Day 1—February 3rd

The horns, drums and dancers of YWAM Northern Thailand welcomed this crowd of 7-800 people from 50 + nations to YWAM's 50th anniversary celebration in Chiang Mai. The procession continued with Loren and Darlene dressed in Lanna Thai style clothing, brought in on elevated chairs carried in on the shoulders by 6 Thai leaders each -- and followed by YWAMers (also dressed in Lanna Thai style clothing) who had been in the Mission 30 years or more.

Dances and dancers from every part of Thailand as well as from this entire YWAM region showed the beauty, the hospitality and the culture of Indo-China. Worship flowed freely from YWAM staff, students and friends from the nations to the God of all nations and all peoples. Loren and Darlene and all who have gone before us in YWAM were thanked, providing opportunity to express gratitude to God.

Loren spoke that this is not just a celebration of the past but this is a time to worship God for where He is leading us in the future, into every sector of society. This is a time of fulfilling the Great Commission through the Great Commandment. This is the generation whereby God is going to use every technology to see the Gospel go to every unreached people. Loren shared that there is unprecedented unity with leaders in the Body of Christ at all time high. The prayer movement is starting to cover the earth with worship, with prayers, with intercession and spiritual warfare. It really is possible to see the Great Commission fulfilled in this generation.

This was just the first night.....!

Day 2—February 4th

The day started with Dar sharing on gratitude for those who have gone before us—those we were standing on the shoulders of, as we have served God. We had just heard a few hours before that our first YWAMer from Switzerland to join YWAM in 1969, Rudi Lack, had just died. As she shared all of this with our Asian staff, to people present from 48 nations, the session was being translated into five languages. She asked for those who had been personally impacted by Rudi’s life to stand and many of the leaders who had pioneered the region stood up. Several shared that Rudi was one of the first people who had told them about YWAM. We thanked God for Rudi and prayed for his wife, Eliane.

It was wonderful for our Asian staff to hear YWAM history from our founders and the impact will be multiplied. We then prayed with each other about those who have influenced our lives and how their lives live on through us and our varied ministries. It was a sober, yet powerful morning where the presence of God was so real.

In the afternoon, incredible reports were presented by video and by story from countries in the region, sharing what God is doing and about the amazing growth that is taking place. Asian YWAM staff and student numbers have increased rapidly over the last few years. Please see some of those reports at www.ywamthai.org and www.ywam-mercy.org There is momentum occurring all throughout Asia. God is indeed up to something globally and locally.

The evening, Loren shared about how to transform nations from his book, The Book That Transforms Nations—the Power of the Bible to Change any Country, with examples from Korea and the region. He then shared about the timeline of YWAM history and highlighted the need to get a Bible into every home globally. It was a full day, rich in worship and fellowship, tears and prayer for those who have experienced great loss in Switzerland (with the death of Rudi Lack) and Haiti (with the crisis caused by the recent massive earthquake).

Day 3—February 5th

Multi-lingual worship and beautiful performing arts dances were a powerful part of the YWAM 50th anniversary celebration in Chiang Mai. One person commented, “there is nothing like a group singing and worshiping God simultaneously in English, Chinese and Thai, along with Khmer, Portuguese and a dozen other languages."

Darlene continued the last morning by highlighting how God has taught us His ways over the years. She reminded us of the loss of the first ship YWAM tried to acquire in New Zealand in 1973, "The Maori." That event had a major impact upon our international leaders as they humbled themselves at a leadership conference in Japan in response; followed by the “repentance tour” in 1974, to pastors and leaders across New Zealand during that “year of the Cross.” It was a powerful reminder to live lives of openness and humility, as Tom Hallas shared about recent news regarding Toyota’s recall of vehicles for faulty brakes, and their lack of transparency.

Darlene also spoke about the spirit of generosity that YWAM is called to and reminded us that in the midst of such humbling with the loss of the ship, God gave resurrection. She talked about YWAM’s leadership conference in Eagle River, Wisconsin in 1976 and the outrageous generosity and monies given to Operation Mobilisation for their purchase of a ship.

Darlene's last session was a wonderful reminder of who Jesus is and how He has modeled every aspect of life for us. The event finished with the signing of the YWAM Jubliee Covenant and remembering Jesus and all He has done for us through taking Communion together.

We had a celebration to remember in Chiang Mai!!!!!

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Report by Stephen Goode; Photos by Adrian Young and Amy Brock-Devine.