Less is More

Greetings from Cahul, Moldova!

Our team has arrived safe and sound in Moldova and we have jumped into a new culture filled with new faces! This past week our team has learned what it means to be uncomfortable as we now walk around the land that is known as the “Africa of Europe.” Walking on broken roads filled with potholes, hearing stray dogs cry at night, and seeing poverty in the faces of the people we pass on the streets. It has not only given our team a bit of a “culture shock,” but has also given us a new level of appreciation. As we now share two rooms with mattresses side-by-side, cook in a kitchen made for one, and look to make our own fun instead of find it on our iPhones, we have been brought back to understanding that less is more.

This past week our team had the opportunity to go to a small village outside of Cahul to teach English to young students. As we drove to the village, our breath was taken away and our eyes were opened as we tried to process and understand a new world that was being revealed to us. Broken roads, run-down flats, and a land that is dull and gray were the only things that passed us along the way. Our team taught English to seven children between the ages of eight and twelve in a small broken-down school. Even as these students only had one piece of paper and pens to share, they were eager and excited to learn. They quickly opened up their hearts to us and showed just as much love to us as we showed to them. Playing charades and singing “Old McDonald” may be their entertainment highlight for the week. It seems to be easy access to a child’s mind and heart when there are no distractions from texts, phone calls, or Facebook notifications.



Having great luxury is the world’s view of what makes life so great. People are truly happy when they have everything they need in life. People living the “good life” are the ones who have it all together and MUST have Jesus on their side. On the other hand, people who live in poverty seem to be viewed as the ones who need Jesus the most. What if it’s the other way around? What if all the comforts that fill our life are hardening our hearts and blocking the bridge to having a relationship with Jesus? What if we need less to have more? As we begin to learn more about the Moldovan culture and the people in it, we are finding how open their hearts are and how they are looking for more of Jesus. With no distractions of getting the newest iPhone, checking their notifications, or shopping for the latest trends, their hearts are open wide and ready to be filled with more of Jesus. We have learned that having less in the way leads to more room for Jesus.

You Are My Everything

Greetings from Latvia!

God has continued to do incredible things here in Riga! Last Sunday our team had the opportunity to lead a church service. This was the second time our team led a service in this church, which is an international church called Morning Star. We felt in our hearts to share personal testimonies and a word about God taking us out of the dark places in our lives. Struggles such as depression and self-harm were recognized as something that does not have to defeat us, but something we can overcome with God. This was a time of being open and honest and a time of seeing where we have been and how far we have come with God on our side.

Our team was able to perform a skit to the song “Everything” by Lifehouse. This is a very powerful skit that portrays the everyday struggles that can weigh us down in life, but can be taken away through Jesus.
As we performed this skit for the church, eyes were wide, tears were shed, and hearts were moved. God truly moved through this body of believers as we received amazing feedback. After the completion of the service, a woman of the church came up to one of our group members saying,

“I can feel the Holy Spirit moving in you, and I could really identify with your testimony.”

God did incredible work in this church as He showed our team that people are struggling everywhere, but coming together as one and sharing the goodness of His faithfulness can be so encouraging and uplifting!

Miracle in the Making

Greetings from Riga, Latvia! Our team has finished our five-day adventure in Ventspils and has arrived safely back to Riga. God did incredible things during our time in Ventspils. He stretched us, challenged us, and gave us more of His heart for the people of the city. He continued to stretch us in prayer and proved to us that nothing is too big for Him.

During our time in Ventspils, our team had the opportunity to visit an old folks a couple of times. On our first visit to this home, our team was able to play worship for all of the residents and pray for them. One of our team members, Manuela, had an opportunity to pray for an elderly woman who was having trouble with her vision. As Manuela placed her hands on this woman’s eyes, she asked for God’s complete healing. Our team came back to this same home a couple days later, and we were able to do the same ministry. Before we began praying for the residents, the same woman Manuela prayed for a couple days prior started speaking out loud. She was explaining that after Manuela had prayed for her that she was healed from pain in her arm and her vision was much clearer! She exclaimed in full confidence, “I believe God sent you to me!” A miracle had taken place a couple days ago and we hadn’t even known it!!

We may not have spoken the same language, understood their culture, or known their name, but God showed us in Ventspils that there are No limits to what He can do. He continues to show us that He has NOT forgotten about His children in Latvia, but that He cherishes them and loves them so much!

 

The Power of Prayer

Sveiki (hello) from Latvia!

It has been quite an adventure here in Latvia these past couple of weeks! While being on outreach, our team has placed a big focus on prayer and discovered the importance of it. We have been stretched in our faith and believing in the power of prayer and that it truly works!

Every Tuesday and Thursday evening, our team steps alongside the staff of Freedom 61 and prays for the prostitutes and trafficked victims in the city. As the Freedom 61 staff reaches out to these women of the streets through offering tea, coffee, treats, care packages, and a café where a relationship is built, our team surrounds the team and women in prayer as we walk the streets. While prayer walking last Thursday, our team spotted two prostitutes on a street corner and we started praying for these hopeless women from the other side of the street. As these women paced the streets, searching for business, our team prayed for

HOPE, RESTORATION, AND CHAINS TO BE BROKEN.

