One of our current outreach teams is in South Asia, despite some political unrest in the area, they have been able share the Gospel and minister to many people! Here is a testimony that we received from them about a week ago!

“Hello from Asia! It has been amazing journey over the course of the past several weeks here. We wanted to take a moment and give you all an update. God has been doing so much in the hearts and lives of the people! The door has swung wide open for us to go into areas that have not heard the gospel before.

In our first week here we held three nights of open air healing and evangelism meetings. During this time we had the opportunity to see the gospel preached with power and encouraged the persecuted church who were also in attendance. On the first night a lady who was partially blind and deaf came up for prayer had her vision and hearing completely restored! She already had made a decision for Jesus and was elated and thankful that the Lord healed her. At the closing of the week the team co-led a children’s camp with the Gospel Movement Church for all the local children from various churches in the area.

During this past week of ministry the team has visited remote Hindu & Muslim villages that had either been partially reached in the past and some that had not been reached at all! The team shared their testimonies, prayed for the sick, and preaching the gospel.

One day, a Muslim lady had walked 6 miles one way because she had heard that Jesus was healing people.

She had suffering from back and leg pain for some time and Jesus healed her after a team member prayed for her. The student explained the gospel through a translator and the woman made a decision to follow Jesus in that moment! Our ministry partners are now working with her to begin discipleship, lead her through baptism, and walking with her through the process of publicly converting from Islam.

There are so many testimonies like this one that have come out of the doors Jesus has opened here! Conservatively, we have seen 50 decisions for Jesus and over 120 people miraculously healed!”

“How do we encounter God? Can we encounter Him?  Does God even want to reveal Himself to us? And if He does, what does that look like?”

The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is the foundational school for all of YWAM. Every staff member in our global mission, whether with us for 1 year or 30 years, has begun with this step. It’s where many of us get these questions answered. It’s where we learn what it really means to “Know God and Make God Known.”

While every DTS has the same core curriculum, the distinct heart-beat of each base creates a unique experience. Our heart for our students is that they truly encounter the living God. This is how students are transformed into world changers. Therefore, we have called our school the “Encounter” DTS.

What does it mean to “encounter” God?

The word “encounter” means, “to meet face to face.” Therefore, we desire that our students would not just grow in the intellectual knowledge of  God, but would have radical encounters and experiences with God. We want these experiences, these face to face encounters, not just study, to shape their understanding of who He is. We know that experiences shape our core beliefs much more than an intellectual idea, even perfectly conveyed, ever will.

God wants to personally introduce himself to us so that we can know him, not just know about him. In fact, His desire for his creation to meet him face to face has been written for us to see throughout the Bible. He has spoken it loud through His Word again and again.

God’s Plan For Nearness

In Genesis, we see God breathe life into man. I would like to suggest that God did not just blow some mighty gust of breath from the sky that eventually made its way down into Adam’s lungs. Rather, God got down into the dirt which He used to form Adam and put his face to the one He had just crafted. Right there, nose to nose, He breathed. The breath that brought Adam to life was given during a face to face encounter with His Father.

Even before man sinned and caused separation, God had a plan to restore nearness. Jesus, the incarnate God with whom man would speak face to face, was already in place to close the gap. But God didn’t remain distant until that moment of restoration. He didn’t want to wait. He looked for someone who would seek Him, someone with whom He could speak. And so God would speak with Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Exodus 33:7-11).

Our God has always had the intention of nearness. He shows us from the beginning in the garden, through the old testament with Moses in the tent of meeting, throughout the life of Emmanuel, to the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Face to face is His goal.

Encountering All That God Is

Encountering God is coming face to face with Love.

Song of Songs 2:10 says, “The one I love [ The Bridegroom-King ] calls to me: Arise, my dearest. Hurry, my darling. Come away with me! I have come as you have asked to draw you to my heart and lead you out.” Then, Song of Songs 3:4 says,“Just as I moved past them, I encountered him. I found the one I adore! I caught him and fastened myself to him, refusing to be feeble in my heart again.”  His love creates in us a desire for intimacy; desire for nearness which gives us strength!

Encountering God means coming face to face with the Healer.

