YWAM Antigua October Base Newsletter

Our base has had a very busy summer hosting a DTS and several teams as well as starting a new program:Summer Spanish School and Outreach.  All of the staff have been working hard to take care of all the students and lead them in the ministry experience we offer at the base.  Our last team of the year finished on October 14 and now we have a break until the New Year.  The timing has been great as we will be moving into our new facility within the next month but that depends on if the city gives us permission to connect to the water and electricity.  We have done all we need to do to get the services and are ready to do the final part of the construction once we are approved.  We still have the electricity to install with all the lights and outlets etc. and the bathrooms will need to have sinks, toilets and shower heads.  Our last group helped to paint the bedrooms and a group of men from San Pablo La Laguna have installed all of the tile on the floors on both levels.  It was a big job and we appreciate the work they did for us and for the Lord.

Currently I am attending a Leadership School in Leticia, Colombia.  It has been a great experience and I am learning many things I will put into practice when I return.  The school will end on November 12 and I will return to Guatemala.  Many of our staff will be traveling to the USA during the months of November and December to visit families, supporters and churches.  We are gearing up for hosting teams in January and then our next DTS will begin February 11.

My biggest news that I am thrilled to share is my marriage to Susy Ayala on September 24! We were married in her home church by her pastor who was a missionary to Spain for 17 years.  Susy is joining me at the Leadership School and we are happy to be together to go through this training.

Several of our voluntary missionaries have submitted articles and updates on their ministries they are conducting at the YWAM Antigua Base.  I hope you enjoy reading their stories and will keep everyone in your prayers.  We welcome teams to come and work with us at our new facility as well as YWAMers who are interested in joining our team.  God has blessed our base in many ways and we are excited about the new things that he will do through our team.

Bruce Ahlberg, Director YWAM Antigua

We went to Kansas City to the YWAM Together Conference and I was impressed! It was all about God’s vision, what He wants to do through those who, in prayer, humility and obedience, catch the vision. Loren Cunningham, the founder of YWAM, said God is calling YWAM and other organizations to end Bible poverty, that is, get God’s Word to as many people as possible and translate the gospel into every language so that everyone can hear it in their heart language by the year 2020! Many leaders also shared that God has been calling YWAM to build God’s Kingdom in every sphere of society. Chris-tians should not be content to belong to a religious club on the fringes of society, rather we should bring the Kingdom to every sphere of influence in our culture—family, business, arts, government, education, etc.

I was also impressed be-cause God had given Loren and the other leaders this vision many years ago and they have held on to it, praying and getting ready. Now they believe that God will bring it to fulfillment.

God also reminded me, that He has given us a vision to spread His Word and see people saved and transformed! God has been good and I have seen Him working in the lives of many people here, but I know there is more to come. So I will keep listening to His voice and reaching forward to know how we will continue in the years to come. Pray with us, that God will lead us and that we do His will and build His Kingdom.

We are also thankful that another vision is being ful-filled: Samuel has arrived in Australia and has started his YWAM School of Counseling in Perth. We are proud of him, that he is going with God and wants to serve Him.

What vision has God given to you? Go after it in God‘s grace and power!

Thanks to all of you, who have been partnering in our vision to serve God and love Him more. God bless you all!

Joe and Karin with

Samuel, Sarah and Josh Bedford

I have been reading the “Biblia en Accion” with 10 children this year.  These children are in first grade at “El Pilar” School a few doors up the road from our current facilities.  I am very happy to read with them every Wednesday morning for 30 minutes.  I also include some songs with motions during my class and they seem to really enjoy this time of worshiping God and learning Bible stories.  A few weeks ago, before I left the classroom, I asked them if there was anything I could be praying for them individually.  Most of them asked me to pray for the relationship between their mom and their dad.  They said, “Please pray that my mom and dad will get along and they won’t be mean to each other.”  I told them that I would pray for them. I felt very happy to see how open they were to share their prayer requests.  I did not know if they would know what I was asking for.  They are sweet kids who have a very high capacity to listen to God.  I hope to be able to continue to read the Bible with them next year in the second grade.  They are on their annual vacation now.  We should meet again in January 2017. 

