 Chris and Lynn Toney |
Both of our roles in YWAM continue to be personally gratifying, fruitful; extending the reach of the gospel. Chris is hard at work to bring the Bible to every person on earth in their native language and Lynn provides counseling and mentorship to those full time missionaries on and off the mission field. In addition to our primary ministry roles, we also are blessed to be involved in outreach to the community we live in. We often have opportunities to serve and connect outside of our Youth With a Mission family here in Kona and globally. In this newsletter we are excited to highlight some of these unique ministry connections. Camp Erin Camp Erin is the largest national bereavement program for youth grieving the death of a significant person in their lives. Children and teens ages 6-17 attend a transformational weekend camp that combines traditional, fun camp activities with grief education and emotional support, free of charge for all families. For a couple of years now, Lynn has been able to bring her love of counseling to campers at Camp Erin. As part of the clinical team, her role is to connect with and make sure that all campers (as well as the 50+ volunteers) are emotionally healthy while processing their pain and loss. Grief workshops are held throughout the weekend long experience. As the main facilitator of what is called, “throw and let go”, Lynn helps grieving young people to let go and not bottle up extreme emotions. Campers are encouraged to connect with their emotional pain associated with their loss of a loved one. Writing out that “emotion or feeling word”, whether it is an emotion (anger or sadness) or the event in which someone died (car accident, cancer, suicide) onto a plate and then throwing and breaking that plate to help them release their pain due to the loss of a loved one. Campers come away having had a fun camp experience as well as tools they can use as they continue on the path of healing from the loss of a loved one.    Where is YWAM in the World: Mongolia We are including a new section in our newsletters that highlights where and what YWAM is doing in and around the world. YWAM is very diverse! The YWAM family is comprised of thousands of people from all over the world serving in every single country on earth. Our staff and students are a mixture of nationalities and people from many nations who serve side by side. We come from numerous different Christian denominations and speak hundreds of languages. More than half of our staff come from “non-western” countries such as Brazil, Korea, Indonesia, India, and Nepal. In addition to our full-time staff, many YWAM locations host short-term outreach teams made up of individuals, youth groups, families, and churches who participate first-hand in “making God known” both through word and action. We send out over 25,000 short-term missionaries each year. We love being a part of such a large, international missions movement! There is so much happening in the world of missions. Let us show you what is happening around the world. End Bible Poverty Now is a collaborative global ministry of YWAM, Wycliffe, SIL, SBC, CRU, Faith Comes by Hearing, United Bible Society, Tyndale, and thousands of ministries, bible translators, churches, bible societies, and others united with a mandate to enable every person on earth to be able to read or hear the Word of God in their mother tongue. There are still a little over 1500 languages on earth that have no portion of scripture translated and End Bible Poverty Now will bring this number down to 0! Not only is it vital to have scripture translated into every language, every person needs to be able to have access to it. Since there are so many oral cultures on earth, audio and video recordings of scripture must be available along with printed and digital bibles. This summer, scores of committed, willing and able YWAMers from around the world are joining with Mongolian churches in a collaborative effort to successfully offer a bible to every family in the nation of Mongolia. This monumental task is not only about distribution of bibles but seeks to promote engagement  with the Word of God, strengthening and growth of the church and the transformation of Mongolian people: individuals, communities, cities and the entire nation.  Snorkel Day, a ministry of Deep an Beyond, creates opportunities for the disadvantaged, handicapped and disabled person to explore nature in an adaptive community free event for people living with disabilities. Snorkel Day creates an inclusive atmosphere where everyone is treated equally, and a place for families and caregivers to rest while participants enjoy the water, and the sea life within; free from the confines of their limited mobility. Lynn has the awesome privilege of getting in the water with these amazing folks that live in the Kona community. By assisting them, those who can’t swim can be in the water, safe and able to connect with Gods beautiful creation and explore a world they would not normally get to explore.    