Praise Report and Financial Update

God provided the rest of my lecture fees this week! PRAISE GOD! He is so faithful. Thank you everyone for praying!

Another praise report is that my health is fully restored as of yesterday. I had a very fast recovery from a terrible head cold due to all the prayers that I received. I am very thankful!

I do have just one month to raise my outreach fees ($4200). I am trying to sell my car at the moment, but have not had a single person interested yet. Please pray for financial breakthrough however God wants to raise these funds. Please also pray for my classmates, Bree and Justin, as they are still raising both lecture and outreach fees.

Thank you so much for your consistent prayers... they are certainly making a huge impact and I am so appreciative :)

Blessings,

Stephanie

"Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep"

Hello and G'day!

Hope you are having a fantastic week! It is definitely warming up here in Perth. We've had some very hot days this week.

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I've been a bit behind in posting my blog updates. This post is from last week. Our topic was Cross-Cultural Communication by YWAM Lausanne base director, Markus Steffen, a Swiss-German, who we had the tremendous honor of learning from this week.

Click here to see my lecture notes :)

Cross-Cultural Communication is an essential teaching for the evangelist. It all starts with loving the person, considering them and their interests above our own, and taking the time to fully engage them. Once the connection takes place, our message can come alongside this loving connection.

I was personally challenged this week in the area of controlling my tongue. In times of frustration, I too often let my flesh speak negativity. I realize that I have self control available from the Holy Spirt to help me through frustration, but God took me a step further in this teaching. My tongue should be set apart for the glory of God to bring fruit and life into the world. Our words matter all the time. I want to submit my words to Him, speaking only the truth onto myself and others, despite how I feel. God has given each of us the powerful responsibility to use our words wisely. It is the power to bring life or death (Proverbs 18:21).

A base event...

This Thursday evening, we had a event at Scarborough beach, run by a YWAM Perth ministry called Island Breeze. Island Breeze is a Polynesian cultural ministry that shares the Gospel through music and dance. They do an AMAZING job! Very talented men and women, and it is fun to watch. In the event, they had musical performances by the Island Breeze dancers and had a few testimonies in between the performances, with a Gospel invitation at the end. Earlier in the day, Danny asked if I would be willing to share my testimony. I was nervous at first, but once I started speaking, the words just flowed out of my mouth. It was amazing to share with so many people and I pray that God used my words to stir hearts and bring others closer to Him. The night was definitely a memorable one for me, and a tremendous opportunity to share with the people in the community.

One story to share from evangelism this week:

Before evangelism on Friday, Danny got the words "lost sheep" from God and felt to send us out in pairs to find one person that God leads us to minister to.

I partnered with a guy named Jeffrey from Indonesia. We both felt led to go to a nearby park. In the park was an aboriginal woman who was sitting alone in the grass. We walked over to her, introduced ourselves and started making conversation, then asked if we could sit down with her to continue to talk. We spent time getting to know her and had the most amazing conversation. There seemed to be a lot of pain in her life as she copes with it through alcohol which has gripped her for many years. She recognizes the destruction of it and had stopped drinking for about a week now, so she is in a place where she desires to make things better. Jeffrey shared his testimony with her and it was so powerful- going from the depths of despair to finding hope in Christ. After this, she started opening up to us about her past, and sharing her story with us. We listened intently for 10 minutes and as she cried and told us her pain. It was a beautiful and amazing thing to speak truth into this woman’s life and tell her the hope of the Gospel. We spoke of the redeeming and healing power of God with the hope that these words will take root in her spirit. We prayed over her and by the look of her eyes, she was completely touched by the love of God. She received a Bible from us and I pray that God continues to gently pursue her.

God, you are incredible. Your love is amazing. You are a God that goes after the lost sheep, the One that comes searching for us when we go astray. Thank you for your unfailing love and devotion to leading us in right relationship with you. What an honor it is to be used by you.

A few prayer requests:

• I have been feeling sick this week. Sinus pressure, cold symptoms. Please pray for quick healing, as I do not have finances right now to buy medicine.
• Speaking of finances, please pray for God's provision for the remainder of my lecture fees. About another $500 to go. I also need to raise $4,500 for my outreach to Mexico City in about a month's time. I will give you more details of my outreach needs by the end of the week.

What is happening with you? Please let me know if I can be praying for anything for you or your family, or just fill me in on what's going in your life! I long to remain connected to friends and family around the world. Send me an e-mail at stephanieungaro@hotmail.com, mail me a letter (to the address in Perth on the right side of my blog), or post a comment! :)

Thanks for reading!

Lots of love,

Stephanie

Video Update!

A short video update. I get attacked by a fly at the end :)

Plow, Plant, Water, Reap!

