The day of the unborn child is on March 25th this year and represents something that we as a YWAM base really support. This day is about recognizing the part of a baby’s life in which he or she  is yet to be born. It is also a day to remember all of the infants whose lives have been ended by abortion. Thousands of unborn babies are being murdered everyday. Here in Argentina it is especially important as the fight to legalize abortion began to take place a few years ago. As a YWAM base we want to bring Christ’s perspective to this fight. We want to help Christ’s followers to see the fight that is taking place and to really become aware of what they can do to be a part of protecting God created life. We invite you to pray with us about this issue which we believe is very important to God and should be very important to His people as well. We also encourage you to write to your local authorities in protest of this attempt to legalize something horrific.

• “There are approximately 126,000 abortions per day”
• “There are approximately 46,000,000 abortions per year”
• ” About 78% of abortions occur in developing countries”

Some things you can be praying for are:

• That people could understand God’s pain in this situation and work to correct it.
• For pregnant mothers thinking about abortion to make the right choice.
• For the changing of laws to cause abortion to be illegal.

Statistics from:http://www.abortiontv.com/Misc/AbortionStatistics.htm

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia

If  you are interested in doing your DTS with us here at the End of the World in 2013, Ushuaia is a wonderful city nestled between the mountains and the Beagle Chanel. In October, the city will still be cool but most of the snow should have gone by then, and we will be heading into a warm summer. If you like, you can also come for our school in May. This is our winter and can get very cold.
We are still a small base with a family atmosphere.

Our DTS in October and our May DTS have not yet got set dates for 2013. The first part of each school, the theory phase, finishes after 12 weeks of classes, teaching you all you need to know to prepare you for the next stage. This includes your relationship with Christ, your character, and interpersonal relationships. With this phase completed, you then form teams, and each team leaves for different destinations for two months of practical outreach. This is the time where you get to put into practice everything that you have learned in the school so far. After returning to Ushuaia for the last week, graduation takes place 20 weeks after the school begins. Details of dates and costs will be posted as the time draws closer.

The cost for our school includes your accommodation while in Ushuaia, and all food, and transport including picking you up from the airport when you arrive. Outreach time can incur extra costs in travel which depend on the location you are going to. The destination is normally discussed during the school and students and staff pray together to see where God is leading us to go.

As mentioned, airfares and bus tickets to distant places add extra to the cost of the outreach, but your food and accommodation during the entire 2 months are all included in the school price. If the extra costs are likely to be a financial burden, we will discuss it and pray with you during your school to help you find a solution.

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia

The October 2011 DTS school has now come to a close, but what an amazing journey it was. The students arrived for school on October 3rd. We had 5 countries represented : Paraguay, El Salvador, The United States, The Ukraine, and Canada.

After settling into the routine of the school the students settled down to learn more about who God is and who they were. Some of the most impacting classes were:

Pride:

“I think God did a big work in my life. I thought that pride didn’t exist in me, but pride has a ton of roots everywhere.It takes you to

other things hidden in it: bitterness, deception, and lies. But pride is something difficult to recognize. In my country we say “don’t let anyone twist your arm , you have to be firm in everything.” So I think that God gave me a beating in this way. He taught me a lesson! He took a lot of things out of my life. He taught me what service is, how to do it. How the highest position you can have is to be a servant. In our society we think of a servant as the person on the bottom, but in the kingdom of heaven the servant is the highest place you can reach. I think that God changed my life in this way.” -Isaac

Hearing God’s Voice:

” For me, I was really amazed to learn that God spoke into specific situations. At first I was afraid to ask because I didn’t want to be disappointed if He didn’t answer me. Through the school I learned that God does answer us and how to recognize what He is saying. It was truly amazing to see that God wants to guide us in our decisions big and small and that He fulfills His promise to give us direction.” -Emily

The students were also able to travel with us to Mendoza for the YWAM national conference.

At the conference two of our students chose to get baptized! Cher and Fernando!

Before the students left for their outreach in Brazil, they had there last week of school at the base in Capital (Buenos Aires).  They took some time before Christmas to perform a drama for kids in a poor area of town.  The drama was about superheroes who were worried about losing their jobs because someone called Jesus was going to save everyone.

Then our students headed off to Brazil for 6 weeks to practice what they had learned!

Working with the children

Working on the roof

Then the students returned to Ushuaia for 3 more days of class and graduation.

A friend made a cake for the students after they returned from Brazil.

