During my School Of Evangelism (SOE), we traveled to Greece and Kosovo for outreach. It was a night to evanglize in the City of Thessaloniki. Evangelism is a time to freely allow the Lord to guide and direct our steps in a time and place. So as I was walking in the square with a group of people, I felt the Lord tell me to go to the other side of the square to a bench with two men sitting on it. Knowing the Lord was directing me there and not wanting fear to hold me back, I quickly crossed the square to sit with them and started a conversation.
Tyler Tom
Recent posts by Tyler Tom
2 min read
Fear didn't hold me back to evangelize on the streets of Thessaloniki
By Tyler Tom on 27 Jun 2018
Topics: Outreach School of Evangelism Evangelism YWAM Outreach Overcoming Fear Answered Prayer
2 min read
3 Concepts to Consider When Taking Risks in Missions
By Tyler Tom on 25 Jun 2018
On a trip to South Asia, my colleague and I smuggled Bibles into a country that persecuted Christians and never allowed the Bible to be brought in or published. We knew it was God’s desire to give His Word to people in their heart language, so we took a risk and stuffed fifty Bibles into our luggage.
Topics: Missions Growth Risk Bible
2 min read
Hope for Every Mother and Unborn Child
By Tyler Tom on 15 Jun 2018
My husband came in from work carrying a laundry basket. The white plastic sides were stretched out of shape and cracked in a few places, but neatly folded inside was a stack of blue jeans Alejandra had sent to me for my grandsons. Tears came to my eyes when I saw those little garments because that basket could have been empty.
Topics: Life-Changing YWAM DTS Abortion Lives at Risk
3 min read
Here's What to Expect from 5 Months at YWAM Tyler
By Tyler Tom on 11 Jun 2018
Recently we had a couple schools graduate from YWAM Tyler. Here's what the students had to say about their five-month training time!
Topics: YWAM Tyler Missionary Get to Know God Missionary Training
5 min read
My Dog Was Holding Me Back From Missions
By Tyler Tom on 8 Jun 2018
It was 1983 when I took a job as a clerical worker for an oil company in Houston to fill the time. I had a college degree and aspirations to teach, but after two years of working in the office, I didn’t want to teach anymore. I also didn’t want to climb the corporate ladder at the oil company. In fact, I had no idea what I wanted to do next! I felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Missions Purpose YWAM DTS Calling Missionary YWAM
4 min read
I Just Needed To Show Up
By Tyler Tom on 21 May 2018
My life needed redirection
As a burnt out special education teacher, I was desperate for anything different. At this point, I was wondering if maybe I was too desperate.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Crossroads DTS Purpose YWAM DTS Missionary Making Him Known YWAM Redirection Crossroads discipleship introvert dicovery
3 min read
God Redeemed The Worst Mistake of My Life
By Tyler Tom on 16 May 2018
I reached for the clock before it went off at 4:30a.m. Why had I even bothered to set it? I’d hoped that sleep would find me and bring a temporary reprieve from the day I now faced. It didn’t. Things had been set in motion, and I had to respond to the day’s cruel schedule. That fateful day was in 1976. I would learn in the future, sadly much too late, that this was my only child’s life.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Life-Changing Destiny Abortion
3 min read
There is a Place for You in I.T. | YWAM Tyler
By Tyler Tom on 9 May 2018
Life is, often, not what you plan for yourself but unfolds in ways that may be surprising.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Missions YWAM DTS I.T.
5 min read
The Two "P's" of Family Missions Training | YWAM TYLER
By Tyler Tom on 27 Apr 2018
What do families entering missions need?
What must a training program provide in order to adequately prepare a whole family for a life of missions?
Reflecting on my own family's experience, I can now sum up these needs in two words: Partnership and Participation.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Family Adventures Families in Missions Family Missions
4 min read
It Wasn't Our Time Yet | YWAM Tyler
By Tyler Tom on 25 Apr 2018
Tyler Tom is always on the hunt for amazing, true God-stories around the YWAM Tyler campus, and this one blew us all away! Join us as we travel with Derek Sandiford (one of our beloved South African staff members) on an unforgettable outreach journey...
It was 2016, and by a miracle of God's eleventh-hour provision I had landed in Mexico with the rest of my classmates on our School of Evangelism outreach. We were hosted by YWAM Creel, a base located in the mountainous Chihuahua region of Mexico. One of our exciting team projects was to create an agricultural garden using the contours of the earth to generate a self-watering system. We tried to enlist the services of the base's skid-loader to help us in this project, but all attempts to get this machine started met with failure. Because I'm handy with machines, I checked it over and determined it was in need of new filters. Willy, our host at YWAM Creel, offered to drive me to town to find the necessary replacements.
However, being in the remote mountains of northern Mexico as we were, this was no small undertaking. Quite unlike a trip to the local auto-parts store in America, this was going to be a full day's outing! To reach town we had to carefully navigate along a steep dirt road, made all the more treacherous by recent rainfall. We also had to pass through a checkpoint manned by military commandos, which Willy thankfully negotiated with skill in his fluent Spanish.
