So today I woke up, walked downstairs to the office, sat down, and started preparing for my newsletter, which is my last scheduled newsletter so I figured it would be pretty long anyway. However, after checking the dates I still have to talk about the Easter dinner, the open house, another Serve Day, my family’s Easter dinner, Mexico, another work group, AND future plans. This is gonna take a while. 

 

Easter Dinner

Typically Easter involves ham, mashed potatoes, and the usual foods like that. We had other ideas. Aidan, Logan, and some of the staff had a pizza cook-off. I’m no cook, so I sat back and watched and then I had good food to eat without having to do anything. It was great. This was a good night to have some fellowship with the staff coming up on the Mexico trip as well as the end of Equip. Everyone had a good time, we played games and had good conversations. After this I went over to a friend’s house which is important for later on. 

 

Open House

The day after the Easter staff dinner, Equip had another Open House. So we had the dorm (mostly) cleaned and ready, and waited with excitement to share this experience with someone else. All of the students have been super open to talk about the program and how it has affected us and I believe that helped us look forward to new students. The Open House started on Saturday morning. Now is when it’s important to remember, I was at a friend’s house the night before. So between Friday night when I left and Saturday morning when the Open House started I had not slept. However the Open House went very well and it seemed as though the student who came enjoyed it, and personally he seems like a good fit for CMTS and the Equip Program. So definitely be praying for the students of next year that God will soften their hearts and they may be ready for this year of growth. 

 

Experiencing God 

The month of March was going by quite quickly, and then for me and many others it came to a complete stop. Without going into too much detail, members of CMTS and members of my community experienced an unexpected loss. The last half of March became slow, difficult, and almost unreal. For myself it became very difficult to focus on Mexico and to not live in the hurt of the moment. However, multiple classes, especially the one we have with Justin, helped me to realign myself with the fact that God is sovereign, He is good in all things. Once I started to push into that, I saw His love in an unbelievable way. I started to see God again in everything, everyday. God had used this trial, Satan’s attacks, to grow many of us stronger and to push us forward. He has not changed but I have now seen Him in such a loving light, through Scripture and experience. He is the God who provides. 

 

Serve Day

March 29th we had another Serve Day. Once again we were sorting clothes that we would donate to other missions such as OneLuv. Some old and many new people offered their Friday morning to serve Him. One of those people was a childhood friend of mine. I got the opportunity to serve with him and have fun. God seemed to use this time to revitalize my servant’s heart, not just by doing the work, but focusing on Him while we work. We started to figure out a system that will help us sort clothes and find them better this time around, and it makes the future of this part of our ministry very exciting. After the day was done a few of the people and the dorm played a short game of football. God had used this day to remind me of the joy he can give to us if we “seek first His Kingdom” (Matt 6:33). 

 

Easter

Most of the dorm went with Nolan and Jenny Lapp for Easter with their family. However because I am still close to home while being here, I went with a large portion of my family. We went out to eat at the Knight and Day Diner. Growing up my brother and I seemed to fight a lot but now that we are older it seems we have started working together to just mess with our parents. So whenever I get together with my family the joking does not cease. Which is just another way of showing togetherness, and closeness. I was very glad to have this time with my family just a few days before leaving for Mexico. 

 

Mexico

Wow. At the end of the trip we all gathered together and the staff we stayed with had asked us to say what this trip meant to you in one word. Everyone had different experiences but we all seemed to mean the same thing. Wow. Pure amazement at the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Before Mexico, I had never flown before, and with my physical issues flying had been a slight question mark. I started to walk onto the plane with that same feeling you get as a kid about to get on a roller coaster. You hope it’s fun but what if it isn’t. I started to listen to some worship music and distracted myself with fellowship. Before I knew it we were in the air and I had felt fine so that is the first of many praises from this trip. God is a healer no matter how you look at it. While we were on the plane to Mexico, I overheard a conversation Justin was having. He said that his goal going in was to serve, not to be served. At that moment I agreed to do the same. 

 

This completely changed the way I felt about going out for whatever we were doing, I went with the intention of helping someone else get something out of it. Now God is so good that I was able to get something out of every day without focusing on myself. While we were in Mexico we stayed with a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base in Monterrey. We visited rehab centers, hospitals, churches, surrounding neighborhoods, and wherever else we felt God calling us to. 

