Righteousness, Salvation & the Laughing Father

[Just some journal thoughts from today]

Wow. It's a brand new day and I get to put on the righteousness of Christ! The gift of salvation is so incredibly relevant, every single day.

Forgiveness of all my sin and imperfection.
New life.
Purity in the eyes of my Heavenly Father.

Who needs that?...Me!
Who wants that?...Me!

I am so loved, always and forever. It just takes a little daily meditation on that truth for me to walk in that love. Victory over the power of sin and death belongs to Jesus, and freedom belongs to me! Because of His victory!

All that I am, I am in Christ.

To have free and uninhibited access to my Heavenly Father....what a thought. What a reality!
Can I fathom His holiness?
Can I fathom the the level of separation that sin brings between me and God?
Can I fathom the heart of the Father crying out for connection with His children?

He wants to restore the broken!
To lift up the destitute and the dishonored.
To give His children eternal life!
To make them come alive in His love.

But how does He look upon me and all of the redeemed?
He laughs and sings and shouts with joy and excitement, because there is nothing between us.
There is an open channel between heaven and my heart, because of Jesus.
And He has given me the Helper, the Holy Spirit living within me, leading me into all truth.

Does anything bring greater joy to the Father's heart than for His children to be able to fully receive His love and walk with Him here on earth?

How much joy do I bring to my Father?
What an incredible thing to belong to Him.


This is all your fault Jesus!
You get all the glory.

Vision, Communication & Mentorship: Keys for the Future

                                                                                                                                                  [Originally sent out on November 2nd. If you'd like to get on my email update list contact me at trevorywam@gmail.com]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Here's an update you on the work I've been doing recently and what God has been doing in me personally!

Communicating the Goodness of God
For the past couple months I've been working in the Communications Department at YWAM LA. My work is primarily focused on running our social media, so I produce material for Facebook and Instagram every day and work on blogs for the website. I was attracted to this job because I really enjoy writing and that is a large part of what this work entails. Working in Communications has given me the opportunity to better appreciate what God is doing in and through our community. My job is to let the world know what God is doing in the lives of our students and staff and how He is impacting the world through our lives and our work. It is a huge privilege to be able to tell these stories and I get so blessed in the process! Much of my job involves communicating vision for our future schools as well, and it has been a joy to partner with our school leaders and communicate the heart of what God is doing through our various programs. It's rewarding work because God is so good and His involvement in our lives is exciting!


Visions of the Future

Recently, I've been considering several different ministries I'd like to potentially get involved with next year. After two years, this is the first time that I haven't been serving in a school and directly involved in leadership/discipling students. God put it on my heart to take this season away from schools, largely so that I could spend more time with Him to refine my dreams and plans for the future. I am super blessed to have this time to focus more intently on the ways He wants to challenge me to grow in my walk with Him and to dream bigger for the future.

The Importance of Mentorship
I have felt challenged for quite some time that I needed to seek out more intentional relationship with elders who can mentor me in my walk with the Lord. I'm happy to say that I have recently connected with a couple of older and wiser guys in our community that have agreed to walk with me and mentor me. I'm excited because I know that vulnerability and forward focused community is a way God has designed us to thrive, and mentorship is a very necessary tool to push us to our fullest potential. I think God desires for us to be pouring into people who aren't as far along as us, to have a solid group of peers that we do life alongside of, and to have more mature people pouring into us.

Thank you so much for reading all of this! Your friendship and support means the world to me! I hope that by sharing my journey with you, you are continually encouraged by the incredible character and nature of God. Even amidst insurmountable grief and struggle, He is good, and He is with us. If there is ever any way I can serve you, support you or pray for you, please feel free to reach out. I mean that.

Kansas City, Government & Growing in Prayer

[Originally sent out on September 19th. If you'd like to get on my email update list you can contact me at trevorywa@gmail.com]

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of attending the YWAM Together conference in Kansas City! YWAM Together is a one week gathering of YWAM missionaries and friends from all across the globe. We heard a lot this week about the current big picture focuses of YWAM - making sure that every person on earth has access to a bible in their native language, and bringing a Godly influence to the seven spheres of society.


