Sunday, May 23, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Wednesday Morning Prayer Requests (April 21)
Guten Tag!
As many of you have heard there is a large cloud of volcanic ash hanging over Europe. It has suspended all air travel for 6 days, and we are scheduled to fly out of Frankfurt, Germany on Thursday. Wycliffe Bible Translators is expecting us in Abancay, Peru on April 23rd to assist with the construction of a translation center. Our concern is that if our flight is cancelled we will be pushed to the end of a 7 million person line. Please pray that the skies will clear and we will be allowed to fly.
On a praise note, Thursday will also mark the end of our 3-month commitment with Military Community Youth Ministry. It is bittersweet to leave as we have built relationships with adults and youth to last a lifetime. The Lord has been at work in our time throughout Europe, and we have seen his hand on our ministry. We have seen dozens of lives changed by the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! Thank God for letting us be a part of what he is doing throughout the World!
Please continue to pray for our financial needs to be met, and prayerfully consider your participation in supporting us financially. If you feel led to become a part of our financial support team please follow the link below.
Austin & Katy Van Wyk
Burden Bearers International
Bringing Help - Building Relationships - Influencing Lives
The measure of a true servant is how they react when they are treated like one - Anonymous
As many of you have heard there is a large cloud of volcanic ash hanging over Europe. It has suspended all air travel for 6 days, and we are scheduled to fly out of Frankfurt, Germany on Thursday. Wycliffe Bible Translators is expecting us in Abancay, Peru on April 23rd to assist with the construction of a translation center. Our concern is that if our flight is cancelled we will be pushed to the end of a 7 million person line. Please pray that the skies will clear and we will be allowed to fly.
On a praise note, Thursday will also mark the end of our 3-month commitment with Military Community Youth Ministry. It is bittersweet to leave as we have built relationships with adults and youth to last a lifetime. The Lord has been at work in our time throughout Europe, and we have seen his hand on our ministry. We have seen dozens of lives changed by the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! Thank God for letting us be a part of what he is doing throughout the World!
Please continue to pray for our financial needs to be met, and prayerfully consider your participation in supporting us financially. If you feel led to become a part of our financial support team please follow the link below.
Austin & Katy Van Wyk
Burden Bearers International
Bringing Help - Building Relationships - Influencing Lives
The measure of a true servant is how they react when they are treated like one - Anonymous
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Wednesday Morning Prayer Requests (March 31)
Good morning from the Czech Republic!
We are currently in Turnov preparing for the first of three High School service projects with MCYM/Club Beyond! We will be filling the role of "head leaders" (which is a like a combination of head counselors and program staff for you Camp Elim people), and that means a lot of responsibility on not a lot of sleep :)
Please pray for:
1.) Productive prep time so that everything is in readiness for the arrival of students next Sunday
2.) Safe travel for all of the remaining staff and students who will be coming in from all over Europe
3.) Challenge and spiritual growth for all involved
4.) Good communication between the advance team of staff so that expectations will be clear
5.) That we and the entire group of more than 100 people (staff and students) would be a bright light in Turnov, a town of more than 30,000 with fewer than 150 known believers!
Thank you all so much for your prayers! We cannot tell you how necessary they are!
In Him,
P.S. We are working on our March newsletter. It will be out soon!
We are currently in Turnov preparing for the first of three High School service projects with MCYM/Club Beyond! We will be filling the role of "head leaders" (which is a like a combination of head counselors and program staff for you Camp Elim people), and that means a lot of responsibility on not a lot of sleep :)
Please pray for:
1.) Productive prep time so that everything is in readiness for the arrival of students next Sunday
2.) Safe travel for all of the remaining staff and students who will be coming in from all over Europe
3.) Challenge and spiritual growth for all involved
4.) Good communication between the advance team of staff so that expectations will be clear
5.) That we and the entire group of more than 100 people (staff and students) would be a bright light in Turnov, a town of more than 30,000 with fewer than 150 known believers!
Thank you all so much for your prayers! We cannot tell you how necessary they are!
In Him,
P.S. We are working on our March newsletter. It will be out soon!
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Hello from Italy! or Buongiorno! :)
Buongiorno di bella Italia!
It's been a couple of jam-packed weeks since we last updated! We have taken two 4-hour van rides, one plane trip, and nine trains to be in three countries (Belgium, Germany, & Italy) working with youth from four different military bases (S.H.A.P.E., AfNorth, Camp Darby &
Aviano) in the last 14 days!
Throughout it all, we have felt so privileged to have the opportunity to work alongside so many wonderful men and women of Christ and to know that this is our life now!
