From Kona to the Nations...

News From the Island:
I hope this update finds you well! The past two months have flown by here in Kona, and I am still catching my breath from a few weeks of travel. Last month, several hundred students were sent out on international outreaches from Kona, and over 500 new students joined the university, coming to Kona to be trained for missions in all vocations; from counseling, to film making, to worship leading etc. The School of Biblical Studies is nearing its end, only two months of lectures to go! some of our staff and students will be going on international outreach, and I am helping to prepare programs for them in Costa Rica and Haiti. In addition to my SBS duties, I have been teaching in the Discipleship Training Schools on the Bible, going through the methods of Inductive Bible study and also teaching I John. This week I will be helping to train the outreach teams headed to the Middle East, I'll be sharing some cultural content as well as history of the area, but the main thing that God has been putting on my heart is discussing how we as Christians go as peacemakers (Matthew 5:9) and without representing any other authority or agenda, become ambassadors of the Kingdom of God. I'd appreciate your prayers for wisdom as I sort through these things and how to prepare young people to enter these tough areas for the Gospel.



Workshops, conferences & visits:
I feel incredibly blessed as i look back on the past month and realize what I have been witnessing is truly kingdom history in the making. September ended with YWAM's "University of the Nations Workshop," which gathered together missions leaders and YWAM trainers from across the world for a time of fellowship, planning and testimony. We had a chance to hear from international leaders about the impact the Gospel is making in transforming communities and nations. Shortly after the workshop, I flew to Colorado Springs, Colorado to be part of the "Vineyard Missions leaders conference" Which was an equally incredible time of hearing testimonies from all over the world. How God is blessing and empowering a world-wide church planting movement, which is creating Christ-centered, hope giving, self sustaining and "multiplyable" communities of transformation across the globe (I don't think there is a shorter way to say it :-). This past week I was also able to be home in PA, and briefly visit with friends and family, as well as share at VCF @ the Barn, my home church. Quite a whirlwind time, but I could definitely feel God's grace on every aspect of my travel, preparing divine appointments, and even delays that worked out for the best :-) you can't plan that stuff!

Colorado Springs, Colorado: For the Vineyard Missions Leaders' conference

Taking Bible Study to the Nations:
As I have been working with Bible teaching and training for some time, one of the burdens that God has put on my heart is to package our Bible study cirriculum in ways that can be adapted to meet the needs of believers in other cultures and settings. A Bible training program in rural China would need to look different than the 9 month SBS we run here in Kona. In the same way, Bible study among new Haitian believers can be adapted to utilize the strengths of their culture, and maximize their engagement with the scriptures. In the past few months, I've been part of a team developing some new training that the U of N will begin to offer in other nations. Two forms of training that will shortly become available are the online SBS (where students who work full time can enroll part time in an inductive Bible study course with online resources, class discussion times and staff grading submitted homework) and a new Bible Survey Course, where students engage with the entire Bible, and utilizing small groups, and class discussion to explore the major themes and topics in the word. I am trusting the Lord that these courses will provide the opportunity for many people to study God's word who would not have otherwise been able to.

My sister, Soriya Greenplate made the trip down to Kona
along with my parents, Paul and Cindy. Soriya and I led
worship for the Kona Coast Chaplaincy, my home church here.

Are we there yet?

Keeping cool in Hawaii
I've been hearing from friends and family back on the east coast that they are going through a bit of a heat wave. It's been hot here too, but I am currently sitting in the shade, looking at my new Sourceview Bible, which arrived this week to the Kona campus, and is available worldwide. I can't recommend this Bible enough, It is currently available in the New Living Translation, but has been re-designed in the first major innovation of Biblical formatting since verses were added almost 500 years ago! Without removing the benefits of chapter and verse references, the colored text is accompanied with a small left hand column with information regarding who is speaking and how many times they have spoken in the book previously. As I am reading it, I have been realizing how much this format is helping me to grasp the events, the emotion and the progression of the scriptures the way the original audience must have seen it unfold before their eyes! Check it out Here!


