"Steps of Faith" August 2019 - City Church Tauranga
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“Steps of Faith” August 2019
FIJI OUTREACH thanks so much for praying for us as we led
the outreach to Fiji in June! Our team of 14 helped run the medical
clinics and ministered love through prayer and words of
encouragement. We arranged home visits to several who were bed
ridden or disabled, resulting in significant ministry- great
opportunities to practically show Gods love for ALL. Here are a few
of the many testimonies……. One Muslim lady came to the clinic for reading glasses and Inga was
able to pray for her elderly family member who was recovering from Pneumonia and having
difficulty walking- we just happened to have a
walking frame with us (Brought to Fiji on
Pacific Hope in 2015) so we took a team to
visit and she was assessed by a nurse, physio
and OT- after this time of sharing and
assisting the family with her care, 3 of the
family became Christians! Mike took a team
to visit a boy with cerebral palsy- again a
practical session to assist and teach mum
about his care thanks to our OT …. ministry to the mum
followed and her salvation In an island nation there
is a lot of guilt on the mother if children are born in any
way disabled (seen to be her fault). Several mums
gained valuable knowledge and healing during the
week as they were taught about their children’s
conditions and how to care for them safely....lots of
opportunity for future ministry!
Christine, one of our team, noticed a teenage girl with serious decay in her 2 front teeth, encouraged
her to see the dentist and stayed with her while her
teeth were restored with flawless while fillings- it took
a while for her to bravely look in the mirror afterwards,
but eventually she did and her smile was beautiful -
this simple procedure will be life changing for her, as
she no longer has the shame of damaged teeth but
instead a radiant smile. 2 of our team served as
dental assistants and loved having this opportunity to
learn new skills and serve the dentists. Others assessed
people for glasses, sterilised instruments, did
registration and crowd control, served in the kitchen helping prepare amazing meals; great to have
several nurses and a dietician who were kept busy too. Our team had so much fun and rose to the
challenge of sleeping marae style, dealing with heat, long nights (due to ministry times and the local
dogs and roosters). They also dealt with tummy bugs- many of the team fell ill at some stage, some
were VERY ill after returning to NZ with a number of nasty bugs diagnosed- Mike and I were placed
in quarantine, for several weeks- as were several others….thankfully we are all on the way back to
full health and we will of course go again. Rev 12;11 was our outreach verse and we were very aware
of the need for prayer and worship daily. There had been a couple of suicides in this village and we
learned that a significant number of villagers were practising witchcraft, so we know we
encountered some reactions to the ministry that took place. Even so, we are very thankful for this
opportunity and saw God touch many lives!. Mike, Lauren and I were very thankful for a few extra
days in Fiji to connect with Marine Reach staff, local pastors (at the C3 Fiji pastors conference) and
we met up with Freddie- one of our DTS students in 2012. Mike was his mentor and it was SO
encouraging to hear his testimony of going on for God! Our last day was spent at “Blue Ginger café”
and a local hotel for a swim and lunch- what a
treat!!!! Fiji and its people are truly beautiful
Lauren was busy filming and recording
interviews for our Fiji outreach feedback
video- see it here……. And she didn’t get sick
We really encourage you to look at going on a
short term mission trip or giving to someone
who can go and pray for the teams- We were
VERY aware of the prayer covering that we
had- vinaka vaka levu….prayer changes lives!
FAITH AT FURNACE for those of you who are new to our “steps of faith” here’s a summary
of our journey so far- After several short term mission trips, God called us to Fiji fulltime in 2012 - we
did our DTS with YWAM Marine Reach and served as staff. These early years were funded by a small
group of faithful friends and through the sale of our home (while we built up support- all YWAM
staff are unpaid and raise their own financial support). After 2 years in Fiji God led us to relocate to
YWAM Tauranga, so our children could complete their high school years. We served there for 5
years, leading a couples DTS, then serving in the ship ministry of Pacific Hope (she served Fiji and
Vanuatu with medical and ministry outreaches). When the ship was redeployed to the Caribbean
God led us on again - to YWAM Furnace - located at Faith Bible College.
