Thailand & Cambodia

It's official.  I will be taking a team with another staff person to Thailand and Cambodia.  We will be leaving very close to Christmas, possibly the 22nd.  We now have 9 students who will be with us to make a total of 11 people.  I think the flight from Brisbane is a pretty long one (about 10 or 11 hrs?).  We have only met as a team once to talk about what it will be like over there and what to expect.  Though Thailand and Cambodia border each other, I am under the impression that they are very different countries.  Cambodia has more poverty as they do not have the tourism or natural resources that Thailand is able to have.  Cambodia has about 14 million people and 95% are Buddhists.  Cambodia has a huge youth population.  About 50% of he population is 21 and younger.  Thailand has  over 65 million people and a greater land mass than Cambodia.  Thailand has many more large cities than does Cambodia as well.  Thailand is also the prostitution capital of the world.  

So far we are looking to do some very practical outreach ministries.  We have opportunities to work in orphanages, help build houses, play soccer with youth, and various other ministries to share God's love to people.  Please pray for our team as we prepare to go over there.  It is important that we understand that this trip isn't about our wants and needs.  Please pray for our team to have a servant's heart.   

Outreach Locations

We have come to the time in the DTS when students hear about our outreach locations and they choose where they feel they should go.  The outreach location that I will be co-leading is to Cambodia and Thailand.  We also have teams going to Vanuatu and also to Indonesia.  We had tried to get an outreach team to go to Darwin, Australia to work with the Aboriginal people, but as of right now, the students are very hesitant to be part of that outreach.  As a base, we feel that we are in a location to effectively reach places like Australia for obvious reasons and also to reach Southeast Asia and the South Pacific Islands.  

I am very excited to be part of the team that goes to Cambodia and Thailand.  However, we have not told the students yet where they are going because we haven't been able to decide where to put them since no one wants to go to Darwin.  Please pray for the DTS students as they make decisions where to go.  Pray that they would be open to go where they are most needed.  Also, it is very hard on the leaders who have felt called to go to Darwin.  

It is a great privilege that we get to go to places like Cambodia and Thailand to work with people to show them God's love.  It can also be difficult at times so please pray for team unity starting now well before outreach.  Next week I will share with you a bit about what we will be doing there. 

My 1 on 1's

As YWAM staff, I have been given four male students whom I meet with weekly.  The time is set apart so that the students can process the information from lectures.  It is also a time for discipleship which is a fancy word, but basically means a process of change.  We want to help guide students along on this journey called a DTS.  So far, I have met with every one of my 1 on 1's at least once.  I am so blessed to have a variety of guys.  They are at very different places and it will definitely challenge me.  

I have a guy from Norway named Kristoffer.  Kristoffer has had a rough time dealing with the death of a friend back home recently.  Luckily, he has two friends who are also doing a DTS with him here on the Sunshine Coast.  I also have Hans who is a 17 year old from Florida.  Hans feels a strong calling to missions.  I have a Swedish guy named Joppe.  Joppe is one of the funniest students we have and is so hungry to learn as well.  Last, I have Alex from Denmark.  Alex is a gentle giant.  He is very quiet, but I know he is eager to seek out God.  

One thing I noticed is that each student has so many questions.  Please pray for these students and ask God to give the wisdom.  They are all fun to be around and I'm so excited to start the week of lectures.  This coming week we are doing "Hearing God's Voice".  

  

The Start

Every student is now here and the DTS is officially started.  The houses are full of students from so many different places.  We have several students from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.  We also have one from Finland and two from England.  The other half of our DTS is made up of Canadians and Americans.  The other staff and I half carefully placed students in rooms with people of other cultures and nationalities.  It is so fun to watch the interaction between people.  Sometimes it's hard trying to understand people through a thick accent.  It's also difficult trying to understand different terminology (ie: garbage=rubbish etc).  One thing I have come to realize is that even though there are so many noticeable differences, people are all created by God and have so much in common even if we live worlds apart.  All people want community and relationships, no matter what that looks like.

This week, we are mostly doing orientation to YWAM and getting the students comfortable with each other and with staff.  A big part of this week is everyone must tell their story of how they came to be here at YWAM (also called a testimony).  If you would like to pray for something, pray that this would be a great experience and everyone would feel comfortable sharing.  It really breaks down a lot of walls between the students and staff.  

