Category Archives: News

YWAM News Podcast Launched

As a partner to this web site about news in YWAM I have now launched a new YWAM News Podcast that you can find at ywampodcast.com.

The podcast will include some of the news that you read here on my YWAM News site, plus some extras. I asked late last year what you, my readers, wanted out of a YWAM News podcast, and the top request was for Outreach Stories, which I’ve focussed on for the first two episodes. In the latest episode I included an interview with Russell Sanche about the YWAM Vancouver Olympic Outreach event.

Unfortunately the recording for the interview did not go as planned and I had to get Russell to record his side of the conversation while I recorded my side of the conversation. I then had to mix it all together after, which will not work in most circumstances.

To conduct future interviews for the podcast I am going to need to purchase a new laptop. The one that I am currently using is 4.5 years old and as well as being slow, the hardware in the computer is starting to fail. The computer shuts off randomly on me a few times a day and it sometimes takes hours to start up.

If you want to donate to help me purchase a new computer to help in my ministry with Youth With A Mission please do so here.

Hoop Homes Are Arriving and Going Up in Haiti

The hoop homes that are being donated by Esbenshade’s Garden Centre are starting to arrive in Haiti and are already being put together at the YWAM clinic at St. Marcs. There were 200 hoop homes sent to the YWAM centre to help provide some temporary accommodation for the thousands of people who are now homeless in Haiti.

Along with the huts there is also a team of construction volunteers on the ground in Haiti to get the assembly of these houses started. The 200 shelters should be able to provide housing for about 1000 of the homeless. There are plans for more houses to be sent, but there need to be more donations and volunteers for that to happen.

YWAM Haiti is in the planning stages for putting together a temporary tent city to house the many homeless that they are registering in St. Marcs. Most of these people are refugees from Port Au Prince who have moved to St. Marcs after loosing everything in the earthquake. The plan for the tent city is to not only provide food and shelter, but also to provide education and training for the people there to help in the rebuilding of the nation of Haiti.

Here is a short video of what they are hoping to achieve with the hoop homes, including future uses for the shelters once more permanent accommodation is found for the thousands of homeless in Haiti.

You can read a report from the construction crew that just arrive in Haiti here, and find out how to volunteer and donate to the project here.

30 Kit Homes Shipped to YWAM for use in Haiti

Gulf Coast Supply and Manufacturing has recently shipped 30 International Relief Homes to Youth With A Mission in Haiti. The homes can be assembled in less than a day by an experienced crew once the foundations have been poured. The home can be assemble on packed dirt, pavers or a concrete pad. In Haiti, where they are prone to hurricanes, they should hopefully use a poured concrete foundation, with the anchor system set-up to withstand hurricane force winds.

The homes are 15 x 18 feet, with two rooms, one door, two windows, two skylights and a guttering system to collect rain water. The homes only cost about $2000 USD each and Gulf Coast is gearing up to produce more of the homes to meet the current need in Haiti for housing.

If you check out the YWAM Haiti website (www.ywamhaiti.org) the video describes how YWAM is in the process of planning and building tent cities to accommodate the refugees who no longer have homes. It’ll be interesting to see how they fit these new kit homes into the plan.

The best way I have to describe the home is akin to an oversized backyard metal shed. I’ve seen many sheds in Australia converted to offices, retreats and bed-rooms, so it looks to me like a similar conversion. I know that the sheds in Australia can be built to withstand cyclone force winds, so I reckon they have done the same thing with these relief homes.

You can read more about the Gulfcoast Relief Homes here.

Chile Earthquake and YWAM Bases in Chile

A 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit central Chile on February 27th causing major damage and deaths throughout the nation.

So far reports from Youth With A Mission centres throughout Chile have been positive. The Santiago, Pichilemu and Castro locations are all okay, but without power. The Santiago base is also without water at the moment as they rely on a pump for water.

Twitter is reporting (that always sounds funny to me) that Pichilemu Chile experienced 17.5 foot waves after the earthquake. The water washed all the way into the centre of town. Quite a few people from the community are currently taking shelter at the YWAM base as it’s located higher than other parts of the city.

The Santiago YWAM base was having their DTS graduation on the day of the earthquake, so quite a few families that lived in the city were at the YWAM location and so they reportedly escaped the damage that happened in the main part of Santiago.

YWAM Ship Pacific Link in Sydney, Australia

The YWAM Ship MV Pacific Link is now in Sydney at Cockle Bay, Darling Harbour. The ship will be staying there from March 2 – March 9 before heading down to Ulladulla where it will be berthed at the Harbour.

The ship spent a very successful week in Newcastle where it was open for tours of the ship, and opportunities for people to meet the volunteer crew. YWAM was donated supplies to take on to Papua New Guinea and is still collecting glasses to donate to PNG where over half a million people could have their sight restored simply by being provided with corrective spectacles.

On the trip from Newcastle to Sydney the ship hit some pretty rough seas. The rough seas were caused by the tsunami that occurred because of the earth quake in Chile and tested the sea legs of everyone on the ship, some of whom are still pretty new. Here is a photo of the ship hitting some pretty decent sized waves: