One morning I sat in the classroom during my training school with YWAM, and I was crying, thanking God for the loss of my job.

As I awoke again to the sound of the sea surging on the rocks, the scream of the gulls, and the beautiful vista fanning out before me, I was struck with the thought, “However did I end up in Newfoundland?” Me, whose life was going to be happily-ever- after in the nirvana of Beautiful B.C. The chain of events was unexpected, un-sought, and wandering, yet God brought me to my heart’s home in this extraordinary province.

“It was hot. It was dirty and humid. We had to squat to use the makeshift bathrooms in the bush camp. And it was one of the best weeks of my life." Ben, DTS Graduate.

The ground rocked underneath the feet of millions of people in Syria and Turkey on the fateful day of February 6th. Within minutes rubble from entire blocks of apartment buildings became tombs for families and entire communities. As rescue workers continue to hear voices crying from beneath the debris, our Christian friends and workers are engaged to bring hope in a disparaging time.

My phone buzzed on silent mode in my pocket while I was busy just doing normal old stuff. But that vibrating buzz alarms me everytime. Glancing at the shortened notification on my homescreen I saw the first line, "… I heard the Gospel for the first time." It was from Glenn. Glenn reminds me of speaker Bob Goff, the writer of Love Does, because he lights up the room wherever he's at and makes you feel like you're the boss. I was honored to be on the list of umptine friends in his contacts⏤my name and number got the text. 

Fundraising is a huge part of missions. Whether you are raising money for yourself to be supported as a missionary, or for a project to help others, it takes funding to accomplish our God given goals. Although it can be overwhelming, it doesn't have to suck. 

This is me with one of only 800 copies of the Bible in the Sakari language. Honestly, it was a holy movement grasping this book. Even my co-workers were drooling over it. It’s not fancy. No gold leaf.

But it’s special.

No one says it quite like Darlene Cunningham, co-founder of the largest mission organization on the planet — Youth With A Mission. In her book, Values Matter, the following excerpt makes us as "ywamers," laugh, ponder, and even cry. We think you'll get a kick out this too and perhaps hear God calling you to step out in faith to follow Him to ends of the earth.

_____

Recently, I was pondering some of the unique ways God has equipped YWAM to be a visionary pioneer movement. He has called us to continually be receiving, nurturing and releasing fresh vision from God. Thoughts began to cascade from my mind faster than I could write them down:

I believe in heroes, and I have had many in my lifetime. Brother Andrew, known as God's Smuggler, is undoubtedly one of those. He has impacted my life very much.

I know a lot of people who no longer watch the news. Not just because they are overwhelmed, but they question the sources.  44% of the worldwide news is reportedly inaccurate. The other 56% leaves enough to cause a lot of concern. 

In an upcoming social media post that you'll see in the coming days, we are posting the caption: "The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions. The nearer we get to Him, the more intense of a missionary we become." As part of the editing team I wasn't 100% convinced of this statement. 

So, I decided to reach out to some long-term, incredibly thoughtful missionaries at our campus to ask them their opinion. What I got as a response was quite incredible.

I was born in 2003, and I am proud to be a part of Gen Z.

I believe Gen Z holds the potential to release a catalytic revival within the body of Christ.

One thing some people like to associate with my generation is that we do nothing but put tide pods in our mouths, and that we are scared of face to face interaction because we are consumed with technology.

Our modern day media tries to sell us a tainted message⏤Just do you, focus on yourself, and do what makes you happy, and now we have a major problem...