All the students are in love with the beach and the beauty of the Sunshine Coast.  It really is a great place to be during DTS.  There are a wide range of student ages as well.  We have two 25 year olds and a 24 year old.  We also have two 17 year olds.  Lee is a 25 year old student who I am really excited is here.  He has not stopped talking about how excited he is to be here and how he has to pinch himself to make sure it's not a dream.  I'm so glad he is here and I know he is going to be a great leader and example for our younger guys.  

Thank you to everyone who prays for our DTS.  I really hope you know that you are a great support and would encourage you to continue.  I will try and get some pictures up of students to give everyone a visual:)

Calm before the storm

This last week, myself and all the other staff have been in training to prepare us for the DTS that starts here Oct 6th.  I'm beginning to understand how chaotic it's going to be once it starts.  A speaker came up from YWAM Melbourne and has been with YWAM for over 30 years.  He really stressed the importance of having a servant's heart as a staff person.  One thing he said that really stuck with me is that an acid test to see if you have a servant's heart is: How do you react when someone treats you like a servant?  I used to think I had a servant's heart but I recently found out that I need some work done:)  To give you a good idea of what the students and staff participate in, I will give you an overview of the DTS.

Each staff person is assigned a group of students for both small groups and one on one times which both generally meet once a week.  So if a staff person has four one on ones, it could take up a lot of time every week.  In those times we ask the students questions about everything from lectures to life back home to whatever they want to chat about.  We really try to build relationships with the students and get them thinking about their future.  Particularly in the one on one times is when most of the deep conversing is done.  During small group time, we usually just meet to fellowship together and talk about certain issues in life.  The time is more to get the students talking amongst themselves and relating to each other.  Small groups happen once a week at a variety of places.  So these events happen outside of the lecture time.

Lectures are every Monday through Thursday from 8 am to noon.  Students are required to participate in lectures and encouraged to take notes.  It is also during these times when we discuss which countries to go to on Outreach.  Please pray that God would prepare the hearts of both the staff and the students here.  It is very important to make the students feel at home and part of YWAM from the time they get to the Sunny Coast.  

I actually met the first two students to show up.  They are Kristian and Ingrid from Norway.  They were very friendly and also very excited to be here.  As a matter of fact, we have several students coming from Scandinavia.  Many of them are from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.  We also have two British students and a few Americans and Canadians.  It will be great getting to know people who grew up on the other side of the world!  

Greetings from the Sunny Coast!!!!

Greetings from the Sunshine Coast of Australia!

As I have been getting used to being back here, I have noticed a few changes.  The base has grown exponentially over the past year.  We now have more vehicles, houses, and people staffing than ever before.  I am very fortunate that I know many of the staff already.  There are actually several people who were students with me during my school who are now staff.  My fellow Arizonian Sean Marin has been on staff ever since 2007 and has pioneered the media ministry here on the Sunny Coast.  Justin Tierney from Indiana and Kelly Tierney from Oregon were married in June and will be staffing.  Ashlee Rohrer from Pennsylvania has been on staff for nearly a year and has also been on several outreaches to Asia.  

I am very excited to start working with these great people and serving the community and each other.  For those of you who aren't familiar with how the base works, I will try and explain it.  The base acts as a platform for all the ministries that YWAM is involved in.  The Discipleship Training School, which is what I will be working with, is only one part of the base.  There are several people who work at the base, but are not directly involved with the DTS.  There is a skate ministry which works with a lot of the youth around the Sunshine Coast.  We also have a surfer's ministry that attracts people who live the surf lifestyle.  As mentioned before, we now have a media ministry which works with the DTS, the skate ministry, and the surfer's ministry.  And last there is a coffee shop at a wake boarding cable park.  For those of you who don't know what a wake boarding cable park is, its exactly like wake boarding, only you are pulled by giant cables that surround the park and not a boat.   

The Discipleship Training School starts on October 6.  For the first three months, the students will be in a classroom setting every morning Monday through Thursday until lunch time.  Each week offers an exciting new topic and speaker.  Students are expected to keep a journal, report on several books, and meet with their one on one which is assigned at the start of the program.  After the three months are over,students will have already split into teams which will go to other countries to do outreach.  Generally, we have teams gong into Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific.  

This particular school starting October 6th will have 20 male students out of 29 total students.  This translates into me being very busy and learning a lot along the way!  If you could please keep me in your prayers as well as these students, it would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you everyone for your prayers and support.  I look forward to hearing from you and sharing my experiences.

Grace and Peace,

Matt Brown