YWAM Furnace continues the YWAM Motto- “to know God and make Him known”. The name
Furnace comes from the place of meeting God and being refined in the fire; we mobilize youth (and
older youth) into mission, through training and practical ministry outreaches. At Furnace we focus
on prayer and worship as we develop intimacy with God.
Training….we run a number of training schools and seminars. Seminars on Prayer (One Thing),
Community Development and Hospitality are open to all. “One thing” is one month long and is very
popular with Kiwis and those from overseas - beautiful to see young and old so focused on prayer,
hearing God and seeking HIM. This runs in July and January each year. DTS is a 5 month discipleship
course including teaching and personal ministry, followed by practical outreach overseas or in NZ-
current schools are heading to Nepal and Papua New Guinea. Outreaches are practical, stretching
and faith shaping. After doing a DTS students can do a second level school –these focus on areas
such as Leaders Internship, Worship, Community Development, Communication, Bible Teaching and
Frontier Mission- for those wanting to go long term to the nations. We have long term staff serving
in Asia, Nepal and restricted nations. Currently we have 52 students in training and over 120
applicants for training being processed- plenty to keep Inga busy in her role as registrar. Please pray
for wisdom for Inga in her role and for our applicants- some face enormous opposition and yet have
such a desire to be trained and serve God. Mission Adventures: The 2 trips to Vanuatu and
Fiji went really well and Mike and the team are now planning for 2020 outreaches. Kairos training is
underway and Mike will teach this in a couple of upcoming schools at YWAM Furnace. The plan is to
take this training to other Pacific Nations in 2020. Mike is also developing other teaching materials for
future schools. Mentoring: we both love mentoring staff and students and are privileged to walk
alongside them. Please pray for Mike as he trains and teaches Kairos and develops teaching for
various YWAM schools and for wisdom and discernment for us both, in ministry times, thankyou .
AND a SHIP….recently the Claymore 2 was gifted to YWAM Aotearoa- she has been renamed
YWAM KOHA, is berthed here in Tauranga and led by Marty Emmett (one of our YWAM Furnace
leaders). She is being prepared as a medical ministry ship to serve in the Pacific Region - this is so
exciting and we know many lives will be impacted by this very practical messenger of God’s love.
Please pray that dry docking goes well this month in Christchurch.
URGENT Prayer need- please prayerfully consider joining our awesome support team-we
need to increase our regular monthly support as we focus on training the next generation for mission.
We are not paid by YWAM and need to raise all our own financial support. …20 people giving $40
would meet our monthly goal. God has confirmed many times recently that we are in the right place
doing the right thing and we trust Him for His provision as we serve….He is Jehovah Jireh “Stand in
Faith, walk in Obedience, persevere and DO NOT GIVE UP”-Gods word to us !
FAMILY we have celebrated birthdays for
mum, Laurens 21st and Ava turned 4! SO
THANKFUL that Bailey now has a permanent
contract with ITM Mount YEY!!!!!- Thanks so much
for your prayers, he loves the job, is part of a great
team and is learning new things every day. Thanks
so much for praying for our family- we really value
our times to connect via phone, in person and
celebrating life together. Please pray for Lauren
as she finishes her studies and seeks work over the
summer months, back in Tauranga….here she is on
outreach.
Support team We are so thankful for the
continuing support- practical, prayer and financial
given by our individual supporters and “City Church
C3” (our church in Tauranga). To support us
financially- put your name and staff name
(Stephenson) in the reference and code section.
Send email to the finance team at finance@yfnz.org,
advising you have made a payment to us including
your email address (a one-off email). This enables
YWAM to send a receipt at the end of the financial
year (March) for claiming Charitable donations from the IRD. Bank account number is: BNZ Cameron
Road 02-0240-0010822-00 “The Impact World Tour (NZ) Trust” Please continue to note "birthday,
anniversary or Christmas" in the reference as these are NOT Taxable and email us too so we can keep
track of things, thanks! Thank you for partnering with us; as we train and equip the next generation
for mission.
Revelation 12:11 “and they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And
they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die”
Love from Mike, Inga, Bailey and Lauren
183b Waitaha Road, Welcome Bay, Tauranga 3112 021 132 1161 Mike 021 148 7782 Inga
Happy faces after receiving their Days for Girls packs- washable sanitary pads made in NZ 
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