Tag: Mongolia

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Toneys Update November 2020

Chris and Lynn Toney


In one of the strangest years in memory, life and ministry goes on for us and we are thriving. Here’s a bit of a look into our lives for Fall 2020.  Blessings!  

Celebrating Life and Death 
Months and months before leaving Belize back in 2015 there was much in the way of preparations for handing over our mantel as base leaders, restructuring staff roles, rebuilding a new way of leadership as plans where underway for us personally. A couple things where really clear and that stood out to me within my quiet times in hearing God. One, I was to get more certifications for my role as counselor to YWAM staff. Second, was the feeling/sense that in addition to counseling, I would somehow work with the very young and the very old. The Lord has helped me orchestrate two beautiful and two very distinct ministry roles coming to pass during 2020. What was spoken many years ago, has finally come to pass.
 
Dou·la (do͞olə) Life. 
Defined in the ancient Greek, meaning “the women who serves”.
    
I have the joy to provide emotional, physical and informational support to women in the later part of their pregnancy and postpartum; once baby is born. With Covid and doors closing within ministry, a new door and ministry opportunity swung wide open. I have been able to be trained as a postpartum doula for the mamas in our community. This role intertwines not only counseling which I love but hands on practical support to women and their newborn babies during their most fragile, yet exciting time of life.
 ___________________________________________________________________ 
Hos·pice (häspəs) Celebration of life in death.

Hospice provides compassionate care for people in the last phases of incurable diseases and end of life care.. Patients at the Nakamaru Hale residency home have taught me so much about being present, to talk story, to pray with, to ease their suffering, support family members and to truly cherish a person in their final days. Words cannot convey how this role as volunteer has touched and impacted me personally. Christ was the example for us all to show… Care. Comfort. Compassion. Newness of life in a newborn and its mama and life celebrated as we pass onto into eternity. We have reassurance and can take great consolation in knowing God sees us in every moment, every season and every aspect of our lives. 
   
Isaiah 32:17: “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.”YWAM is 60!In December this year, Youth With a Mission is celebrating 60 years of listening to the Lord and doing what He says; transforming nations and individuals, serving, loving, teaching, equipping, proclaiming, and co-creating with God in every nation on the planet.  Our journey in missions has seen us intimately and enthusiastically involved with YWAM by land, sea and air in over 100 nations for nearly 25 of YWAM’s 60 years! We hope and pray that we are being a bright light in the darkness as we bring hope, comfort, peace and love around the world. Jesus said, “as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” John 20:21. We invite you to take a moment and praise God with us for this wonderful global family and powerful, transformational ministry.
 


Counseling During a Pandemic
People often ask me if my role as counselor has changed much due to the COVID-19 crisis that has rocked all of us throughout the world.  The answer is, “let’s just say, it’s complicated in a simple sort of way”.  Let me explain. The biggest thing I am seeing is that so often, we go about life, on cruise control.  We have our routines, our schedules, what we like, how we pray, who we see, how we recreate, where we go to church… All of those represent our “normal”.  With stressors like COVID, we are forced to create a “new normal.” molasses brain and a fatigue we cannot shake are common, which is exhausting. Our cruise control isn’t on cruise anymore as there are new things on the road, having us to expend more energy, more thinking that effects the realms of mental, emotional and spiritual processes. Can I share something with you? It’s what I tell so many staff who are wrestling with the same things. What you’re feeling, what you’re going through, and how your body and mind are responding is normal. You are not alone. Give yourself permission to be ok with what is happening! God is at work in this season, more than you can ever imagine.

 
As we are all experiencing, COVID seeps into every aspect of our lives; bubbling just under the surface; sometimes very subtle, yet always in our faces. Much like spiritual warfare, we know it’s happening all around us, (like COVID) but we don’t always want to see, engage or know what to do…so we don’t do anything and we get stuck. COVID is out of our control, out of arms reach but we still have to engage it on an everyday basis. But I want to encourage you, like I do with those who I see in counseling. You can get through this season, by leaning on Gods strength, to come against weariness and see where the Lord, your circles of fellowship/friends and good old getting down to a “new normal” gets you back on track. We need an extra measure of strength in these unsettled times. 
The book of Ephesians, has three richly distinct sections, that we can use to bring definition to our fatigued minds. 
 