School of Biblical Studies
In the classes I have been teaching, we have finished the major portion of the New Testament, and now we're starting from the very beginning; Genesis! I taught through Genesis last week, and each of the following weeks will be Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy! Those of you who have attempted to read through these will understand how much prayer the poor SBS students are in need of this month! Each book is filled with the richness of God revealing His Character to the brand new, baby nation of Israel, but they are really long books, a lot to process just reading, not to mention the in-depth hermeneutics and exegesis the students do for each book! We have the benefit however, of spending long hours in the Word in a place and time where God seems to be constantly pouring out his spirit in fresh waves, sustaining our passion for him and feeding our desire to see the things we are learning be spread to the nations! Pray for us also as we decide in the next few weeks where we will send teams on outreach, a couple of amazing options, I'll tell you more in the next update.

Some of what's happening in the YWAM world.
Over the past few months several of my good friends have been working on a missions' innovation project that is leading out in the world of science and technology. If you ever wondered what the first flying cars would look like, or what they will be used for, wonder no more, they look really fun to drive / fly, and are being used to deliver medical aid and the Gospel message to the world's unreached people groups. Check out the story that is taking some YWAM inventors / pilots / missionaries on the world's first ever international "beyond-roads" road trip!

Prayer for Nations: Palestine
Last year, I spent a month in the city of Beit Jalla, in the West Bank, a community of Arab Christians near the city of Bethlehem. While I was there, I learned first-hand some of the realities of their situation. It surprised me to know that the only medical aid and fresh water sources Palestine has to survive with come from across the border in Israel; a border the Israeli government has been building a 25-foot high wall on.
A few days ago, some of the communities in Palestine had gone without drinking water for almost three weeks. A friend from Kona released a breaking news story showing children demonstrating in the streets in front of their homes, which are without water. The video and pictures in this news report show just how day-to-day the lives of many Palestinians are, as they live in refugee camps inside their own nation. Join with me to pray for solutions to quickly and peacefully restore some of the most basic rights of human life to these families.

Palestine is a land marked with church steeples as well as mosque minarets

playing bocce ball (pine cone) at a Roman Catholic monastery in Palestine

I felt the Lord say to share this scripture with this update, I've been meditating on it... the light of His face... awesome.
Psalm 44:3
"It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them."

Spiritual warefare in Indonesia

This past month I highlighted Indonesia as a prayer topic because of some amazing things God is doing there (Read the previous article for details.) This week I received a letter from Alan Lim, a good friend, and leader of YWAM's work in Indonesia, asking for some specific prayer requests. God has been challenging me with Psalm 20 as I have been praying for the hurdles His people are facing in Indonesia.

"May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
² May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
³ May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
⁴ May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
⁵ May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the LORD grant all your requests.

⁶ Now this I know:
The LORD gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
with the victorious power of his right hand.
⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
⁸ They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
⁹ LORD, give victory to the king!
Answer us when we call!"

This is a letter from Alan sharing about the situation they face:

Dear Friends,

There are three things that keep any people or nation in poverty and bondage : Greed, Injustice and Corruption.
God has called us at Ywam/UofN Bali to disciple our nation, Indonesia. We are facing some giants in this land!

Would you stand in prayer with us? We need your immediate prayers and intercession.

Our present center is an 18 bedroom former motel. We leased it for 11 years and paid the full lease up to the year 2017. About this time last year, the owners wanted the property back because business in Bali is in the 'boom' and they have an investor who wants to build a hotel. Of course we said no. We have a legal, binding contract. They told us we have one year to make plans to move. They tried to influence our surrounding community and our neighbours but it was not successful. A few days ago, the local authorities "investigated us for wrongful use of facility'" siting that the building was registered as a hotel and we as a society has no right to use it. (they said nothing for the last 5 years). They said we needed to get the owners permission for a change of use. Do you think the owner will allow for a change of use? Otherwise we must leave. One of the officials dealing with us is related to the family who owns the building. We are engaging a lawyer to handle our case. We believe God has called us to 'disciple this nation. We are facing the giants of corruption, greed and injustice that holds Indonesia in poverty and bondage.

Will you stand with us in prayer for the next few weeks?

Thank you.

Alan

Students of the Bible Core Course run at the University of the Nations, Bali Indonesia.

Visiting with Alan and Susie Lim, directors of YWAM Bali.

