I'm leading a team on a three month missions trip to Costa Rica and Panama. We leave this Friday. If you had told me two years ago that I would go to the Philippines, Thailand, Costa Rica and Panama just to serve people share the love of Jesus, I would have been speechless. And God has provided all the money and support at every step of the journey through the generosity of others. I am blown away. God is so good to me, far more than I could ever deserve. It is an honor to be swept up into His story and to be a carrier of His Spirit. More glory to Him.

Thanks for listening. Thanks for being a part of my journey.

Mexio Outreach

Our lovely and talented Communications department did an awesome job on a little write up about our schools time in Mexico a few weeks, so I'm pleased to share it with y'all! I will add that this was the first time that we worked together on everything within our outreach teams, so it was awesome to have the opportunity for us all to work alongside one another enjoy each others company some more. Thanks for reading! God bless ~ 

- Trevor


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Fall DTS went on a week long mini-outreach to Door of Faith Orphanage in La Misión, Mexico. It was a life changing time for many of the students, two of which got baptized while there. Below are a couple testimonies from students who were greatly impacted by their time at the orphanage.

“This trip changed a lot in my heart. One morning we got up at 4am to feed people in a poverty stricken area in Mexico. It was dark so we couldn’t really see what was around us. Alot of people came, children and adults, everyone was really happy and nice. After giving them food someone drove us around the neighborhood, I was shocked, they had barely enough to build their houses and lived on dirt as far as I could see. But the people were happy, and it was hard to believe how this could be possible. I realized how thankful I am for how I grew up and what I have, I was also ashamed because I have so much and they have so little. In this time God also set me free from my past. He spoke righteousness into my heart. I cannot thank God enough for these days full of compassion, joy and service to others.”

-Esther Weiss

“The Mexico trip was an amazing journey of serving others alongside friends. The orphanage was definitely a lot different from what we all were expecting to see. From the very beginning we were shown so much love from the staff and children. Throughout the week we got to serve in different ways like painting, helping with the babies, playing with the kids, or helping the poverty sections. Our eyes were opened to such gratefulness and love and we as missionaries in training had to remind ourselves of how much we really take for granted. As our trip came to an end we decided to top it off with baptisms that two people in our group decided to do. Definitely a very eye opening trip!!”

-Shaya Martin

Because, I Am In Love

This morning during base worship God was really speaking to my heart, and I felt compelled to share what He was impressing upon me...(no fancy intros here)...

We were singing the words, "Not my will, but Yours be done, cause I'm in love...I'm in love...I am in love", and I had the revelation of Jesus expressing that very same thing to the Father. As He was fasting in the wilderness and looking out upon the land before He started His ministry, knowing all the trial and opposition He would face, He must have taken strength in the will of the Father. He was compelled by love, both to obey the Father and to minister to the poor and broken of this world. As He was praying in the garden of Gethsemane, faced with the reality that He was about to endure the brutality and shame of the cross, He said not My will, but Yours be done (Mathew 26:39). How deeply in love must Jesus be, that He would obey the Father unto torturous death all that we might be saved! If we as Christians could muster up but a fraction of that furious love, in response to the love and sacrifice of Christ, how the world might be changed! A song of response came to my heart;

I'm alive and I am free
Because You are in love
With the Father
And with me

I then pictured myself standing in the wilderness with Jesus, overlooking the world His life so radically changed, and we were worshiping together. We had one arm around each other, and the other raised in worship to the Father; "Not my will, but Yours be done, cause I'm in love...I'm in love...I am in love!". Then I pictured the same thing as we were high up, looking out over my hometown, united in worship to the Father; "Not my will, but Yours be done, cause I'm in love...I'm in love...I am in love!".

And just last night the message I heard at church was out of Isaiah 6. "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?'. And I said, 'here am I. Send me!'" (Isaiah 6:8).

I may not know where my future will take me, but I know that the love that has changed my life calls for a lifelong response. There are no casual, unimportant days in the Kingdom of God. Every day, Christ walks with me. Oh how I desire to have an increased sensitivity to His presence, and an expanded capacity to receive His love. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled (Matthew 5:6).

