Base Update

We hope you had a great Christmas celebration. Guatemala celebrates Christmas by igniting firecrackers and fireworks at midnight on Christmas Eve. We watched the display from our roof top and it was amazing. A haze of smoke lay all over the city after the fireworks ended. Traditionally families eat tamales and drink ponche which is a fruit drink on Christmas. We are currently hosting the DTS from Montana and it is their first time celebrating Christmas in Guatemala and for many the first time being away from home for Christmas. They arrived on December 8 and have been doing a lot of ministry to children as well as evangelism. They will be at the base until January 5 and will then travel to San Pablo La Laguna to help build a home for a poor family and work with a local church conducting ministry among all age groups. We will also be hosting a team from Spirit Lake, Iowa who will be coming on January 5 to build a home for a family of ten near the base. On their heels will be a team from Colorado Springs, Colorado who will also be going to San Pablo to conduct ministry among children, youth and adults in the church as well as in the public schools. It will be a busy month for us but we appreciate the teams who come and the ministry they offer to the people of Guatemala.

We are praying for more staff to join us as soon as possible. One of our staff members moved back to the USA this past week to pursue other ministry options so we are in need of more staff to continue conducting the ministries that we are currently doing. We trust God to help us and provide for us and ask that you join us in prayer for this need to be met.

Haiti Outreach

We returned from the outreach to Haiti on December 6.  It was an awesome time of ministry for our team and we saw hundreds of people come to Christ.  One of the highlights for our group was helping to start a church near the missionary house we were staying.  It began with meeting a family when we went house to house sharing the gospel.  The family had been rejected by a church because they did not have the right clothes and some had tatoos.  The pastor we worked with wanted to start a church that would be open to all.  We did a lot of evangelism in open air places and used the children's version of the Jesus film to attract people.  We had crowds of over 300 people coming out to watch the film.  Every time we showed the film we had people giving their lives to Christ.  We also spent time at an orphanage run by ReachHaiti ministries.  Many of the children have been rescued from very harsh condition and abuse.  They are now receiving food, education and most importantly a Christian environment where they are loved and cared for by many.  We thank God for our time in Haiti and for keeping us safe amidst intense heat, cholera outbreaks and a hurricane.  Haiti is a very needy country and the real solution is bring Christ to the culture to transform it through people living out their faith in every area of life.  We will continue to pray for the people who are suffering as they wait for help to begin to rebuild a fallen nation.

Haiti Outreach

Our DTS has just completed our 5th week of outreach to Haiti. We are partnering with ReachHaiti Ministries located in Croix de Bouquet and have been focusing mainly on evangelism through door to door visitations and open air evangelism using the "Jesus" film. We have seen over a 100 people come to Christ and have helped start a new church from the converts that have been made. We are doing a Bible study in the afternoon and have about 15-20 people attending. They are hungry for God's Word and the students are able to share from their DTS experiences to help them grow in Christ.

Last Thursday we showed the film to a crowd of 300 people. We have shown the film twice before in this area but both times had to quit before the film ended due to rain. Thursday we got through the entire film but did not give an invitation at the end because the generator that powered the audio system ran out of fuel. The people immediately scattered as it was very dark. We trust the Lord to have spoken to many hearts through the film and leave the result up to Him.

We have 2 more weeks of outreach in Haiti before returning to Guatemala to finish the outreach and end the 5 month DTS. It has been a great outreach thus far and we look forward to the final 2 weeks of great ministry with many more people coming to Christ and seeing believers encouraged and strengthened in their faith.

Haiti Outreach

Our current DTS is conducting ministry in Haiti. We spent our first 2 weeks working with a church in Port a Prince and in Barbancourt. We conducted ministry in schools and churches using dramas, testimonies and teachings. It has been challenging to be here mainly because of the hot weather, lack of electricity and shortage of water.
We are now at our second ministry site in Fonds Parisiens which is located close to the border. We have visited and ministered in a special project area that is very poor. Many of the children have little clothing and food is scarce for them. Today we gave out some food but not nearly enough to meet the needs of the people here.
Haiti is battling an outbreak of Cholera. We had a couple of people living near our last ministry site die from it. Tropical Storm Tomas is predicted to hit Haiti this weekend and the government is trying to evacuate some of the tent cities in Port a Prince as they anticipate strong winds and heavy rain in the city which will destroy some of the tents and cause further damage.
Please keep our team and Haiti in your prayers.

October Update

We are currently studying "Spiritual Warfare" with Don and Barb Johnson who have been serving with YWAM for over 30 years. They established the base in Nicaragua over 20 years ago and have been engaged in many battles to see the work established and flourish. We are blessed to have them with us to share from their experience and knowledge gained over the years. Our final week of the lecture phase will focus on missions and cross-cultural communication and will help our students prepare for the outreach to Haiti October 16-December 6, 2010.
This past Monday we joined forces with "The World Race" teams who are in Antigua on the first leg of their 11 month mission trip. It was an awesome time of worship and fellowship with believers from many countries.
We are looking forward to our time in Haiti working with churches and missionaries who are doing a great work. Please continue to pray for our students and staff as we prepare for our mission. We are believing God for great things to happen in us and through us.
We will be posting a blog on our website: www.ywamantigua.org about our outreach to Haiti.

Outreach Update

We have finalized our outreach plans to Haiti and are looking forward to our time of ministry. We will spend our first 2 weeks working with Brother Jean Lyonel near Port au Prince who works with Heaven's Family. Their ministry has built a camp about an hour from PAP for people who have lost their homes. Our next week will be spent with Haitian Christian Missions in Fonds Parisians about 1.5 hours from PAP. Our final 4 weeks will be spend with Reach Haiti Ministries. We will be doing a variety of ministries with all ages. The students are prepared to present 2 major YWAM Dramas "Redeemer" and "King of Hearts" which we will present in many locations. We will also have a couple more shorter dramas along with lots of Children's ministry programs. The students are doing research on Haiti and will present their information during our last week of the DTS.
Our final 3 weeks of the classroom phase will go quickly but will also be very important topics: Identity; Spiritual Warfare and Cross-cultural communication and missions.
Please continue to pray for our team as we pray in the finances for our trip. Several students need help and if you would like to be one of their supporters please send a gift to the following address:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardsons Springs Road
Chico, CA 95973
Make your check payable to YWAM Antigua and attach a note indicating it is for the "Outreach to Haiti."
Thank you!

DTS Update

We are in our 7th week of classes. This week we are doing the "Plumbline" class which is one of the most intense weeks of the school as it is a time of soul searching and identification of areas of our lives that we are not walking in the truth. It is a time of restoration and healing of past hurts that have been carried into our lives today and have an effect on our relationship with God and others. We anticipate that God will bring great healing to our students in the areas of their greatest needs.
We have prayed about our outreach destination and will be leaving for the Dominican Republic and Haiti on October 16. Our plans while there are still being formulated and we ask for your prayer as we contact ministries that are able to receive our team. Communication has been difficult to say the least but we are trusting God to guide us as we continue to pray and seek Him.
We invite you to join us in prayer and in helping us financially as we travel and minister on the outreach. We would like to raise $5000 to help with expenses and be able to give money to ministries we will be working with to help them in their relief efforts. Haiti is still suffering from the earthquake with over a one million people living in tents. God is moving in the hearts of the people and we look forward to extenting hands of compassion to the people as we meet spiritual and physical needs.
If you would like to support us financially you can make a check payable to YWAM Antigua and send it to the following address:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardson Springs Road
Chico, CA 95973
Attach a note stating that it is designated for the Haiti outreach.
Thank you for your prayers and support, it is deeply appreciated.