I had just graduated high school, and I thought I had my life figured out. My plan was simple: start a new job, settle into a normal rhythm, and live a comfortable life. Everything was lining up, until, it wasn’t. The job fell through, and just like that I was back at square one with no idea what to do next.

For about a week I sat in that place of feeling lost, confused, and a little frustrated. But in the middle of that, I started to realize something. Maybe my plan falling apart wasn’t a mistake. Maybe the Lord had something better. So, I started asking him what I should do.

The next week I went to a summer camp. Every day there I encountered God in a new way, and one theme kept coming up over and over again, missions. I had known since I was 12 that missions was something God had placed on my life, but I was too scared to ever admit it. I had always ignored it, pushed it down, and chose what felt easier. But now, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.

On the last night of camp, during a worship night, I was standing in the front row singing about surrender and obedience and it hit me: Do I actually mean this? In that moment, I broke. I realized I had been singing those words for years without really living them. So right there, I finally surrendered. No more running, no more avoiding. And that’s when I felt the Lord clearly say to join YWAM. 

I didn’t even fully know what that meant. What was the Lord calling me to? I was scared, unsure, and honestly tempted to ignore it again. But I knew I couldn’t. This wasn’t just a random idea, this was surrender and obedience. So two months later I was in Santa Cruz starting a Discipleship Training School. 

Week one of my DTS and I could already see why God had led me there. My entire view of God started to change. I had grown up in a Christian home so I knew all the phrases like, “trust in the Lord,” “God is good,” but if I’m honest, I didn’t really believe them. That is, not deeply or personally. But during those 12 weeks, that all changed.

What used to be head knowledge became real. I started to see God for who He actually is and not just who I thought He was. I learned how to truly trust Him for the first time and my faith felt like mine, not just something I had inherited.

Then we went on outreach to Cambodia. And everything I had learned became real in a new way. There were so many moments where I didn’t know what to do, didn’t feel equipped, or felt completely out of my comfort zone. But I kept stepping back and reminding myself to trust God and to know that he is good. And He proved Himself faithful over and over again.

I kept seeing how God could use the smallest things to make a big impact; like how teaching English could open doors to share the Gospel to kids and some of them even accepting Christ. Or how just continuing to show up to a village would help us be trusted enough to share the Gospel to multiple families. Those 10 weeks opened my eyes to see the Lord in new ways, gave me a bigger heart for the nations and completely ruined me for the ordinary.

So, why is a DTS worth it?

It doesn’t just give you an experience, it shapes you. It challenges your faith. It strips away what’s fake or shallow and reveals what’s real. Things that were all just head knowledge take root and become heart knowledge. A DTS creates space to not just learn about God but to actually get to know Him. And that changes everything.

For me, a DTS wasn’t just worth it, it was exactly what I needed.

Written by Jaclyn Layman (September 2023 DTS Grad)