On Valentine's day we left the S.H.A.P.E. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) chapel for the middle school service project in Kaiserslautern, Germany! We worked with a local church there called City Mission and helped them with their ongoing ministry to the destitute population around them. We have NEVER seen a group of middle schoolers (from two different bases) work as hard or respect each other as much as we saw on this trip. In the evenings, after they had worked all day we had club times (like chapel) with a great speaker, Dale Mace who works with MCYM in Lakenheath, England. His theme verse was Genesis 1:27, and throughout the week we learned "because you're worth it!" It was an intense - physically, emotionally, and spiritually - four days, and we were so blessed to be a part of it! Especially since three of the girls from S.H.A.P.E. came to a saving knowledge of Christ during our time!
We got back to S.H.A.P.E. on Thursday night, and Saturday morning we flew to Pisa for a week at Camp Darby. Camp Darby is a much smaller installation, and as such there is only one MCYM staff person working there, Jessica, so she has to be very reliant on volunteers or handle the load alone. It was refreshing for her to have a "team" for the week.
We had the opportunity to run her middle school and high school club meetings (youth group), help serve the middle school students lunch on Monday, chaperone a high school ski trip on Tuesday, help with middle school girls group on Wednesday, and assist her with a huge BBQ fundraiser (for their high schoolers to go on service project) on Thursday!
It's been a couple of jam-packed weeks since we last updated! We have taken two 4-hour van rides, one plane trip, and nine trains to be in three countries (Belgium, Germany, & Italy) working with youth from four different military bases (S.H.A.P.E., AfNorth, Camp Darby &
Aviano) in the last 14 days!Throughout it all, we have felt so privileged to have the opportunity to work alongside so many wonderful men and women of Christ and to know that this is our life now!
On Valentine's day we left the S.H.A.P.E. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe) chapel for the middle school service project in Kaiserslautern, Germany! We worked with a local church there called City Mission and helped them with their ongoing ministry to the destitute population around them. We have NEVER seen a group of middle schoolers (from two different bases) work as hard or respect each other as much as we saw on this trip. In the evenings, after they had worked all day we had club times (like chapel) with a great speaker, Dale Mace who works with MCYM in Lakenheath, England. His theme verse was Genesis 1:27, and throughout the week we learned "because you're worth it!" It was an intense - physically, emotionally, and spiritually - four days, and we were so blessed to be a part of it! Especially since three of the girls from S.H.A.P.E. came to a saving knowledge of Christ during our time!
We got back to S.H.A.P.E. on Thursday night, and Saturday morning we flew to Pisa for a week at Camp Darby. Camp Darby is a much smaller installation, and as such there is only one MCYM staff person working there, Jessica, so she has to be very reliant on volunteers or handle the load alone. It was refreshing for her to have a "team" for the week.We had the opportunity to run her middle school and high school club meetings (youth group), help serve the middle school students lunch on Monday, chaperone a high school ski trip on Tuesday, help with middle school girls group on Wednesday, and assist her with a huge BBQ fundraiser (for their high schoolers to go on service project) on Thursday!
On Saturday, we arrived at our next "assignment" assisting MCYM in Aviano, Italy. We hit the ground running on Sunday morning, helping with a big pancake breakfast (a fundraiser for their high schoolers' service project). Austin was able to perform some much needed maintenance on Pam(the community director)'s car on Monday, and we helped run their middle school and high school clubs on Tuesday! We will be here until the end of next week (March 13th), and will probably have many more stories by that time!
Thank you all for your continued prayers! It is so wonderful to know that we have such a big team standing with us in this ministry!
Anyone who would like to contribute financially is welcome to send their tax-deductible donations in the form of a check or money order to Harvest Bible Fellowship, 5567 Painted Rocks Road, Woodland Park, CO 80863. We are also able to accept donations through PayPal (click the "Donate" button in the right sidebar) which would allow you to use a major credit or debit card, or have funds transferred from a bank account. Donations made via PayPal are also tax-deductible.
Ciao!
Thank you all for your continued prayers! It is so wonderful to know that we have such a big team standing with us in this ministry!
Anyone who would like to contribute financially is welcome to send their tax-deductible donations in the form of a check or money order to Harvest Bible Fellowship, 5567 Painted Rocks Road, Woodland Park, CO 80863. We are also able to accept donations through PayPal (click the "Donate" button in the right sidebar) which would allow you to use a major credit or debit card, or have funds transferred from a bank account. Donations made via PayPal are also tax-deductible.
Ciao!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Bonjour de Belgique!
Here we are! Belgium. We have both said several times this week how surreal it feels to be here. It's incredible to see so many months and years of prayers and preparation come to fruition. This is very much the realization of a dream!
We arrived in Brussels on Sunday, February 7th. Our bags, however, did not get here until about a day later. When we did get them, Katy's bag had broken open, and apparently spilled because we are missing several items. That was an understandably discouraging way to kick off our time here, but thanks to a little ingenuity on Austin's part, the bag is now fully operational again!
Despite the somewhat rocky start, God is good, and it is evident that this is truly where we're supposed to be. This leg of our journey is the first stop on our nearly three-month commitment with MCYM (Military Community Youth Ministry). While in Belgium we are working with the Club Beyond staff on S.H.A.P.E. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe). On Tuesday afternoon and evening we had the opportunity to experience our first clubs, which are full out youth events that happen on a weekly basis. The Junior High club meets shortly after school, they do a snack, several games, and a Bible message. The Senior High club is much the same except with supper, since they meet later in the day. We were privileged to hit the ground running and serve in many aspects. We even had the privilege of running a couple of the games! It was a great way to get to know the youth, and exciting to see what God is doing through MCYM Club Beyond!
During the rest of our time here we will be chaperoning some of the youth from both the Junior HIgh and Senior High groups on different service projects throughout Europe. The rest of this week has been full of preparations to take the Junior High group on their service project to Kaiserslautern, Germany. Here is an excerpt from their support letter which explains what we will be doing there:
Service projects are also a great time for the kids who participate to grow spiritually, and some even come to a saving knowledge of Christ as a result of these trips. In addition to serving the people of Kaiserslautern, they will also have devotions every morning and chapel time and small group discussions every evening. The speaker's theme for our time is "Reflecting Christ." We are very excited and expecting God to work in big ways!
Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer as we continue to press on in this work God has given us! Here are some of our specific requests:
* Austin's health - he is on anti-biotics battling a serious chest cough this week, and is hopefully on the downward slope of it!
* Safe travels - we will be transporting all of the youth and leaders for the service project via the autobahn on Sunday afternoon.
* Service Project - for a safe and fruitful time in Kaiserslautern
* Baggage resolution - the airline told us that it can take up to 5 weeks to be compensated for our lost/damaged items
* Continued financial support - as we assist those individuals who are also financially supported as full-time missionaries our desire is to not create a burden for those who have asked us to join with them. As a result we continue to provide our portion of service project expenses, transportation expenses, food and housing expenses, etc. This can only continue to happen with the continued kindness and generosity of our financial supporters!
Praise the Lord for all of the safety and provision we have received thus far! God is so good, and we are so humbled and honored to get to do his work throughout the world!
Blessings,
Phil 2:1-11
* tax-deductible donations can be sent to:
Harvest Bible Fellowship
5567 Painted Rocks Road
Woodland Park, CO 80863
Here we are! Belgium. We have both said several times this week how surreal it feels to be here. It's incredible to see so many months and years of prayers and preparation come to fruition. This is very much the realization of a dream!
We arrived in Brussels on Sunday, February 7th. Our bags, however, did not get here until about a day later. When we did get them, Katy's bag had broken open, and apparently spilled because we are missing several items. That was an understandably discouraging way to kick off our time here, but thanks to a little ingenuity on Austin's part, the bag is now fully operational again!
Despite the somewhat rocky start, God is good, and it is evident that this is truly where we're supposed to be. This leg of our journey is the first stop on our nearly three-month commitment with MCYM (Military Community Youth Ministry). While in Belgium we are working with the Club Beyond staff on S.H.A.P.E. (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe). On Tuesday afternoon and evening we had the opportunity to experience our first clubs, which are full out youth events that happen on a weekly basis. The Junior High club meets shortly after school, they do a snack, several games, and a Bible message. The Senior High club is much the same except with supper, since they meet later in the day. We were privileged to hit the ground running and serve in many aspects. We even had the privilege of running a couple of the games! It was a great way to get to know the youth, and exciting to see what God is doing through MCYM Club Beyond!
During the rest of our time here we will be chaperoning some of the youth from both the Junior HIgh and Senior High groups on different service projects throughout Europe. The rest of this week has been full of preparations to take the Junior High group on their service project to Kaiserslautern, Germany. Here is an excerpt from their support letter which explains what we will be doing there:
This year we are going to Kaiserslautern, Germany from February 14-18 to work with a church called City Mission. City Mission clothes and feeds over 800 people each month, by sending out 20,000 lbs of food to 9 locations. They work alongside four German businesses (including “Toys R Us”!) in an effort to take care of the poor in the community. Over 25% of the children in their immediate community live in poverty. Many of the homes they minister to lack even basic toiletries and will even burn wood inside their apartments for warmth without the use of a proper fireplace. Each day we are there we will go into surrounding communities where the residents live in poverty. Many of the people in these neighborhoods lack even basic necessities like toilet paper and food! We will take vans filled with donated food into these neighborhoods to distribute to the families. But we won’t just give them food! We’ll have a chance to spend time talking with them and showing them that we care about who they are. Each afternoon we will participate in service projects at churches around the area doing projects like painting, organizing food and clothing pantries and cleaning up trash in neighborhoods.