After praying for at least 20 minutes for what seemed a lost cause, God answered our prayers as the Freedom 61 staff came along, meeting these two women, and inviting them into the café (normally they aren’t met with a positive response!) where they ended up hearing about Jesus.

Sometimes we feel that prayers are empty words spoken out just to fill time or fit our “routine.” Sometimes we feel hopeless, believing the lie that prayer doesn’t change things; but we’re learning that

PRAYER IS POWERFUL AND MAKES A DIFFERENCE EVEN IF WE DON’T SEE IT.

God is moving in this place, he’s touching the hearts of the people, and he’s teaching our team that we must

BELIEVE.

 

This Little Light of Mine

Greetings from Riga, Latvia!!!

Well after close to 40 hours of traveling our team has made it safe and sound to Latvia! It was a long journey, but after several movies and naps on the plane we quickly found ourselves jumping into our boots and piling on the layers once we stepped outside of Riga Airport! We have arrived and settled into our cozy little apartment where our team will be living for the next four weeks. God has brought us to a beautiful city and is already giving us a heart for this country and His people. He is continually moving and showing us that His light needs to be shined down upon this place.

Our team’s major focus while on outreach is directed towards human trafficking. While we are in Latvia we will be working alongside an organization called Freedom 61. Freedom 61 runs a small café which invites in prostitutes and women who have been trafficked. The Freedom 61 staff works to build relationships with these women and shares the love of Christ with them. Our team will be helping with the café and will primarily be going on prayer walks throughout the streets nearby. Throughout our time in Latvia our team will also be going to a soup kitchen weekly to serve as well as work with children at a couple day centers. The day centers provide a safe and healthy environment for children who live in neglected households and come from broken backgrounds. Our team will also have the opportunity to go into schools where we will inform, instruct, and raise awareness for human trafficking. Our time here will be focused on prayer and building relationships, and believing that the seeds planted here God will continue to nurture and grow.

Fighting human trafficking is no small task. It is a battle that must be fought little by little, step by step. Our team has been taught that this issue must be fought starting at the bottom, preventing it as much as possible by building up our youth. When lacking in English and job skills, Latvian children are at high risk of being trafficked. It is important for them to learn the English language, learn necessary skills, and build confidence within for a brighter future. Our team has had the opportunity to work at the day centers these past couple days where God has continually broken our hearts for these neglected children. Looking into the eyes of a child who has the potential to be in slavery or is afraid to go home at night has amplified the power of love in each of our hearts. When we in our own minds believed that we needed to pray for the “big picture” coming on outreach and bring light into this big city, God has broken it down for us, showing us that we need to simply start by bringing a spark into a small child’s life. The act of a hug, smile, high five, or even a game of Duck Duck Goose has been rekindled in our spirits and given us the satisfaction of knowing that God is moving and spreading his love in this city little by little, breaking the chains of darkness.

Even as Latvia is very cold and the sun is not always shining, our team has continued to bring the love and joy of Jesus throughout the city of Riga. Even after learning that it is inappropriate to be loud on public transportation, our team continues to bring laughs and smiles in ALL places (we had a couple Latvians laughing on a bus tonight). Each day we hope to bring a new light to this place and set a fire in the hearts of God’s people. Stay tuned as we continue to see God bring warmth to Latvia! Thank you for all your support throughout our journey and please pray that God continues to keep us safe and warm (especially our Aussies ;))!!!

Hello All!

This is the Moldy Lats signing in! It is Day 5 of outreach and God has continued to blow us away with his plans for us here in Sydney. Not having a set ministry schedule for the week has pushed our team to fully trust in God, believing that He would provide opportunities for us to reach people, and he has done just that and more. He has exceeded all of our expectations starting Day 1, and from there he continues to amaze us with his faithfulness.

 As we shared before, this week we feel that God has been teaching us to use our strengths. As a team, we feel that we carry great strength in worshipping. We broke the ice and dipped our toes in the water on Day 1 when we played worship at Bondi Beach. We have continued to dive in deeper by playing worship down at the Marketplace in Bondi Junction and singing as we walk throughout the streets of Kings Cross (a Red Light District area in Sydney). Worship has become alive in our hearts and has become a powerful ministry that is reaching the hearts of the lost and broken.

God has been giving our team a heart for his people. As many of you know Jesus hung out with prostitutes, criminals, the diseased, ill, and needy. He never judged any of these “outsiders,” instead welcomed them with open arms. It is very easy for us in our human nature to look down on these people and pass them by, ignoring the pull in our hearts. However, God has reminded our team of the importance of welcoming ALL His people with open arms, and pouring His love upon them. This past week we have had a chance to lay hands and pray over prostitutes, drug addicts, the sick, and the homeless.

