We’re coming! It’s been a year-and-a-half and that means it’s time for us to get our feet on Oregon soil! The whole family will be in Bend from June 21 through July 15. We would LOVE to see you – … Continue reading
The YWAM Medical Ship has now been in Papua New Guinea for just over a month with this year’s outreaches. The teams of volunteers are doing great. Ryan and I can’t wait to join them aboard the ship with the … Continue reading
I’m a holiday person. I love them all. (Any reason to decorate and celebrate and give gifts, really.) But Easter? Easter really is THE holiday isn’t it? As much as I unashamedly l-o-v-e Christmas, I understand that Christmas wouldn’t … Continue reading
Camping was amazing. It rained for much of the time. Good, since it cools things down… and bad, since it’s wet. And muddy. And loud. (Have you ever heard thundering rain on a tin shed roof? That’s where Ryan … Continue reading
Mama: Hi sweetie! Did you have a good sleep? Levi: Yup! Mama: Did you have any good dreams? Levi: YEAH! Mama: Do you even know what a dream is? Levi: Nope! Sometimes we get enthusiastic about things that we barely … Continue reading
UPDATE February 2012: Unfortunately two major donations (totaling around $8000) that we had included in our figures when writing this post have since fallen through, making our current need much higher than we previously thought.
You probably know that we’re in the midst of a huge faith project as a family – fundraising and saving for a bigger vehicle.
We currently have a hatchback Nissan Pulsar, which has served us well for many years (even before I came on the scene!). We have loved her… but she is now quite literally bursting at the seams.
A little while before Judah was born we went camping with the DTS for two weeks of lectures. This is what the Pulsar looked like on that trip:
Ha ha! There is the proof that we are outgrowing our car – pretty sure we couldn’t have fit another sheet of paper in there!!! 
(And that was with only three of us!)
We’re so grateful for those that have already made donations and helped us toward achieving our goal. We have also learned a lot about saving as we’ve been working hard to be deliberate in setting aside as much as we can from our regular income each month. Combining those we’ve been able to make some significant progress and we’re just thrilled!
We still need to raise another $11,000 (assuming that those who have pledged will be able to fulfill their pledges soon and that we’ll be able to sell the Pulsar for a decent return), so there’s still opportunity for you to partner with us in this project!
Our goal is to get a near-new mid-size 7-seater SUV. These are normal 5-seaters with a big boot (trunk space) for normal running around town as well as trips and outreaches… and they also have a third row of two extra seats that can come up for carpooling, driving YWAM staff and students around, having five children (haha – probably not… but you never know, right?!), doing airport pickups, etc. We hope to get something reliable and versatile that will last us for the next 10-15 years.
Please see our “Give” page for ways to contribute a tax-deductable gift toward this project.
downtown cairo, egypt
Two-thousand-six was one of the best years of my life. I had moved from YWAM Brisbane to YWAM Perth the year before to work with an urban ministry called Megacities. I spent most of 2006 in that year’s Megacity: Cairo, Egypt. It was an exciting, challenging, adventurous, educational, heart-breaking, stretching, and thrilling year. I loved living in the Middle East and I loved working with Megacities!
While there I had the huge privilege of leading the Global Youth Outreach (GYO), which drew about 800 youth from all over the city. (Imagine 800 Egyptian, Sudanese, and international teenagers and young adults all in one place to seek Jesus and grow in their faith!) We gathered together to see them inspired and empowered to take up leadership in their own city by reaching out and serving those around them.
gyo photo by wally nell
On the last day of GYO we split into 50 different teams for the “Day of Compassion”. The youth spilled out into every corner of the city showing the love of God in practical, tangible ways to thousands of Egyptians.
gyo photo by wally nell
Since I was in charge of organizing this event, I was able to invite over a worship band from my home church to help lead worship along with our YWAMers.
[gyo photo by wally nell
The I Heart Campaign has rallied over 5000 volunteers to date, reaching over 15,000 people at community events in Central Oregon alone. They now organize I Heart events in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and California.
Isn’t it incredible to see some of the ripple effect of how God is using global service to inspire local service, and local service to inspire global service? A great example of a mission organization and local churches working in unity for multiplication of the gospel.
And this is only the beginning…