Service projects are also a great time for the kids who participate to grow spiritually, and some even come to a saving knowledge of Christ as a result of these trips. In addition to serving the people of Kaiserslautern, they will also have devotions every morning and chapel time and small group discussions every evening. The speaker's theme for our time is "Reflecting Christ." We are very excited and expecting God to work in big ways!
Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer as we continue to press on in this work God has given us! Here are some of our specific requests:
* Austin's health - he is on anti-biotics battling a serious chest cough this week, and is hopefully on the downward slope of it!
* Safe travels - we will be transporting all of the youth and leaders for the service project via the autobahn on Sunday afternoon.
* Service Project - for a safe and fruitful time in Kaiserslautern
* Baggage resolution - the airline told us that it can take up to 5 weeks to be compensated for our lost/damaged items
* Continued financial support - as we assist those individuals who are also financially supported as full-time missionaries our desire is to not create a burden for those who have asked us to join with them. As a result we continue to provide our portion of service project expenses, transportation expenses, food and housing expenses, etc. This can only continue to happen with the continued kindness and generosity of our financial supporters!
Praise the Lord for all of the safety and provision we have received thus far! God is so good, and we are so humbled and honored to get to do his work throughout the world!
Blessings,
Phil 2:1-11
* tax-deductible donations can be sent to:
Harvest Bible Fellowship
5567 Painted Rocks Road
Woodland Park, CO 80863
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Logos 2010 Pictures!
Hello everyone!
We are back in the States after our time on the Logos Hope! It was such a great 10 days!
We have three Facebook photo albums set up, in case you're interested:
~ Logos Hope 2010 - Thursday thru Saturday (January 7-9)
~ Logos Hope 2010 - Sunday & Monday (January 10 & 11)
~ Logos Hope 2010 (Jan 12th - 16th)
Stay tuned for a wrap-up update, and the January newsletter! If you would like to be added to our e-mail update list, please e-mail us at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com!
Blessings,
We are back in the States after our time on the Logos Hope! It was such a great 10 days!
We have three Facebook photo albums set up, in case you're interested:
~ Logos Hope 2010 - Thursday thru Saturday (January 7-9)
~ Logos Hope 2010 - Sunday & Monday (January 10 & 11)
~ Logos Hope 2010 (Jan 12th - 16th)
Stay tuned for a wrap-up update, and the January newsletter! If you would like to be added to our e-mail update list, please e-mail us at hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com!
Blessings,
Monday, January 11, 2010
Logos Hope 2010
We are having a fantastic time onboard the Logos Hope!
We are living in an 8x8 cabin with two small cupboards that serve as closets, a sink, a small table, two chairs, and a bed - we haven't taken a picture yet, but we will! Toilets and showers are shared, and there is a large common dining area on one of the upper decks.
There are so many facets to the ship ministry, and as a part of a vision team, we get to see a different piece of it every day. On Saturday, I worked in the "International Cafe," which all of the visitors to the ship come through after they go through the book shop. I talked to people and bussed tables a little bit, then I painted faces in the children's area all afternoon. Austin worked in the book store that first day, welcoming people to the book fair and helping them find what they're looking for and some time running the welcome video in the "Lifeboat Theater."
Sunday after church, Austin worked in the book hold pricing the books that have yet to go into the book fair, and I worked in the actual book fair, doing what he did on Saturday. Tomorrow, I'm going to be an "Angel" (which is Logos Hope language for housekeeping), and Austin is going into town to visit patients in a local hospital.
The rest of the week we will each have a day in the engine room (eek!) - Austin has two days there, I have a day in the galley (kitchen), Austin has a day in the International Cafe, and I have my day in the community, but I don't have my assignment for that, yet :)
Thanks for your continuing prayers and support allowing us to serve the Lord throughout the world!
Ajo!
Austin & Katy Van Wyk
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Happy New Year!
We were so blessed to be able to attend Urbana 09 in St. Louis last week! It was incredible to be with 17,000 like-minded, passionate believers, and God used the speakers and seminars to solidify our desire to serve him in a RADICAL way! Many of our perspectives and pre-conceived opinions were also challenged and are being reshaped as we strive to live and serve as Christ did.
Thank you for all of your prayers and support!In Him,
Austin & Katy Van Wyk
Jude 24 & 25
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Urbana '09 Update
Hello from St. Louis!
