Niko Week

This week, our DTS class went to NIKO camp. David and I ended up coming home early for a few reasons, but I definitely learned a lot about myself and God through the experience, and am still processing quite a bit of it.


After a lot of preparation and packing, we arrived at camp, ate dinner, had a quick message by Alan, who is awesome, and were then presented with the opportunity to make a public commitment to the rest of the week. Only a few of us really took much time to think about it but it was something I didn't want to take lightly, so David and I spent a lot of time talking about it with each other, Richard, and Alan. Eventually, we committed and the whole camp began a hike to the barn where we'd spend the first night.

The next few days were a blur of teamwork, emotion, campfires, mud, push-ups, snow, beautiful hikes, and rationing cereal.


Eventually, after a lot of discussion and prayer, David and I decided to come back earlier than the rest of the team and arrived in Burtigny on Wednesday afternoon. I was surprised by the overwhelming support that we each received from our teams, especially since we were leaving after making a commitment to them - maybe they were just excited about having to share food with 1 less person :) 


Anyways, after we got back (and took hot showers and a nap), I wanted to start getting caught up with my Bible reading and jumped into Leviticus. Most of Leviticus is full of law that really applies to Moses and the Israelites, but among it I found these little gems: 


‘If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about, he will be held responsible." -Leviticus 5:1


"Or if a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil—in any matter one might carelessly swear about—even though he is unaware of it, in any case when he learns of it he will be guilty." -Leviticus 5:4


God really shook me with these verses, and confirmed that coming home was, for me, the best decision. I was reminded of John Bill's teaching about intercession and listening to our "first instincts" and realized that I was guilty of taking the oath on Monday night far too ligthly, even after my first instinct told me not to stay. Also, although I tried to remain neutral about us leaving and not persuade anyone else with what I thought they should do, I am proud of my decision to leave and physically "speak up" about what I felt was an uncomfortable situation. Staying or leaving was a decision each person in our group needed to make for themselves, but I'm glad that I had the opportunity to be an example and show that it is okay to get yourself out of something you do not want to be a part of.

Regardless of how I feel about some of the things that happened at NIKO, God is bigger than our situations and is able to use every moment to teach us something. My cheer for the week was definitely teamwork - I had a lot of fun spending time with my team on Monday and Tuesday and really saw new sides of Nancy, Billy and Dan. They each did their part in both leading and entertaining our team and I really enjoyed spending time with and getting to know them better. To me, the hike was especially great - while other teams were lost or traipsing through the river, our team just had an enjoyable afternoon together. In fact, we did so well together that we had to blindfold a 2nd member of the team...and we knocked that out as well.


The teamwork didn't stop at NIKO though. Filo, Sarah and Deborah came home on Wednesday night, so on Thursday we organized a time with them and Florance to make a "welcome home" sign and pray for the rest of our class. None of us really wanted to talk about NIKO any more but we had a lot of fun listening to music, eating cookies, learning about each other and decorating the sign together. It seems so silly to write about as "teamwork" but to me (and everyone else who worked on it, I think), the time was really significant as it kept my mind off being away from my NIKO team and helped me to concentrate on the new team I had at the base.

I've done a lot of thinking about what my jeer would be for the week, and I really can't decide. I think overall, I was just disappointed with the NIKO experience. I can brave the cold, I can hike, I can be sore and sleep in a wet sleeping bag, but I have a really hard time watching so many people that I have come to love be put in situations that they are extremely uncomfortable with under the name of the Gospel.


 I completely understand that outreach will be tough and that we will face a lot of similar situations but I think it is hard to replicate that in a week-long camp. We may have to cross a river full of alligators or kill a chicken or stand face-to-face with an angry person....but knowing that it is for the sake of saving souls, and giving people in Africa eternal life changes the entire perspective for me. 

Our team crossing a river in Haiti - to hand out Bibles and share
the Gospel

Unfortunately, trying to make that situation didn't work for me. I think that NIKO probably works really well for middle or high school-aged students who need to really experience God, but many of the "points" that the NIKO staff tried to make have already been made, in a much more powerful way, in my life. They wanted to show us how we will not always be under Godly or "nice" leadership - but I've lived that first hand by going to a secular university and working in secular jobs over the past few years. I have also heard/seen God work in my life in amazing ways, and He has always been there to offer grace, forgiveness and confirmation, not doubt, as portrayed by the NIKO leaders.


In the future, I think more communication would be helpful as well. If NIKO continues to be incorporated into a DTS curriculum, students should be warned to bring things from home that can be ruined. It was really disheartening to see students ruining their own clothes (and even stuff from the boutique), but especially hard to see things ruined that can't be replaced - like Carolyn & Kathryn's Bibles. I spent a LOT of time at Goodwill before coming here, on the lookout for skirts to take to Africa, and could have easily picked up extra boots, pants, etc. but that was never communicated. It is definitely not the end of the world, but something that could easily be avoided in the future.


While I'm still processing the week (okay, 2 days) that I spent at NIKO, it definitely wasn't a complete wash. I learned how much God desires community for his children and really came to appreciate all of the different personalities and learning styles that we have in our class. I also learned how important it is for me to take hold of what I believe - not what my church has taught me or what my family believes or what my favorite politician endorses. As David and I get ready to head to Africa and then spend 2 years in Mongolia, I know that we will be put into situations where we will have to make decisions based on our faith, and I want to be sound in knowing what God says and have the guts to get myself out of situations that I am not comfortable with. 


The YWAM Value I want to explore this week is "Function In Teams." I know it is getting redundant but I was really just blown away about the teamwork that I saw this week, both in and out of NIKO. During "typical" weeks in lecture, we don't have a lot of opportunities to work in teams (or maybe I just don't take advantage of them) so it was great to see the unity that working in teams brings. Being a part of multiple teams this week (my NIKO team, the "team" at the base, and my favorite team - David and me) showed me how encouraging and healing it can be, and exactly why God designed us to be in community with each other.


"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" -Proverbs 27:17