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.

The scoop from Kona

Aloha from the Big Island!
Well, It feels like time has been flying by this past month. In the midst of the craziness of sending 300+ students on outreach, and welcoming another group of 300+ to the University of the Nations for the next three months, I have really felt your prayers as God has continued to give me energy, and provide for me and the ministry here in miraculous ways. He has brought together an incredible team of staff that I am privileged to work with, as well as a group of students who are so hungry to study God's word! Our class is 22 people, ages 18-62 representing 9 nations... and somehow, they all ended up on the same rock in the middle of the Pacific ocean. The atmosphere on campus is something I haven't felt at this level here in Kona before; just this contagious expectancy for God to do big things, and a huge desire to press into Him and get all the vision, the equipping and anointing He desires to pour out. Please pray that God continues to stir the hearts and minds of staff and students here, not growing weary, not getting distracted, but fully committed to the places he sends us, both our local communities, and outreaches.

Class of SBS Kona Hawaii, 2011

School of Biblical Studies
The school I am teaching this year is a nine month, intensive course which takes the students through every book in the Bible. This course is the most rigorous cirriculum the University of the Nations offers The method we use is called inductive Bible study, and the students receive teaching on each book, and also have significant time spent in self study examining the text, researching historical context and processing application as the Holy Spirit directs. Last week I taught the introduction classes for this course, introducing the students to this method, as well as going through the book of Titus. This week we are currently studying Acts, which our visiting speaker (Dr. Mark Smith: archaeologist and history professor) has been suggesting would be better titled "The Acts of the Holy Spirit" instead of the title given in the middle ages "The Acts of the Apostles." It has been an incredible two weeks, seeing the students grow in their confidence in studying God's word, as well as their understanding of the history, culture and geography of the New Testament world.

Students prepare skits for historical re-enactments of Titus

God at work in the islands!
This morning I was profoundly impacted by an intercession time we had as a class. One of our staff on campus came to our class and shared about an upcoming trip they are taking to North Korea. In our time of prayer together, one of the SBS students from South Korea, Hwansik Kim, began to pray out with conviction for the people of North Korea. In getting to know Hwansik this past week, I learned that just 6 weeks ago he finished his term of service with the South Korean army. Just months ago, Hwansik was sitting in the driver's seat of personnel carrier at the edge of the de-militarized zone between North and South Korea after a North Korean artillery strike of a south Korean island. Two nights ago he was describing to me how he felt as the army was moved to def-com 1, and the engines were revving in preparation for a war that was just barely avoided after an incredibly stressful and intense time. Today Hwansik along with his classmates and staff engaged in a different battle over North Korea, as we prayed that the plans and purposes for the people of that nation to be realized in this generation.

My brother Josh and I leading worship at Kona Coast Chaplaincy

hiking into a crater: Volcano National Park, South-point of Hawaii.

Prayer for Nations
North Korea:

I wanted to use this section today to invite you to join in our intercession topic this week. North Korea has been on prayer lists of people all over the world for years and years, and God is indeed moving there. A century ago, the capital of North Korea, Pyong- yang, was referred to as the Jerusalem of Asia, because of the radical work God was doing there, stirring up revival. No one from that time would recognize the city now, which has been the seat of oppression and deception of an entire people group for many years. This week in our prayer times we have been believing for a continued and accelerated move of God to open the doors of this nation. Praying for ways for God's people to go in, for the lost to be found, and even prayers in faith for the future North Korean believers who are soon to be called into the global harvest field!

SBS staff hard at work in the office!

Back from Fiji!
Just wanted to give an update on my trip to Fiji, some highlights, some photos.... So, I was in Fiji for two weeks, there is a school being pioneered there with University of the Nations called Bible Core Course, a similar school to the SBS I teach in Kona, and I was teaching the gospel of Mark and introduction to the gospels for their school. Here are some pictures of what I was up to while I was there.

walking onto the base, seeing some of the campus staff and student housing

Beginning classes with a talk on the cost of discipleship

The classroom for the Biblical Core Course

The class was mostly Fijian students, with one student from Papua New Guinea. Several of the staff for the school are staff at the YWAM base in Honolulu, who are spending the quarter down in Fiji. Two of the staff are from Fiji, and it was awesome to spend time with them and hear their dreams of starting new schools in Papua New Gunea, Fiji and other of the Pacific islands.

