These past few days I was reminded of something very important….
In the beginning of 1999, twenty years ago, during these exact months, Giacomo and I were in Worcester South Africa with Youth With A Mission. We were participating in a Community Development School at the new purchased YWAM Training Center in South Africa.
It was during this time (as a very newly wed couple) that God spoke to us about starting a new YWAM Training Facility, University of the Nations Campus in the capital of Costa Rica.
We had no idea what that all meant, but it was the word of the Lord to us. This word is now exactly 20 years old, 15 of those years have been pioneering this new YWAM Training Center, University of the Nations Campus, which we started in June 2004!!
Tomorrow, March 10th, after twenty years of being away from this exact place and not having been back as a couple since then (Giacomo has alone), we are going to South Africa to partake in our annual leadership meetings of the University of the Nations.
Not only did God give us a word of a brand new YWAM Missionary training Center, but He also has allowed us over the past 5 years to form part of a body of leaders on an international level. The privilege to learn from amazing leaders who laid the foundation that we are now building on is truly incredible and continues to be for us a tremendous honor and blessing.
The Word was clear: “Raise up and equip young people who will be the next generation of Spirit led leaders in society in Costa Rica and around the world.”
Since early 1999, we have followed after God, sought His will on how to go about starting this new training location for missionaries, equipping them, loving them, training them and sending them out as passionate followers/disciples of Jesus.
In those years we have served in many different places and have been able to see God do amazing things and we have been able to train close to 1000 young people from our location, sending them into the nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!!
****** When God gives you a Word, you make steps to walk towards the fulfillment of that Word and scripture says that His Word will never return void ******
Tomorrow we will embark on a 2 day journey to travel to South Africa. Pray for our children as they stay in Costa Rica. Our oldest have exam week while we are gone, our youngest has already cried several times and will miss mommy the most (and mommy will find it hard to leave)…..but we believe this is part of what the Lord has for us.
As I reflect on twenty years, I reflect on God’s faithfulness to our lives and that what He has given to us. Not just our beautiful kids and how He has blessed us that way, but the extended family of YWAM San Jose. This beautiful family that has gone through all kinds of trials and challenges and has recently moved into our ‘promised land’….
Reflecting on that makes us anticipate what God might want to do in the next 20 years through our lives and the YWAM San Jose, Costa Rica training facility and family.
Giacomo and I believe the Lord wants to give us a fresh word for the next 20 years, will you join us in prayer for that. We will be visiting the very same place we were 20 years ago, of which we unfortunately do not have any digital photos, but we might be able to find some ‘printed’ photos and then show you what things are looking like today.
How exciting to co-create with God, to listen to His voice, to believe that what He speaks will come to pass and will never return void!!
****** Listen for His voice today, quiet your heart and He will speak *****
Equipping and Sending 