Matthew 12:10 says, “He [Jesus] encountered a man who had an atrophied, paralyzed hand. Then he turned to the man and said, “Hold out your hand!” And as he stretched it out, it was restored, exactly like the other.” Jesus consistently met the needs of those who he encountered as he traveled. A face to face encounter with God means putting yourself within direct reach of the hands that healed lepers, smeared mud on blind eyes, and lifted the lame to their feet.

Encountering God is coming face to face with Truth and Identity.

It says in Acts 1:3, “After the sufferings of his cross, Jesus appeared alive many times to these same apostles over a forty-day period. Jesus proved to them with many convincing signs that he had been resurrected. During these encounters, he taught them the truths of God’s kingdom realm.” Jesus wants to show us that He is alive by letting us encounter Him! And when we are in these encounters, He instills in us truth and teaches us who we are.

God’s Invitation To Us

The God of love, healing, power, truth, and life, is waiting to encounter us – to draw us to His heart as we ask. Encountering God means coming face to face with the greatest friend we could ever imagine, if only we’ll seek Him. This is what we want our students to experience. We have designed our school to provide opportunities for face to face encounters with the God of creation. We know that this is how real world changers are raised up.

When we seek God, we will never be rejected or turned away. He longs to embrace us and reveal Himself through intimate relationship. Everything our hearts could long for is found in His love as we cling to the One we adore. Through these encounters we truly come to know God, and only out of these encounters we can make Him known.

Do you want to encounter the living God of love, healing, truth, and life? He is longing to encounter YOU!

Know God and make Him known by signing up for an Encounter DTS today!

One of our DTS outreach teams arrived in India about a week ago, and they have already witnessed some incredible fruit! Our team has gone with the intent of seeing people saved, healed, and delivered, and Jesus has been so faithful to that! Here is an update from them about their first few days overseas:

Day #1 | Slums and A Home Visit

“We went to the slums on our first day of ministry, which is a testimony of divine appointments in and of itself! We sang songs and danced with the children, then prayed for them afterward. During this time, one of our leaders, Ru, lead 2 children to Christ! One was a boy I was praying for. I felt him swaying as I prayed, so I called Ru over to translate. He asked him what he was feeling, and he said, “I don’t know, I am just swaying.” We explained to him that He was experiencing the presence of God, and as we talked, Ru lead him to Christ! Many other children were swaying and feeling God’s presence as we prayed for them, too. We saw TWO salvations at the slums on our very first day of ministry, and many children encountered God’s presence!

That same day, our team ministered at a family’s home. At the house, one of our students boldly shared her testimony and the gospel of Jesus! Then, two of our staff got words from the Lord that there were people in the home suffering from stomach pains, issues with a right foot, and ear problems. When they shared those words of knowledge, two girls stood up to say they were dealing with those problems. Our team prayed for them, and they were both instantly healed! Another girl that had jaundice for 2 months also got healed completely, and then asked Jesus into her heart! One of our students was also able to share his testimony with a man who then, in response, gave his life to Christ!

Day #2 | Encouraging the Local Body of Christ

The next day started with kids ministry. We worshiped and prayed over the children, and TWO of them gave their lives to Christ! Many encountered God’s presence, some felt fear leave as we prayed and others said they felt immense peace.
Afterward, we were blessed to visit a family who has a growing house ministry. The Lord’s favor is very present in their lives! They regularly invite families to their homes to share the gospel with them, and they are seeing great growth in numbers! One of our students boldly shared her testimony with them. We then took some time to pray over them, and share words of encouragement from the Lord with them.

Day #3 | 84 Salvations at A Hospital!

On our third day, we were given a tour of the local hospital and got to see where some students study for their nursing degrees. The leaders of this hospital asked if we would like to speak to the students, and of course, we said “yes!” One of our teammates shared the gospel with a large group of students and teachers, and lead 84 of them to Jesus! Some girls began to cry as they prayed and gave their lives to Jesus and we were able to share scripture with them.

That whole experience also testifies to God’s favor over us! The local church asked the leaders of this hospital if they could do the same thing but the hospital turned them down–so the fact that they let us shows so much grace and favor.

This is how Sarah, one of our previous students in the School of Islamic Studies, found her calling to the nation of India. God took her on an amazingly fast, but clear journey towards what she is really passionate about in life. Through intercession, God placed a burden on her heart, which turned into a definite call with a lot of clear confirmation and provision to actually go on an outreach to India!