Prayer at the graduation

We already miss the students but are excited to hear what God is doing in their lives as they return home.

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia

We stepped off the plane into the humidity this past Christmas Eve in Brazil. Our October 2011 DTS school traveled to Sao Paulo for 6 weeks to practice what they learned during the theory section of the school and to share the gospel. We were blessed to work with three amazing churches there: Refugio (Refuge), Petra, and O Caminho (The way).

We were greatly blessed in seeing how God prepares the way for His servants as we set out many days to do evangelism house to house. We were amazed as person after person invited us into their homes. After asking if we could pray or serve the people in a practical way we were able to see God work. People responded and some even cried as the Holy Spirit spoke through our prayers. It was a beautiful thing to see the love of the Lord demonstrated to those who were living in grief and pain.  ”He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”- Psalm 147:3

Part of our work with the churches was homeless ministry. Once or twice a week we would have a time where they would come to the church and have worship and a short teaching. Then we served them dinner and sat to talk with them. Several of the students shared their testimonies and spoke about how God can change and save a person no matter where they are coming from. In another city,with the church Petra, we cooked food and set out at night to find the homeless in the city on the streets. We were able to pray and share the love of God with these people and invite them to come to the church which already has several members who were once homeless.

There were a lot of other ways we did evangelism:  through dramas in the plazas, worship in a rehabilitation center, preaching at churches, children’s ministry and inviting people to small house churches that are set up all over the city. Through the outreach we came to truly love the people we were working alongside from the local churches and it was a very tearful goodbye when it was time to go. One thing stands out from the whole trip. God’s faithfulness was evident in every moment.

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia

The Multicultural DTS

The DTS that investigates as many different cultures as we can.

During the Multicultural DTS school there will be a special focus on missions and reaching unreached people groups. We will look at many of the different cultures around the world, and discover what it is that they need and how we can reach them. Cross-cultural communications and learning languages all form part of this exciting Discipleship Training School.

The Multicultural DTS is a dynamic learning experience that involves both students and the staff. Your time in the school will bring you challenges that encourage you to respond according to Christ’s character and to get to know Him more through:

• Individual and group prayer
• Small group devotionals
• Worship
• Study
• Dynamic and challenging classes
• Reading the Word
• Practical work and activities
• Deep friendships with people of other cultures
• Openness
• Discipleship
• Pastoral attention
• …and more.

The purpose of the Multicultural DTS school is to help you to replace old habits with those found in God’s Word. In this way we achieve the same vision as God has for the world, coming to understand the need and urgency for cross-cultural missions and preparing to get involved.

The need is there. God is calling. Will you be one who responds?

We are waiting for you.

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia

Be a trailblazer.

Bringing the light into a land of darkness, against all odds.

There is something unique about being the first, knowing that nobody else has ever been this way before, or done what you have just done before. Paul was a trailblazer in his time, setting up churches in Macedonia and other places where nobody had ever taken the message before. David Livingstone was a trailblazer through Africa, Hudson Taylor trail blazed his way through inland China, Jim Elliot in the jungles of Ecuador. You too can be a trailblazer.

Trail blazing is taking the light of God to the places where it is most needed. It is pushing your way through against all resistance. It is a determination to lay fresh foundations, based upon the truths of God. It is taking risks, being uncomfortable, focusing on the goal and not the process. It is one of the most rewarding things you can be involved in.

The trailblazer DTS is a Discipleship Training School with a focus on trailblazing. It is a DTS where you will learn about some of the most amazing people who were trailblazers and discover some of their secrets. It is a place where you will be able to take risks, to step out as a trailblazer, to learn how to grow in God and follow His voice. It is a challenge.

Youth with a Mission has as its motto, “To know God and to make Him known.” So as with all Discipleship Training Schools, the Trailblazer DTS focuses on our relationship with God, and how we live this out in practical ways. This includes areas such as our character, relationships with others, and acts of mercy. With three months of theory where everybody lives in the same place together, there is plenty of time to get to know each other. During these three months you will learn about many aspects of God, including such things as:

•  Our Identity in Christ
• Hearing the Voice of God
• Intercessory Prayer
• The Nature and Character of God
• Studying the Bible
• The Fear of the Lord
• Renewing the Mind
• The Great Commission
• Sharing the Gospel with the Lost
• Discipling Nations
• Cross-Cultural Communications
• Gifts, Calling, Destiny
• Sin, Repentance, and Restitution
• …and many more.