Commandos behind us, we continued our slip-sliding journey until, a little further down the road, we encountered a local man unsuccessfully attempting to coax a tipper-truck up the mountain. His vehicle was struggling to get any traction on the slippery road surface, causing him to lose more ground than he was gaining. Willy and I immediately pulled over and offered to help the guy. From the back of his Chevy truck, Willy produced a length of strong rope which we attached to the tipper-truck, securing it tightly to the Chevy's rear bumper. My job was to jump up and down repeatedly on the truck bed to enable our tires to gain traction on the slippery road. Meanwhile, Willy revved the engine to full power, straining the rope close to breaking point as we inched forward. Progress was slow, as we negotiated the many twists and turns and gradually gained ground up the mountain. I was sweating profusely with the exertion of repeated bouncing while working to maintain my balance on this hazardous journey. With each bounce, I strained to glimpse the muddy road ahead of us, willing our convoy onwards and upwards
Finally, I noticed with relief that we were approaching an area where the tipper-truck driver would be able to carry on independently. I willed my weary body to keep jumping, directing all my strength into each bounce with increasing determination.
And then, suddenly, I experienced a moment that changed everything...
I felt my feet push off the metal truck bed, as they had so many times already. But this time as I strained my eyes to see the road ahead of us, I was greeted only by a vision of clear blue sky. The familiar road had completely disappeared. In that awful instant I realized the Chevy had slid off the road and was now airborne - tumbling helplessly over the steep mountainside with tipper-truck in tow. My legs vibrated with an unnatural hollow sound as I landed on a truck bed no longer in contact with the earth. In spite of myself, my eyes squeezed tight as I mentally prepared for the crash at the end of this ride which I believed would propel me straight into heaven. I held my breath. And waited.... waited... NOTHING. Curiosity overcame fear as my eyes snapped open once again. To my utter astonishment, we were back on the road. The sensation of weightlessness evaporated and our convoy resumed our winding ascent of the mountain road. IT HAD ALL HAPPENED IN AN INSTANT.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Encounter God Miracle God's Presence
4 min read
If It Wasn't an Angel, It Was a Miracle!
By Tyler Tom on 20 Apr 2018
YWAM Tyler has a rich history that started in New Jersey then led to California and finally ended up here in East Texas. God has shown up in many miraculous ways to guide, provide, and protect throughout the journey. Herb and Sue Haines share their stories of God's faithfulness showing up in surprising ways.
Topics: YWAM Tyler Missionary Life YWAM Miracle
3 min read
Promoting Peace Through Intentional Love
By Tyler Tom on 18 Apr 2018
Recently, I was able to participate with an organization called YWAM, which stands for Youth With a Mission. For the first three months during class time, I learned about the character of God and how to have a deeper relationship with Him. We were discipled, so we could go out and disciple others as well, applying all the things we learned to the cities that we were traveling to.
Topics: YWAM DTS Value Love Education Peace
2 min read
Courageous Women
Mar 8, 2024 by Tyler Tom
What does it take to become a courageous individual? William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, observed that...
3 min read
Building Foundations
Feb 22, 2024 by Tyler Tom
How do you increase your faith? Former student Sarah Horan shares her heart on how God revealed His truth to her during...
2 min read
Missions Changed Me
Feb 8, 2024 by Quinn Evans
From as far back as my junior high school, I remember struggling to find happiness. I felt like I didn’t fit in and...
2 min read
Unexpected Friendships
Jan 26, 2024 by Abby Bridgeman
2 min read
Miracles in the Classroom
Dec 8, 2023 by Tyler Tom
What does a young person chasing after God's heart look like? Christian Heritage School desires to fan the flame of the...
4 min read
Cross-Cultural Christmastime
Dec 7, 2023 by Tyler Tom
Have you ever wondered how Christmas is celebrated around the world? We asked four of our YWAM Tyler missionaries to...
3 min read
My Stepmom Thinks YWAM Rocks
Nov 21, 2023 by Tyler Tom
Have you ever been curious about going to a Discipleship Training School but don't know what to expect? In a recent...
2 min read
Marked by God
Nov 13, 2023 by Tyler Tom
Can you imagine God sending someone from another country to see you? While in Thailand, Jess Reminger encounters a man...
2 min read
The Day I Thanked God For Losing My Job
Nov 11, 2023 by Tyler Tom
One morning I sat in the classroom during my training school with YWAM, and I was crying, thanking God for the loss of...
2 min read
Sharing The Gospel Isn't Complicated
Nov 3, 2023 by Tyler Tom
God has been doing amazing things with our DTS team on outreach in Thailand. As the team has made themselves available,...
2 min read
How DTS Changed My Child
Oct 27, 2023 by Hope Bear
2 min read
Laying Down My Rights
Oct 19, 2023 by Tyler Tom
I was sitting in my DTS classroom, my head wrapped in thoughts of a family circumstance that was happening. We had...