Staff and students at the Fiji YWAM Base

The welcome sign from the road through town

Beginning a new class

Jump-starting the YWAM vehicle

The bridge to the base in a thunderstorm

English club: a ministry of the Fiji staff to students at a local school

Birthday blessings for one of the BCC students.

My flight from Fiji back to Kona was canceled because of the tsunami, so I spent my bush taxi ride back to the YWAM Fiji base feeling sorry for myself, frustrated and a little resentful towards God for the Tsunami canceling my flight. As I was feeling this, The Lord began to put things in perspective for me in regards to my situation, and the lives of others forever changed by the earthquake and flood in Japan.
So over my next day and a half of travel, heeding the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I used my time to pray for those in Japan living through a terrible natural disaster. I found that as I focused my heart and prayers towards that nation, God was simultaneously taking care of my travel "issues" and providing for me each step of the way, and I arrived in Kona thankful for the lessons He's taught me through this time, as well as the chance for me to be part of His response to the tragedy in Japan through prayer.
Japan's needs are far from over however. Anyone who has seen the news and some of the video of the Tsunami begins to grasp the magnitude of the devastation and I hope you will join me in continuing to pray for the people living through far worse than the inconvenience of a few canceled flights. .

New year's news

2011 Begins...
Aloha, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! God's blessings are often hard to quantify in a day or a week or a month, how much more so in remembering his faithful love, provision and guidance through an entire year! As you look back on 2010, I pray that you would see with new eyes, the unmistakable fingerprints of the God of the universe, actively enriching your life, and that those reminders fill you with expectation to see Him even more in 2011! As I think back on God's faithfulness, I think of an incident in May, traveling from Herrnhut, Germany to Indonesia. Due to my own oversight, I missed the train I needed to take to the airport, and ended up waiting an hour and a half for the next train. I stepped off the train at the Herrnhut airport 7 minutes before take off, rushed to the ticketing desk, was escorted through security, onto the plane, and took off on time! I sat down in my seat (14A) nearly fainting from shock or gratitude or a combination of both as I thought to myself "only God could have gotten me on this plane!"

Central American excursion

The past two weeks I've been in the nation of Costa Rica. In addition to this little Latin-American country's legendary beauty, I believe God has some amazing plans in its future, and I was incredibly blessed to be part of what He's doing there now. Several years ago, a missions base and training center called "Pura Vida Missions" was founded in Heredia, Costa Rica, in order to reach out to nearby communities, assist local church leadership and serve the local church in practical ways. Most recently, this has included launching a 10-month ministry school to train both native Costa Rican Christians, as well as international students with a heart for that nation. I was invited to teach for two weeks in that school on Bible survey and tools of inductive Bible study. It was an incredible time of fellowship, and mutual encouragement and learning, as I was challenged by each of the students' dreams for serving God, and blessing the nation of Costa Rica. In addition to taking ministry related classes each week, each student is regularly engaging in the local community in areas of evangelism, church work (leading youth groups, worship times outreaches etc.) as well as community development work in exploited communities and disaster areas.

sunset over Heredia, Costa Rica

campfire at the Heredia YWAM base with

With some students, going to visit YWAM

Campfire worship time

Costa Rican possums

Back to Business
This year won't see me traveling as much as last year, which is partly a blessing :-). I will be leading a 9 month ministry school called School of Biblical Studies back in Kona, Hawaii. I am really looking forward to this opportunity, both to invest into a new group of students, hungry for Gods' word, and also to invest into the community of Kona. I am believing that God will speak to the hearts of the students He wants to see take this course, and multiply His message in the nations. Could you be praying that the way would be opened for these students to come? Many from the developing world are still believing for things like visas, plane tickets and financial provision in order to be part of this school. Students for this school are expected to come from nations such as the United States, Norway, Rwanda, South Korea, China and Moldova.