Influencing the Spheres of Society
In Jesus' last words on earth, the Great Commission, he told us to make disciples of all nations. In the 1970's, YWAM caught the vision that this entails much more than simply preaching the gospel and being a missionary in the traditional religious context. As Christians, we are called to bring excellence and Godly character into every area of society: Family, Economics, Government, Religion, Education, Communication/Media, and Celebration. A little more on that concept here
http://call2all.org/Groups/1000090335/call2all/About/Spheres/Spheres.aspx#.V99xxpMrJ60


Influencing Government
Throughout the week I participated in the group focused on government. 7 years ago, I felt God put a burden in my heart to see Him bring transformation in the United States and among government specifically. It was very inspiring to hear from people that God is using around the world to make an impact in government, whether it be through lobbying for action on social justice and economic development, working as a representative in parliament, or simply through having relationships with government officials that provide counsel and wisdom. Our group is remaining connected online and I'm excited to continue learning in this area and see where God might eventually lead me.

[Friends from the Spiritual Leadership And Ministry School in Kona, HI 2014!] 

Growing in Prayer
The most impactful speaker of the week to me was Mike Bickle, the founder of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. IHOP KC has been engaged in 24/7 worship and intercessory prayer since 1999. I was deeply impressed by the link between movements of prayer and of missions. If you look at every revival in history, it always starts out of a place of spiritual hunger and prayer. I feel inspired and challenged to grow in my own prayer life and relationship with God. Whether I remain in YWAM long term or not, I know that God has a mission for my life and I will not be able to accomplish it without a strong connection to Him in prayer.


I Want to Pray for YOU!
I was praying for some direction before I sent out this update and I felt God impress upon me to start a Prayer Team! This means two things. (1) If you'd like to be on my team I want to send you monthly emails with my own personal prayer requests. And (2) I want to pray for you! I would love to continually hear from you and be supporting you in prayer any way that I could. I am so thankful for all the love, support and prayer I've received over the years and I would love to give back and be there for you. Just let me know!

Truly Believing: I Am Not Alone

A few months ago I felt God probe my mind with a question: do I long for intimacy? Do I desire emotional and physical intimacy? To have a lover? The answer is yes. I think that would be the natural answer for most of us. Then the question turned in a different direction; Is Jesus the lover of my soul as much as He could be? I thought of past relationships and thoughts, feelings and characteristics from intimate relationship...

Wanting to hold someones hand when you walk around. Being proud to be seen with them. Going places together. Giving gifts. Wanting to make them happy.  Freely spending money on them. Loving to be held. Communicating. Not wanting to go a day without saying something to each other. Saying goodnight. Making plans to go on adventures together.  Asking questions and getting to know each other more deeply. Talking about the future...

I thought of a time in my life when I was particularly lost. I wrote a love song about a girl and I was sitting alone in my house singing. In that moment, my longing for intimacy and fulfillment was all directed onto someone else. I thought to myself, where was Jesus then? He responded, "I was sitting there washing your feet". But why? I couldn't even see Him there. I didn't acknowledge Him or cry out to Him. He replied..."this is my humblest form of love; to love you when your heart is far from me. To love you when it hurts. Still, I will love you. I can't stop loving you."

So why do I so often avoid God's love and His presence? Why do I avoid being alone and still, when that is the perfect place to have intimate time with Him? The answer came to me in the form of three words I had heard from God before...the orphan spirit [see previous post 'An Orphan, a Savior and a Violin']. He said to me, "you've spent so long feeling alone, it's still hard for you to believe that you're not. You run to distractions to make yourself feel okay...a form of control to make being alone seem okay.

Every morning, wake up and rebuke that orphan spirit. Speak these words of life over yourself - I Am Not Alone! And the truth will breed life. Step into each day declaring this truth and you will find it easier to walk closely with me. We will grow in our intimacy".

Jesus, You will be my lover.
You will have every part of my heart.

I am not alone!

Kiddos, Rakes and Bibles (San Jose, Costa Rica)

Holla from San Jose, Costa Rica!

