Sharing Jesus with the World

“We want to hear everything. Tell us how it went,” are phrases we ask a lot, but this time it had special meaning to us. Audrey had just returned from her SST (Season of Summer in Training) outreach to Houston, and we were excited to hear how it went.

Through many of the incredible experiences Audrey shared one story stood out to me. It was highlighted because I really felt Audrey’s compassion for someone come through. While on outreach, her team ministered to the homeless and marginalized of our society. One particular conversation gripped Audrey’s heart, and after praying over this man, she and her friend invited this man to attend Street Church, a ministry of YWAM Houston.

He promised he would be there and they could count on him showing up. With much anticipation, they waited and waited as the Wednesday evening service began with food distribution and worship. As the night drew near, he never showed up. Obviously, they were disappointed. The opportunity for him to hear about God’s love from their group was over.

I wish there was a different ending to this one story. However, no conversation is wasted. God can redeem anything. Perhaps, the words Audrey spoke over this man will continue to resonate, and the love of Jesus will one day be a light to his soul. Audrey’s two weeks away were rich. God moved in and through her in noticeable ways. We are so thankful she had this opportunity, and we look forward to her doing SST Phase 2 next summer.

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I spent last week in Mazatlan Mexico with 24 leaders from 16 YWAM campuses from around the world. I was torn over leaving because we had family visiting, and it didn’t help that our car broke down the night before I needed to be at the airport!

The forum was called Mobilize Your Mission, and the goal was to collaborate on how to effectively communicate the call to join a YWAM DTS (Discipleship Training School). It’s tricky to get our message heard with companies and organizations shouting for peoples attention. As we talked together and shared stories, one thing became very clear, our main goal is to tell the nations about Jesus.

As we ramp up our efforts at YWAM Tyler, would you pray for us to effectively get the message in front of whomever God wants to hear about this? Every student, no matter their age, is being trained to understand God’s purpose for their lives and are going on trips to make Jesus known to the world.

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Walking across our campus to the cafeteria and seeing Emily coming down from her classroom with her new friends, puts a smile on my face. She’s here and is in week 2 of her DTS training.

Funny story: As she was thinking of how to introduce herself, she thought she should forewarn people she’ll be doing a lot of crying while doing DTS. It’s true! The Lord is so kind and loving to share deep things with Emily, and we are so excited to see her grow in the Lord. This is just the beginning.

Would you prayerfully consider helping her financially with her outreach? We’re so thankful for the funds that’s already been given to help with the expenses to attend the school, but she still needs about $2,500. Her school leaders are preparing the outreach plans and destinations for this DTS group. Soon she’ll be able to share all the details of where they are going and how they will share Jesus with the world. If you have questions on how to give to Emily, feel free to email us.

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The Summer Family DTS is in full swing. Amy has been sharing every morning this week in Family Sync (a session designed for kids of parents in DTS) on the subject of quiet time. Teaching is a part of who we are, and this subject matter, as many of you know is close to Amy’s heart.

Carving out space and time in our lives to read God’s word and talk to Him is crucial to our discipleship. As Amy shares, I can’t help but think the impact of this teaching on the lives of these future missionaries.

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Last night at 11:30pm we picked up Grace from the airport. She’s back with us for another year of school with Audrey at CHS (Christian Heritage School). But before school kicks off, she will also attend an SST! We are grateful to have the opportunity to invest God’s love into this young woman. She and Audrey have a special friendship we hope continues to grow. Having Grace in our home is just one more experience we have of sharing Jesus with the world.

Please continue to pray for us as we follow Jesus. There is so much we are leaning on Him for support. As most of you know, our current home we’re in has been a real blessing over the last two years, but the city is widening a road, which means our home will be bought out. Recently we attended a meeting and learned more about the process of acquisitions, which will begin later this fall. We aren’t sure what that means for us in terms of where God has us living next and how we are actually going to be able to take this step. We’ve had our eye on the market, but as of now we can’t really do anything until God makes a way.  We do trust Him though and have peace that He’s got this!

We had hoped to head east in August to reconnect with our dear friends and family, but our car has been breaking down a lot in the last few months, which makes traveling questionable. We don’t have a peace presently to plan a trip, so we continue to pray for God to show us His timing, as well as provision for a new vehicle.

Please be praying for us on July 24th at 8:30am when we have Audrey’s immigration appointment in Dallas. Audrey will also be attending a large youth conference in Dallas on July 18-20 with her church youth group. Keep her in your prayers.

We cherish every relationship God brings into our lives. If your reading this and want to partner with us in prayer or support to share Jesus with the world, drop us a message here on our blog or get more information on our partnering page.

Richard