UNBOUND
Stand Up | Stand Out
Our theme for 2015 comes from the story of Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego from Daniel 3. These dudes turned twenty seconds of bravery into massive change for a whole empire. Check this theme statement out:
Games Guide!
Need new inspiration for goofy fun and crazy games? Here is our Games Guide from MA in Ensenada. It’s split into two categories: Short/Messy games that are great for AM Sessions or Long/Group games that are perfect for burning off whatever energy is left at the end of the day.
We keep ours in a Sessions Binder at the sound booth for quick reference if we need a game. Hopefully you find it helpful! Can’t wait to kick off MA 2015!
Click HERE for the Game Guide!
Wordless Signs
We are doing a “Wordless Sign” outreach here in Vegas. Each person creates a painting or drawing with no words. We then go to the strip and hold our paintings up to display to the hundreds of people walking by at the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd. and Tropicana. We craft our own message based on what the obvious question that someone will ask. Then we wait until someone walking by asks a question. For example one 16 year old kid painted a picture of a head with no face. People passing by would say, “What is with the head?” He would respond by saying, “the world sees you as a faceless being with no identity-a consumer. But Jesus loves you. The Bible says that God has the number of the hairs on your head counted. He knows you. You have a face.” Many encounters with God have occurred right in front of the MGM Grand!
Not Just for Adults
Below is a story from Youth Pastor who brought his group to us this summer…
Austin, one of the youth, and I were walking back to meet up with everyone after doing Survey Sweep. 
Walking down the boardwalk we saw this lady, who was in a wheelchair, and her caretaker. We decided ‘why not talk to one more person’ and just went up and started talking. We found out that her caretaker, is her husband and a local pastor in downtown Orlando. His brother happened to be there as well, visiting from Puerto Rico. We were telling them about what we were doing when the Pastor stopped us and asked us to tell his brother about the gospel with him as the translator for us. So we did.
Afterward the pastor asked his brother is he understood and if this was something he wanted to commit to, a life with Christ, and he said yes! So the Pastor turned back to us and asked us to walk his brother through the confession of faith with him. It was amazing that God showed up after we thought we were down with ministry and used us to help a Pastor bring his brother into a relationship with the Lord.
Having a student with me was even better than just doing it myself. Hopefully it showed him that it’s not just something for adults, but he as well has the chance to talk to people and lead them to Christ.
- Heath Clark, Youth Pastor in Ohio
How To Look Good While Helping People
Have you heard about the forced evictions that are happening in Cambodia? Basically, the Cambodian government sells land to foreign corporations, when that land rightfully belongs to the poor. In 2007, a block of land belonging to 1500 poor families was taken, and the people were forcefully moved to a rural area 20 kilometres aways from their homes, schools, and jobs. Life as they knew it would never be the same.
But…
Some truly amazing Cambodian YWAM missionaries decided to partner with this community. When we first starting visiting them with our Mission Adventures teams in 2008, the local people were living in horrible, dirty and crowded conditions. There was the constant threat that families would sell their kids to pay off debts. The next year that we visited, our friends from YWAM were educating families and helping to provide schooling. The year after that, kids were reguarly attending school. And every year after that we have seen growth in the areas of community healthcare, discipleship and housing.
Now, we are honoured to play a large role in the next vital step of providing sustainable employment. Together, we have set up a sewing training and production centre in the community. We are currently employing five local women who are producing a beautiful range of fair trade designer clothing. Each women receives holistic training, fair wages with matched savings, and an amazing work environment.
You… our Mission Adventures family… can get involved!
Through a Kickstarter campaign, we are raising funds for the sewing centre. And in return for every pledge made, donors can select a reward from the clothing range produced by the team in Cambodia! We have until 27 August 2014 to raise a minimum of NZD $10,000 (about USD $8,000). We’d love to not only reach our goal, but exceed it! Would you take the time to visit our Kickstarter campaign, have a read, and consider sharing the link with people that you know? It would truly be a huge help and encouragement to us. Or make a pledge of your own to receive some new clothing… and you will look good while helping people.
God Transforms Lives
We just started our first week of #MissionAdventures for this summer! We had an amazing first day. Our team of 15 students and leaders from Grace Church of Mohemet in Illinois arrived around 1:30 PM (PST) after travelling since 3:00 AM (CST). They got situated into their rooms and then after a very brief “don’t drink the water” orientation, they hit the ground running.
They joined our full-time missionaries and training students for a ministry called Zone Kids. Zone Kids is a ministry that a few of our missionaries started a few years ago after studying about Children at Risk. Zone Kids focuses on the children and families living in the Red Light District of Tijuana, MEX by sharing the Love of God with them through games, crafts and Bible stories.
One of the highlights of the Zone Kids Ministry is the Prayer Walk. Missionaries, students and teams walk around a designated area to pray for the neighborhood, invite people to experience God’s love making connections with Zone Kids and handing out small trinkets like bars of soap or tooth brushes. As our Mission Adventures students were walking around praying for the community, they had an encounter that changed the course of their expectations. In the words of one of our missionaries, Michelle Sharrow, “We intercepted a man on the street about to buy some drugs & he ended up giving His life to Jesus! Pray that God continues doing miracles in the lives of the people we’re serving as well as the youth that are here expecting to be transformed from the inside out.”
1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.”
We firmly believe that these high school students were exactly where they were supposed to be for this encounter and were able to stand strong, setting an example to this young man in their words, conduct, love, spirit, faith & purity. Praise the Lord! We can’t wait to see what else He has in store.
#ywamsdm #ywamsdb #GodTransformsLives
Photo Credit: Michelle Sharrow
Love God
This past month we ran our first Missions Exposure, weekend mission trips for youth teams, here at YWAM Orlando. Below are some thoughts and a story from one of our staff.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22: 36-40.
This is what I got to witness while working with the youth this past weekend. They brought refreshment to us. Something the Lord has been teaching me, is that we are ALWAYS students in His army. I walked away learning from them! One particular student, Rodney, was a big part on teaching me to love the Lord with all my heart, soul and mind.
Rodney and I ended up partnered together for one of our times doing street evangelism. Our task was to compliment ten people. As we were walking, he stoped and complimented a man, who happened to be a believer and as we engaged in conversation, this particular man challenged him, asking him questions such as; “Why do you love the Lord? and do you really love the Lord?”. Rodney’s answer was beautiful, with clarity, humility, and confidence he said, “Yes sir, I love the Lord very much.” He told his story about his family as well. Seeing how genuine his heart was while answering his question was simply beautiful to witness. The purity in Rodneys heart and his love for Jesus was obvious.
Rodneys youth group had never done evangelism this particular way before and watching him walk out in boldness was so sweet! We were simply pulling random task, that exemplify Gods love, out of an envelope and trying to complete them. During our task of complimenting 10 people we prayed and asked the Lord who we could compliment and shortly after we encountered a women who was looking at her cellphone. Rodney went up to her and told her she was beautiful; she was so excited, she commented that it made her day!
That same evening, Rob Francis, one of our YWAM Orlando staff, shared about missions and really laying down our lives to serve him. After he shared, Rob had an alter call asking the students to trust God for their future in reaching those who are not reached. Rodney went up to the front with a few other students! He sat down next to me, I smiled at him, and he told me he was called to Vietnam. I was and still am amazed at how God is moving through him, a youth who is understading Gods heart for the lost.
It was incredible to be a tiny speck of witnessing what God has in store for this young persons life.
- Anonymous, YWAM Orlando Staff