This week so far at Urbana has been absolutely incredible! Everything about this conference is designed to help the over 17,000 people from over 100 countries go deeper with the Lord and clarify his desires for your life, in addition to opening your eyes to situations around the world that you may never have heard about otherwise. Here are a few of the things that have grabbed our attention:
1) The theme verse for the week is John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." Therefore, a huge emphasis has been placed on Christ becoming human and denying himself the glory of heaven to live among the filthy human race, and how Christ's incarnation into our world should serve as a model for our ministry into other cultures and people groups.
2) When doing missionary work, we have been encouraged that instead of being "an inch deep and a mile wide" we need to send smaller teams of people for longer periods of time to develop relationships rather than conversions. People don't care what you know until they know that you care.
3) The seminar we chose to attend yesterday was entitled "Modern-day Abolitionist Movement" by David Batstone. There we learned that over 27 million people are still trapped in slavery, for example, 70% of all of the chocolate we have ever consumed was produced using cocoa farmed by child slaves. This was entirely new and incredibly disturbing to us, especially because thousands of the Not For Sale organization's documented cases have occurred in the UNITED STATES! (Go to www.slaverymap.org to see if there have been cases of slavery in your area)
Needless to say, you cannot leave Urbana without an expanded view of what is happening in the world and how God is working, even in the midst of unspeakable circumstances.
Today is designed to be a reflection day, and as such they have built a lot of time into the schedule for us to step back and spend some concentrated time in prayer asking God how he would have us respond to all we are hearing and seeing and learning and feeling and thinking. Please pray for us as we go into that time. God is doing some incredible things, and as last night's speaker, Oscar Muriu, put it, it is time for us to respond in a radical way.
Thank you so much for supporting us and covering us with prayer as we make these big decisions.
Love,
Philippians 2:5-8
This week so far at Urbana has been absolutely incredible! Everything about this conference is designed to help the over 17,000 people from over 100 countries go deeper with the Lord and clarify his desires for your life, in addition to opening your eyes to situations around the world that you may never have heard about otherwise. Here are a few of the things that have grabbed our attention:
1) The theme verse for the week is John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." Therefore, a huge emphasis has been placed on Christ becoming human and denying himself the glory of heaven to live among the filthy human race, and how Christ's incarnation into our world should serve as a model for our ministry into other cultures and people groups.
2) When doing missionary work, we have been encouraged that instead of being "an inch deep and a mile wide" we need to send smaller teams of people for longer periods of time to develop relationships rather than conversions. People don't care what you know until they know that you care.
3) The seminar we chose to attend yesterday was entitled "Modern-day Abolitionist Movement" by David Batstone. There we learned that over 27 million people are still trapped in slavery, for example, 70% of all of the chocolate we have ever consumed was produced using cocoa farmed by child slaves. This was entirely new and incredibly disturbing to us, especially because thousands of the Not For Sale organization's documented cases have occurred in the UNITED STATES! (Go to www.slaverymap.org to see if there have been cases of slavery in your area)
Needless to say, you cannot leave Urbana without an expanded view of what is happening in the world and how God is working, even in the midst of unspeakable circumstances.
Today is designed to be a reflection day, and as such they have built a lot of time into the schedule for us to step back and spend some concentrated time in prayer asking God how he would have us respond to all we are hearing and seeing and learning and feeling and thinking. Please pray for us as we go into that time. God is doing some incredible things, and as last night's speaker, Oscar Muriu, put it, it is time for us to respond in a radical way.
Thank you so much for supporting us and covering us with prayer as we make these big decisions.
Love,
Philippians 2:5-8
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
A Privelege to Suffer for Him
Ummm . . . wow! I just listened to this episode of Focus on the Family, and I am encouraged and blown away and challenged to live for Christ! If Ken Hutcherson can be such a bright light for Jesus with all that he is going through, how can I NOT be, as blessed as I am?
Definitely check it out, just click here, then click on the link that says "Listen Now" to hear this incredible story.
<3,
Definitely check it out, just click here, then click on the link that says "Listen Now" to hear this incredible story.
<3,
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
October 2009 Newsletter!
Hello!
We hope this letter finds you all well! We are writing to share some very exciting news! After much consideration and prayer, we have decided to take the leap into full-time ministry!
Throughout our lives, while I was growing up in Colorado, and Austin was living in Iowa, both of our families were heavily involved in the church and lots of different forms of ministry. We were both very involved in our church youth groups, Austin was a member of his church's youth leadership team, I spent my summers volunteering at a church camp, and we were both blessed to be able to serve on more than a dozen short-term missions teams. Before we ever knew that the other person existed on the planet we both had the strong desire to be involved in ministry as our career.