Who is God? (Eph 1: 17-21) We pray.  We remind ourselves that God is good, loving, just and kind We sit in His presence. We sit at His feet. Before we can walk or stand, we sitWe sit when we are tired, resting and giving our cares over to the LordWhat do I believe about God? (Eph 4:1, Eph 5:8,10)He will never leave me, nor forsake me.We gain strength (sit) so we can begin to walk8 times the word walk is in the book of EphesiansWe build our confidence in Him, with every step we takeThe Holy Spirit’s power enables us to walk worthyHow do I take the Theology of Truth? (Eph 6:10)Greek word for stand means to hold your groundJesus has done the fight for us, our job it to keep what is oursI will choose to trust God, no matter the battleSitting with Christ. Walking with Him. Standing for Him.
 
In any crisis including COVID, we can have a tendency to have fears and doubts. I truly believe that God is okay with all of our strong emotions.  It is our responsibility to avoid becoming “stuck” in the swirl of the mess we face and to rely on the Lord of Lords to usher in “newness” each and every day.  We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed (Heb 10:39). Stand tall..


Engaging Conversations
Chris is hard at work with the SourceView Bible Project.  This fantastic YWAM work has brought the first significant format change to scripture in over 500 years!  We are all familiar with the “book, chapter, verse” format of God’s word, but the scriptures did not have chapters or verses until the 12th Century AD. 

When you spend time reading the bible and really getting into the stories, you will see that a great portion of what is written is dialogue – conversations between people.  The format the bible is currently found in, does not reveal these conversations vividly and much of the power, interesting takes, character development and overall storyline is lost amidst the dust that is collected as the bible sits on the shelf.  

The SourceView Bible brings a thrilling change to the way we read the bible – it comes alive!  We have not changed any of the words of scripture – they are God’s after all.  But we have changed the format into something very familiar to most of the world.  Also, color distinguishes the type of speaker:  Black is the Narrator; Red is God; Green is the lead character in that book; and Blue is everyone else.  Here’s a look at Luke 5:8-13.
Our team has enlisted the help of a great many dedicated folks from many nations and are diligently “Sourcifying” the scriptures into many languages and in many different versions.  Each language also has extensive introductions and a great deal of additional material available in it – but the main focus is scripture, not supporting material.  

With Chris’ background in the original languages of the bible, his focus has been on Hebrew and Greek. in addition to working to promote bible engagement, there are still over 1400 languages in the world that have no portion of scripture translated into it – meaning that there are still millions of people who cannot read or hear God’s work in their heart language.  The SourceView bible has become an invaluable tool in the translation of the Bible due to the high engagement of the narrative and ground breaking innovations in oral translation. Here is that same passage from above in Luke, done in Greek:
 
And Jonah chapter 3 in Hebrew:
Needless to say, Chris’ work with SourceView Bile is quite fulfilling and has a global and everlasting impact.  


Where is YWAM in the World: Mongolia (Update)

In our last newsletter update, we told you about a worldwide effort to give the Scriptures to every person in the country of Mongolia.  Scores of dedicated women, men, young and old scoured that beautiful nation bringing hope in the form of God’s word in many different formats.  Have a look at a short video that might inspire you, as it has thousands of others, to share God’s Word with everyone, everywhere.  
  
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. Part of this task is to bring the bible to all people everywhere.  Another is to see that God’s Word is translated into every mother tongue on the planet. There are still a little over 1400 languages on earth that have no portion of scripture translated and End Bible Poverty Now will bring this number down to 0!
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Summer 2019 Update

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 . 


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 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.