Hello Everyone welcome to our last blog update regarding outreach. We are so glad you are here! We have decided to do two outreach teams one in Malawi and the other in a rural part of Costa Week. Weekly updates regarding both teams will be shared here. With our many different backgrounds, culture and spiritual gifting we have come together in this season to serve one Lord. Keep reading to hear what the Lord is doing through us!

*See graduation pics below

Costa Rica Update

Week 6

A big part of our time on base during week #6 was various base projects. Specifically, rebuilding the front entrance fence of the base so the updated YWAM Heredia sign could go up. Repairing and reconstructing pipe lines, cleaning dust off finished wood and placing saw dust into bags for chicken coup, and various other projects. Javon and Ange back home to the US, and Luciano and Regina who were already staff on base will go back to being staff. After debriefing as staff and students we are all grateful for all the ways God helped us grow personally and look forward to His next step of guidance for all of us.

Malawi Update

Week 6

We started off the week by moving to partner with Cleber and YWAM Two Seeds. Once we arrived we unpacked and prepared ourselves for the work and ministry we were about to perform. Jackson did some kids ministry by the front of the house, then the team went to help sort out food and supplies that went out to 34 elderly, the YWAM base is providing monthly food packages for. We formed a fire brigade to move supplies outside where we sorted it into sacs. After finishing we returned home with an envoy of kids that we played with. The following morning we went to the community center for worship and intercession with the local  YWAM leaders. Benji led worship along with Pastor Luis, Jackson gave a devotional about following the truth that is Jesus before Alison taught on the eighth value of YWAM which is „Being interdenominational and international.“ After Alison finished we prayed for the community, the leaders, and other various topics. It was a beautiful experience of people from different nations, interceding together for one kingdom and learning from one another! Later that day we got to learn how to make a pole out of PVC and concrete to be able to grow dragon fruit – a community development project of YWAM Two Seeds. In the afternoon the team went on a trip to a dam with a group of pre-teenagers and leaders, where Jackson got baptized by Cleber and Heidi. A great celebration! On the morning of day 3 Jackson, Alison, Benji, and Cleber all climbed a mountain to prepare for the day, the team then went and taught at a school to 120 children. After teaching them English, music, and giving them some encouraging words we went outside and exercised, danced and sang with them. In the afternoon Benji and Jackson went to play in a soccer match in the village, while Alison, Jill and Heidi went to minister to a group of teenage girls and young women encouraging them to trust the Lord with their dreams and to use time preparing for their dreams to come true. We were also blessed to serve an elderly women and her family by making 500 bricks in the morning, and praying for her daughter who has leprosy. We also prepared to make a fire swatter, which is an appropriate technology and comprised of a wooden pole, rubber from old tire, and screws. While the broom was being made, Alison and Benji prepared some rabbit and vegetables for dinner. Friday morning we left the village and got our car back from Debbie and Cleber’s house. After saying our goodbyes, we made our way to a game reserve for some much enjoyed resting time. Reflecting on this week the team wonders what God is stirring in all of our hearts for the ending of our season in Malawi and the ones ahead.

Graduation!

As both teams have completed graduation and are back home with families we want to say a huge thank you to everyone that has read these updates and have supported us financially. The ministry that we were able to do was possible due to your obedience to the Lord to faithfully give. Especially thank you for your prayers!

Hello Everyone welcome to another blog update regarding outreach. We are so glad you are here! We have decided to do two outreach teams one in Malawi and the other in a rural part of Costa Week. Weekly updates regarding both teams will be shared here. With our many different backgrounds, culture and spiritual gifting we have come together in this season to serve one Lord. Keep reading to hear what the Lord is doing through us!

Costa Rica Update

Week 4 Report

This week was bittersweet as we entered the last week of outreach in this beautiful part of Costa Rica. After getting our car setbacks fixed we were ready to go starting the week attending at a children’s program sharing the gospel through the wordless book, puppet show, skit, songs and games. At the schools we continued the bullying and self-image talks and the kids were attentive and respectful enjoying the activities such as songs, videos and testimonies shared. The church from last week where we included a puppet skit within the children’s program wanted us to come back and teach them how to make puppets because the children enjoyed it so much. After they kindly served us lunch, we brought supplies and had them make and keep their own puppets to use. At a High School we’ve gone to before we got invited back to teach about the power of words, so we got to share testimonies and connect with the teenagers once more. Again construction was a huge part of this week as we get closer to finishing projects. Getting to help add two bedrooms and a bathroom to a house for a family was a huge project this week. It was so encouraging to have some men in community come along side and help support the family. A little girl that will be living in the house was so sweet helping while she was not in school. We ended our time here getting to meet and connect with our neighbors down the road. We are thankful for the wife of one of the DTS students who has been organizing the ministry opportunities here. As this family leaves to go back home, we will miss them. Our team is feeling thankful for the beautiful community we got to serve and be a part of.