We both attended Emmaus Bible College and graduated with a One-Year Bible Certificate. During the time that we were dating, and since we have been married, we have had many opportunities to serve together as a couple. We were both on a team of students from our college that spent a month in France and Switzerland learning about how to reach out to people in a culture that is very different from that which we were used to - basically experiencing what missionaries would during their first few weeks in the field. Austin and I and our friend Doug travelled to Honduras and spent a week teaching English at a Christian school there. We were also part of a team from our church that traveled to New Orleans to help re-build a homeless shelter in one of the areas that was the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, and Austin received valuable training in the form of Youth For Christ's Summer Institute.
It has been very exciting to see how God has used and is using the seemingly insignificant details of our lives to move us into a place where this dream can become a reality. Everything from working together to re-construct our house, to the incredible experience and training Austin has received through his current job in assessing and restoring homes that have experienced catastrophic loss has shown us that we are uniquely equipped to minister to others in some very down-to-earth and practical ways.
Lord-willing, our missions journey will begin at Urbana 2009 (www.Urbana09.org) in St. Louis. Urbana is a missions conference with many challenging seminars as well as a huge “trade-show” for missions organizations where we will be able to discuss our passions and vision with representatives of several different organizations along with receiving invaluable training from experienced missions professionals.
Immediately following Urbana, we’re right on into 2010. 2010 is shaping up to be a jam-packed, adventure-filled year. January's plans are undecided at the moment as we are prayerfully considering two different options that will take us in very different directions, either in Central Asia, or the United Kingdom.
In February we will join with Tim & Angella Cole with Youth for Christ/MCYM Europe working with the children of military personnel on US military bases. We will help them lead the Junior High and Senior High groups on large construction service projects in February and April respectively. In between the two trips, Tim has lined up various fill-in ministry responsibilities for us to assist with the Youth for Christ programs throughout Europe.
We will be home for a short period of time during the month of May, and then we’re off again for a two-month-long intensive hands-on-training trip with Launch Out Ministries (www.launchoutministries.com) “The vision of this trip is to equip Christians and to awaken them to who they are in Christ. As you travel to about 10 nations, on 5 different continents you will learn from the lives of the local missionaries and Pastors in these countries. Not only will you be taught in a classroom setting, but you will learn from their lives as you interact with them.”
Upon our return to the states, we will begin the process of joining with a larger organization for a longer-term assignment. Our long-term vision is to create a new ministry organization called Burden Bearers International that will be dedicated to coming alongside the body of Christ – wherever they may be – and shouldering their burdens in very practical ways; however, at the recommendation of our pastor, we are going to pursue ministry with an established organization for a time before attempting to create our own entity.
We treasure your prayers as we move forward with this incredible adventure. Aside from travelling mercies and safety abroad, our most pressing needs include: 1) That God would continue to present opportunities for service and direct us to where we will be most effective. 2) Preparation for us physically, emotionally, and spiritually for hard but very rewarding work. 3) Wrapping up the details of our lives here in Iowa so that we will be ready to leave in January!
We are also looking for people to partner with us financially. We realize that in today’s economy funds are more strained than ever, but we believe that God has gone before us and is preparing a way to provide for every penny! Your tax-deductible donations in the form of either check or money order made out to "Harvest Bible Fellowship" can be mailed to:
Harvest Bible Fellowship
5567 Painted Rocks Road
Woodland Park, CO 80863
Or you can use the "Donate" button in the sidebar to donate via PayPal.
Blessings,
Set the World on Fire
Our sweet friend Anna found this song earlier this week, and I absolutely love it! I thought you all might find it interesting as well:
:)
:)
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Mailing List!
Okay, I know it has been a while since we've posted an update. We have been doing a lot of hurry up and wait around here for the past couple of weeks. It has been a great reminder that everything that is going to happen is ONLY going to happen in God's timing - not ours!
However, we are preparing our first newsletter for publication! We will be posting them here on the blog, but if you would like to be added to either the snail mail or e-mail mailing list, please e-mail your information to hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com
Thank you all for your prayers and support as we continue to move forward with this incredible adventure!
However, we are preparing our first newsletter for publication! We will be posting them here on the blog, but if you would like to be added to either the snail mail or e-mail mailing list, please e-mail your information to hossandkatylin{at}gmail{dot}com
Thank you all for your prayers and support as we continue to move forward with this incredible adventure!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Quick Update
Whew, it's been a crazy week! And we have received so much encouragement and confirmation along the way that we are just in awe of the way God works!
Our 2010 schedule is already filling up rapidly! As it stands now we will be in Europe from mid-January through the end of April with at least two two-week service projects with Tim Cole and YFC/MCYM Belgium.
Thank you all for your continued prayers as we move forward with this incredible adventure!
Please do not hesitate to pass our contact information to anyone you know who may be interested in our services!
hossandkatylin {at} gmail {dot} com
:)
Our 2010 schedule is already filling up rapidly! As it stands now we will be in Europe from mid-January through the end of April with at least two two-week service projects with Tim Cole and YFC/MCYM Belgium.