Alan with some young friends in Bali

Update from the Islands

Island happenings
Hello! Greetings from Kona once again. The training quarter is more than half way over, and the rainy season has given way to what is going to be a hot summer! The Biblical Studies students barely notice however. They have been busy in what all of them admit has been the most academically challenging two months of their lives :-). By the end of this quarter, they will have completed historical research and compiled their own inductive commentary on almost every chapter of the New Testament. Please keep our campus in prayer this week. This is the final deadline for students to pay their tuition and outreach fees, and there are still many waiting to see how God will bring in the funds they need to complete their programs. God has been challenging us here on our campus not to settle for "little victories" like the people of Israel when they left Egypt. After their first victory, they wanted to pitch their tents and settle there, when the whole promise land still lay ahead of them. My prayer as we walk together towards the purposes of God in our lives, is that we would not be "settlers," but become "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37) in all the areas God want's to bring victory in our lives!

The UofN students of April 2011, gathered at the Plaza of Nations

A short trip to the mainland
The end of May found me in California for the first time ever! I had such a week of divine appointments, I feel like I have to share because God was seriously so amazing in preparing the whole trip. I was able to attend the wedding of a great friend, but also visit with several other friends from ministry in years past, and had incredible times of mutual encouragement, prayer, and networking for the Kingdom of God. I met with a friend from years ago who had gone back to school and is now feeling called into missions again, and feeling led to Indonesia in the area of education, along with a group of their classmates from Fuller Theological Seminary. The amazing thing about this is that a colleague of mine is currently working closely with the Indonesian government to develop B/A degrees for educators across the country, that will be facilitated by the University of Nations. Not only that, he lives less than an hour's drive from where we were sitting having lunch! They are setting up a time to meet and discuss God's dream of discipling this nation of Indonesia through Christian higher education.

Grassroots News
I want to share with you a new ministry that is starting up in YWAM, and is already making an impact in the area of news reporting. For years now, God has been challenging us as a mission to use our network (permanent training locations in 187 nations) to network and share stories of hope, and what God is doing around the world. Grassroots News is a response to what we have felt is a calling of God on our mission, and this summer, YWAM trained reporters will be broadcasting news stories from every nation on earth as part of the network launch. I would encourage you to check out this internet TV channel, as it is a great place to find up to date breaking news without political or advertising agenda, and exposes the hope, rather than the despair that is so often the focus of breaking news. Just to give you some examples, YWAM's grassroots news reporters were submitting breaking news stories of the earthquakes and relief efforts in Haiti and Japan before any major news networks had anyone on the scene!

God at work in Indonesia
There has been an on-going urgent education discussion with educators and christian leaders of Indonesia dialoguing with Loren Cunningham, founder of Ywam's University of the Nations (UofN). Indonesia has passed a law that by 2015, ALL teachers in ALL schools must have a bachelors degree or they will not be able to continue teaching. This will affect approximately 1.7 million teachers including 30,000 christian teachers teaching in Christian schools. This potentially will result in the shutting down of Christian schools. The body of Christ in Indonesia in cooperation with christian educators have a plan to establish over 1000 E-LEARNING CENTERS throughout Indonesia served by local churches to provide E-learning to christian teachers to help them get their bachelor's degree that is government approved. This is the first phase. Each e-learning center will serve between 20-40 teachers studying part time in the evenings over a one year cycle. A key to this strategy is providing FACILITATORS at each e-learning center who "LOVE THE LORD AND LOVE THE LOST". They will provide on-going discipleship, mentoring, coaching and guidance to the teachers so as to impart Jesus' heart to love and disciple the children in their classrooms .

UofN International has been formally approached to help train these FACILITATORS in Indonesia using much of our DTS content and values. Loren has made a call internationally and at least 10 of our largest bases in Ywam worldwide and Ywam leaders from Indonesia has responded to this challenge. Mark Brokenshire, International Dean of UofN's College of Education is facilitating this partnership. FACILITATORS coming for training will be sent by their local churches who are starting up these e-learning centers. UofN's primary task is to help train and disciple 4000 FACILITATORS within the next 2 years. Transformed facilitators will in turn transform teachers who will transform students who will transform an emerging generation What an opportunity to disciple a nation! UofN Bali will begin the first FACILITATORS training this July and will establish a pilot e-learning center shortly after.

Would you pray with University of the Nations and the body of Christ in Indonesia as we embark on these two challenges? Pray that the Lord will strengthen our partnerships and bless our friendships especially at key leadership levels. May He grant us faith to do the seemingly 'impossible' because He has spoken and He is able to accomplish as we hear and obey.