Teaching Inductive Bible Study for DTS in Kona, Hawaii

Prayer for Nations
India:
I spent some time in India last summer, and recently had lunch with a friend who had just returned from a medical mission there. As we talked, I was reminded of some of the things that stood out to me while I was there, not just the visible, ever present poverty, idolatry and social oppression, but the subtle darkness, perceptible to believers as we look from the outside in on those whom Isaiah describes as "walking in darkness." The thing I would ask for you to join me in prayer for is the numerous new churches in regions such as Orissa, India, where the violence and hatred stem from not only religious animosity, but economic exploitation and a still present, if not condoned or legal, oppressive caste system. Pray for supernatural protection of believers in communities targeted by fundamentalist groups. Pray that Christians will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to respond in the opposite spirit, with love and compassion. Pray that the enemies of God's people will, like Saul on the road to Tarsus, be won over by the power of Jesus to transform any life. You can visit persecution.org for more information on the persecution in India and how to pray for these events.

Some of my team in Indian garb, experiencing the local transportation

The local produce market

Visiting the Taj Mahal

Giving thanks in Kona

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aloha! November here on the big island looks a lot different than November at home. No fall foliage, not nearly as many pumpkins, but Thanksgiving, in any climate, is a great opportunity to count our blessings, and remember all of God's faithfulness in the past year. I'm so thankful for you and the partnership we share in God's kingdom, and the work He is doing around the world. As this quarter of training comes to an end at the U of N, around 500 students are preparing to leave on international outreaches to places like Cambodia, Thailand, China, Mozambique, South Africa, Colombia and many others. Most of these students are youth, who are giving up their holiday season, spending it away from friends and family, in foreign countries for the sake of the gospel. I feel privileged to have gotten to know them, and be part of many of their schools, and I hope you will join me in praying for God's protection over their teams, and for His power to minister through them as they leave for the nations. Also, I've put a video sideshow on youtube documenting some of this years travels with PhotogenX and you can view that here!

Use whatever language you know to thank the Lord for all his blessings!

SourceView™ Bible project

The past month I have been working with a team of editors, proof readers and publishers on a new Bible publication that I want to tell you about. The SourceView™ Bible is the first major innovation in the formatting of the Biblical text since the introduction of verses into the Scriptures nearly five hundred years ago! This breakthrough layout highlights the dramatic narrative of the original manuscripts and enhances the reader’s ability to follow the story. The reader can, at any given moment, clearly see who is speaking the words recorded in the Bible. The natural flow of the Biblical story comes to life as the drama unfolds with no artificial breaks. The multicolored text reads much like a movie script, engaging the reader in the page-turning interplay of those who form the speaking cast of God’s story. The format features a new reference system built on the natural dialogue found within the Biblical text, a new multicolored layout of the text and a left-hand column with character subtitles that inform the reader who the speaker is. Never again will you feel lost in the text with questions like “Who’s speaking?” or “What’s going on here?” It is set for an Easter release date from Tyndale House Publishers, and you can see a sample of the text and pre-order your own copy in the New Living translation at the link above.

sample cover of the SourceView Bible

Upcoming Events
This year I am excited to be spending the holidays (Christmas & New Year) at home in Pennsylvania, and for the chance to see many friends and family members in that time. From there I will be spending some time with some new Bible schools recently started in Costa Rica and Fiji, before returning to "home base" to prepare to lead the 9-month, School of Biblical Studies here in Kona. Already there are students accepted from places like China, Tanzania, Norway, and several other nations. I would like to see 25-30 students be part of this course, so we have the next 4 months to believe for 10-15 more students to apply. I guess a common theme from this newsletter could be summed up by Matthew 9:38 "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Costa Rica: Trip one, with Josh, Jason, Michael and Nick doing building projects for Youth With A Mission.

Costa Rica trip two: With VCF youth group to Pura Vida ministries

Prayer for Nations: Fiji

This island nation has undergone unbelievable transformation in the last few decades, both religiously and economically. Recognized throughout the world as a coveted tourist destination, Fiji's religious roots, both past and present often go overlooked. Once a place where animism ruled supreme, and witch-doctors ruled by fear, and even cannibalism was practiced as a religious rite. God has been moving in Fiji however, and the blood, sweat and tears poured out by missionaries and intercessors over that land has borne a harvest, culminating in a nation wide revival several years ago.
Now, Fiji is considered an evangelized nation, but what is more exciting to me is that there is a deep longing in the Fijian church to become a sending force in the global harvest. YWAM has partnered with believers in Fiji to train and equip Fijian missionaries, who are willing to go to the ends of the earth. This February, I have the opportunity to be part of this movement, as I go to teach a School of Biblical Studies run on the island of Vunayasi. Please pray that the work that God is doing in Fiji will bear fruit for the Kingdom all over the world!