Malawi Update

Week 4 Report

This week started with some birthday preparations for missionaries Whitney and Kossi’s children. Cakes baked, celebratory outfits on, and a monumentally, stunningly gorgeous balloon arch constructed. This balloon arch not only shimmered in splendor but caused every party attendee to rethink their measure of innate beauty. An impromptu viewing of the coronation was followed by a visit to the monthly farmer’s market for some famous dumplings which ended a lovely sabbath day of rest. Refreshed and ready to attack the week, we set out to build a new chicken coup in Whitney and Kossi’s garden, some long-term missionaries that we are staying with. Other jobs such as renovating their compost facility and pruning their garden were tackled throughout the week. This Sunday, Jackson and Benji were involved with the kids church which even ended with Benji teaching some more songs much to the anguish of the parents with the children skipping out of the door singing the same 4 phrases again and again and again. Thankfully, Benji made sure the earworms weren’t isolated to the children’s homes by ensuring he sang the same tune for the rest of the day. This week included a sack garden workshop that we taught at an organization called Brothers-in-Arms which brings boys off the streets and into quality education involving Sciences, English, Chichewa history, and Music lessons alongside different clubs that include agriculture and sewing. An organization that we have loved working alongside the last couple weeks and one that will be in our prayers. On Tuesday, we went to Phalombe on a surveillance run. We were showed around 2 villages in particular which had not received aid from any particular NGO’s or even the government. The team was met by absolute poverty with entire walls completely gone, poor/non-existent harvests, yet smiling faces. We met the next morning to discuss our observations, our analysis, and our thoughts on how to proceed and what advice to give to Flood Church who will be carrying out a Relief distribution run later on this week. We also had our ideas for potential community development that could be done in the area. Despite the travesty that the team saw, we were all amazed by the sheer joy that the children had in particular as they followed us around with glee. The excitement upon having a photo taken and seeing what they looked like was something that we will all treasure when we eventually leave this beautiful country. We have experienced many of the effects of the recent cyclone that have broken our hearts but these haven’t been without the evidence of hope and community that makes this place what it is. A country full of hope, a country full of praise for their Father, and a country fueled by their savior, Jesus Christ.

Hello Everyone welcome to another blog update regarding outreach. We are so glad you are here! We have decided to do two outreach teams one in Malawi and the other in a rural part of Costa Week. Weekly updates regarding both teams will be shared here. With our many different backgrounds, culture and spiritual gifting we have come together in this season to serve one Lord. Keep reading to hear what the Lord is doing through us!

Costa Rica Update

Week 3 Report

This week was a bit slower having to cancel events due to mechanical problems with our main mode of transport the base van and as well as the vehicle of one of our local team members car getting backed into and needing repairs. Despite that we were still able to help lead a children’s program and sharing about how our bodies are our temple and that the Holy Spirit can live in them. The children soaked in all the activities and we had fun getting to interact with them. We’ve also gotten the opportunity to help with various construction projects. The first helping mix and pour a concrete floor for a single mom with a young man with a disability and poured another concrete kitchen floor for a family. Helping replace a tin roof for another family is the current project. We had the opportunity to lead a gifts of the Holy Spirit test at a ladies event. This resonated with the ladies helping them be more aware of their gifts and different ways to express them. At the mens rehab this week we shared about the belief tree and the men went through their own examples going through different beliefs and what kind of actions occur due to specific beliefs. In the schools this week we discussed self-esteem and bullying, shared testimonies, and did different activities with the children. We got to visit again with the locals about diabetes and healthy eating habits they can create. At a youth group we lead another spiritual gifts test and it was encouraging to see the youth seeking to use their gifts to glorify God.

