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,

Logos Hope 2010

Bon Dia a Oranjestad!

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

Happy New Year!

Hope that all of your Christmas festivities were wonderful!

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.

We are days away from our first departure (of many)! We will be in Oranjestad, Aruba on OM's Logos Hope from January 7th-17th! We are excited to serve with a great team from Colorado, and we're praying for a productive and fruitful time. Below is the team prayer card for this trip!

Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

In Him,
Austin & Katy Van Wyk
Jude 24 & 25

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

December 2009 Newsletter

December Newsletter

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,

November 2009 Newsletter

November Newsletter