Mat_19:14  but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

Susy Ayala de Ahlberg

We are so excited to share with you all that God is continuing to do in our community of Ciudad Vieja, Antigua. Our moms' ministry - which began with 10 moms in early 2014 - has now grown to 90 women. We've continued installing water filters and stoves in homes around Ciudad Vieja. By the grace of God, about 40 families have received stoves and about 50 families have received water filters! We love the way serving families through this gift that shows them the love of God. We've begun to introduce a time of worship during our Tuesday afternoon meetings - the moms love it.  Bible study continues on Tuesday afternoons, as well as home visits during the week.

Keep us in your prayers,  we know that we cannot do this alone, and we value your prayers for our life and ministry. Here are a few specific points for prayer in this next year: Our health, our finances, guidance and wisdom in decision-making 
and our ministry as it grows.

Renzo and Emma Lopez

Hello! Here at the base my jobs include keeping the base clean and helping with the kid’s ministries! Every Tuesday, I get to hang out with the kids that come with their moms to the Mom’s Club Ministry. We read a Bible story, sing songs, and do a craft. Last week we read the story of John the Baptist and made doves. Every Friday I get to hang out with an awesome group of girls for our Girl’s Bible Study. We are currently finishing up studying the book of Esther. The girls enjoy playing games and baking. We have pancake parties, make cookies, and last week we played pictionary charades. Please keep these girls and I in your prayers as we continue to study God’s word! I would also like to ask for your prayers for an opportunity I have this coming year. This May I will be heading to France to do a Foundations of Counseling Ministry School with YWAM Champagne. I would appreciate prayers for peace of mind, and finances as I pursue this opportunity!

Courtney Bushway

Greetings!  Over the last few weeks, we have had the honor of serving the YWAM bases in Guatemala City and El Salvador by teaching in their Discipleship Training School (DTS) schools that are currently in session. Teaching and training the young people of today is one of our greatest passions, so when an opportunity comes to teach, whether it is here in Antigua, or at another base around Central America, we are very quick to make sure it happens!

The YWAM base in Guatemala City currently has  7 students (6 Guatemalans and 1 Honduran) in their DTS school and David had the privilege of teaching on the topic of Spiritual Warfare! We had the quite the week with these students and learned a great deal about the enemy, his kingdom, his strategies, and how those strategies affect us individually and corporately. We also learned quite a bit about ourselves as the Lord began to reveal areas in all of our lives where we had allowed the enemy a place to rule through us. This group of students were certainly a special group, one that we believe is going to have an immense impact on North Africa on their upcoming outreach phase of the school. We would like to invite everyone to join us in praying for them, for their finances, and for their courage to step out into a Muslim world and bring forth the light of the Kingdom!

The YWAM base in El Salvador currently has 6 students (3 El Salvador, 2 Nicaragua, 1 Columbia) in their DTS school. David got to teach them on the subject of Evangelism with the Holy Spirit. It was a very refreshing week with the students as we got to spend a lot of time sitting in His presence and allowing Him to teach us and challenge us. During one of the final classes where ministry through healing and prophetic words was taught, a nearby pastor came to the base as he was in need of some urgent prayer. He had recently been given a very bad report from a doctor and was suffering from a lot of pain and weakness. As we were praying for him, one of the students received a word from the Lord of some issues in his childhood that was still poisoning him today. At first he could not think of anything, but then another word came from someone else about his childhood and quickly a memory came to his mind of a terrible situation that happened to him as a little boy. We then began to pray with him as he began to forgive not only the person who had hurt him, but himself as well. With that, tears began to flow from his eyes as he began to not just forgive, but also repent of some habitual sins that he had allowed into his life since that day. As we finished praying, you could see a very different look on his face as he not only felt substantially better physically, but emotionally & spiritually as well! We then began to speak words of life to him (prophetic words) and allowed the Holy Spirit to use these words to give him the very “kisses from heaven” that he had been longing for. The next day we received a report from him that he was definitely feeling much better and was at full strength once again! Praise the Lord for what He did through the students of the DTS for this pastor! God is so good!

