Greetings friends and family!
I hope this letter finds you all doing well. Many of you may remember some news
letters I sent out in late 2012/early 2013 about my journey with the Christian
missionary organization Youth With A Mission (YWAM). I wanted to send you this
letter to summarize that experience and to let you know what’s going on in my
life right now.
In September 2012 – by an amazing set of circumstances – I went to YWAM Los Angeles for a six month Discipleship Training School (DTS), and my life was completely changed. Though I’ve been blessed with loving, Christian parents and I’ve known God since a young age, from 18 to 21 I walked away from Him, and gradually I became a shell of my true self. I was incredibly lost and my depression was becoming debilitating. I knew that I desperately needed God in my life, but I couldn’t reach Him, so He reached out and did the work for me. My soul was dramatically reawakened to God’s love and He was so clearly at work in my life. I showed up to YWAM Los Angeles on a whim, with no preparation and no expectations, but God miraculously provided all the money I needed for my tuition and outreach costs and I was able to serve in the Philippines and Thailand for three months.
I had an amazing time in the Philippines. My team worked in an orphanage and undertook a huge tree planting project so that the sales of the fruit could benefit local farmers and the aforementioned orphanage. I had never worked so closely with kids before, and it definitely touched my heart. Taking care of those kids gave me an insight into the fatherly love of God. Thank God, we are all His children, so none of us have to be without a father! Our time in Thailand was an absolute blast, as well.
We spent one month in Chiang Mai – Thailand’s second largest city – partnering with a local ministry that reaches out to workers in the red light district and helps pull them out of the sex trade. We spent the second month in Mae Sot, which borders Burma and is highly populated with Burmese refugees. We had the awesome opportunity to do street evangelism, teach English to young students, do construction work at a school, and pray for the sick at a Burmese refugee clinic. The highlight for me was witnessing a healing, first hand. A friend and I were praying for a man who was burning up with fever and as we were praying we could literally feel his temperature dropping. All we could do was laugh. God is awesome!
In September 2012 – by an amazing set of circumstances – I went to YWAM Los Angeles for a six month Discipleship Training School (DTS), and my life was completely changed. Though I’ve been blessed with loving, Christian parents and I’ve known God since a young age, from 18 to 21 I walked away from Him, and gradually I became a shell of my true self. I was incredibly lost and my depression was becoming debilitating. I knew that I desperately needed God in my life, but I couldn’t reach Him, so He reached out and did the work for me. My soul was dramatically reawakened to God’s love and He was so clearly at work in my life. I showed up to YWAM Los Angeles on a whim, with no preparation and no expectations, but God miraculously provided all the money I needed for my tuition and outreach costs and I was able to serve in the Philippines and Thailand for three months.
I had an amazing time in the Philippines. My team worked in an orphanage and undertook a huge tree planting project so that the sales of the fruit could benefit local farmers and the aforementioned orphanage. I had never worked so closely with kids before, and it definitely touched my heart. Taking care of those kids gave me an insight into the fatherly love of God. Thank God, we are all His children, so none of us have to be without a father! Our time in Thailand was an absolute blast, as well.
We spent one month in Chiang Mai – Thailand’s second largest city – partnering with a local ministry that reaches out to workers in the red light district and helps pull them out of the sex trade. We spent the second month in Mae Sot, which borders Burma and is highly populated with Burmese refugees. We had the awesome opportunity to do street evangelism, teach English to young students, do construction work at a school, and pray for the sick at a Burmese refugee clinic. The highlight for me was witnessing a healing, first hand. A friend and I were praying for a man who was burning up with fever and as we were praying we could literally feel his temperature dropping. All we could do was laugh. God is awesome!
The entire experience was amazing. It was not by my wisdom,
strength, or carefully laid plans, and it was not by my provision. It was God.
God was calling me back to where I belong and calling me to new heights. And He
continues to call me forward. Since before my DTS was even over, I knew that I wanted to
return to YWAM and continue to be a part of this amazing culture. I’d love to
be a leader for a Discipleship
Training School so that I
could support students in the same way that I was supported.
A couple of weeks ago
I heard of an opportunity to attend a six week leadership school (Spiritual Leadership
and Ministry Development, or SLAM) in Kona,
Hawaii which is where the main
hub school for YWAM is located. The school begins on July 4th.Obviously I wanted to attend, but I was intimidated by how
quickly it was approaching and whether or not I could realistically go. Just a
few days ago – after some encouragement from a leader at YWAM Los Angeles – I
pulled the trigger and decided to go for it. I know this will be an amazing
school (the founder of YWAM is one of the teachers, for one thing) and an
amazing time to further develop in the Lord. Please pray for all the logistics to
come together within the coming weeks, for the students, and for the teachers. I
believe that God has awesome things in store for all of us.
I have a couple of weeks left that I can work, but because
this all came together so quickly I still need to raise about $1,000 on top of
what I’ll make. Financial need can be very stressful, but I know that if this
is where God is leading me, He will provide. He certainly has proved that to me
before!
If you’re interested in reading up on the school you can go
to
ywamla.org > programs > secondary schools > School of Ministry Development
ywamla.org > programs > secondary schools > School of Ministry Development
And if you would like to contribute towards this journey you
can donate at ywamla.org/donatepay and enter “SLAM” into the name of school
section.
Also, I know that many of you have been an unbelievable
support to me in the past - both in prayer and in finances - and for that I thank
you! Seriously, thank you so much! I hope that you share in all of the joy I
was able to experience during my DTS, because you were a part of making it
happen!
I hope that you and your loved ones are all truly blessed.
Take care!
- Trevor
“I will never be the same, Love has called my name”
