Robyn's YWAM Journey

07/09/2014

Well it's time to wrap this page up as my season with YWAM ends and I begin another journey. I would truly like to thank you all for each and every prayer, dollar, hug and word of encouragement given during this time. Thank you for believing in me and what God has done during this time. Amazing things continue to happen at YWAM Brisbane so feel free to continue following at www.goywam.com Again thank you all for your amazing support. I literally could not have done this without you.

Find our more about Youth A Mission Brisbane, Australia and our many ministries.

10/08/2014

Here is a quick picture slideshow from our 8 weeks of outreach around Australia. From teaching and preaching to garbage pick-up and toilet cleaning it was such a blessing to be a part of God's amazing work here in this nation. It was amazing to see how our lives and the lives of those we met could be change as a result of simple obedience and how when we all take John 15:13 seriously, laying down ones life for another, amazing things happen.

04/06/2014

Outreach preparations are almost complete! We head out Saturday to visit 9 different locations in 8 weeks. Many youth events, churches and schools await us as we prepare to testify about our God of love, power, and redemption through service and the arts.

26/04/2014

So all three discipleship training schools and most of the logistical staff on the base all headed out to Easterfest last week. This is a large music festival taking place over Easter about Easter in the town of Toowomba. Many bands and Christian organisations come together to see God change lives during this weekend. 72 hour worship going around in the city, tents with constant testimonies and question periods, and people proclaiming the goodness of The Lord through their gifts. Our students got to perform some of the music and dances they have created while at YWAM Brisbane which was such a cool opportunity for them, but what was even more cool was seeing them take opportunities to share who God revealed himself as since being in Australia and seeing them take opportunities to come alongside others in their need. Although the main staff are, many of the workers at this festival are not Christian and see something different about us as we work joyfully alongside them serving and sharing why we are there. One worker shared with me that our attitudes were what were going to encourage him when he had to go back to a job he hated that monday. Many many people came to know the hope of The Lord at this festival and it was a complete honour to be a part of it. We are into lectures again and preparing for outreach which looks to include traveling between many kids camps and youth events. Thanks again for your continued support. Blessings be on you all!

16/03/2014

Testimonies from Newcastle!

08/03/2014

Heading to Newcastle tomorrow to join the Circuit Riders conference for Evangelism week. Please pray for the students as they learn how to use their gifts to share the love of God and spread His hope around the city.

14/02/2014

Hello all! The new students have arrived and the new round of Discipleship Training Schools have begun! Crazy to think this is my 3rd and final phase of the Basic Leadership School. The past week has been filled with excitement as we prepared for and then ran orientation for the new arrivals. Sharing with them about our work definitely makes me proud of all The Lord is doing through our organization. I wanted to take a moment here to thank all of you for being behind me in this. It becomes more and more clear to me why I do what I do the more time I spend here. I also want to express to you my current needs and wanted to be open about how you can continue to support me. Firstly please continue to pray that I and the base would steward all our responsibilities well and we would have all the wisdom needed to be the best staff we can be. Also for an openness for the new students as they begin this crazy journey of discovering God further and being challenged in how to live fully for Him. Also, because I have been here for a while and this work is mission base my need for financial support is growing. To give you an idea of my need my monthly bill is $350/month and come June I will need about $3,000 to take the students on an overseas outreach. If you could help me in any way I would be extremely grateful. Here is where you can do so with paypal or credit card. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=7D6MJWHB8BG3E Thank you all again for your incredible love. I am thankful every day to be able to help facilitate an environment of growth and development and to be able to walk alongside these young people.

09/01/2014

What's been going down...

Happy New Year everyone!
I hope everyone's Christmas was filled with incredible love and blessings. It was hard spending another away from home but I am extremely thankful for the technology of today that allowed me to connect with family. I am also very thankful for the relationships the Lord has blessed me with here in Australia and the opportunity to spend the holidays with so many people from all around the world. Christmas dinner was held at our house and I got to put all hostess skills to good use.
Over New Years we took the current MAD students for a week of outreach to the coast where many backpackers and young people travel to during the holidays. We were able to set up a large tent where the students could perform some of the art they had been working on during the school and share with those who wandered in why they were in Australia and what God has been doing in their lives. Those strolling by wanting someone to chat with or trying to escape the hectic part scene could stop in for a free cup of tea and our goal was to show them the same kind of love Jesus would if He was spending New Years in Airley. The purpose of the week was to really invest in the town in any way we could through prayer and worship, weeding gardens for locals, or chatting with lonely backpackers. Every one of these was a chance to share how much God loved each person in this town and it was very cool to watch the students apply what they have been learning in lectures by taking these opportunities. God was very faithful to give us ideas on how to partner with Him in his plans for Airley. One thing He spoke to me in particular was to do with the couples I saw around the town. On New Years Eve I saw so much brokenness and hurt amongst the relationships mostly due to the consumption of alcohol on that night. Everywhere I looked it seemed there were tears and screams taking place and my heart broke. The next night I took my camera to the tent with me and felt like I should use it as an evangelism tool. One of my students had an idea to ask couples something they saw in each other that was truly valuable and to write it on each other’s hand so we could take a picture. The project seemed to really make people think and you could tell that this was the first time they had actually told the other person these things. We also went around asking people something they wanted to see happen in the New Year and it surprised me how many people didn’t have goals, an anticipation or even a hope for 2014. Once we got people talking we were able to see dreams come to the surface and it was neat to see the hope for this next year build up. We were able to pray for many individuals were open about struggles they had faced this past year and were able to encourage them in their ambitions. I have about a month left of my “logistical phase” before the next MAD school that I will be on staff with starts mid February. Please pray that preparations go well, visas come in for both students and staff and for an easing of nerves for those traveling so far from home to come here.