Thank you all for your continued prayers as we move forward with this incredible adventure!
Please do not hesitate to pass our contact information to anyone you know who may be interested in our services!
hossandkatylin {at} gmail {dot} com
:)
Friday, August 21, 2009
Our Story . . .
Throughout our lives, while I was growing up in Colorado, and Austin was living in Iowa, both of our families were heavily involved in the church and lots of different forms of ministry. We were both very involved in our church youth groups, Austin was a member of his church's youth leadership team, I spent my summers volunteering at a church camp, and we were both blessed to be able to serve on more than a dozen short-term missions teams. Before we ever knew that the other person existed on the planet we both had the strong desire to be involved in ministry as our career.
We both ended up attending Emmaus Bible College and graduating with a One-Year Bible Certificate. During the time that we were dating, and since we have been married, we have had many opportunities to serve together as a couple. We were both on a team of students from our college that spent a month in France and Switzerland learning about how to reach out to people in a culture that is very different from that which we were used to - basically experiencing what missionaries would during their first few weeks in the field. Austin and I and our friend Doug travelled to Honduras and spent a week teaching English at a Christian school there. We were also part of a team from our church that traveled to New Orleans to help re-build a homeless shelter in one of the areas that was the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, and Austin received valuable training in the form of Youth For Christ's Summer Institute.
It has been very exciting to see how God has used and is using the seemingly insignificant details of our lives to move us into a place where this dream can become a reality. Everything from working together to re-construct our house, to the incredible experience and training Austin has received through his current job in assessing and restoring homes that have experienced catastrophic loss has shown us that we are uniquely equipped to minister to others in some very down-to-earth and practical ways.
Our vision is that we will be able to respond quickly to other ministries and organizations that need assistance with things that are outside of their immediate capabilities. It seems that the church as a whole is very good about recognizing the needs of those who minister to them directly, but we sometimes forget that there are hundreds of thousands of individuals who have dedicated their lives to serving the Lord in places we don't often think about. If the pastor of the local church has a leaky faucet, there are probably 8-10 plumbers in the congregation who can have him squared away in no time. It is far more difficult to just run to Kenya real quick to help the missionary family repair their leaky roof. Similarly, when a river overflows its banks in Iowa, there are hundreds of organizations set up to come rushing to assistance; however, a similarly devastating situation for a village in India doesn't always get the same amount of attention.
Another big part of what we want to be able to provide is the face-to-face relationships and encouragement that so many missionaries miss. Whether that be just spending time with the family and sharing in all their nitty-gritty, day-to-day "stuff," babysitting the kids so that mom and dad can have a special date night, repainting the living room, or cleaning the house. We want them to experience love and refreshment.
Just yesterday morning, Austin was talking to one of our good friends about the plethora of opportunities that just he and his immediate contacts can come up with for us! His name is Tim Cole, and he and his wife Angella serve with Youth for Christ's MCYM on a military base in Brussels, Belgium. He is in close communication with many of the Youth for Christ workers and other ministers throughout Europe. Yesterday he was specifically requesting that we come to Belguim to assist with some building projects next spring for which they need Austin's construction/contracting skills. Another need in that area is when they have a change of leadership or families go on furlough, unless they have someone to come in and run the youth ministries, all of the children of the military families there have no ministry activities. This is a huge need as these kids already feel isolated by the language and culture barriers they encounter - not to mention just the normal growing up stuff that all teens deal with. Since he was 13 years old, Austin has had a passion for youth ministry, his emphasis at Emmaus was in Youth Ministry, and as I mentioned before he has graduated from the Youth for Christ Summer Institute, so this is another area where we would love to serve. Austin and Tim have been talking and planning and dreaming about these possibilities for over two years, and it is thrilling to see it all coming to fruition! Between the people we know who are involved in ministry and the plethora of contacts our families have, these are just a couple of the many opportunities that we are excited to pursue. And we are confident that as more people find out about us, there will be many more who are interested in our services :)
Our earnest desire is to begin ministering as soon as possible in a full-time capacity. Participating in projects such as those suggested by Tim and other missionaries we are close to will give us a good deal of legitimacy once we begin the process of requesting a 501C3 from the IRS to become a not-for-profit organization. This documentation is crucial if we are to have any kind of long-term ministry ability as it will give us all of the benefits - to both us and our supporters - of being a recognized non-profit organization.
In the immediate future, we are hoping to be able to start heading out and building relationships with missionaries and organizations who are in need of what we have to offer. To that end we are preparing ourselves and our lives to be as mobile as possible. We are going to finish the house and put it on the market, sell off all of our extraneous "toys," etc.