Hello Readers :)

All I can say about this week is... WOW! The topic this week was called Personal Evangelism. I learned so much! Our speaker was actually brought to us via live video through a video conference call system called Genesis (similar to Skype). His name is Danny Lehmann, director of YWAM Hawaii. He has an incredible anointing in the area of evangelism and imparted his wisdom and passion to us this week.

Click here to see my lecture notes on Personal Evangelism.

Something I was most challenged by this week was my need for God to move me into a place of brokenness. God wants to break my heart for people. Realizing that brokenness is a painful position, I choose to love through pain, just as Jesus did, in order to reflect the love of God to others. I lay down my comfort, my whole self, with the knowledge that God moves through a place of brokenness to reach His people. I willingly lay my life down for the cause of Christ, for the beautiful people He created. I pray that God gives me the grace and strength to walk out this renewed mindset in true and faithful obedience.

One cool story from evangelism this week in the city:

I spoke with a young aboriginal girl, 17 years old, who stopped with her family to watch one of our dramas. I started up a conversation with her, which eventually led to asking questions about her faith. She had no real knowledge of Jesus and seemed hardened with indifference, but was very open to hear. I got to share with her the Gospel and told her the amazing impact that God has had on my life. As I was sharing, God was giving me words to tell her- words about her great value in the eyes of God and His love for her. At this, I could tell she was softening, taking in the truth of what I was saying. In the meantime, another YWAMer was speaking with her mother and two little brothers, who were very receptive to hearing his message. The mom asked for prayer and accepted a Bible. I pray that God continues to reveal himself to this family and that they surrender their lives to Jesus as they discover His love and truth.

This week, we had a book report due on a book called Going Public with the Gospel. The book caused me to think of ideas and methods to reach the lost in the context of a city or community. Click here to see my book report.

Every Friday evening, we have a base-wide church service. Peter Brownhill (director of YWAM Perth) gave the message this week, and it was a message that I will not forget. He spoke on the meaning of true servanthood, as seen in Luke 17: 7-10. I realized that I often look to the approval of people when I am working, craving acceptance and encouragement. However, true servanthood is found in obedience and humility, without expecting anything in return. Reaching this place of humility requires us to lay down our "rights" as humans to be recognized, valued, respected, with the knowledge that we are incredibly blessed to be serving the living God. Jesus laid down his rights as he became fully human, taking the very nature of a servant (Philippians 2:5-11). I had a time of laying down my rights and repented of my ungratefulness. My heart moved into a place of sincere, overwhelming gratitude to be in the amazing position I am in to serve in the Kingdom of God. I desire to walk in obedience to the Father without the approval of people, with the knowledge that I will one day be lifted up in honor by God himself in heaven, receiving His ultimate approval- What could be greater?

Definitely a lot of growth is happening in places I did not expect. God is expanding my character. It is challenging, but very good. I feel He is using this time to prepare my heart for the mission field. He is toughening my character to withstand the challenges that life in missions will bring, and breaking my heart to love people with everything I have. With this knowledge, I am deeply motivated to continue to press in to God and walk in obedience to His teaching. God is doing amazing things!

That is all for now. Thank you for reading all that I am learning and processing! And above all, thank you for praying for me. Not a day goes by where I am not thinking about all my friends and family back home. I love you all so much!

Bless you,

Stephanie

Infinite Value

Hello Blog Readers!

Hope you are well. I’ve had another challenging, yet amazing, week in Perth as I continue on with the School of Evangelism. We had the privilege of having Peter Brownhill, the YWAM Perth base director, speak to us on the Nature and Character of God. Though I had this topic on my DTS, this teaching reinforced my knowledge and brought about new revelations on who God is, how others view God, the importance of knowing God intimately, and Biblical understanding of His characteristics. I also found that as I went deeper into learning the aspects of God’s character, it caused me to examine my own character and ask for grace on areas that I fall short.

Click here to see the main lecture points that stood out to me.

Something I was most challenged by this week was the understanding of Paul’s value system in Philippians 3:7-11- Nothing could even compare to the value of knowing Christ. This verse hit me hard and I’ve been thinking about it all week. How deeply I desire this revelation of God’s infinite value! In asking God for more understanding of this verse, He has been opening up my eyes to the ways I can value Him more. I want to show how much I value Him through the everyday decisions that I make, like how I spend my free time or giving full attention in my quiet times, fully engaging in knowing Him more, prioritizing time with God over all other things. I am realizing that these small decisions speak the loudest to God and are what He cares about most. He looks at the heart.

Lord, I ask that you would increase my understanding of how valuable you are in my life- so much so that nothing else matters but knowing you and spending time with you, that I may give you more of the love, praise, and worship you deserve. You are so worthy.

It’s amazing to me the ways God is calling me to go deeper. It shows that He really does want more intimacy with me. It’s not to make me feel guilty about choices that I make, it’s to make me more aware of the ways I can become closer to God, simple things that make a significant difference in my relationship with Him. He is pursuing me, calling me. I will listen, obey, and respond to the call.