God’s Heart

I used to think that if you were called to a nation, you had to have a clear word about a specific place for your whole life… but Jesus totally blew my beliefs about this out of the water. During the first week of my School of Islamic Studies, Jesus started revealing His heart for India to me.

It all started during a time of intercession. We asked Jesus to lay a country on our heart, and to also to reveal the strongholds over the country. Our speaker then directed us to pray in the opposite spirit of the demonic oppression over that nation. Jesus highlighted South Asia, and specifically India, which seemed strange to me because I had never felt any desire to go there. All of a sudden, Jesus told me to pray against the spirit of lust and impurity over India. I started to think about the millions in this country who have been claimed by the human trafficking industry. This thought made my heart begin to ache.

As I was praying tears started to fill my eyes and eventually I had to leave the room as I began to weep. Jesus was starting to birth a new passion inside of me. Later that night, I looked up human trafficking statistics in South Asia and found that India was ranked as one of the worst in the world. I started reading stories about the women and children who have been trafficked and the horror they experience on a daily basis. I was completely appalled. That was the moment that Jesus planted a seed deep in my heart, and I knew that I HAD to do something.

Dreams

The night after God began to give me his heart for India, Jesus gave me a prophetic dream. This was actually the first time that I ever had a prophetic dream.

In my dream, I saw all of YWAM Redding, including myself, sitting down at round tables in our fellowship hall (where we eat, have worship, etc…) and one of my friends, Rohan, was preaching. There was a banner behind him that corresponded with his teaching and said “The Assignment, The Call, and The Go”. He was specifically talking about a country, which I assumed was India because Rohan is moving there to start a YWAM base. Four of my leaders stood up, pointed at me, and said, “SARAH! You’re the assignment! You have to go!!” I remember feeling incredibly confused. Then all of a sudden a white dove flew by my face, circled around it once, disappeared, and I knew that God’s peace was all over this situation. Next thing I knew, I ran out the door to go fulfill this said “assignment”.

Confirmation and Vision

About two weeks later, Jesus gave me another prophetic dream confirming the passion He instilled in me about anti human trafficking. In my dream, I ran through a forest chasing Jesus. As I followed Him, I turned to see a group of young Indian women and children running behind me clothed in black, ragged dresses. As I ran, I started doing ballerina leaps and the women and children started doing the same. Once they took their very first ballerina leap, their black ragged dresses transformed into radiant white dresses.

Again, I felt Jesus confirming my call to India and the vision for helping human trafficking victims. The Lord is calling me to bring peace and freedom to the women and children who have been victimized. I want to speak their true identity into them and root them in their daughter-ship in Christ and want them to know what it feels like to be truly loved and valued as Children of the Kingdom.

I wish to bring transformation to these women–from being forced to live a wretched lifestyle into living out a pure and holy life. Falling victim to the sex trafficking  industry is something that is normalized in Indian culture. They assume that it’s custom to be sexually, physically, and emotionally abused. Sadly, even young children think this is a part of normal life. My heart was once again filled with a zealous desire to halt the injustice that happens there on a daily basis. I want to change the culture–to denormalize abuse in the nation of India.

The Go

Originally, at the end of my School of Islamic Studies, we were planning to go on outreach to a country in Central Asia. However, for some reason I felt certain in my spirit that I was going to India instead with the DTS outreach team. This didn’t make sense to me at all, since this isn’t something that normally happens.

Despite the odd circumstances, I had so much faith that Jesus would make something happen, after all, He had given me so much confirmation. Literally two days after I wrote that in my journal, they announced that our trip to Central Asia had been cancelled. Can you say confirmation from Jesus?!

At this point, I started the conversation about going on outreach with our leadership team. I shared about my dreams from The Lord, and my heart for the nation. After prayer and discussion, Jesus has made a way for me to go with the outreach team to India!

My future plan is to move to India and commit for at least five years to help Rupesh, Susanna, and Rohan, pioneer a YWAM base in Ranchi, India. While I’m there, my dreams are to help lead schools and outreaches, start the anti-human trafficking ministry, start an orphanage, and start a center for women to get free ultrasounds of their babies in hopes of ending abortion.

Do you have a spark in your heart to see change in nations?

Ignite it into a burning passion! Check out our SIS!