In closing, we want to announce our next DTS school that will be beginning in February 2017. We are expecting great things from God in this time as He has continuously been showing us that this next school is going to be about “Going deeper with Him”. We are currently accepting applications for the school and would love for you to join us in praying for the students who will be coming, as well as for the teachers who have already committed to helping us in this school! If you would like more information about the school, please get in contact with us at dts.ywamantigua@gmail.com

Many Blessings!

David and Juli Voncannon

Hi everyone. I’m Claire and over the past 2 years I have been working mostly with the DTS here as a one-on-one and outreach leader. Recently, though, I had a change of responsibility and now I am in charge of the kitchen and do a lot of housekeeping at the base. I have spent a lot of time making cakes for birthdays and helping our cook Florecita. Also we are beginning to prepare to move to our new base so I’ve been doing a lot of inventory and deep cleaning to get ready for that. Until last week I was going to a school to read the Bible with the students, but they are on break now until the new year. I also participate in Bible distribution once a week. Right now life is pretty relaxed, but we are all preparing for teams that will be coming and the next DTS in February.
Claire Whitmer

Summer Spanish School and Outreach (SSSO)

 Our SSSO is in the 3rd week of classes.  The students meet each morning from 830-1230 for intensive Spanish language instruction.  Each afternoon they are involved in ministries of the base or in Discipleship classes.  They are also spending time learning dramas, preparing testimonies, ministries for youth and children to be prepared for the final week of outreach to San Miguel Chicaj, Guatemala where they will be working with the YWAM base.  If you are interested in attending the SSSO next summer please contact us.

DTS Outreach to Greece Week 3 update

Update from Graeme 

Week 3 started out as a rough week emotionally for many of us. We were told that Euro Relief (the organization we are working under) would no longer be working in the refugee camp. We were all startled at the news and had no idea what caused such a huge decision. They told us that it was an indefinite decision due to “alarming news” that had been discovered. All we could do was speculate about what had happened and pray that we would be allowed back soon. 

During this week we praised God for His timing and wisdom, and put the situation in His hands. We had faith that we would be allowed back into the camp (that we had been called here to work inside the camp), and so we praised Him for what He had done and what He was going to do. 

We also sang praises to Jesus and interceded on behalf of the refugees, specifically for safety on behalf of the Christians we had met in the camp. So often we take for granted that we have the freedom to be a follower of Christ, but public declaration of faith for a refugee can mean persecution and even death. A testament to the power of Jesus in our lives could be seen in the life of a refugee we met the first day we entered the camp. This young man used to be a successful Muslim rapper in his previous life. A few of the volunteers were able to develop a relationship with him. One day we heard he had accepted Christ into his life and had been baptized. A few days later he had the opportunity to lie to get himself out of the camp and onto the next stage in process of going to Europe. Instead of taking this opportunity he decided to tell the truth which made it so that he wasn’t accepted to this next stage. We asked him about that and he said he wanted to do things the right way and that Jesus is in control of his life. If he had to stay in the camp longer he would do it because it was the will of God. He said he was willing to die in the camp if he had to. We were amazed but also very encouraged to hear such dedication from such a new believer. The best news was when the next time we saw him he told us he got his papers to go to Athens. That means he is that much closer to being able to start his new life, in a new country.

We were so happy for that news, but sad that we will not be able to say goodbye to many of our friends who are already leaving for Athens. It is a bittersweet feeling, but we are just happy to see so many people turning to Christ.

In the meantime, Bruce has done a great job finding things for us to do. We did beach clean up which is exactly what is sounds like. There is so much rubber from the dinghies that need to be cut up and taken to the dump. Our job was to cut the rubber and make a

human chain to bring the pieces up the beach to an area where a truck can take them away. The volunteer organization in charge of that project wasn’t used to having lots of people to help, because every day we were there we did way more than they expected us to do.

We also went into town where the refugees like to hang out. It was a great experience as we got to play soccer with greeks and refugees and there were people to worship in the park with us. It was a great day and to cap it all off we got to bring a refugee friend back to the hotel with us. We swam in the pool with him and had a

worship session with him. We got to pray for him and Chloe gave him a drawing of him she had made. He seemed overwhelmed with joy and told us that day was a gift from God. He stayed the night at our hotel and we found him a ride to the camp the next day. He messaged Chloe later that day saying he was crying with joy. Such simple actions can go such a long way. We are now praying for him to get his papers to go to Athens. He wants to end up in Canada at some point, but also to see his family in Germany.