The Trailblazer DTS, as with all DTS’s, is a life-changing school. When you have finished your training with us you will never be the same again. Those students who, after their school, decide that they want to be trailblazers will be encouraged and assisted in their decisions. Those who return home will be encouraged to maintain their renewed relationship with God.

For whatever reason you decide to come and do the Trailblazer DTS (taught in both English and Spanish), whether it be because you want to come to the “End of the World”, you want to go out into all the world, or you just want to know God better, you will not be disappointed.

The Trailblazer DTS in Ushuaia. Growing in God. Growing in character. Going where nobody has gone before.

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia

Kings Kids Ushuaia

Kings Kids is now here in Ushuaia. A ministry with a focus on mobilising and discipling young people through activities, music, camps, and outreaches, to give them opportunities to grow in their faith and share it with others, and to participate in extending the Kingdom of God.

In March 2011, Kings Kids started here in Ushuaia at YWAM Austral, run by a young lady with a passion for children and youth. Cecilia has been a part of Youth with a Mission in Ushuaia since it began, and has a desire to disciple young people and see them grow in their relationship with God.

Kings Kids meet every Saturday from 10am to 3 pm at our YWAM Base, which is quickly becoming too small for such an energetic group, and has now formed part of our activities. Everybody helps out during this time, whether it be cooking or teaching, praying or simply listening to the stories that the children want to tell.

Each week we see how they are growing in their knowledge and understanding of God, and in their relationships with others. Already the children have been able to give from the things that they have been learning, with a performance at a local missionary conference in July.

Kings Kids transforms not just the children, but also impacts everybody around them. It reveals that children have a lot more to give than we often believe they do.

Kings Kids believes in children.

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia

Bible Reading Marathon

The Day of the Bible falls on the 30th of September this year, and what could be better than reading through the entire Bible non-stop to celebrate it. That’s right, we will be holding a Bible Reading Marathon, where we will read through the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, both Old and New Testaments, without a break.

A Bible Reading Marathon sounds like a crazy feat, but reading the Bible from cover to cover only takes around 71 hours. Three days non-stop gives us 72 hours, so if we keep going then we are going to be able to finish it all.

Of course, for one person to be able to stay awake for three days without sleeping is going to be virtually impossible, and even more so if they want to try to understand what they are reading. So the idea is to form small groups and take turns amongst the groups. Some people will be able to come during the night, while others will arrive early morning. Some will spend the day with us, while others have to work.

The Bible Reading Marathon is a community project, not an individual effort, although if somebody wants to attempt it then we will not stop them. At the end of the Bible marathon reading, there will be a moment of celebration and some prizes given out for those who managed to stay the longest.

Many people have only ever scatter-read their Bible, opening it up to one page and reading a little there, and then opening it to another place the next time to read from there. One of the blessings that will come out of this project is that many people will get to read complete books of the Bible, perhaps even for the first time in their life. The Bible convicts, transforms and renews those who read its pages. The people who participate in this Bible Reading Marathon will be greatly blessed by it.

We hope to see you there. Where? Here at YWAM Ushuaia.

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia

The Bible Give Away Project

We believe in the power of the Bible to transform lives and we want to give one Bible to every house in the city. We believe that when the people receive the Bible and start to read it, their lives will be transformed and as their lives are transformed so will the city be transformed. That is why The Bible Give Away Project is so important.

With around 70,000 residents in the city, we need a lot of Bibles and a lot of people to help us with this project. But we are encouraged by the fact that the Bible give away has been done before in other places around the world, and each time it has, there has been a tremendous transformation of those places.

Therefore, this September we are planning on buying several hundred Bibles to give away during the weekend of the “Day of the Bible” that is celebrated here in Argentina on Sunday the 25th. The Bible Give Away Project begins with designing the cover for the Bible, then ordering and waiting for it to arrive here in Ushuaia. At this point, after prayer, we will be giving them all away as God directs us.

He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
Jim Elliot – Missionary.

If you would like to help, please contact us.

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia

Snowboarding

That’s right, with such great snow down here in the southermost tip of the world, we have decided to offer a Discipleship Training School (DTS) for Snowboarders. All are welcome, from experienced snowboarders to those who want to learn. It will be a mix of classes in the classroom and classes on the mountain.

We are still working out all of the details but if you are interested please send us a comment and let us know. We will keep you informed.

UPDATE (July ’11): The school has been rescheduled for winter 2013. We are looking forward to having a lot of fun learning about God on the mountain.

An entry from YWAM Austral - Ushuaia