Evangelism this week…

God did amazing things in our time in evangelism this week!

One cool story:

On Monday, we did outreach in the city with the Art Evangelism students. The exhibited their art and we did public worship. I spoke with a young guy from Thailand, a student, 19 years old, who was so open to hear about Jesus and asked me lots of questions. Growing up around Asian religions, he had never heard the gospel in its fullness, so that was exciting to be able to share with him. He said he went to church for the first time 2 weeks ago because his dad was hospitalized due to an illness. He prayed to God that if his dad recovered, that he would believe. I saw he was wearing a cross necklace and he said he bought it as a symbol of that prayer, kind of a promise to God. I asked, well what happened?? And he said that his dad is at home, doing well! Praise God!! We talked about how it was no coincidence that we met and that God was confirming to him once again of his reality, by lovingly pursuing him. I encouraged him to invite Jesus to be a part of his life, that it would change his life forever. I have full confidence in this young man’s salvation. It was exciting to be a part of his journey.

The lecture material was very helpful to use in evangelism. Particularly useful are the “three views of God” that Peter shared, which help to identify with people who have come from painful backgrounds, which can alter their view of God. I also found the explanation of the trinity very helpful to paint a clear picture of God’s oneness- I used this explanation to a Muslim man this week.

We do evangelism three times per week, twice in the city, and once a week at various locations in Perth, such as different beaches, parks, neighborhoods, etc.

Everything in between...

I am very much enjoying my time here in Perth. It is beautiful. It is springtime here, and has been somewhat cold, but it is starting to warm up as it gets closer to the summer. An interesting fact about Perth- the heat brings TONS of flies… yuck! They are everywhere.

Well, that is all for this week. About to do my work duty- dinner dishes (for 300 people). It is hard work!

Thanks for reading!

Love and Blessings,

Stephanie

Love God, Love the Body

Hello Friends!

I have reached the end of my first week of lectures. Hard to believe it's only been a week, I feel like I have been here much longer!

What an incredible week it was. Our topic for week one was called "Bible Unity and Evangelism" taught by Shirley Brownhill, the YWAM Perth base director. We were SO blessed to have her as a speaker- it was amazing to start the School of Evangelism off with Shirley's teaching. Wisdom flows from this woman. I spent the week just trying to soak in drops of wisdom. Here are some of the lecture points that brought revelation to me:

• When God talks about advancing his Kingdom, he talks about the body.
• God's dream: that every tribe, every tongue, every nation will stand before the throne (perfect unity). Our unity and actions give people a taste of what heaven will be like.
• God has not asked us to do anything that is not possible by his grace and his power.
• We must find our security in Jesus and let his love, grace, and power bring unity in our relationships.
• The Acts 2 Church models perfect Bible unity. Blueprint to bring God's presence into a community.
• We, the church, have the opportunity to show people, communities, nations, how to live in communion with God and with one another.
• The Acts 2 Church opened doors in their community. People are attracted to communities united by the love of Christ, because it is reflecting the character of God. When people see Jesus, they will love him!
• The anointing and the blessing comes with unity (Psalm 133).
• One of the biggest lies of the enemy devised to bring disunity is that the basis of commitment is mutual perfection. He knows how powerful unity is, and he is out to destroy it.
• The most powerful form of warfare we can do is to commit ourselves to Bible unity.
• If we truly love God, we should also love the body of Christ.
• There is no reserve in the character of God. He is a communicator. He will never remove himself from us- He is committed to the absence of reserve.
• Forgiveness is our source of life!
• Always find yourself in the context of team. Unity=power. Power to see exponential change in communities, to see breakthrough in the ability to spread the gospel, give healthcare, whatever God's will may be.
• God uses every trial or difficulty we face as a shaping mechanism to make our character more like His (James 1:2-4).

I felt very challenged this week in multiple areas of my walk with God. God was speaking to me about areas of my heart where I haven't loved the body of Christ in the fullness that he calls me to love. Loving the body is not an option, it is a command. Reflecting on God's command to love the body and become one with the body, I felt God say "Let me transform you by becoming more deeply committed to the body."

Leading up to this school, I have been praying and praying for deep transformation to be God's hand to reach the lost. I feel like God has been answering me this week- that he will provide opportunities for the transformation to take place, but it is up to me to obey him in the small things. Deep commitment requires obedience when it's uncomfortable, when I don't "feel like" reaching out to someone, or even when that decision will go completely unnoticed. I know exactly what God is talking about. It's the times where I feel led to pray for someone I don't know and ignore it, when I feel led to write a letter of encouragement and forget, when I avoid someone I don't have the energy to speak with... the list goes on. These decisions can seem very small and insignificant at the time, but truthfully, they impact the body and my own relationship with God from truly flourishing.