01/11/2013

Update!
As most or all of you know I was home for about a month this October. It was great to be with family friends again and I was extremely blessed as always by everyone. I got to be with my small group girls for our youth conference at out church and was even home for some turkey at thanksgiving! A very lovely time. I want to send a big thank you to everyone who supported me financially as well. It is incredibly appreciated and helped me more than you know.
Things have picked up right away again here in Australia as they never died down while I was away. The new Music Art and Dance school has started and it has been incredible to see the confidence these students have gained in their dancing, and the freedom they are experiencing in their lives.
The cafe is also booming and continues to be filled with fellowship and youth from the high school who come for art lessons, games or just a chat. I have found myself getting let in to some of their lives and hearts and feel very privileged to be able to walk with them through their joys and struggles. It brings me great joy to call out the gifts and talents in them and help them figure out how to express those even through the hurts and emotional complications that come with adolescence. A girl may come with cuts on her arms but if you see how good of an artist she is, call that out in her and help her figure out how to use that as an outlet there might be less on her next week. Please pray that the Lord would guide us in how to help these kids and that we would continually have a His heart for them. Hope all is well with all of you.

06/09/2013

Hello all! Here is an update to tell you what I am up to now here in Brisbane. Now that my school has ended I have headed into my "logistical phase" of the Basic Leadership School. This is a time of processing the past school and personal development while working somewhere on base (ie the kitchen, office ect). I have the amazing privilege of working in the new cafe that has opened at our base as well as partnering with the full time MAD (music art and dance) staff to further develop our involvement with arts in the community and at base. With this cafe we are seeking to provide a place of refuge and encouragement and are hoping to use it to speak life into the young people of this city. I am very excited to see what this new season will bring for the community and what God will teach me personally as we journey with God this way. Please pray that God would set up Devine appointments in the cafe and that youth would continue to be lead here with an openness in their hearts. As logistical staff we are still devoted to ministry and continue to be volunteer based so if you would like to support me financially you can do so through my PayPal account found on the info portion of this page. Thank you again for all your love and support!

24/08/2013

06/08/2013

Hello all! Outreach has come to a close and our team is now back in Brisbane. It was a wonderful 7 weeks of volunteering at christian festivals, helping with renovations, meeting up with various house churches and cafe ministries and developing relationships with all we met. It was so encouraging to see the students step out and share about all they had learned during lecture phase and encouraging to see them serve. God moved in and through our team in mighty ways using our prayers to heal people and speak to them about how much He truly loves them. I personally found I was able to encourage many young people in the places we visited by showing them easy ways to share the love of God in their everyday life. I was able to partner with some of the youth to give out chocolates, cookies and bible verses in two of the towns we visited and it was cool to see them pumped to share the love of God in their community. Another thing that really impacted me was a cafe for drug addicts that we went to in Oslo. I saw the staff there have a true Jesus heart for the people who came in and learned a lot about Gods grace from them. Our team was able to share the video we made during lecture phase, two of the students got to perform their music in the cafe and I got to share about the freedom and hope that is in Jesus when we truly believe the promises he gives us. We gave out some clothes and I was able to give out bibles to two in particular individuals going through desperate times and searching for hope. This is a brief description of only some of the stories and I am more than happy to share more in depth with any of you personally but I'll leave it there for now. I thank God incredibly for everything he provided for our trip including everyone's finances, a visa and ministry opportunities, and for everyone I was able to meet while in the beautiful country of Norway. Two weeks and my current students will be graduating. I will then move on to 5 months of personal leadership development logistical work around base. Please pray for us all in this celebratory but also transitioning point in time.

Sending my love.