The story he told us about he got to the island was heartbreaking. He was on a rubber dingy with mostly children. They noticed a slash in the boat and it started filling up with water. He thought he was going to die and have to watch all the children drown. Thanks to God, a boat came by and was able to rescue them and take all of them to safety. When the team took him to see the life jackets, he had memories of Gods goodness and grace. He was amazed by all the life jackets, and called it a dream come true that we were able to spend the day with him and uplift him. 

DTS Outreach to Lesvos, Greece Week 2 Update

"They will know we are Christians by our love." 

From before the beginning of outreach, we knew that evangelism in the camps was going to look different than it did in Guatemala. The people we encounter on our shifts at the refugee camp are primarily Muslims, and to help protect Euro Relief (the program we are partnering with) there are limitations on the ways we can express our faith with the refugee's. During our orientation, we were told to live Matthew 25. Jesus says that when we feed the hungry, when we give the thirsty something to drink, when we welcome strangers, when we clothe the naked, when we care for the sick, when we visit prisoners -  this, we did for Him. There are opportunities to meet those needs every day at the refugee camp. 1 John 3:18 says: "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." 

We all know 1 Corinthians 13. We know that we love because God first loved us. We know that God is love, and we know that when we love, we are representing Him. Still, very day we walk into the camp, I find my self asking the Lord:

"Today, what does love look like?"

Sometimes, love looks like giving all of your energy and more to a group of 30 children who are bored, restless, and crazy. Love looks like letting four kids play with your hair at once, or letting them draw on your face with chalk, or playing games with them for 8 hours straight (somehow managing to keep their attention for more than 2 minutes). Sometimes, love looks like bandaging the arms of men who cut themselves because they could no longer handle the pain of the trauma, hopelessness and despair that they feel. Sometimes, love looks like sorting through clothing boxes all day - looking for clothes with limited resources. Love looks like giving people laundry detergent, when it is the only need on their list we can meet. Love looks like patience when refugees raise their fists and voices because we don't have any mens shoes to give them. 

"I still love you!" one of our leaders likes to say in response. 

Love looks like helping a man clean up his tent because someone has covered every inch of it with alcohol. It looks like finding a place for is wife and children to sleep, who are shaking with terror. Love looks like preventing a riot by playing board games with the men who are angry that they couldn't get their papers to leave the refugee camp. Love looks telling our stories, and it also looks like listening to the stories of the refugees. Love looks like encouraging the refugee that met Jesus 5 days ago, and says that the dangers of his new faith are "not important to him." Love looks like continually visiting a 16 year old who recently discovered Jesus through a vision, and lives in a Muslim family that does not encourage his faith. Love looks like building relationships, and visiting people more than once. Love looks like working your hardest, no matter how simple your job that day may seem.  Love looks like interceding for the refugees when it is not safe for us to enter the camp. Love looks like holding and singing to a little girl for as long as she needs because she is tired, lonely, sad, and just wants to be held. 

What the team has realized is that sometimes, our actions seem like small things; but when we do them with love, they become big things. When we love with everything we have, people ask questions. When we do Matthew 25, people want to know about the God we serve. The team continually thanks God for the opportunities we have had to share Jesus through actions and through conversations. 

 

The UNHCR estimates over 8,000 refugees have died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to get to Europe since 2014. This week, we saw thousands of life jackets, clothes, rubber dinghies, and boats that were used to help carry people from the Middle East into Europe. It had a huge impact on all of us because we've seen these people and heard their stories that have led them to take such a dangerous trek across the sea in hopes of a safer and better life. This crisis is very real, and these refugees are in great need. Please be in prayer for the situations in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and all of the Middle East. Most of these nations are very dangerous to enter but here in Greece where there are thousands of refugees from different nations we have the opportunity to share with them the Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord and in Him there is hope, peace, love, and everlasting life. We are honored by this incredible opportunity the Lord has given us. 