We very much covet your prayers as we move forward in this incredible adventure! We would also welcome any suggestions of places/projects in which we may be involved. You can also donate to Burden Bearers International via PayPal by clicking on the button in the sidebar.
Our long-term needs will include a lot of legal/accounting assistance with the incorporation and not-for-profit procedures and paperwork. That process alone can cost several thousand dollars.
Of course, we'll keep you posted as the story progresses :)
We both ended up attending Emmaus Bible College and graduating with a One-Year Bible Certificate. During the time that we were dating, and since we have been married, we have had many opportunities to serve together as a couple. We were both on a team of students from our college that spent a month in France and Switzerland learning about how to reach out to people in a culture that is very different from that which we were used to - basically experiencing what missionaries would during their first few weeks in the field. Austin and I and our friend Doug travelled to Honduras and spent a week teaching English at a Christian school there. We were also part of a team from our church that traveled to New Orleans to help re-build a homeless shelter in one of the areas that was the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina, and Austin received valuable training in the form of Youth For Christ's Summer Institute.
It has been very exciting to see how God has used and is using the seemingly insignificant details of our lives to move us into a place where this dream can become a reality. Everything from working together to re-construct our house, to the incredible experience and training Austin has received through his current job in assessing and restoring homes that have experienced catastrophic loss has shown us that we are uniquely equipped to minister to others in some very down-to-earth and practical ways.
Our vision is that we will be able to respond quickly to other ministries and organizations that need assistance with things that are outside of their immediate capabilities. It seems that the church as a whole is very good about recognizing the needs of those who minister to them directly, but we sometimes forget that there are hundreds of thousands of individuals who have dedicated their lives to serving the Lord in places we don't often think about. If the pastor of the local church has a leaky faucet, there are probably 8-10 plumbers in the congregation who can have him squared away in no time. It is far more difficult to just run to Kenya real quick to help the missionary family repair their leaky roof. Similarly, when a river overflows its banks in Iowa, there are hundreds of organizations set up to come rushing to assistance; however, a similarly devastating situation for a village in India doesn't always get the same amount of attention.
Another big part of what we want to be able to provide is the face-to-face relationships and encouragement that so many missionaries miss. Whether that be just spending time with the family and sharing in all their nitty-gritty, day-to-day "stuff," babysitting the kids so that mom and dad can have a special date night, repainting the living room, or cleaning the house. We want them to experience love and refreshment.
Just yesterday morning, Austin was talking to one of our good friends about the plethora of opportunities that just he and his immediate contacts can come up with for us! His name is Tim Cole, and he and his wife Angella serve with Youth for Christ's MCYM on a military base in Brussels, Belgium. He is in close communication with many of the Youth for Christ workers and other ministers throughout Europe. Yesterday he was specifically requesting that we come to Belguim to assist with some building projects next spring for which they need Austin's construction/contracting skills. Another need in that area is when they have a change of leadership or families go on furlough, unless they have someone to come in and run the youth ministries, all of the children of the military families there have no ministry activities. This is a huge need as these kids already feel isolated by the language and culture barriers they encounter - not to mention just the normal growing up stuff that all teens deal with. Since he was 13 years old, Austin has had a passion for youth ministry, his emphasis at Emmaus was in Youth Ministry, and as I mentioned before he has graduated from the Youth for Christ Summer Institute, so this is another area where we would love to serve. Austin and Tim have been talking and planning and dreaming about these possibilities for over two years, and it is thrilling to see it all coming to fruition! Between the people we know who are involved in ministry and the plethora of contacts our families have, these are just a couple of the many opportunities that we are excited to pursue. And we are confident that as more people find out about us, there will be many more who are interested in our services :)
Our earnest desire is to begin ministering as soon as possible in a full-time capacity. Participating in projects such as those suggested by Tim and other missionaries we are close to will give us a good deal of legitimacy once we begin the process of requesting a 501C3 from the IRS to become a not-for-profit organization. This documentation is crucial if we are to have any kind of long-term ministry ability as it will give us all of the benefits - to both us and our supporters - of being a recognized non-profit organization.
In the immediate future, we are hoping to be able to start heading out and building relationships with missionaries and organizations who are in need of what we have to offer. To that end we are preparing ourselves and our lives to be as mobile as possible. We are going to finish the house and put it on the market, sell off all of our extraneous "toys," etc.
We very much covet your prayers as we move forward in this incredible adventure! We would also welcome any suggestions of places/projects in which we may be involved. You can also donate to Burden Bearers International via PayPal by clicking on the button in the sidebar.
Our long-term needs will include a lot of legal/accounting assistance with the incorporation and not-for-profit procedures and paperwork. That process alone can cost several thousand dollars.
Of course, we'll keep you posted as the story progresses :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
