brought me so much Joy and has strengthened me for those days where alls I feel like doing is sleep. The way that I am learning is totally different than if I were on DTS staff. You see on DTS staff you get the opportunity to sit in lecture and have very wise people speak and council. For me I don't have that opportunity as much so I am learning with God on a personal level through revelation and the word. My favorite thing to do is read the word and have it apply to my life and speak directly to me. It inspires me so much and causes me to change my heart at any moment to wanting to seek God and just be obedient.

These past few weeks have flown by super fast and have been crammed with activities. Just this past weekend the DTS students and staff went camping at the North Shore and I also went along. I would never turn down an opportunity to swim in waves twice my size. Let me tell you it was a blast! First of all let me give you a little background about North shore. It's the most popular place in Hawaii. They have Pipeline, It's a beach where all the Pro surfers live and surf because the waves are always huge. In the winter season they are around 30 feet tall. So there is usually a lot of competitions going on. Also at the North shore they have a beach called "Sunset Beach" because it is the most beautiful spot to watch the sunset, its like in the movies literally. Also there is Waimea Bay. This is where it all goes down. This is the beach with waves for body surfing and body boarding. There is no surfing because the waves break and crash right on the shore into the sand. When we were there this weekend the waves were 10 feet tall on Saturday and then on Sunday they were 15 feet and got to 20 feet. This is the biggest rush ever, I love it. If I could I would go there everyday to play in the waves. Well we all got blasted by them and had a fun time. On Saturday all the DTS was at the beach so it was a lot of fun to see everyone get thrown around and sometimes nearly drowned because the ocean is so powerful. And then on Sunday just a van full of us stopped at the beach again on the way home and let me just say What a Treat that was. The waves were even bigger and more powerful. They grew to 20 feet tall and were so powerful we had to get out of the water, it was too dangerous. When a wave would crash on the sand the whole ground would shake and rumble the sand. It was so awesome. For me the fun part was sitting and watching tourists get blasted up shore by the waves because they had no idea how big and powerful they were. It was great! so this weekend was a very good break of getting blasted by the ocean! Also I learned how to really body surf. Growing up and going to Myrtle Beach I always thought you just jump in front of the wave and let it take you. Well if you were to try that here in Hawaii you would die. So what I learned is that When the wave begins to take up turn like a surf board and you will go sideways through the barrel of the wave and you can see down it as it carries you, Its really awesome. So I put up a few pictures of this weekend for everyone to see.