Due to security issues, for the next little while volunteers are unable to enter the refugee camp. We do not know when we will be able to return, however, please be praying that it will be as soon as possible. In the mean time, pray that God would show us different ways we can be serving Him here in Lesvos. 

DTS Outreach to Lesvos, Greece: Week 1

Blog post brought to you by Graeme
Our first week on outreach has been very eventful. We have already had so many fun adventures and are still looking forward to many more. We have seen God move in some different ways and it has been so exciting.
Our first few days this week were spent traveling. We flew from Guatemala City, Guatemala to San Salvador, El Salvador. We spent an hour in the airport then flew to Madrid, Spain, a 9 hour flight. From there we flew to Barcelona, Spain and spent the night in a hostel not too far from the airport. The next morning we flew to Athens, Greece and then after a long layover we flew to the island of Lesvos, where we will be spending the next month.
After all that travel the adventure had just began. We landed at around 9PM and after collecting all of our luggage we found the two 9-passenger vans we rented. Bruce was one driver, and Tyler, our only other person who is allowed to drive took the other van. Bruce’s van had most of the people and Tyler’s van had a few people and all of the luggage (Bruce may have had it that way because of Tyler’s lack of stick-shift experience). Bruce’s van led the way on the hour long journey from the city of Mytilene, to the town of Molyvos where our hotel is.
The road winds through the mountains, with narrow roads and hairpin turns, but Tyler was able to keep up with Bruce. After a few wrong turns and missed exits Tyler’s van realized they were running low on gas. Maybe it was the extra baggage, or maybe it was just getting out of first gear, but the gas light was on and Tyler’s van was in serious danger of running out of gas. After backtracking for a few minutes because of a wrong turn, despite all the prayers, Tyler’s van finally gave out. It could go no further. The van was in the middle of the road and it needed to be moved. Memo, Chloe, Alyssa and Marissa answered the call and pushed the car safely to the side of the road while Graeme watched on, supervising from the beach .
At this point it was about one o’clock in the morning. The students did what any DTS group would do; they got in a circle and thanked Jesus for having them run out of gas in front of a beautiful beach under the stars. Then they began a worship session. It wasn’t long until Bruce showed up with the other van and after taking the girls to the hotel, he came back with gas to take the boys to the hotel.
The next day was mostly spent resting and catching up on sleep. We were given orientation and told how we were expected to act in the refugee camp, as representatives of YWAM, Eurorelief (the organization we are working under) and Jesus Christ.
Our first shift we pulled was an overnight shift, 12AM-8AM. When we showed up we learned that there had just been a riot. The volunteers working the shift before us had been evacuated after the tent they were working in had rocks thrown through it. There had been a fight and one of the guys ran into the tent seeking medical attention. Unfortunately, he was under hot pursuit and many men broke down the door, while other angry men threw rocks in after him. There was an altercation that occurred inside the tent as well, but all the volunteers were led safely out.
By the time we arrived, tensions were lower and people were calming down. A few minor fights broke out throughout the night but nothing too serious. That night most of us worked in the family compound, playing with kids and talking to people who were still awake. Some of us guys worked in the info tent, where we try to meet people’s needs by fixing their tents or handing out supplies such as diapers to mothers, razors to the men, and other miscellaneous needs.

During the day we do a variety of tasks. We put tents together, we take clothe orders and deliver the orders that we have taken. There are lots of clothes that we try to give out, but everyone at the camp has certain things they need and keeping up with demand is impossible. We are looking into more efficient ways to hand out clothing to those in need. 
A few of us had an encounter with some Muslim ladies who needed clothes. We brought them clothes for their families and they were so thankful. None of them spoke English but we managed to communicate for a while with laughing and smiling and broken English and Arabic. We had been praying for someone who could translate so that we could share more about ourselves and understand what they were telling us. Pretty soon, a friend of theirs showed up and she could speak great English. We got to stay a lot longer and have fun with the families. We have been back again and each time the family is happy to see us. Please pray that we will be good witnesses and be given wise words to share Christ with these families.