 

The main general takeaway for me was that people are extremely receptive to the Gospel. Everywhere we went we were able to talk and share either through translators or very broken attempts at spanish. At one point I had asked a lady if she spoke any Spanish, she looked at me confused and then the people I was with corrected me. A while ago I had heard a pastor of mine speak about “Stepping Down into Ministry” and while I always understood it, this trip made it known to me. Everytime I stepped down and lifted others above myself I could see God working, in me, and in them. He is Humble.

 

One experience I would like to share is how I felt God speaking to me. Months before the trip I started praying and I said “God if you want me to go into missions or DTS make me share my testimony in Mexico.” I continued to pray that and sometimes I would add random stipulations thinking maybe I can get out of it. April 7th we went to a church, and the pastor had started out saying if anyone has something to share you can come up and talk. I felt like maybe now was the time but I was not sure and I decided to wait. So then he started calling people by each table. At this moment I realized God was fulfilling what I asked. So I went forward and spoke a small portion of my testimony. From that point on I realized that I wanna stay in Mexico. I want to be where God is working and I saw Him every day while we were there. He had given me peace and comfort and protection in an entirely different country and culture. He had given me the willingness to make a fool out of myself doing something I had never done for His glory. So on our last day, when we all gathered together for dinner and they asked “what is one word you can use to describe this trip?” I said “Yea I’m gonna have to use more than one word for this, I am coming back for a DTS”. Fast forward a few days later, I sent in my application to be a part of YWAM Monterrey in September. 

 

April 20th

Growing up I always needed a ride to youth group because my parents often could not take me for various reasons. CMTS stepped up in a big way to always give me rides to youth group which I have always been thankful for. I would not be where I am today without them. Towards the end of needing rides, for maybe 2 years Jessica had been driving me back and forth to youth group. She had become a great friend of mine and someone I respected. Through her I met another friend of mine Christopher. On April 20th, I was able to attend their wedding. It was such an amazing experience to see God work through 2 of my friends and to witness a Christ-centered wedding between them. I don’t have much to say on it but they are important to me and it was a good experience so I felt the need to add it. 

 

Work Group

Wednesday, May 1st, Berks Christian School came to CMTS for a few hours to work on a few projects. The dorm was informed we would be in a leadership role with 2 students each. I was slightly nervous going in but the day turned out to be a lot of fun and we got good feedback from the students and the staff with them. My group cleaned out some scrap metal from a bus, took a small tour around CMTS, and then helped sort some more clothes up in the Warehouse. I enjoyed the opportunity and I look forward to the next time I can be in a set teaching role so I can lean into it more. 

 

Next year

Since everyone is asking about what I will be doing in the next year I can take some time and explain the future plans. So we know a little bit about the DTS program but what about the summer between? On April 18th, we had a staff meeting where the students were able to sit in and talk about what happened on the Mexico trip. I took this time to express why I want to go to Monterrey for my DTS. The 2 main reasons are because I see God working there, and I need to trust Him more. I have always struggled with control, and trust. Especially around my friends and family, I tend to try and take care of everything myself rather than giving it to God. So I spoke at the meeting about if I leave, then I have to trust God, I have to rely on only Him because I can’t do anything being in a different country.

 

The very next day a camp called Cedarbrook came to CMTS looking for gap year students to work with them over the summer in New York. I talked with them and it seemed like it would be a good fit. Until I realized I would be gone almost all summer. I started to back away from making a decision and trying to find a job close by. Then one Sunday someone gave a testimony about running from God, and not being all in. I knew it was for me. If I can’t give Him one summer, how can I give him 6 months of my life in September? How can I offer my body as a living sacrifice without actually doing it? So I signed up, I’ve had an interview and I will be going to NY for the summer, and a little over 6 weeks after I get back, I will be leaving for Mexico.

 

Discipleship Training Programs are mainly to train for missions work. So there will be a 3 month training phase on how to be an effective missionary, and then a 2 month outreach phase. During this phase we will go to a different country and serve for 2 months in whatever way we can. The cost of this program in total will be $6,000. I will be raising support for this, if anyone has any questions or is interested in supporting me, my email is djcraze1215@gmail.com. I would love to speak more with you. I also plan to send out a support letter to anyone who is interested; you can email me if you would like a support letter. 

 

Until next time, 

Donovan Allen James Checket