Since the team have been in Zambia they have:

• Machetti`ed the clearing for the medical clinic. It was hard work clearing the land but very satisfying.
• Been busy helping Vinjelu and Kathryn finish building their home.
• Visited a the rural village to pray for the people and learn about Zambian culture.
• Hosted two afternoons of the Cherish girls program where girls come for an afternoon of love, encouragement and fun times.
• Visited a Vineyard house church with the vision to minister to community in creative ways and bringing the kingdom to West Lusaka.

The YWAM community the Calgary team is staying with has 25 people, which includes the staff and students. It’s been a wonderful cultural exchange and sharing of work duties, food and laughter. They are enjoying n^shima, which is like corn based thick potatoes which is eaten with their fingers.

The YWAM centre is a very entrepreneurial centre… there are the ladies who are being taught to sew, a fellow making jewellery and hiring people to build, teaching a few trades along the way… as Vinjelu explained, “Zambians are creative and make what they need as best they can, with the supplies that are here.’”.

There have been many God encounters as they have shared lives with the people there, and everyone is very excited to see what is next. The team has been struck by the perseverance and joy of the people. Life is simple, yet full, and the team is realising the “necessities” of life like internet, phones, and television really aren’t as important as they thought.

The medical clinic that the team is clearing land for is to serve a community in desperate need for additional help with HIV treatment, ante-natal care and nutrition. There are funds and people to continue the work, and there will always be need to keep it going.

There are many stories of how kids cannot go to school and how food is not available as there is no money. The team is working to find a way they can continue to support the vision of this centre to care for those in need and to bring the love of God people.

The team is asking for continued prayer.

• For good health, safety, following God`s will in the many areas they can serve
• That Vinj and Kathryn could move into their home soon
• Health for Vinj and Kathryn’s family
• Continued good connections with the YWAM staff and students

Next week will be spent clearing more of the land for the medical clinic and finishing the house. They will also be connecting in the village and experiencing Zambian dancing in the community church times.

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The Festival of Live was put on by the Lebanon Pastors Prayer Network. Between 75,000 and 100,000 pounds of free groceries and health-care products are estimated to have been distributed at the event.

YWAM was one of many organisations to participate in the festival. Some of the other organisations included Youth for Christ, Teen Challenge, Career Link, YMCA, and many more.

The goal of the event was to minister to the “Whole Person” and to show the people Jesus and help with other areas of need.

You can read more about the festival and the YWAM Outreach here, and you can find out more about YWAM Lebanon here.

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During the refit the ship was placed in dry dock to enable the cleaning and repainting the hull, anchor and chains. They also did major work on the engine room, inspections on the generators, recertification of all safety devices and some very heavy duty cleaning jobs.

Not everything was completed and they are having to plan for a further more extensive refit period in the next year to finish items that were postponed and upgrades that had to be cancelled during this last refit.

Now that the refit of the vessel is complete the Marine Reach team has started on their evangelism tour of Sicily, Italy. They are currently hosting two DTS teams, one from Kings Lodge in the UK and the other from Quebec in Canada.

You can find out more about Marine Reach and their ministry on their web-site, www.marinereachministries.com.

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Football (soccer) has already been declared the official sport of YWAM, so there is much anticipation for the world cup. It’s estimated that about 350,000 soccer fans will be visiting South Africa during the world cup, with literally billions of people expected to tune in to watch it on television.

YWAM still has room for volunteers in the areas of fundraising, publicity, web-design, administration, hospitality and outreach / evangelism teams.  The plan is to have YWAM teams in each of the host cities for the world cup, with a focus on outreaching to the visitors and locals during the world cup.

If you aren’t excited about it yet, then check out this video:

Unfortunately my mother country of Canada did not make the World Cup (no real surprise), but my adopted country of Australia did make it. So our family will no doubt be following the Socceroos during the tournament. It’s almost enough to make me want to get cable …

You can find out how to get involved in the YWAM World Cup Outreach here.

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Many churches and organizations in Australia get together during this time to try to make schoolies week a better time for the kids attending. YWAM regularly participates in schoolies week to help try to make a difference in these kid’s lives. Where I used to work at Reef to Outback the Discipleship Training School would run outreaches to Magnetic Island (off the coast of Townsville), quite often partnering with other church ministries and community organisations.

There are plenty of opportunities for people to participate on outreach during schoolies week. One of the busiest places in Australia for Schoolies week is the Gold Coast, in South East Queensland. About 60,000 17 and 18 year olds pack the area during this time.

You can find out more about the YWAM outreach to schoolies on the Gold Coast, and how you, your YWAM centre or church can participate, on their web-site here.

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There was a fantastic letter sent out to Christians from ministry, business and other workplaces to participate in the conference. The Call2All movement wants to see every follower of Christ engaged in reaching the lost. The letter was interesting in how it tackled “traditional methods” of evangelism, and how there is the call for new methods to be developed using what God has already blessed us all with.

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is one of many Christian organisations that are a part of the Call2All. You can read more about the meetings in Hong Kong, and the letter that was sent out, here.

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Chad was there as part of a YWAM mobile evangelism team over the Easter weekend when he witnessed people whipping themselves, getting beaten with clubs and even being crucified on a cross (not to death mind you, but literally nailed to a cross for ten-minutes.). The people did it to get God’s attention and to “atone for their sins”.

You can read more about Chad’s crazy experience here.

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