We would like to thank you for praying for us. We arrived safely in Greece and are so confident that this is where the Lord wants us. Many of us are battling sickness and we can We feel fatigue kicking in. Please continue to pray for the health of our team and for divine encounters from the Lord. We would love the opportunity to witness to families and see people come to Christ.

April Update

Base Construction
Our new YWAM base will soon be completed!!! We are expecting to make the big move in June to the new base.  We are grateful to the Lord for the provision to buy land and build and we are still in need of money to finish the construction and buy some new  appliances.  If you would like to make a donations it will be greatly appreciated.  We are excited about the potential of reaching more people and having a better training facility for our DTS and all the ministries we conduct weekly at the base.


DTS to Greece and Israel!
Our Compassion DTS will be leaving on May 7 for the island of Lesvos.  Refugees from Syrian and

other countries have been fleeing the violence and destruction in their home countries to see refuge in Greece.  YWAM has been working with the refugees to provide food, clothing, medical help as well as spiritual help to the thousands of people who are in desperate need of assistance.  Our DTS will be spending 4 weeks helping minister to the people.  We will also be traveling to Bethlehem, Israel to work with the Palestinians whom YWAM has been able to establish relationships.  We are excited about the ministry opportunities we will experience in Greece and Israel.  Please pray for our group of 14.

Summer Spanish School and Outreach
We will be conducting a one month Spanish language learning experience during the month of July.  It will be a combination of Spanish language learning, discipleship training and ministry experiences.  The first 3 weeks will focus on learning Spanish and the final week will be an outreach to San Miguel Chicaj in Guatemala.  We will be working with the YWAM base and conducting a variety of ministries where the students will be able to communicate in Spanish to the people.  Deadline for registration is May 31 an enrollment is limited to 10 students.

New Voluntary Missionaries
We have 3 new missionaries working with our base!  David and Juli Voncannon have been serving in Guatemala for several years working with street people and the DTS. Denis Garcia will also join us to start the "Homes of Hope" program in the near future.  We are thankful for their decision to be a part of our base and look forward to working with them.

New Association
Our base along with the 2 other YWAM bases in Guatemala are currently in the process of forming Associations that will be recognized by the Guatemalan government. Our new legal name in Guatemala will be "Centro de Entrenamiento Misionero y Apoyo Social" (CEMAS) In English it is called" Center for Missionary Training and Social Assistance.  Being recognized will enable us to  do more things in Guatemala and provide visas for missionary volunteers who come to serve with us.

Donations:
If you would like to send a donation to support our base you can use our online link or you can send a check made payable to YWAM Chico.  Send the donation to:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardson Springs Road
Chico, CA 95973
Please attach a note to indicate it is for YWAM Antigua.

Base update

DTS Outreach Teams.
This past week we had the DTS from YWAM Heredia, Costa Rica ministering with us.  They joined us in our ministries to the children, senor citizens, Soul Patrol evangelism, Bible distribution and our worship service that is open to the community. We always enjoy hosting DTS teams and make ourselves available to help them achieve the purposes of the DTS outreach.  Our base has a fireplace on the roof which we use frequently with teams. We will be receiving another DTS team from San Jose this week and we look forward to working with them.
This week we are also hosting a Dental Clinic for people in our neighborhood.  A dentist from Minnesota and two other people are with him to conduct the clinic.  We are scheduling 12 people each day for 4 days so they will be helping many people in the short time they are with us.  They also will be purchasing and installing 2 fuel effecient stoves in the community and will bring food to bless them.


Base Construction continues to move forward and we are anticipating that the first floor will be completed by the end of February.  We are excited to be able to use the new facility for the DTS and short term teams that will be coming.  We prayed and asked for donations to help us raise the money needed to construct the second level of the building ($60,000) and we received all we needed thanks to the generosity of several people including a matching gift of $30,000.  We have a team from Yelm, Washington coming in mid February to work for 2 weeks on the construction of the base.  We are praying that they will help speed up the timeline of completion through the volunteer help they will be providing.


Our next DTS begins on February 13 and we have 9-10 students enrolled.  All of them speak English so we will conduct the entire course in English.  We are looking forward to the 5 months of training they will receive and are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the transformational process that happens to students in the DTS. It is not too late to join us if you are interesting in attending!!!