Good afternoon from a beautiful and sunny Antigua, Guatemala! God is so faithful! It has been quite a while since we last sent out a news report, but this mainly due to the fact that we just returned from a 6 week trip to Texas, where we did visited lots of friends, spent time with family, and did a little vision sharing / fundraising! Though the trip did not necessarily go as planned (in particular with all the illnesses that struck our little ones and my dad), God has been reminding us lately as to just how faithful He was to us in the midst of the trials. And for that, we are so thankful. We have learned through all this that we are never alone, not matter how difficult a circumstance can be. He is always there, and always at work on our behalf. All we need to do is open our eyes and see Him do what only He can do!
Spring DTS Begins in February!
Part of the reason I felt to start this news with a word from Isaiah 43 is because we do see 2017 as a year where He is going to establish and launch new things in us and around us. One of these things is that we will be running the DTS programs of YWAM Antigua this year! As most of you know, training and discipling young people is the very reason we shut down our previous ministry and returned to YWAM. The DTS Program (Discipleship Training School) is a 5 month program designed to help students grow deeper in their relationship with God, allowing Him to further mold their hearts and inspire them to shine His light in the darkest of places in the world. In many ways, this program is similar to going on a "Honeymoon with God." We also believe that this school is a great tool to raise up "Daniels and Esthers", young people in the professional world who use their place of influence to shine His light in crucial areas of society such as the government, education, business, media, arts / entertainment, family, and religion.
This year, we will be leading 2 schools. Our Spring school that begins on Feb 11 and our Fall school that begins on July 29. So far, we have 5 students signed up for the Spring school and believe that we will likely pick up a few more students before the school begins. We also have 2 students in the process of applying for Fall school, which excites us as we almost never get applications this early in the recruiting process.
In May & June, we will also be leading the students on an 2 month outreach, which is a time where the students learn to express & apply what God has been doing in them during the 1st 3 month classroom phase. For us, these 2 months are the most crucial parts of the school as it is where theory and knowledge become real life for the students. We are currently praying about the location and will be releasing that information soon. We also want to invite you to join us in praying for our students, as well as for the outreaches that God is able to do all that He has set out to do in us and through us.
We also want to invite you to pray for the finances we will need for this first outreach (We will likely lead another one later in the year). We anticipate needing to raise $4000 so that we can lead this outreach together as a family. If you would like to be a part of this and contribute, check out our
website for more information.
Well, that is probably all for now! God is setting us up to do great things in Guatemala and we believe that 2017 is going to be a powerful year where He opens new doors and reveals to us new opportunities to share His light and love in a dark and broken world.