There could be no greater calling, no greater adventure, than to live my life in the center of His will and purposes for me. Not my will, but His be done. Why?...

Because, I am in Love.

Student Testimonies + Pictures

Hey Friends!

Sorry I haven't written in a while. Things have been mighty busy around here lately. I still have a lot I want to fill you in on from the past few weeks including our mini-outreach to Mexico serving at Door of Faith orphanage. But for now I wanted to at least share a couple of quick things. Below is the link to a video of some of our current DTS students sharing about what God has been doing in their lives, as well as some pictures from our time in Mexico. I hope you enjoy!

YWAM Los Angeles - DTS Student Testimonies

 
            Team Panarica having a little fun after painting the dinning hall at Door of Faith orphanage.

                       Anne (Finland) having some bounding time with the kids at Door of Faith.

              Melissa (USA) and Louise (Sweden/Australia) got baptized on our last day in Mexico!



Well, I'll be writing again soon.
Thanks for checking in, and thanks for all your love and support!

- Trevor

Fall DTS update #1: Students, outreach locations, and beyond

Hey friends!

Things are going great here at Youth With A Mission Los Angeles and our Fall Discipleship Training School (DTS) is diving in to its second week! We have an awesome group of students - 15 people representing 9 nations (Australia, Austria, Finland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.S. and Canada) ranging in age from 17 to 27. They're all getting along great and seem very open and excited to grow in their relationships with God.

This week Steve Fry is teaching on the nature and character of God, and we are learning together with the Calling All Skaters DTS and the Justice DTS, which is focused on combating human trafficking. Our school just announced outreach locations to our students last night. We're sending a group to India and Nepal, and myself and two others will be leading a team to Panama and Costa Rica! I'm so excited to get to serve in these nations. We're probably going to be working with some very remote villages in Panama. I'll have more details about our outreach activities in the coming weeks. We'll be shipping out in early December. Until then we'll have teaching, training, and local-outreach activities in Los Angeles.


Prayer Requests: 

1 - Group Growth. Please pray for continual growth in our relationships with God and one another, and that nothing would hinder that growth, like homesickness or worry about the future. 

2 - Finances. I have to raise at least $500 a month to cover my living expenses here, and I currently have only $150 of pledged, monthly support. I'd be super blessed if you would join with me in prayer for this area. I know that when I follow God's direction, He never fails to provide. If you're considering becoming a financial partner, please let me know. I'd love to talk with you more in-depth about my work here.


I've attached another copy of my most recent newsletter in case you weren't able to view it last time around. I hope that you enjoy it. Thank you so much for reading, and please let me know if there's any way that I can be praying for you or with you 


Much love,
                 - Trevor 

September Newsletter (The Journey Continues!)

Hello friends and family!

Happy September! I hope that this coming Fall season finds you in good health and good spirits! You may have received an update from me a couple months ago talking about my upcoming journey to Kona, Hawaii for a six week spiritual leadership school through Youth With A Mission (YWAM). Let me start off by saying, thank you so much for your thoughts, prayers and financial support! I continue to be incredibly blessed by the involvement of friends and family in my life. Without the amazing community of love and support around me it would not have been possible for me to complete my Discipleship Training School (DTS) and serve for three months in the Philippines and Thailand in the Winter of 2012/1013, nor would I have been able to have an amazing time of education and training in Kona. I cannot express my thanks enough. I am truly blessed! 

THE JOURNEY'S NEXT STEP 

I'm writing to you today to share with you the next chapter of where God is calling me and what He is doing in my life. About a month ago when I was in Kona, one of the leaders of my school asked me if I would be interested in staffing the Fall 2014 DTS at YWAM Los Angeles. Ever since my DTS began two years ago I knew that I wanted to come back to staff a DTS at YWAM Los Angeles. As is often the case, timing was the trickiest element to consider. After the Spiritual Leadership and Ministry school in Kona, my plan was to go back home for a few months to work and save up before coming on staff in LA in February. In my eyes, that would have been the most logical thing to do. But I asked God to put a passion in my heart for the Fall DTS if it was truly His will for me to come and help staff, and that is exactly what He did! And so I've decided to step into this new season with the faith and assurance that this is where God wants me, and He is going to do amazing things. I was back home in Santa Rosa for one week spending time with my family, and now I'm at YWAM Los Angeles preparing for the start of our school. The students are arriving next weekend! I can't believe how quickly I've been swept up into this new adventure!