Students study God's word at YWAM, Fiji

students from YWAM Fiji at work on a community development project.

Time goes by

My October thus far...

After a fun-filled arrival day, (where 650 new students arrived at the campus) the University of the Nations looks much busier than it has in several years. Students from over 30 nations, and from every continent, converge here for a quarter of study, worship, and passionate pursuit of our heavenly father. I have the great privilege this quarter of teaching in several of the training schools we run here, as well as assist and coach several new staff as they learn to teach the word of God. I am also facilitating some of the community outreach projects for the students to serve our local mission field here in Kona, I'm hoping this will include outreaches like feeding the homeless, street evangelism and community service projects. At the end of this month I have the opportunity to preach at a local church here in Kona, please pray that God would speak through me to bring a message that encourages and blesses the Kona Coast Chaplaincy.

A hula dancer performs at a welcoming ceremony for the students at the U of N

Students present the flags of their nations for their classmates

YWAM 50th year celebration comes to Kona
It is Youth With A Mission’s Jubilee (50th; Leviticus 25:8) Year, and we are celebrating with all the colors and cultures as only a multinational group can. All across the globe YWAM Bases have been celebrating 50 years of world missions, launched by Loren Cunningham's vision of waves of young people taking nations for Jesus, and in late November the party will all culminate with the final celebration here at YWAM Kona. Our Kona community is preparing for a swell of close to 5,000 as people from over 100 countries come to celebrate what God is doing in this world. PhotogenX’s will be launching a number of new initiatives at the celebration, as well as holding a seminar on creative media in missions. Our Biblical studies department is hoping to connect with many of our co-workers, who are doing similar things around the world. FOR MORE INFO VISIT - www.ywam50.com/kona.

Are you an Ironman?
This past week, our little town of Kona was host to the world championship of Ironman triathlons. Staff and students from the U of N volunteered in areas of security, water safety and athlete aid stations, helping everything run smoothly for the athletes who complete 2.4 miles swimming, then a 112 mile bike race, followed by a 26.2 mile marathon, under the scorching Hawaiian sun. For me, the race is always motivational on several levels. On one hand, I am motivated in the area of physical exercise (which usually lasts a few weeks) and on the other, I can't help but be reminded of the spiritual parallels the apostle Paul draws from the task of an athlete. For Ironman athletes, training is only part of what goes into completing the race. All the runs, bike training and swimming lead up to this event, but unless their body is properly hydrated, given proper nutrition, and protected from the sun, their big race day will more than likely end in disappointment. As a Christian, I hope to continually learn from this illustration, and remember to constantly seek nourishment from the Word, hydration from the Holy Spirit, the source of living water, and protection in the fellowship of other believers and in the equipping of the armor of God (Ephesians 6).

2010 Ironman world Champion

an Ironman contestant begins their early morning swim into the ocean.

On the bike for 112 miles.

Prayer for Nations: Afghanistan
No nation has been in more of a constant state of uncertainty and chaos the past decade than Afghanistan. It's government has been replaced, it's loyalties questioned and tested, its culture and religion blamed for atrocities, and it's people overlooked and marginalized. I have a student this quarter from Afghanistan, and talking with him about his home has put a burden on my heart to see God work in the way only he can to bring breakthrough to that nation. In the past few months YWAM missionaries and Christians from other groups have paid the ultimate price for bringing the Gospel to Afghanistan, and it was the sad duty of one of our most recent DTS outreach teams to facilitate a memorial service there for some of the long term workers who had been killed for the Gospel. When you read this, please say a prayer for the protection of our workers still there, who will remain nameless for security purposes. I have several good friends currently serving the Lord in Afghanistan, and I'm praying that the Lord gives them supernatural protection and wisdom in how to minister, but also supernatural boldness, that His kingdom may go forth in that nation!