We've been in Costa Rica almost three weeks now and I wanted to give y'all an update on what's been going on before we head out to our next city! Our first day of ministry we ventured out to a rural area of San Jose to do Bible Distribution. YWAM currently has a global initiative to put a Bible in every home and the bases in Costa Rica are very involved in that effort locally. We were partnering with a pastor in Jaris, San Jose who was just beginning a church in his home. We went out in teams and gifted about 80 Bibles to different families and homes in the community that day, but the most special part was our encounters and conversations with the people there. The culture is so hospitable and it's refreshing to be in a place where practically everyone believes in God, whether or not they necessarily have a personal relationship with Him. I think those factors really help this type of door to door ministry to be fruitful. And it certainly makes an impact when they see people who have come from all across the world just to bring them a gift and to share God's love with them.

                               {{ The Bible Distribution squad hits the road in Jaris, San Jose, Costa Rica }}

We had some great times of talking with people and getting to encourage them and pray for them. My group visited one house where we talked to the mother for quite a while. She was a believer and was very open with us about her relationship with God and her struggles. She seemed to have had some un-going struggles with a man who she described as a hindrance to her walk with God and a source of a lot of spiritual attack. We got to encourage her with Ephesians 6 (the Armor of God passage) as a way to help keep her protected in times of discouragement and attack. I really felt like I should ask her if she had been baptized. She said she had been as a baby in a Catholic ceremony. I felt like getting baptized again might be very significant for her and a step that could bring a lot of breakthrough in her life. I didn't get a chance to share all of that with her but I'm hoping that the Holy Spirit might bring it back up with her again in the future. Whatever the case, I know that God is walking with her in tireless love and dedication. It always amazes me when people open up and God gives me such a sense of love and empathy for them and sometimes even shares things with me to encourage and impact them. It's a reminder to me of the huge heart of our Father God. It confirms deeper in my heart that He is a God of love. How crazy big is that love, not just for me but for the whole world.

 

                                                                      {{ Making friends on the streets }}

                                       {{ Our dream team - praying for healing for strangers on the street }}

Another day we went out around the base in a more urban setting and a Christian family invited us in after we stopped at their house to give them a Bible. They made us fresh pineapple smoothies and some food (that crazy Tico hospitality!). We hung out and talked with them for about an hour and all of our students got words of encouragement and prophecy for them that they shared. They shared some prophecy over the young son that the mom and grandmother said really lined up with their family heritage and their prayers to dedicate the son to God. The grandma said that just that morning she had been praying and God told her that people were going to come along to encourage her and the family. How cool is that! God is so good and the students on this team are seriously awesome.

The other ministry that we've been predominately involved with in the past weeks is Metro Ministry (Kids Ministry). They go out about four times a week into different neighborhoods to be with the kids - doing games, crafts, skits, songs, and lessons on Biblical principles. The really cool thing about this ministry is that they return to the same handful of neighborhoods week after week so they're able to really develop relationships with the kids and families and to continually sow into them // make a lasting impact. Lots of energy. Lots of fun. We had a great time working with this ministry. 

                                                                        

 We also spent a lot of time serving on the base while we were here doing everything from moving furniture and setting up new offices, washing cars, kitchen cleanups and a whole lot of raking leaves. They throw all their leaves in the river but a pretty huge pile had accumulated on the river bed over the months, so the other day I selected the task of pushing that massive pile of leaves into the river. It would get clogged in a lot of spots so I would take my little rake and keep pushing it on-wards, and also occasionally move rocks to create better flow. It sounds silly but I had a lot of fun.

OKAY, ONE MORE REPORT! The other night we went to downtown San Jose with free hugs/free prayer signs, a guitar and a drum. It was so much fun! It was so cool to see the team spreading joy just by hugging random strangers and praying for people. And worshiping in such a busy, urban setting was pretty cool too. Bringing the Kingdom and God's love into any situation can be simple sometimes. Something I've been learning about myself the past year or so is that I love big cities and urban environments. It's so cool to feel God's heartbeat for humanity in the crowd. I find it challenges me to dream bigger dreams and to be more sold out and hungry to seek and serve Christ in all that I do, because we really need Him. We really do.

