Slow Moments

Invited by the leaders of the largest Youth with a Mission (YWAM) base in SE Asia, our Full Sail team spent 28 days in Battambang, Cambodia on their 13-acre campus, pouring into the 120 full time staffers (60% Cambodians, 40% US, Australian, European…) and 100 Discipleship Training School students (from several Asian countries) who live and work there. The leadership core team had communicated to us before our arrival that their staff was weary and in need of a “real rest”, something that just a vacation wouldn’t be able to remedy. These solid and committed staff members literally spend their lives, day in and day out, ministering to their students, their families, their country, and their world, often to the point of exhaustion. The need all around them is so mammoth, it can be hard to find margin for themselves, often pouring out until there’s not much left.

Praying for YWAM Leaders in Cambodia

So, our vision was, first and foremost, to simply come and spend unrushed time just BEING with them - sitting around the lunch or dinner table together, attending chapel or worship side by side, grabbing a cup of coffee, taking a walk, and mostly just being present to their lives, their worlds, their longings, their heartaches, and their dreams.

Our first week on the ground looked like spending time building trust through relationship in worship and devotional sets, speaking in small group settings, teaching at the DTS school, offering some creative arts worship opportunities, and simply hanging out.

The second week, we hosted a week-long Oasis Retreat (see page 8 for a more detailed description of Oasis), open 7am-9pm daily, geared specifically to the YWAM staffers. It was so heartwarming to see so many of them taking the time to pause from the busyness of their lives and ministry, to sit in the quiet and risk opening their weary hearts up to God. Even more poignant was the sense that God was on the edge of His seat to meet with each one, being so affected by what moved them.

IN CAMBODIA

It seemed God was gently coaxing each one to bring Him their pain and longing, not minimizing it or rushing them through it or condemning them for their weariness, but just so lovingly and tenderly “being with” each one. The Oasis space felt like a truly sacred place as, day after day, hour after hour, from morning until evening, the room became a meeting place with the Lover of our souls.

During the last two weeks in Cambodia following Oasis, we focused our time on individual prayer ministry “sets” - 25 hour-long prayer slots for any staff members who desired further personal prayer ministry with our team. In most instances, hard and often very painful things came up for people during those prayer times, but God’s Presence to heal and comfort and deliver was so real and available. It was beautiful working together as a team - listening to the Holy Spirit, trusting each other, flowing together, growing and learning and receiving so much grace as we went. And it was such a profound honor to listen to each uniquely beautiful story and to have a front row seat to see Jesus intimately encourage each person.

At the end of our 28 days, a conversation was started about the possibility of returning to Cambodia in the not-too-distant future for another time of ministry. We are trusting the Lord to show us if, when, and how this might happen in the year(s) ahead.

OUR VISION: INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS

Not only do we long to take the message of God’s love to the far reaches of the globe, but we love coming alongside full-time Christian workers and missionaries who are continually pouring themselves out to others for the sake of the Gospel. It is our great honor to offer listening ears, understanding hearts, and the time and space needed for an encounter with God for themselves personally – to set the stage for God to bring refreshment, healing, renewal, and rest to His beloved children.

In Their Own Words

“‘When I got to campus, the first sign I saw as we pulled into the parking lot was Slow Down.’ This is what Geoff shared with our whole staff the first full day the “Oasis Team” (as we called them) was with us…and that is exactly what this time with them was all about… slowing down, getting perspective, taking time to just BE with Jesus! In a ministry like Youth with a Mission, that is always on the move, this time for slowing down was invaluable. The team also invested in the students from our campus elementary school called Cornerstone. It was a highlight of the year for many of our students. Cambodia is a highly artistic culture, so to learn how to use art to meet with Jesus, express their emotions to Him, and learn how to listen for His Voice speaking to them was truly memorable and so beautiful! And there is so much more I could say about what God did in and through this time…inner healing prayers, ministry nights, praying with and over my own kids, meals together and coffee dates, the Oasis stations…the four weeks the team was here was a timely gift from the very heart of Father God and was what I, my family, and our greater YWAM Battambang family needed. Thank you!”

(Kovonne, YWAM Leadership Core Team)

“Oasis helped me remember how much the Father loves me. It gave me the feeling that He is really with me. It was amazing – this sense of the Presence of God with me all the time. It was like God was saying to me, ‘I know you. I see you and I love you.’ I was deeply touched.”

(YWAM Staff Member)

“It was such a significant time of breakthrough for me and a re-establishment of intimacy with the Father after a season of distance due to hurt and disappointment. I went from just going through the motions to feeling a greater sense of connection to God and my calling.”

(YWAM Staff Member)

“I could tell you testimony after testimony of ways that Jesus came and personally met with these staff members. Many of them had been walking around with a ‘limp’, putting aside the difficult and painful places in their hearts just in order to survive the pace of ministry…A lot of our times of prayer seemed like ‘before and after’ moments for them... like God was setting up a pillar for them to often return to and remember: ‘That’s when I discovered this about Jesus’ or ‘That’s when things started changing’. It was amazing to see them leave with changed hearts and brighter faces!”

(Jordanne, FSM Team Leader)

Thailand

“TO THAILAND WITH LOVE”: HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Our connection to Thailand began way back in the year 2000. While leading worship at our home church’s Sunday services in Visalia, we were introduced to Team 2000 – a team of 3 couples (Ricky and Karen Sanchez, Dave and Louise Sinclair-Peters, and Andy and Carmen Owen) and their children who were embarking on a 10-year mission (which turned into 20+) to share the Gospel in the country of Thailand. The deep heart connection we experienced with them that Sunday not only culminated in fourteen different “To Thailand with Love” Outreaches, beginning in 2005 to present day, but also in some of our dearest life-long friendships.

Women's Event in Mae Sot, Thailand

New Believers in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Following our time in Cambodia, we took a few days to rest and then launched into the Thailand portion of our SE Asia Outreach. Beginning in Pattaya (a city in Eastern Thailand), we spent our first day with Nella Davidson of Tamar Ministries, whose vision and focus rests on the “bar girls of Pattaya”, women caught in one of the worst sex trafficking destinations in the world. We walked the streets with this mighty woman of God and listened to her mother’s heart for these girls so objectified and abused, many of whom were originally sent by their families in the North to get a good job and send money back home. Now broken and trapped, despair and hopelessness run rampant. We walked and prayed and dreamed into what kind of team we might bring in the future to specifically target the needs of these precious young women.

Then it was on to Chon Buri for a week of pouring into the staff and orphaned children of Abundant Life Home, established in 2013 by dear friends and missionaries, Ricky and Karen Sanchez, to provide a loving home and tender care for children, many of whom struggle with serious medical issues. We had the privilege of providing teaching, worship, and individual prayer times for about 15 of the house moms, staff, and children. It was such an honor to listen to each one’s longing or need and then to seek the Lord on their behalf, opening our hearts to hear His thoughts for them. And what a privilege to offer words of hope and encouragement from the heart of God for each one. Tears flowed freely and embraces were tender. Karen, with whom we’ve worked on so many prior Thailand outreaches, made the comment, “I wish I could have had every one of our kids and house moms receive prayer. I had to pick and choose just 15. But next time around…! These prayers are going really deep.”