Our team has spent a couple days at Kings Cross this past week where we brought light into a very dark place. Kings Cross is a street filled with lust and promiscuity that is dominated by bars, nightclubs, and strip clubs. Our team spent the afternoons prayer walking and laying hands on all of the buildings, praying that God’s spirit and light would spread throughout this area. As we spent time praying in groups, a couple Moldy Lats came across a prostitute sitting on the sidewalk. This woman was screaming out in agony because of withdrawals from drugs and hunger for not eating for days. The girls got that “Holy Spirit Shove” and struck a conversation with this prostitute named Zena. As Zena shared her broken heart and a life of lost hope, God began to move. Before you could snap your fingers, people walking down the streets of Kings Cross were doing double takes and stopping in their tracks as they saw two YWAMers sitting on the sidewalk, laying hands and praying over a weeping prostitute. God touched the heart of a hopeless woman, but also two young girls who experienced the power of prayer in action.

It has been an incredible week of God breaking our hearts for what breaks His. This week our team has learned to love the unlovely and reach out to the commonly unreached. Not only have our eyes become open to the people around us, but also our hearts for the souls that are hurting inside.

We are rounding up the week as we come to Day 6 here in Bondi Junction. We still believe for God to do even bigger things the rest of this week as we step out in faith, working as God’s hands and feet to reach the lost. The Molds are still on the move, having a great time under the sun and God on their side.

 

YWAM New Castle has sent out five total outreach teams from this past October quarter. These teams have ventured out to the following countries: Mexico, Figi, Thailand, Bangladesh, and of course, Latvia and Moldova. If you would like to read up on updates from other outreach teams, follow the link where you can go to YWAM's homepage! God is doing big things all around the world!!

 

http://ywamnewcastle.com/

Hey All!

Greetings from The Latvia and Moldova outreach team! We like to refer to ourselves as the "Moldy Lats" (cute, I know I know). Well, we have officially started outreach and we are rounding up Day 3 and LOVING IT! God has already been doing amazing work here in Sydney and continues to show his goodness and faithfulness. As some of you readers may or may not know, our team had originally planned to go to Amsterdam for our first week of outreach. When the plans fell through to go to Amsterdam and we found out that we would be spending our first week in Sydney, we were all a bit bummed to be honest. However, God has been teaching us as a team that his people in Sydney are just as important as his poeple in Amsterdam, and that he has BIG plans for us in this city. This past week we have been stretched, challenged, and already transformed as God works through us to bring light into this city.

Outreach began this past Friday as we all headed to Hamilton Train Station. After we came across a few complications at the station, God showed us straight away that HIS joy was going to be our STRENGTH throughout outreach. Throughout a long day of traveling and settling in, we found that we would overcome any complications, frustrations, and stress with laughter. Ever since that big revelation we haven't looked back and continue to laugh in all circumstances. Laughter has become the signature for our team. Once arriving in Sydney, we settled into our new home for the week here in Bondi Junction, Martha's House (we're an all girls team, so we felt this name was only appropriate). Once settling into Martha's House, buying some groceries for the week (boys, never shop with 9 women at once), and eating some dinner, we began to prepare for the week ahead.

Since our outreach in Sydney was not planned in advance, we did not have a set schedule for ministry. This means that we have to TOTALLY rely on God and trust that He would provide ministry opportunties for our team this week. On our first day of outreach we all prayed as a team and asked God what He would like us to do for the day and this week. As a team, we believed that God spoke to us about using our strengths, which has turned into our theme for the week: "use our strengths". God has already highlighted different strengths within our team which has allowed us to effectively reach and minister to people in this city. It has been incredible! Our first day of outreach our team felt to go to Bondi Beach where we played worship on the beach for a couple hours. After worshipping our team evangelized and picked up trash around the beach. It was an incredible day where we felt and saw chains break just through worshipping.

This morning started Day 3 of outreach (my, how time flies :)). After a long day at Bondi Beach, we all found ourselves to be a bit tired physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Our team vibe basically consisted of: "ehhh, not really feelin it today God." However, after a church service at Church in The Marketplace just a few minutes away from Martha's House, where a couple of our Moldy Lats shared their testimonies and a word from the Lord, we found ourselves to be back on track and revived! Our team was able to talk with people of the church afterwards and receive great feedback! Also, we came across another possible ministry opportunity in a cafe (fingers crossed and God-willing we get to do it this week, pray for this)! So after a great sermon, some special morning tea treats, and good fellowship, we were refueled and ready to go! Before going out for ministry this afternoon, we prayed and asked God what he wanted to do. We all felt a need to worship again, as well as hand out something nice to the people (several us got a picture of handing out flowers). So we headed out to the Marketplace with a guitar on our backs and God on our side. While worshipping, we were not only able to minister to people, but also buy FLOWERS (God provided these for us) to bless others with!! We had some amazing conversations with people where we felt God was really speaking through us and into their hearts. It was an amazing day that was so God-ordained and annointed!

The Moldy Lats are on the move and cannot be stopped with God on their side! God has continually shown his amazing character to our team. Not only are we drawing closer to God and trusting in him, but also growing closer together as a team and learning to work together to spread the Gospel in a creative way, using each of our own strengths. It's only Day 3 and we have several goofy tanlines, heaps of laughs, lots of smiles, and hearts that are being transformed. We are excited for what the rest of this week holds and what God is going to do! We'll be checking in with you all again soon! Stay tuned!