 

If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading! Thank you so much for your love, friendship, prayers and support! Here's a little video from our time downtown the other night. Look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks. Dios te bendiga! Pura Vida mae!

The International Jesus :: Famous In Our Hearts

Heelloo from Costa Rica!

My team and I have been here for a week now, and everything is going so well. I'm excited to report on everything that's been happening but there's something else I want to share tonight. Something special that Jesus showed me today...

This morning we went to a church in the local community around the YWAM San Jose base. No one really spoke English there and the service was all in Spanish, but it felt welcoming to me as we walked in. The music and worship began right away, and as soon as it did I felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I looked around at a room full of strangers who I could hardly even communicate with, but I felt such a connection with them. I saw them worship and I recognized a common thread that we all shared; the connection is Jesus,

And these thoughts entered my mind and spirit. How great it is to see that Jesus is so good and alive in every nation. That He is worshiped in every nation. In the sweetness of this congregations worship I had a fresh revelation of the beauty and goodness of Jesus Christ. Their worship was so sweet because it was in response to the touch of Jesus in their lives. His presence was apparent. How beautiful it was to see the glory and power of Jesus in wider perspective. To see the imprint of His goodness in the hearts and lives that now freely worship Him...

I can tend to see God through such a narrow perspective. Through my here and now and how I'm feeling. I forget the ways He has touched my own life. The ways He has pursued me, saved and delivered me, forgiven me, healed me, guided, provided for and loved me, I become numb to the awesomeness of Jesus written all up and down the pages of our life together. But He is gracious to remind me, and my tears confirm His goodness within my soul.

How sweet it is to be here in a foreign country and to worship with total strangers, and in that to have a greater revelation of how good Jesus is. Who is this guy who has the capacity to love all the nations of the earth while still loving every single person so passionately and personally? No one is overlooked in the eyes of Christ. He died for all and for each. His Gospel is for all and for each.

Who is Jesus? He is the Son of God, who reveals to us the heart of our Heavenly Father. All around the earth we worship Him, because He has touched our lives and we can never be the same.

Savior.
Lover.
Best Friend.

Jesus.

Return to Panama & Costa Rica!!

I am thrilled to announce that at the end of this month I'll be heading out to lead a three month missions trip to Costa Rica and Panama! This time last year I was just getting back from there and I am so excited to be returning! Our team consists of my co-leader Jane and three students from Wales, the Netherlands and the U.S. As a team we are enthusiastic to seize the time we have, love with boldness and leave a lasting impact where we go.

The What: What We're Doing Abroad
Our time in Costa Rica will be spent partnering with the YWAM base in San Jose doing everything from working with orphanages, local churches, Bible distribution and serving in the construction of new YWAM base led by my friend who I worked with last year. In Panama we will be partnering with the YWAM base in Chiriqui working on building relationship and sharing God's love with the Ngäbe tribe, an indigenous people group that has only been 8% reached by the Gospel. We also have the opportunity to work in a boys home, a nursing home, and do more Bible distribution as part of YWAM's current global effort to get a Bible into every home. Working with these two YWAM bases was the highlight of my experience last time around and I am so grateful to be able to serve with them again and love on the communities that they are constantly reaching out to!

The How: I Need Support to Get There!
Because of the small size of our team we as staff need to raise extra funds in order to cover the costs of the trip, in addition to the monthly fees we pay to be on staff with YWAM LA. I need to raise $1,500 for my part of this outreach. Please join with me in prayer for God's provision for our team and consider contributing towards this journey! I have less than a month to raise it, but I recall countless instances of God's incredible provision in my life and the lives of others that gives me great confidence. Where there's God's will, there's definitely a way!

If you'd like to contribute you can make a tax deductible donation at http://ywamla.wufoo.com/forms/make-a-donation/ 

 

Thank you so much for reading these updates and for your thoughts, prayers and support! I truly could not walk the journey that God has laid out for me without you! Stay tuned on my Facebook and blog to hear more reports on how our time in Costa Rica and Panama unfolds.

Blessings, gratitude, and many thanks!

- Trevor