THE HISTORY AND THE VISION

My DTS was so critical in my life. I don't know where I would be right now if it hadn't been for those amazing six months of rediscovering God. I came to YWAM Los Angeles very broken. I was trapped in a cycle of fear, regret and depression.  I had completely lost sight of my identity. I thought I was defined by my weaknesses and mistakes. But I was wrong.  Because of DTS, I experienced breakthrough, peace, freedom, and the Father's love for the first time in years. And because of that six month journey, here I am now. I can't wait to serve, to continue growing, and in some small way, to be a part of the type of transformation I experienced for someone else.

"Two are better than one, because they have good pay for their work. For if one of them falls, the other can help him up. But it is hard for the one who falls when there is no one to lift him up." - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 

"Iron is made sharp with iron, and one man is made sharp by a friend." - Proverbs 27:17 

We all need friendship and community. We were never meant to live life on our own. When I first came to YWAM LA I was amazed to find a community of like minded believers who are incredibly sincere in their desire to know God and make Him known. I'm so humbled and excited by this opportunity to serve others in love and friendship, as we all push towards the goal of becoming more like Jesus, loving God, loving one another, and loving the poor and needy of this world.


MY ROLE

As a staff member, I will get to play a large role in the discipleship and training of our students, through teaching, one-on-one meetings, leading a weekly small-group study, and co-leading an outreach team to a foreign nation. 

THE INVITATION 

I'd like to invite you to partner with me in this journey! First and foremost, I would be honored to count you as a prayer partner. I believe there is so much that God wants to do in these coming months, and in my overall time of service at YWAM Los Angeles. If you would like to be a prayer partner, please let me know and I will be sure to give you bi-weekly updates and ways in which we can be praying together. Secondly, I would like to invite you to consider becoming a financial partner. Part of the DNA of YWAM is that as missionaries, we are dedicated to the value of reliance on God. From YWAM's founder, to the base director in LA, to the person in charge of kitchen operations, we have all sacrificed having a traditional job and a traditional income. It is by faith that we are answering God's call to serve, knowing full well that it will be a very challenging road. But time and time again, I have been incredibly surprised and deeply humbled by people's willingness to lend their financial support. If you see value in what I am doing and would like to be a financial partner - either with a one time gift or a monthly contribution - please let me know. I would love to discuss what I am doing with you in further detail!                                                                                                                                                    

Checks can be made out to "YWAM LA" and sent to the base, 11141 Osborne St, Sylmar, CA 91342, with a separate note indicating that it is intended for my staff support. Or you can donate online at ywamla.org/donatepay-2. All contributions towards staff members are tax deductible. 

Thank you so much for taking the time out to read about my journey. I hope that you and all your loved ones are incredibly blessed!


Much love,

- Trevor 

Swept up in His will (the return to YWAM Los Angeles)

Life continues to be full of the unexpected!

About a month ago while I was going through a spiritual leadership school at YWAM Kona, I was asked if I would like to help staff the 2014 Fall Discipleship Training School (DTS) at YWAM Los Angeles. Ever since I did my DTS in LA two years ago my heart has been set on returning, with timing of course always being the tricky part of the equation. I was planning on coming home to work and save up for a few months before going on staff in February, and then this seemingly crazy proposition was put before me. It seemed impractical, but I asked God to put a passion in my heart for this school if it was truly His will for me to come. And that is just what He did.

The students are arriving next weekend! I can't believe how quickly I've been swept up into this new adventure, but I'm so excited for what God is going to do in this coming season. My DTS was so critical in my life. I don't know where I would be right now if it hadn't been for those amazing six months of rediscovering God. I experienced breakthrough, freedom, and the Father's love for the first time in years. And because of that six month journey, here I am now. I can't wait to serve, to continue growing, and in some small way, to be a part of the type of transformation I experienced for someone else.

God is so good.