To Know God and Make Him Known
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
Aloha {{first_name|McCalls on Mission Community}}!
The past week I have been reflecting upon all the ways that God has led our family; how he brought us to Kona and His faithfulness to us over the years! I am amazed at all the friends He has brought into our life; both near and far. What a wonderful thing it is to remember and celebrate the goodness of God in our life and those around us.
Two weeks ago, YWAM Kona Closed a 17 year chapter with Fire and Fragrance. Initially, Fire and Fragrance started as a DTS (discipleship training school) program but has since grown into its own ministry. It is good and right for them to move on and become their own non-profit. This was the Lord’s timing.
Change isn’t always easy, but it’s completely necessary. While we grieve the loss of some of our friends, we walk with great expectancy and hope for the future that God has for YWAM Kona.
In the midst of this ‘New Beginning,’ we have the wonderful privilege of walking out YWAM Value #3 with renewed conviction!
Hear God’s Voice
YWAM Value #3 is: Hear God’s Voice
YWAM is committed to creating with God through listening to Him, praying His prayers and obeying His commands in matters great and small. We are dependent upon hearing His voice as individuals, together in team contexts and in larger gatherings, as an integral part of our process for decision making.
“Listen to the voice of God; obey, and don’t quit!”
God is an amazing communicator. The most common phrases in the Bible are “God said” or “the Lord said.” They are used 1,500 times in the Original Testament alone.
God speaks in different ways: through an audible voice, through dreams and visions, through angels, through that still small voice in our hearts, through words of a godly friend or teacher, through revelation into the scriptures. God even spoke through a donkey once!
I wonder how much time we waste fussing over things God could show us, if we only would take the time to ask. Proverbs 16:9 says, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
The basic principles are this: hearing the Word of the Lord gives us faith, faith leads to action, and perseverance brings fulfillment of the vision! As we listen for God’s voice, we should always ask, “Is this scriptural and does it align with God’s character and ways?” God’s voice will never contradict what He has already revealed about Himself in the Bible, nor will He speak something contrary to His nature and Character.
I am grateful for the leadership of our great King Jesus.
Foundation School
Last week, our kids (at least the oldest four) have embarked on a three month season to go deeper with God and each other. It will be a change to their normal rhythms of Home School life, but they are each excited to be a part of this program.
Foundation School is like a mini-DTS for kids and we (Liz and myself) are excited for our kids to go through this training. As Liz and the kids prayed, we all felt the ‘nudge’ from God that this was something we were supposed to do this quarter.
So we listened, and most importantly, we obeyed. This was an extra expense to our normal budget. If any of you would like to help contribute towards this school, you can donate through our giving page. The total for the four of our kids to attend this quarter was $2,400.
More importantly, pray for our kids to have marking moments with God. We believe He has something special for each one of them in this time.
School of Worship
Brazil
In February I was part of a staff team that we brought to Brasilia, Brazil! Our team helped lead a four day School of Worship conference with around 40 participants. We also had kids ministry for the families that attended which had nine kids in a separate program!
From the very first evening of worship, it was incredible to watch God bring together a bunch of strangers and form them into a family. God’s presence was deeply tangible and on one of the evenings, we had a powerful ministry time with testimonies, lots of prayer, and encouragement through the prophetic.
Of particular note, this group of people came with such hunger for the Lord, to learn, and to put into practice what they were learning right away. Many wrote songs for the first time in their lives and also gave me an incredible gift of singing a Bossa Nova version of Apostles Creed, in Portuguese, to me! God is so kind.
Every song that was written is currently getting recorded and I’m excited to share those once the conference album has been completed.
Outreach
At the end of March we got to celebrate an incredible outreach season for our Fall School of Worship outreaches to New Zealand and Fiji. We have heard many testimonies of God’s hand through worship, street ministry, and connection within the local communities.
At YWAM Suva they are currently working on Oral Translations of the Bible. Our team helped facilitate a “Mother Tongue Music” conference and many new songs were written from scripture in their “Mother Tongue Sound”. It’s always incredible to see what God does in and through simple obedience.
Moving forward, we have our April school starting with their first full week of classes this week. We are so excited to see God’s hand over this batch of students and what He will do through their obedience on the outreach phase. Outreach for this April school will be in Japan this summer.
Pray for these students and our staff.
YWAM Kona Outreach
In YWAM Kona, as a whole, we sent out missions teams all over the world. Teams went to Central Asia, Middle East, South America, Europe, North America, Central America, Asia, and the Pacific Islands! In total, we sent around 500 people to outreach two weeks ago!
Additionally, we commissioned new, long-term, teams to the nations of Japan and Thailand. The end of each quarter, here at YWAM Kona, is such a powerful reminder that the mission of Jesus continues to expand and we are grateful to be apart of what God is doing across the earth.
Mahalo 🙌🏼
Our hearts are filled with immense gratitude for each one of you. Thank you for faithfully standing with us as a team in our missions work around the world. The Kingdom of God is advancing mightily and we get to play a small part in it; together.
Thank you for your prayers and for your financial partnership. None of this is possible without all of us working together unto the purposes of God in this world.
Please let us know if you have any prayer request that we can be partnering with you in. It is our privilege to intercede on your behalf.
If there’s any opportunities to minister together, in the things you’re doing, please don’t hesitate to reach out as well. We would love to partner with you and serve you in this way.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Prayer Request
At the end of every school I teach in, the class usually asks if I have any prayer requests. Last month the students in the Discipleship Training School, that I was teaching in, asked me this same question. Many of you know our housing vision and that we are currently living on campus.
I told the students of the dream God placed in our hearts and asked them to pray for clarity in knowing how long we are to be on campus. It’s not easy to live on campus but it’s also been a joyful time for our family. With that said, later that evening, after the students prayed for our family, I received an email from the YWAM Kona Housing Department that we will have to move out of our campus room by September.
This actually brought a sense of relief and excitement for what God might be up to. Will you join us in prayer for the release of a new home for our family to live in as another step towards putting our roots down deep into the land and nation of Hawaii? 🙏
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your prayers! We feel every single one of them; truly.
Blessing
May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and may the Lord give you peace. Amen. 🙏
Grace and Peace be with you in Abundance,
-Chris, Lizzi, Kai, Laila, Rhema, Moses, and Zion ♥️-
P.S.- We would love to hear what God is up to in your lives. To rejoice with those who are rejoicing, to weep with those who weep, and everything in between. We love you all!
