DTS Graduation!

December 9th was the date of our graduation for the Discipleship Training School. We concluded our outreach to Haiti and Guatemala and had a fantastic experience. Each of the students were touched by the Lord and did a great job preaching the gospel in a variety of ways. We returned from Haiti and rode a bus and 4 wheel drive pickup for 13 hours to reach a village in NW Guatemala called Yulmacap. There are about 400 families living in the area and very few white people get out there. When we first arrived the children ran away from us but by the end of the week they were crying when we left. We lived in rustic conditions for the 5 days of ministry but it was worth it to have the opportunity to share the love of Christ with the community. We visited 5 families that have children with a rare form of skin cancer caused by ultraviolet light. These children must stay out of the sun all the time to reduce the spread of cancer. It is very difficult for them as there is not much for them to do.
We also conducted ministry in Quetzatenango, Guatemala, working with a local church. It was a time of encouraging the believers in their walk and work for the Lord.
Our final week was spent in San Pablo La Laguna working with two pastors who are doing a great work in their community. One family we visited has lost both parents to AIDS and the 4 children are now living with their grandparents who have very limited resources but plenty of love for their grandkids. We hope to build a home for the children as the home of the grandparents is too small to accommodate them.
Our graduation service was a special time for all us and it is always hard to see the students leave. We have been blessed to work with a very special and talented group this past year and pray God's best for each of them as they pursue their individual calling from the Lord.
Our next DTS will begin in February, Motorcyclist DTS will be an outstanding adventure for those who have a passion for motorcycling and sharing the gospel.

Outreach to Haiti

W
we are in the 3rd week of outreach in Haiti and it has been a great experience. We worked with Pastor Beau a Ywamer who is pastoring a church in a very poor area. He took us around the area to do evangelism and we has opportnities to share the gospel with hundreds of people. In order to get to his church we had to take 4 wheel drive vehicles as the road was partially under water and was muddy. Then we had to cross a small river and walk the rest of the way to his village. We showed the Jesus film and during the film the people clapped whenever they saw Jesus do miracles. The children were deeply moved by the death of Jesus and some cried.

On Saturday we hiked up to a fortress that overlooks St. Marc to worship and pray for the city. It was a beauty vista and even though took some effort to reach the top was well worth it.

Please continue to pray for protection and health for all of us.

DTS Outreach to Haiti

We arrived in Haiti last Sunday and have spent the first week conducting evangelistic outreaches with the YWAM Haiti base. We have shared the gospel through dramas, testimonies and preaching to over 1000 people during our first week. One of the most memorable sites was the local jail in St. Marc. The cells are designed to hold 4-5 people but each one has 30+ in them!!! There are no beds and the prisoners have to sleep on the floor that is not big enough for all of them to lay down on at one time. They listened attentively to our presentation from behind their cell doors as no one is allowed outside except for 10 minutes per day to shower. It is a place you would never want to return to as a prisoner.
We have also shared in several public schools and parks. We have drawn crowds at each location and have seen a few people accept the Lord. One lady was from another town over the hills that surround St. Marc and she just happened to be in the area we were at sharing the gospel. She gave her heart to Christ and I was reminded of the 1 lost sheep that was found while the 99 remained.
We will be in Haiti until November 17 and we will be working with YWAM Haiti and a church.
Next week we will be visiting 8 villages near St. Marc. These areas are very poor and are heavily influenced by voodoo. The pastor we are working with was threatened by witch doctors and told at gun point to not share the gospel or he would be killed. He told them his life was in God's hands and they could not control him. He has remained faithful to share the gospel and has seen many people come to Christ.
Please pray for our DTS students as we continue to share the gospel and bear fruit for the Kingdom.

DTS Update Week 9

We are currently in our 9th week of the classroom phase. Our topic this week is Spiritual Warfare and our teacher is Terry Keith the Base Director of YWAM Heredia Costa Rica. Terry has been a YWAMERS for 26 years and has vast experience in the ministry. We are blessed to have such highly qualified and experienced teachers in our DTS this year.

We have made a decision to do our outreach in Haiti and Guatemala this year. We will be leaving for Haiti to work with YWAM Haiti on October 16 and return November 17. Our last 3 weeks of outreach will be spent in Guatemala in 3 different locations: Yulmacap in NW Guatemala; Quetzaltenango and San Pablo La Laguna.

DTS 2011

We have just completed the 4th week of the classroom phase of the DTS. We have 12 students attending this year from the USA, Canada and Curacao. Through the generosity of a local church we are able to use their classroom for our daily classes which helps the student focus on the studies and eliminates distractions at the base. We have been blessed to be able to secure excellent teachers from the USA, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Each day the students are involved in work duty and this year we are partnering with a hospital for disabled children and adults, an orphanage and a ministry that makes wheel chairs.
The students are also involved in the weekly ministries of the base which include the English Worship service, Kids club, feeding the poor and conducting a worship service for homeless people.
We are tentatively making plans to do our outreach in Haiti and Guatemala. Please pray for the students finances that they will each be able to raise the support needed ($2000).

Diaspora DTS and Riverpoint Outreach

After the team from Nachitoches, Louisiana left we were surprised by a call from the Diaspora DTS from the YWAM Los Angeles base. They were on their 2 month outreach to Central America and contacted us on short notice to see if they could spend a week with us. We had the time they wanted available so we were able to host them and conduct ministry with them. They had 9 team members with only a couple who spoke English as all of them were from South Korea. They were a wonderful team to host. We enjoyed their times of worship in Korean, the dramas and songs they did with the children and their times of intercession.
We just finished hosting Riverpoint Church from Georgia for a week. They brought the largest team we have ever hosted-24 youth and adults. We had a great time of ministry with them and divided them into 2-3 groups at times to be able to get more involvement and touch more lives. Some of the things they did were: Kids ministry at the base; home construction project; painting a Christian school; ministry at Hermano Pedro Hospital and Orphanage; feeding the poor; conducting services for the homeless. Kids ministry in Santa Maria de Jesus and evangelism in Central Park. They took advantage of ministry opportunities that became available and did a great job. We were blessed by their servant attitude and sincere desire to see people reached with the gospel.
Our next group arrives July 10 from Rochester, Minnesota. They will be our last team before we start our DTS on July 24 with 13 students.

Natchitoches Outreach

From May 30 to June 8 we hosted First Baptist Church of Natchitoches, Louisiana. They came prepared with ministry for children and adults. Part of their time was spent working at the YWAM base in the minstries we do on a regular basis and they spent time at San Pablo La Laguna ministering in two churches we have formed relationships with over the past 8 years. We also have an intern, Dave, working with us for 6 weeks. He and the music pastor of the Baptist church sang the song in the video and were a blessing to everyone.You can view this on youtube: Outreach Music at San Pablo La Laguna.

We will be hosting 3 more teams in June and July and then will focus our efforts on the DTS which starts on July 24. We are anticipating 12 students enrolling and look forward to working with each of them.