February 11, 2010

It was a treat to hear a performance of Benny Prasad, from our very own India, whom God has taken as an artist to more than 200 nations on earth to proclaim Jesus through his performances. He encouraged us that God can do this for any of us Indians--we just need to hear his voice & obey.  He also encouraged us to accept and be grateful for the nationality that God has given us.

Darlene shared some encouraging words and stories about her own mother (she turns 96 later this month) and children, encouraging us to trust God to look after our parents and family members back home.  And that God would provide for our children, as we obey His calling in our lives.  This is especially important for those of us from Asia n cultures, where family bonds are very important.

She then led us into a time of recalling and being grateful for the many people who are part of the great team that makes it possible for us to obey God's call on our lives.

In the next part of the morning Darlene recounted many stories from scripture and some from our history, where God commended people with the 'I won't quit spirit' for their faith.  God wants to greatly increase our faith in the coming years.  All we have to do is say yes and respond.  Then He will do extraordinary things through us and increase our faith.

The afternoon was a wonderful time of recalling many people who had been pioneers, key events that had taken place and the ministries that God had birthed in our region over the last 26 years.  The team doing this session did a wonderful job of presenting in interesting and entertaining ways, using PowerPoints, interviews, commentaries and audience participation.  I think we were all amazed at how much had happened and what God had done.  The session ended with looking at our goals in terms of YWAM's presence in the Omega Zones in our region in the next 2, 5 & 9 years.

Another team had created a wonderful 'memory room' with photos & other memories from the last 26 years (and earlier) of our region, where we could walk down memory lane with gratefulness for all that God has done and how He has shaped us.

Later Loren shared stories of his “growing up” years and how God had formed the DNA of YWAM in his own life.  He also shared interesting statistics about the growth of YWAM.  Some key observations: the importance of training as a multiplier for missions; and the changing ratio of nationalities in our midst and how there is a much greater ratio of non-western missionaries in YWAM today than in the past.

As Loren shared about the future, he encouraged us with the many areas God has anointed us for:  performing arts, mercy ministries, church planting.  He also called us to be ready for something he sees coming “down the road” for us, especially in the areas of education and media, which are the top two influencers in the world today.  God is bringing together amazing technologies and key people and making them available to YWAM in these two areas of education and media.

We ended the evening by walking on a huge 4K map of South Asia, asking God for the Omega Zones that He is calling us into.

February 11, 2010

On this last morning, Darlene led us into a time of reflection, asking “Who is Jesus to you?” She pointed to how wonderful He is in every respect—how He has faithfully guided and corrected us over the years, to keep us on track.  This led into a time of commitment through signing the YWAM Jubilee Covenant, covenanting with God to have heart attitudes which will enable Him to work in and through us.  We danced with joy and marched in prayer over the map, as the 24/7 band led us in a time of worship.

One of the special parts of the program on this morning was having Loren & Darlene share a few words with the YWAM children and the children of the local YWAM pre-schools and praying over them.  Again, God underlined the whole area of education through this time.

It was also an occasion to give financially, as the conference had run into a deficit of Rs.120,000.  There was generous giving in our midst and it was a joy to hear that the conference costs had been totally covered after the offering.

This flowed into a time of thanking Loren & Darlene for their visit for all they shared with us and presenting them with a memento of their time with us.

As Loren & Darlene left to take their flight to Delhi for the next celebration, we ended with a time of exuberant worship and thanking all those who had made this event possible—Jesus, most of all!

What a privilege we have as we take the next step towards the 50th year of our YWAM movement. It deserves a celebration! We, Lonavala campus, are so looking forward to being a part of this event! Let us dance and sing songs of praise to the Lord for what Loren and Darlene have accomplished by hearing His voice. We look forward to seeing all of our YWAM family gathering in Lonavala and sharing our joys with one another.

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For more details check this site http://www.ywam50.uofnlonavala.com

Blessings,

cordinating team

50th celebration Lonavala