Not to live religiously, but God sees my heart. He is calling me to go deeper. If I truly want to be used by Him in extravagant ways, I need to start loving people in extravagant ways, especially those within the body of Christ.

I have been praying for God to renew my mind to become more ministry-minded and Kingdom-focused. I want to see communities transformed for Christ. I think the renewal of my mind will take place when I take my eyes off myself and focus them solely on Jesus, pouring the love that He gives me onto people. The heart change happens when I repent of selfish thinking and actions and make decisions to love people out of obedience to God.

Lord, I desire this change more than anything. I ask for your grace to help me walk in obedience to everything you ask me to, loving people the way you've called me to love. Thank you for working in my heart with gentleness and truth.

We had our first evangelism outing this week. Every Thursday, YWAM Perth has base-wide evangelism in various locations around the city. This week, we went to Scarborough Beach, about 200 YWAMers. We did public worship in a park, then went off in pairs to pray and make conversations with people. I went with a staff leader named Jenny to pray for the community and we eventually came across this group of teenagers at a bus stop, the young girls publicly intoxicated, yelling and making a big scene. We walked over with a few other YWAMers and stood in the midst of it all. After about 10 minutes, we started talking with three of the sober kids, one guy and two girls, and eventually shared with them why we were in Australia to learn more about God. These kids were so open, asking questions and wanting prayer. The girl I was speaking with said she didn't know much about Jesus and did not hesitate to say yes to hear the gospel. Amazing what God can do! Oftentimes we judge that a group will not be receptive to God, but it is not up to us to judge, only to act in obedience to the Holy Spirit. I know these three were touched that night by something real- the power of God's love calling them to relationship with Him. I pray that they made a response in their heart that will change their lives.

I love the students on my SOE. We have really bonded this week in class and outside of class. I am becoming friends with each person and enjoy all the time we spend together. Unity should be our highest goal and I feel we have gotten off to a great start, loving and supporting one another.

Thank you for your consistent prayers. Please feel free to contact me anytime- I would love to hear from you! E-mail, facebook, mail, blog comments... I long to stay connected with friends and family.

Blessings :)

Stephanie

I'm At Home

"I'm at home when you're with me. When I'm with you, worries fade away..."

I am back in Australia and feel completely at home. A wave of peace came over me as the plane landed, like I was spiritually connected to the ground. There is nothing like experiencing the center of God's will. I know I am right where God wants me and it's an amazing feeling.

I spent last week in the Gold Coast, visiting the base before flying off to Perth. I worked at the base this week, helping them out with anything they needed. Just getting a feel for what staffing will be like and getting things prepared for when I come back after the SOE. I can't even describe to you the joy I felt being back at YWAM Gold Coast. I feel completely part of a family there- peace, joy, security, belonging. I know this base is home, and I am so glad I was able to stop by and be reminded of what God spoke to me about coming back to staff.

I also spent the week in prayer that God would prepare my heart for the School of Evangelism. More than anything right now, I want to remain close to God, hearing his guidance and direction and allow him to work in my heart in whatever way will conform me into the servant he has called me to be. I want to receive each and every thing He intended for me to take from this school. I want to be better equipped to be God's hand to reach the lost, loving them in extravagant ways.

I am also praying for finances to come in. The due date for the lecture phase is this Friday and I am still about $1,200 short. The school leader told me I can get an extension, but the sooner the better. Please pray with me for the funds to come in at the right time.

So yesterday (Saturday) afternoon, I arrived in Perth to do my SOE. This base is much different than YWAM Gold Coast... it is huge! I feel like I am at a college campus. I am staying in a dorm with 30 girls. The building (called the "228") is really nice... it has a nice layout with a living area in the middle, big kitchen and dining table in the back, and two big rooms on either side where all the beds are set up. The bedrooms have a living area and walls that divide the room up a bit. I am on a top bunk and am settling in to my space.

Being YWAM, it is very multicultural in my dorm and around the base with people from all over the world. I met a few of the other students in my school... Moira from Holland, Kersti and Amy from the US (staff), Miles, Moriah and Kyle from the US, and Danny our school leader from Australia, who is amazing and made us all feel very welcome. There are a lot of Americans on my school I am realizing. I am excited to meet all the other students!

Right now, it is Sunday morning and I am sitting at the dining room table with 4 other girls eating breakfast and talking about our experiences with YWAM. This evening, Danny is having the SOE students over to his house for a barbecue so we can all meet each other, which I am excited about. Our school starts tomorrow and will probably consist of an orientation to the schedule and course material. I am looking forward to getting started and getting into a routine.

Well, that is all for now! I will let you know how classes go this week.

Thank you all for praying. It is your prayers that have gotten me here and I am incredibly grateful.

Bless you all,

Stephanie