Malawi Update

Week 3 Report

This week has been eventful, as we have moved from our previous accommodation  to our new home for the next few weeks. One of the many highlights this week was the kids ministry which involved playing football in the streets, being taught Chichewa, and generally having a jolly time. Since we have arrived at Whitney and Kossi’s house, long-term missionaries based here in Blantyre, they have been nothing short of kind, joyful, and hospitable. They have 3 wonderful kids that are full of life and energy, very curious and a delight to be around. One morning we went to a river cleanup, and in just the couples hours we worked we made a visible difference in the area.  The banks of the rivers are covered in trash accentuated by the recent cyclones, leading to trash that was above our very heads! At one point Alison climbed up a tree that was up on a 10ft pillar of trash and dirt. We started to tear the trash off, and by the time we finished most all the trash was off the tree and column. This tree was a beautiful and hopeful sight representing the work we did that morning showing that in just a few hours a difference can be made. We then visited Brothers-in-Arms, an organization in which the goal is to take in street kids and provide them with a strong biblical education so that they may be able to serve themselves, their families, and their communities. While we were there we were given a tour of their classrooms, animals, farming, and housing. At one point we joined the students for their music session, at which point Benji was asked if he could teach them a song. What followed was a raucous session of loud, passionate singing of the absolute classic, “I like the Flowers”. It was amazing to see how the boys fully threw themselves into the music and were clearly loving the whimsical music making. What we saw in these boys was hope for the future in their eyes and there are many words that describe the feeling we got when they all started talking about their different aspirations and hopes which they beautifully labeled as their “purposes”. Afterward we ate lunch and made our way home. However there is currently a fuel crisis in Malawi and we only had a 1/8th of a tank left, and the return home we noticed a tanker depositing fuel at a station. So we rushed home as quickly as we could and hopped in our car and booked it to the gas station, we then preceded to wait 4 hours for gas and once we reached the pump and filled up the tank we all felt victorious. We have spent the last couple of days renovating Whitney and Kossi’s garden by planting some new plants and flowers, organizing and planning a new compost system, and building a fire pit alongside collecting firewood which was used later that evening for a young adults worship night that Whitney and Kossi’s hold weekly. It was a cosy evening where we joined a large group of young adults  while sat around a fire, sang worship, chatted, and prayed for one another. All of this was led by Whitney who shared a word of encouragement. Her and Kossi opening up their home to us and these young adults has evidentially been such a blessing. In just the few days we have spent here we have all felt incredibly welcomed to our new home, and have also seen how much of a blessing just one Christian family can be to their community. Finally on Friday, we finished what we think will be our last workshop with extending hope, we taught them seed starting and we finished planting in the zai holes. It has been wonderful being able to teach about agriculture and spreading the word and teachings of God.

Hello Everyone welcome to our first blog update regarding outreach. We are so glad you are here! We have decided to do two outreach teams one in Malawi and the other in a rural part of Costa Week. Weekly updates regarding both teams will be shared here. With our many different backgrounds, culture and spiritual gifting we have come together in this season to serve the Lord. Keep reading to hear what the Lord is doing through us!

Costa Rica Update

Week 1 Report

The first group of the Costa Rica team consisted of Ariana, Brian and Stephanie and their daughter Katie. (pictured on the left). They traveled before paving the way for the rest of the team consisting of Javon, Ange, Trish her son Aziki, Luciano and Regina and their daughter Elena. After driving about three hours and taking an hour ferry ride we settled in our final destination which is the Nicoya peninsula of Costa Rica. The first group specifically staying in Tambor, Costa Rica and the second group Tango Mar area. Our team has gotten to work with a number of schools in this area of a broad age range teaching them practical principles while applying biblical concepts and including activities and songs. We gotten to share about respecting parents, dental and hand washing hygiene, bullying and self-esteem and our personal stories. At a town where drugs is a huge struggle and kids are being offered dangerous drugs, we shared at a high school the impact of drugs and how to say no. We’ve all enjoyed getting the know the children/teens and are amazed at their interaction and participation in all of the schools. When we are not teaching in the schools a few members of our group is teaching and getting to know a group of men at drug rehab, we’ve been invited to lunch from pastors to connect and we are meeting together as a team to fellowship and praise God for all that he is doing!

Malawi Update

Week 1 Report 

The Malawi team consist of Jill, Heidi, Jackson, Benji and Allison and we have been very busy since they got there. Having arrived in Blantyre after many monstrous journeys from the team, we slept long and well, ready for the opportunities that this outreach will hold for the next 7 exciting weeks. We started off babysitting for Whitney and Kossi, enabling them to hold a meeting with some other long-term missionaries here in Blantyre to discuss how best to tackle the relief after Cyclone Freddy. After a much-needed Sabbath, we made our way to Agabu, a village north of Blantyre. Some ‘interesting’ roads led us to the beautiful village landscape with stunning views of the surrounding mountains. We helped Michelle and Timón put the finishing touches on their guesthouse with some mosquito nets, shower curtain poles made from bamboo, and the outside oven roof. After a gorgeous sunset, and sunrise the following morning, we set out to fix the rain capture system for their chicken coups to allow an increased water storage to use in the dry season. We hope to finish this when we return with the final components of the water storage tank later on this month. A local football tournament was held in the village, organized by Extending Hope, which was attended by roughly 1000 people from all around. The music truck with a full band blaring worship music from the 90s and the full crowd set the perfect stage for one of our team members to very nearly win a football match on Malawian soil. However, a 5-0 loss prevented such occasion. Despite this disappointing result, we left the village with heads held high, finishing with a dedication of the newly finished guesthouse to God’s wisdom and protection. A packed first week with new sights, new experiences, sickness, but altogether a satisfaction at being in such a beautiful country at a time in which help is needed most.