2019 Wrapped
“Tanner, I don’t understand something. How can this God thing be totally free? I sure don’t deserve it…” This young man had been abandoned by his mom, his dad was in jail, his friends bullied him, and if he defied his family history, he would be the 1st in generations to graduate High School. What a privilege it was to offer real & lasting hope, value, and love that, due to his life’s circumstances, was otherwise inaccessible to him.
2019 has been a year full of seeing God transform lives by the Gospel through long-term relationships and short-term interactions. We’ve been so blessed to have you follow along with us, praying for us, and supporting us to bring hope and healing to those who never thought they’d find it. So in an easy-to-grasp summary, what exactly have YOU been apart of in 2019? How has your financial or prayerful investment changed lives around the world? We’d love to tell you!
January – February
- We served at a YWAM Ships office in New Zealand ensuring the safety of a medical ship, the MV YWAM Liberty.This ship brought otherwise inaccessible healthcare and the Gospel to hundreds of isolated communities in the islands of Papua New Guinea. More about YWAM Ships NZ at: www.ywamshipsaotearoa.org.nz
- 2 of our 2018 YWAM sailing school students were sent to the South Pacific! Katie prepared YWAM Newcastle’s ship, the SY Ruach, for deployment in Papua New Guinea, and Annelie sailed the SY Cloud Nine throughout the Marshall Islands presenting the Gospel and delivering Bibles to isolated communities.
- In NZ we realized God was calling us to pioneer a new YWAM base in Niagara! After moving to Adelaide Australia we shared this dream with our leaders who have encouraged us and helped prepare us for what we’re doing now!
March – June
- We supported a Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Adelaide and sent the team to East Timor. During DTS God transformed the lives of each student and empowered them to share His love!
- Throughout the year at YWAM Adelaide, Tanner served as the Property Manager and Melinda served as the Communications Director. Tanner created new spaces that encouraged community and Melinda developed new strategies that invited more people into the mission.
- We both participated in 3 local weekly ministries; Kids Club – Afterschool program, Streetlight – Youth Drop-In, and DUOs – Homeless soup kitchen. God has been at work in so many lives! We saw kids understand Jesus’s love, suicidal teens make the decision to give their lives to Christ, and homeless find a new meaning to life!
July – August
- God led us to go to Mongolia and share His Word and hope with those who had never heard it before. We partnered with local Mongols and gifted 123 Bibles, shared the Gospel with 93 households and witnessed 23 people give their life to Christ in a small village. Hundreds of other missionaries were sent across the country working to End Bible Poverty in that nation. God is on the move in Mongolia! More about Ending Bible Poverty at: www.endbiblepovertynow.com
- Tanner staffed Adelaide’s second 2019 DTS and walked alongside students as God worked in their lives. We sent this team to Eastern Australia & the Philippines where they saw God move in powerful ways among children and youth. One student even felt God’s calling to become a long term missionary in the Philippines!
- Melinda ministered to women in the sex industry by offering a lifeline of hope to those who feel trapped in it. Melinda met with women at brothels, massage parlors, and on the street, prayed with them and showed them the value they have in God’s eyes, even though the world so often tells them they have none. More about Rahab at: www.rahab.com.au
September – December
- We participated in a DTS Equip Workshop in Tasmania that prepared us to lead Discipleship Training Schools in the future.
- God opened the door for us to share our vision for YWAM Niagara with YWAMers on Australia’s East Coast as well as glean wisdom and training from YWAM leaders. God also began inviting others into His dreams for Niagara and we started receiving many staff applications and inquiries!
We ended the year back in Canada celebrating Christmas with our families. Looking back, we are reminded of just how much we’ve grown this year and how God has been preparing us for what’s next. Your involvement has been vital in the lives of communities and individuals around the world! Thank you for your support and prayers in 2019. May 2020 bring even greater fruit through our partnership. We serve a faithful King!
What’s Next?
Empowering people to live a missional lifestyle, providing the disadvantaged with dignity, seeing the lost come to know God’s Good News, and discipling people to grow deeper in their faith are all things we want to see happening in Niagara and the Nations! Over the past 4 years, God has given us a passion to see this, and this year God has made it possible! If you haven’t already, read more about how God has led us to pioneer YWAM Niagara in our last newsletter (click here). We’re so excited to share more about this with you in letters to come, or even better yet, in person!
So Let’s Get Coffee!
Have an itch to know more? There are so many stories from this year that go way deeper than this very basic 2019 summary. We’d love to share them with you! If you live near Niagara, grab a coffee with us and we’ll share more about the individual lives God has transformed through our partnership as well as more vision for the future! Shoot us an email or text and we would love to meet up soon!