The Book What was to be a role for Lynn as prayer intercessor for a short film, turned into much more for the both of us. In addition to prayer, Lynn assisted the AD (that’s movie talk for assistance to the director) prop gathering and set up for the various scenes of the film. Chris was asked to take on a role (the church official who oversaw the martyrdom of William Tyndale) in the short firm. Here is a brief overview of the movie and the time  we all had to share how the gospel was brought to the masses so many years ago. We are looking forward to the release of this short film and the impact it will have on those who watch it. The Book, is a short film about the trials, tribulations, and sacrifices that people have made throughout history to get the Bible to where it is today. Covering 2000 years, The Book begins with the transcription of the Gospels, moving through history, and ending all the way in modern day. For six days during June, YWAM Ships Kona became something Every day we shot between one and three scenes to help bring this story to life. It was an incredible time where people from all different departments and schools lent a hand where they could. From set dressers, to PA’s, camera operators and prop designers, the base rallied together and offered their talents to pull off something incredible. The film is officially in post production at this point. Ty, the director, is hopeful that it will be out late this summer, or early this fall, but there isn’t a determined release date yet. Check out some behind the scenes photos, and be on the lookout for an official release date .  .    Newsletter Code Words A friend from our Mercy Ships days and long term missionary Anisha Hopkinson wrote a brilliant blog post a few weeks ago. We cried, we laughed and felt strongly that this was literally so spot on for all of us who serve in missions long term we had to share it. Whether overseas, whether serving state side, missions work can be oh so amazingly crazy and joy-filled, but also challenging too. Thanks Anisha, you really shared well with how so many of us missionaries feel and go through. “Before moving overseas, I read newsletters of cross cultural workers and thought something along the lines of, Well, that’s interesting. Now that I live overseas, I realize newsletters are filled with code words. Or rather, ordinary words that take on a bit of ‘extra’ when used in the context of living overseas. For example: It’s been a year of transitions and adjustments. Is actually a neat and tidy way of saying: I’ve spent the last 12 months living out of a suitcase and making a ton of mistakes everywhere I go. Ahh, now we understand what’s actually going on. There are many, many more. In the interest of moving past the that’s interesting thoughts that may accompany newsletter reading, this post is devoted to decoding a few of our common words and phrases.” Code: Visa application proces Meaning: We’ve quit our jobs, given away our belongings, raised support, and are ready to go, but if this paperwork is denied all our plans are totally stuffed. Code: Health issues Meaning: This mainly means diarrhea. Code: Prayerfully consider partnering with us. Meaning: We really need people pray for us and donate money every month and are pretty sure if you just asked Jesus, he’d tell you to do it. Note: No? It’s just me then. Code: Rainy season Meaning: Thank God for relief from raging tropical heat, but now there is mud everywhere and my laundry won’t dry. Code: Graduating language school Meaning: HALLELUJAH WE’VE BEEN SET FREE!!! Note: For some of us, language school is also known as “Language She’ol”. Yes, as in the dark and lonely realm of the dead. Code: It’s been a difficult term Meaning: We are so completely stressed out and yelling at each other all the time and quite frankly surprised to still be here. Note: Respond to this newsletter and ask how you can help. Code: Tired Meaning: Utter exhaustion Note: Gift this person a vacation. Code: Multi-cultural team Meaning: We’re all from different countries and the Dutch are rude, the Germans are inflexible, the Americans are too sensitive, and the Australians are very, well… Australian. Plus, it’s hard to tell jokes everyone understands. Code: Thank you for praying!!! Meaning: Don’t forget us. We might die if you don’t pray. Note: Ok, I exaggerated…or did I? Code: We could not be here without you. Meaning: We could not be here without you. Note: Maybe it sounds a bit cheesy, but it’s totally the truth. So is this… Originally posted on https://www.alifeoverseas.com/newsletter-code-words/ Prayer PointsThe extreme personal hardship we continue to face as a result of the shutdown of YWAM DP essentially by the government of Belize remains a top prayer point. We have made a little bit of progress in repaying the debt but there is still a long way to go. For more information, if you have questions or would like to be part of the solution, please contact us. Thank you. Our sending church and the majority of the people who pray for and support us financially are in Washington State. We’re praying about a trip to see friends, family and supporters at some point this year – Please pray with us as we consider when and how we might be able to come. We’ve shared a few of the things we’re involved in here in Kona. Please keep these in your prayers along with our primary work with YWAM. |
Ending Bible Poverty
It has been so good to be here in Kona and to get going on my part in the effort to end Bible poverty. The global effort by YWAM, Wycliffe, CRU, Faith Comes By Hearing, The Seed Company, The Billy Graham Evangelical Association, The Jesus Film Project and many others to end Bible poverty has two primary objectives, and I am blessed to be personally involved in both. Continue reading “Ending Bible Poverty”
Great New Video from Loren
Check out this great new 2 min video from YWAM’s founder Loren Cunningham. We are very inspired by and love working with this visionary man of God.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/187272783″>