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.
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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! |
Chris and Lynn Toney