Dear Friends & Family,
Leading our first school has been going great so far. Thank you for all your prayers and support. It has been a ton of work, but we are so thankful to see God's hand in it all. We were able to partner with a few other YWAM bases throughout our school, which was really fun and it was cool to work together. We went down to YWAM Byron Bay for Evangelism week and then YWAM Toowoomba and Byron Bay came up for our last week on Spiritual Warfare with Ravi Kandal and his ministry team. God has really been transforming this wild group to passionate lovers of Christ.
We started our outreach phase September 2. We first flew to New Zealand and have now been in Papua New Guinea for the last week and a half. In New Zealand we got to plant a ton of seeds, serve in tangible ways, and partner with the local church and YWAM base. We did a lot of evangelism. We gave away sandwiches on the slopes and free coffee in town. On the sandwich day we prayed for the people going to receive them and one guy got the name "Sam" while he was praying. He wrote a note to "Sam" saying Jesus loves you! etc. The FIRST GUY HE MET WAS NAMED SAM! It was such a cool testimony of hearing God. God got to touch that guy through a PB & J sandwich.
We also got to help out a woman in crisis. We were able to help clean her whole house and she was so blessed. She wasn't a Christian, but she was very open to prayer and started crying at the end when we prayed for her. She was so blessed. She didn't stop saying, "thank you, you guys are awesome." We were able to share that it was because of the love of Christ in our hearts. We trust God will use that seed in her for eternity.
While we were in New Zealand, we stayed at a hostel. It was a great way to share with people we were living with. One day, I got to share with a girl from Australia. I was able to share the gospel with her and pray for her. She was so touched, but what hit me the most was that she had never heard of Jesus! She said she wanted to learn more about God and we pray God uses others to touch her life.
Leading our first school has been going great so far. Thank you for all your prayers and support. It has been a ton of work, but we are so thankful to see God's hand in it all. We were able to partner with a few other YWAM bases throughout our school, which was really fun and it was cool to work together. We went down to YWAM Byron Bay for Evangelism week and then YWAM Toowoomba and Byron Bay came up for our last week on Spiritual Warfare with Ravi Kandal and his ministry team. God has really been transforming this wild group to passionate lovers of Christ.
We started our outreach phase September 2. We first flew to New Zealand and have now been in Papua New Guinea for the last week and a half. In New Zealand we got to plant a ton of seeds, serve in tangible ways, and partner with the local church and YWAM base. We did a lot of evangelism. We gave away sandwiches on the slopes and free coffee in town. On the sandwich day we prayed for the people going to receive them and one guy got the name "Sam" while he was praying. He wrote a note to "Sam" saying Jesus loves you! etc. The FIRST GUY HE MET WAS NAMED SAM! It was such a cool testimony of hearing God. God got to touch that guy through a PB & J sandwich.
We also got to help out a woman in crisis. We were able to help clean her whole house and she was so blessed. She wasn't a Christian, but she was very open to prayer and started crying at the end when we prayed for her. She was so blessed. She didn't stop saying, "thank you, you guys are awesome." We were able to share that it was because of the love of Christ in our hearts. We trust God will use that seed in her for eternity.
While we were in New Zealand, we stayed at a hostel. It was a great way to share with people we were living with. One day, I got to share with a girl from Australia. I was able to share the gospel with her and pray for her. She was so touched, but what hit me the most was that she had never heard of Jesus! She said she wanted to learn more about God and we pray God uses others to touch her life.
Papua New Guinea has been so fruitful so far. We've seen a handful of salvations and healings already. We've been working with a local pastor that is really passionate and a great contact to work with. Every morning after prayer we have been doing a kid's ministry for 2-5year olds. Then at night and some afternoons we've been doing open airs in town, praying for the sick at hospitals, and going door to door praying for people. We've also gotten the opportunity to encourage the local churches through messages and skits and testimony. Next week, we are going to a village. They've never sent a team yet to this village so we are excited of the new possibilities. Pray for us as we go that we will be able to encourage believers and see others loved into the kingdom. Pray that we can just be open to the spirit however God wants to use us. We won't have electricity or running water so pray through discomfort, the team will be able to praise God through it all and be grateful.
We got to rescue this girl from a domestic abuse situation. We stepped in on the side of the road after seeing her being beaten and asked if she was okay. She ran and held onto us and said, "he said he's gonna take me home and kill me." We were able to help her and take her to her family where she is now safe away from her husband. She's only 17 years old!
- The rest of Outreach.
- Pray that our team is unified and continues to love one another.
- Pray for protection and good health.
- We are going to a village next week with no running water or electricity.We are the first team to go there. Pray we are able to make an eternal impact.
- Two students still need funding for the rest of our outreach in Indonesia or they have to go back to Australia. Pray God provides for them.
- Next Year.
- We've been praying a lot about what God has for us next year since our two year commitment is up. They've asked us to help with leadership at our base, but we are still praying about whether we should stay a bit longer or go to Spain or something else. Pray God gives us clear direction and wisdom.
Josh & Amanda