Update February/March 2019
Hi guys! The last few weeks have FLOWN by!! It's hard to keep up with everything that's been happening, but I'm excited to share with everyone! The lovely lady in the picture above is part of an amazing story, I will call her "M" for the sake of this story. I met her a couple of weeks ago during a time of evangelism with Kayla. Kayla and I met for the first time earlier this same day and then we were paired up together for evangelism in the afternoon.
Our whole group went to a place called Weld Park. It's a huge hangout out place for homeless and needy people because a feeding program comes by every day for lunch time and passes out food. "M" was sitting in the park with a small group of ladies and as Kayla and I were praying, we felt to go over to them and sit down. "M" immediately began talking to us and started sharing about her life. She has had many struggles and at first, she claimed to not really believe in God, but as she kept talking, we found out, she really felt abandoned by God. She told us that earlier that day she was telling her friends that God never did her any favors, so it was really crazy to her that we found her and wanted to share God's love.
We kept chatting with her for a long time and both got to share some of our testimonies and the ways we have seen God move. She was so touched by our stories and agreed to exchange phone numbers so we could keep in touch. Before leaving, we got to pray for her, I moved so that Kayla and I would be on each side of her and we just hugged her. "M" showed me that sometimes simply letting someone know that they are worth something is exactly what they need. Many people live their lives believing they are worthless and everything and everyone around them validates that lie, being the voice of truth in someone's life might just save it.
*****WARNING: THESE ARE PICTURES OF ACTORS, NOT ACTUALLY INJURED PEOPLE*****
A couple of weeks ago the medical-focused schools here at YWAM Perth had what is fondly known as "Emergency Week". I got to spend the week making fake blood and skin and then transforming perfectly healthy people into absolute terrors. These are two of the milder pictures I have. We did quite a few open fractures, which I thought might not be the best thing to post for all of those with weak stomachs... We spent time doing the make-up and prepping our very talented actors for their roles, then set up a new "scene" every day. Once everyone was in position, we asked someone to run into the classroom and alert all of our healthcare students that there had been an accident. Mix together saws, skateboards, shears, and six liters of fake blood, and you have yourself a very productive (very fun) Emergency week!!
After Emergency week, we went right into a jam-packed weekend preparing and executing a major fundraiser. The Healthcare team has been praying and trusting for a four-wheel-drive truck that can be transformed into a medical clinic and taken into the outback of Australia to reach indigenous people. This has been a project long before I arrived, but it has been so amazing to join in and be part of it. We had a dessert night and invited people from the community here in Perth to come and hear about the vision of this truck and the idea for ministry in an area of Northern Australia called the Kimberley.
One of the indigenous elders that we have a relationship with came and shared about his vision for his people and how he has seen God work and transform his home. Also, our chef here on base made some inspired desserts for the evening. He made one that looks like an echidna (think a cross between an anteater and hedgehog) and one that was painted like the aboriginal flag. You can scroll through the picture below to see his beautiful artwork!!
The fundraiser went extremely well and we were able to raise almost $18,000 in one night!! Many of the people who came and gave were also very interested in the work we are doing and we hope to build long term relationships with them to help realize this dream of making healthcare more accessible. Also, this past week during Friday night meeting, we raised another $3,000 towards this cause. God is so faithful to provide! We are really trusting Him for the truck to be bought this year!!!
A few weeks ago, a couple hundred of people on staff here at Perth gathered in this EXTREMELY hot cinderblock building that is a new property for YWAM. The leadership shared their vision for this to be a new auditorium that can fit 1,000 people. They feel that God has spoken that there will be massive growth in our numbers here in the next few years, and building this new auditorium is a step-in-faith, saying that we trust God to bring the people to fill it! We spent time in the building worshipping and thanking God for what He has already done and declaring His promises for the future. Then we all broke into groups and prayed over just about every square inch of the place. It was a really powerful thing to be part of, just knowing that in the next few years this building will be completely transformed and that I got to be there that first day we prayed and worshipped together.
OK, so I know these pictures might look a bit confusing. You may be asking yourself why are these men preaching with Kale and... wait is that deodorant?
Yes, yes it is. And no, they are not crazy, at least not as much as you might think. Here at YWAM, we love to tell people about Jesus, and we like to have fun while we're doing it. So, some particularly creative people came up with what they call preacher battles (except it's not really a battle because everyone wins).
Here's how it goes: The so-called-preachers are called up on stage and asked to face away from the audience. Then the audience is asked to hold up any sort of random objects that they have. After one object is chosen for each preacher, the first one is called forward and handed an object. Then they each have 30 seconds to observe the object and figure out how to share the gospel with it.
All four of the guys did a great job, but the highlight of the night was captured in the first photo. The "preacher" had been going along talking about how the kale was dying and then he said something along the lines of "I used to look a lot like this kale. I was dead inside and rotting, just like this kale, but then Jesus came into my life and brought me to life again". I'm not doing him justice, but it was actually some seriously impressive preaching, and the entire auditorium erupted into cheering (you can see a bit of the reaction with the guys in the background).
I have never done anything like this before, but it was so much fun and such a great way to get people thinking creatively about sharing the gospel. It would be a great youth group or small group exercise!!
Well, I think that's about it for this update! Things are starting to quiet down a little bit and I'm starting to get the hang of the "regular" schedule. We will be starting a new quarter in a few weeks which means that all of the schools on outreach will come back and all the schools that are here now will leave for outreach. We will also be getting a ton of new students coming in as all of the April schools start, so there will be lots of changes coming!
Please continue to pray for me as I adjust to living in community and doing full-time ministry. God has been so good and faithful to provide for everything that I need and He has brought many lovely new friends into my life. I am so thankful! Thank you to everyone who supports me whether financially or through prayer. I truly appreciate everything you guys do for me and I couldn't be here without you! I love you all!!