If you caught some of our latest newsletters you understand that we are making some fundamental shifts in the way that we do ministry. The reason for this is to make space for more discipleship as well as continued evangelism. Discipleship is why we were called to Berlin, not to make converts. This means that teaching and preparing our teams is of highest priority. We are now in the first weeks of this and we could not be more pleased with the progress! We are still seeing the miraculous things Jesus is doing among those we are called to reach, but now we are getting to sit and help these awesome people begin growing in their new faith! In addition it is allowing us to take more care and time in developing our long-term team. We believe that this shift will keep our Long-Term team from burning out and be much healthier in the long run. Thank you so much for your prayers! Please keep it up!!
As part of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), we are part of a global family that is committed to working with each other and others in the Body of Christ - globally. We relate to one another through Circles of Accountability, Relationship, and Eldership and not merely in a hierarchical approach. As a mission, we believe this allows us to honor the biblical way of relating to one another (globally, regionally, locally) without destroying the pioneering spirit that has allowed us to be in so many countries and affecting so many spheres of society. That being said, it is rarely, if ever, going to be mandated that we raise a certain amount of money for certain projects and gatherings. Instead it is left to the individual circles and the accountability of supporters and sending churches. This allow us to stay in closer relationship to you!
********So we wanted to make you aware of some upcoming projects and the reasons behind them so that you can prayerfully consider helping us in these endeavors.******************
Leader Training School Europe
As this work has grown we have become aware of areas in which our leadership needs growth and mentoring. We never thought we had all the answers, but as this work grows we are seeing things on the horizon that we never knew were a possibility. It is very exciting, but we know we must steward these things well. YWAM has put together a Leader Training School that starts in November that will be lead by many of the elders and the leaders who have pioneered some amazing works in the world throughout many years. It is a 10-month program of which 5 separate weeks will be at various locations throughout Europe. The rest of the time will be on-assignment training and mentoring. The cost of the school is $2,400USD which will include housing, travel, meals, and learning materials for the 10 months - everything.
Would you prayerfully consider helping us with this project as this would be a great blessing for the ministry that God has called us to. If you have further questions, please let us know.
Apostello Gathering Thailand
As you may be aware, we have been working very closely with a group out of Kona, Hawaii. YWAM has partnered and caught the vision that the LORD gave us, and is faithfully committed to sending teams to work with us. We have become very close with one particular school and we are so thankful for the relationships that God has given us! Every two years the Global leaders of this group gather the people working across the globe for encouragement, relationship, mentoring, and vision casting. In January 2017, this group will gather in Thailand (a neutral location for the workers to gather). The cost is currently about $3500USD based on current prices of airfare for our family of 5. **It is important to have our whole family present because so much of what we do is in the context of family and not merely work.** It is important for those we serve alongside to know our entire family, and we love that they have invited all five of us to participate!
This is a very important gathering for us as our hearts long for the encouragement, relationship and mentoring that will occur during this time.
We would be honored if you could help us in any way possible!
Home
We have loved seeing what God is doing here! We have loved being a part of it! It has been such an honor and blessing to our hearts.
However, after 3 years we need to come back to the States and give in person updates and reconnect with friends and family. We will only have about 1 month to do this next year because of school schedules, but we feel it is super important. Would you prayerfully consider helping us buy plane tickets and make arrangements to come home summer of 2017? Those dates are quite a ways out so we do not have firm airfare costs. We trust that if you ask the Lord for an amount, our costs will be covered!
We never want to be the missionaries out there only asking for money or delivering "how hard this is" blog posts! That is not what we see in the Scriptures and that is never our goal! We praise the LORD for His generous provision and we praise Him that He is a personal God! He delights in relationship and we see that so beautifully in the relationship we get to have with our supporters! You do not merely put a check in an envelope with the name of an organization on it...you get to KNOW us and see what is happening here! You text us and Facebook message us throughout the weeks and the ongoing communication means the world to us! We love the friendships that we didn't see coming in the way of our supporters, and we would love to build that base even more! We LOVE people and pray that those who give financially to God's work here feel that Love!!
Be blessed this day as you serve our King! Live from a heart that knows you are truly Loved! You ARE truly loved and truly of so much worth to the LORD!!
We thank you all for your love and support! It is such an honor to be in this with you all!