YWAM York is off to a great start to 2012 with the Wales Discipleship Training School due to arrive on Thursday for 2 weeks to do lots of local outreach, teaching on leadership and to paint the cafe in the Barnabas Centre.

The structural repairs and re roofing of the Barnabas Centre was completed just in time for Christmas. We saw Gods faithfulness as we raised a whopping £25,000 to pay off the first 80% of the work. However the final invoice for £9,000 has arrived and we need to see a miracle! The payment is due in just 9 days time and we are trusting God to be able to pay it off debt free. Please would you join with us in prayer and also consider making a donation.

Our bank details are as follows.
Sort: 600620 Acc: 31270239 please put Barnabas Centre in the info box.

If you are a British tax payer can also email info@ywamyork.com for a gift aid form  too!
Thank you and God Bless you this New Year

Discipleship Training School – It was great to have four girls from the USA come on our 10 month training course. They not only received some great teaching and training but made an impact through a variety of outreaches in the city of York, Romania and South Africa for God.

The Barnabas Centre – You will be pleased to hear that on the 7^th September we became the proud owners of the Barnabas Centre. It will be used to meet the practical and spiritual needs of the local area as well as to provide us with much needed office space and a training centre. The structural repairs and re roofing will be completed by Christmas and last month we received a donation that covers 80% of the cost of the building work. It was an amazing answer to prayer and a huge relief! We are now working to raise the further £75,000 to pay off the loan and the renovations and refurbishments. We look forward to opening in February 2012 and I hope you can come and visit.

Romania – This summer I had the privilege of leading a team of 16 young people to Medias, Romania for two weeks. We worked alongside the YWAM team there running a children’s program for the gypsy community, visiting an orphanage, speaking and leading worship at churches and youth groups. We also hosted a cultural evening for the YWAM team and were able to practically help them with gardening and preparing the base for a children’s camp. It was wonderful to see the way the young people on the trip grew in their faith, captured Gods love for the nations and had their world view challenged and changed.

They have been stripping woodchip wall paper, sanding, re wall papering and painting and decorating the downstairs of the centre.

By the end of next week the toilets and kitchen will be looking great and ready to use. The cafe will be half way there! We need to have damp proofing put in before we can finish painting the room but once that is done and the laminate wood flooring put down we will be ready to move back in!In the mean time JM Butler Builders have started work taking off the roof to prepare it for re roofing and shortly will be ready to start on the work needed to make the property structurally sound.

We have been busy applying for grants and putting together a promotional brochure in order to see the £100,000 needed to be raised in the next few months to pay it all off and have the centre furnished and ready to use in the new year.

Sawubona! After seven months of lectures with YWAM York and a short two week outreach in Romania, I made it to South Africa for our 2 month outreach! I am very excited to tell you about the ministries we worked with while in Durban with YWAM. We spent most of our time in Burlington, a small township outside of Durban, teaching women how to use computers and other valuable life skills. We ran a book club for children to help them improve their reading and have fun learning about the Bible. We taught them about Moses and did countless songs and games with them. We also volunteered at a Rehab Center, leading worship there and chatting with the residents. Once a week we helped make dinner at a drop in center for homeless men and led worship there as well.

Going to Burlington was my favorite ministry by far. As we entered into the community there was always a group of at least twenty children chanting “how are you” running up to the road. They called us “Mlungo” which means white person. I had quite a few little girls ask to braid my hair because it is so different to their own. I let one of the girls braid my hair and she absolutey had a ball and did a fabulous job =]

I visited a lady called Thandazile twice every week. She is unable to visit people in the community because she has been bound to a wheelchair for the past 14 years. She lives at the bottom of a hill and it is a very difficult path up to the road. She is just 27 years old. She does not have a husband and her only real company is her one year old son, Kuligane. She is an absolutely remarkable woman of faith. She is so angry at her wheelchair because she doesn’t have the ability to do more things for God. She has completely faith that she will walk again someday. She amazed me every day. I think I would come back to South Africa again just to see her again.

I am now in Cape Town with YWAM for our last 3 weeks of outreach. The past week has been a little different. We have been sitting on on the School of Biblical Studies class because the Vice President of the University of the Nations was speaking on Acts. For the next two weeks we will be helping with a bible study for the homeless people of Muizenberg and working in a Township. It will be ver different though because we have been working wi the Zulu people for the past month and a half and now are working with many different people groups including Xhosa. I am very excited for the next two weeks though!

Scottish dancing, musicians, lots of us love to work with children, we have had workshops over the past few days on face painting, balloon modelling, evangelism, bubble making, arts and crafts, circus and magic skills! All very exciting.

So tomorrow we and the YWAM York DTS trainees fly out to Romania for two weeks to help with childrens programs, work among the gypsy community and with the churches. So watch this space for news on how it all goes!

Catching up with old friends and making new friends. I also really enjoyed running the cafe and getting to meet lots of people. There was one evening where people dressed up in 70’s and 80’s gear and told YWAM stories from back in the day.

How were the talks?

It was interesting to hear Carmelita talk about central Europe and really sad to hear how few Christians and ywamers in central Europe.  We have no YWAMers in Greece currently and it was really great to hear how they had sent an outreach team there and that they had been really well received. It was inspiring to hear the vision to reach 5 cities over two years starting new YWAM teams.

How was the food and accommodation?

We were camping which was fun, the showers were delightful and the food was exquisite!  We’d definitely go again.

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We have started to build relationships with the local primary and pre school, the local pub, the government run children’s center and have established a good relationship with St Barnabas church. The community have been very positive about us coming and we are looking forward to seeing the center become a blessing to the people in this area. It has been over five years since we fist viewed the building and to finally be at the point where the solicitors are making the final arrangements is very exciting.

I have been greatly encouraged over the last year by seeing Gods provision of resources in YWAM England for both the Next Wave ship and for  GyG, the house in Wrexham and we are standing in faith to see God provide the £50,000 we need to complete the purchase and the £50,000 to complete all the building work and renovations.

Prayer points – For Carl and myself (Jennifer) as we navigate the logistics of purchasing and renovating property for the first time.

- For the process that is under way with the solicitors drawing up and tailoring the contract with the Diocese of York.

- For more staff to join YWAM York:

Project manager and administrator particularly over the next 12 months while we get the building renovated and all the health and safety etc implemented.

People with a passion to start new ministries in the community or to work as part of a team that is doing that.

DTS staff for the Community Development DTS in September 2012 – For continued favour on existing and potential relationships with individuals, businesses and organizations in the area.

- For God’s provision of the £100,000