Westside Story, June 2022
Hello dear friends!
3 months have gone by already since our last broad communication. If your lives are anything like ours, a LOT has happened in the last few months!
Ministry…
With life at home, and locations abroad approaching something akin to normal again, we are busy and moving forward with our ministry plans and calling here at YWAM Montana, Lakeside. Individuals are now able to apply for our training programs and attend from outside of the USA. And more importantly, we can now send our teams more easily outside of the USA. More good news for me (Jeremy), is that I have been able to increase our staff and leadership training team to almost 30 individuals now. This means we can take more students, go to more places, and investigate more ways of training and sending effectively.
DTS Equip, our leadership school, ran in April and May, and approached a near-record number of participants from multiple locations. From Cambodia to Europe, leaders and staff came to connect, deepen their training, and return refreshed and with renewed vision for discipleship, evangelism, and missions. Our Winter DTS returned from outreach, with teams in Panama and Columbia. It was a fantastic school, with many graduates making plans to enter more mission-work.
We are now running 4 DTS programs this year, with a new, second DTS running this summer. Alongside those is our “Summer Programs” school. This is effectively a “mini-DTS” for individuals who cannot commit to 6 months of discipleship training and outreach but want to give their summer to missions. This is also a more unique program because we also accept students from within High school.
Something incredibly special we have only just completed this last week, was a 7-day trip to our largest YWAM campus, Kona Hawaii. This last week I was able to take 20 of our leaders and staff to visit with several of our founding leaders and missionaries. I wanted to put the current and emerging generation of trainers and mission-makers in the same room with as many of the original generation of pioneers as possible, and to ask many questions. It was called the “Mamas and Papas Tour.” Alongside spending hours with Loren Cunningham, the mission’s founder, they were able to hear from other pioneers from that generation. Those who pioneered works in the French-speaking world and North Africa, as well as the leaders of YWAM Ships, who engage with some of the hardest to reach island, river, and coastal communities around the world. There was much more also. The goal was to receive an impartation of vision, pioneering and faith, to hear where they see the future of the mission going in our (younger) hands, to simply sit and “talk-story,” while being exposed to a different campus and YWAM culture (there is always something valuable to be learned from seeing different models). It was an incredibly significant trip for many.
Molly continues to help support and make the campus Directors in MT as successful and effective as possible. Everything from corporate structure to future vision and leadership lands on her plate. Most importantly (IMHO 😊) she is actively sought after by the younger generation for advice, mentoring, and counsel. She is a treasure. Then, if “work” wasn’t busy enough, the family side of things has been keeping us consumed, especially Molly, even more!
Family…
These last few months have seen an incredible amount of “new growth” in our family. Samuel graduated from his own DTS in Mexico and the Middle East. He is now working hard to earn the money and prepare himself for a 9-month discipleship and leadership course in Kona, HI. He leaves us in September. Joel just graduated High School! Amazing. We couldn’t be prouder of the man Joel has become; his love for truth, integrity, and consistent Christianity is a blessing beyond his academic achievement. It was a privilege for me to bring him on our staff trip this last week to Kona. And, can you believe it, Eden is starting to drive now! She finished 8th grade with multiple awards, and then drove Molly home!
Perhaps the icing on the cake for us this season, is being able to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this month! I definitely “married-up”, and am so grateful for the partner, friend, Christ-example, wife and wonderful mother, the Lord has given me (I’m publishing this before she can change it 😊. Check out the photo below. She still fits into her wedding dress just 😉.
Life is full, and we are blessed beyond what we deserve. While family, work, and the world still offer a lot of daily challenges, we can still say that God is good, and we are blessed to be called stewards of his goodness to others.
May the Lord bless you in all you are doing. And thank you as always, for following along and partnering with us in our mission and sending journey. With much love,
Jeremy, Molly, Sam, Joel and Eden.
See some photos below: Joel’s graduation, Joel and I in Kona, and with Loren Cunningham, founder of YWAM (still going strong!), Molly and I …then and now, and Eden behind the wheel!
GoWests! 