This is who you're praying for!

I thought I'd take a minute and introduce you to the YWAM Panama July- December DTS and where they're from:

Our fearless leaders:

David and Cerrita

(and baby Anne)

Panama City, Panama

Dale and Kim

Bocas del Toro, Panama

The Students:

Mike and Lauren

Wisconsin

L.T.

(or Mr. BLT according to Cooper)

Minnesota

Elli

Finland

Ale`

Mexico

Andrea

Wisconsin

C.J.

Texas

Lauren ("Ren")

California

Ciara

Washington

Preach the gospel at all times, if necessary use words.

On Thursday, August 12^th (our 10^th wedding anniversary) we teamed up with the DTS in San Jose to do a little outreach in the city.

The DTS leader there, Morgan, had this vision of a “flash dance” (let me explain before you burst out into into “What A Feeling”)

Instead of a dance we were going to do an exercise. First one person would start doing this routine, then people from our group would join in at random (making it seem like we didn’t know each other, just strangers in the same place) and by doing this we would draw a crowd.

After a crowd had come they were going to do a drama called “Everything” so that we could portray to the people of San Jose that God wants to be your everything!

I thought that the idea sounded a little crazy, but we decided to go anyway to take pictures and just get off base.

We took the bus to downtown San Jose and met up in this little town square. When we got there I was surprised to see 80 billion pigeons!!!!!

There were even people selling dried corn so that you could feed them. Of course our kids had a field day with that!!! Camber even got smart enough to catch them! She would put corn in one hand and then when they would land to eat she would grab them by the leg. She did this at least 4 times!!!

After playing with the birds (and recreating Alfred Hitchcock films in my head) for a while Dash started out the “flash exercise.” Everyone joined in and it really drew a crowd!!!!

To end the flash exercise they quoted Philippians 4:13 in Spanish and English.

Then they moved on to the drama everything.

Here’s the video, I was surprised at how powerful it was!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0mHSg1KOU4

San Jose, Costa Rica

This week has been even more amazing than the last!!! God is moving SO mightily that you just can’t ignore it. We left Panama Friday night at 11 p.m. bound for San José, Costa Rica. Central America YWAM bases gathered to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of YWAM.

The bus ride was long (17 hours), but it was fun. We got the chance to catch up on sleep and spend some quality time with other classmates.

When we got to the Costa Rican border we had to get out of the bus and get our passports stamped to leave Panama. Then they pulled some of the luggage out of the bottom of the bus to do a random search. They brought out their “drug sniffing dog” and I was TERRIFIED!!! It was about a 20 lb. brown…..COCKER SPANIEL. It was the FUNNIEST thing I’ve EVER seen!!! Our bags came back clean and we loaded up the bags back in the bus. Then we walked ¼ a mile to the immigration offices in Costa Rica, where we got a stamp to come into the country. At this point we had to take ALL the luggage out of the bus (our family has 7 bags, 2 backpacks, and a purse!). The guy who searched our bags looked like the Fonz! He asked if we were with the church group and we said yes, so he just let our bags go through! PRAISE JESUS for his grace!!!!!

We got to San Jose Saturday afternoon and were taken to the YWAM base where we would be staying.

One of the biggest fears that I had coming here was leaving my family. I had NO idea that I would be gaining NEW family. This REALLY is a family! There were people here who hadn’t seen each other in years, but they caught up to exactly where they left off. There were so many new people to meet and SO many stories of God’s faithfulness!!!

After dinner Saturday night the married couples were taken to a hotel off base. It was really nice! Although we were just really excited about the HOT showers (even though there was a tree in ours!)

Sunday morning started early with breakfast at the hotel, then back to the base to practice the drama that we’d been working so hard on (I’m anxiously awaiting video to post!!) Practice was a little rough, but David sat us down and we talked about why we were doing what we were doing.

When Loren Cunningham was 20 years old he had a vision of waves of young people crashing onto the shores of the different continents. The waves kept coming and coming and they eventually consumed every bit of land. At the time he didn’t know what that would entail….but God has been faithful for the last 50 years! YWAM has touched the lives of EVERY continent and EVERY country.

Worship was amazing!!! (it’s soooooo much better in Spanish) and then we were able to hear from Loren himself. He is in his mid 70’s now, but has more energy than I do!! He is an EXTREMELY humble man and realizes that everything that has happened in the last 50 years has been at the hand of God!

He spoke about obedience. He encouraged us that as we said “yes” others would be able to bless us and encourage us by saying “yes” as well. He shared a story about some land in Hawaii. The University of the Nations (YWAM’s university) is located on the island of Kona in Hawaii. He shared that at one time Hawaii’s land laws were not very good and it was quite the reality that one could lose everything that they had in a matter of days. A problem arose with some land that the YWAM campus had buildings on, and as is Loren’s first thought….he prayed. He then received a call from a businessman friend. The man asked “What is your greatest need?” Loren responded “5.2 million dollars.” The man confessed that this number was a little higher than he was anticipating, but God had told him to call Loren Cunningham and ask him his greatest need. This man said “yes’ to God and 10 days later released 5 million dollars to YWAM.

God affirmed Loren’s calling with this man saying “yes.” And this was only one instance of God’s faithfulness.

As the conference progressed we were blessed to hear from Loren’s wife, and partner in ministry, Darlene. We also heard a word from their oldest child, David Cunningham. He’s currently a director and working on a major motion picture telling the story of David. (Lion of War)

As the conference came to a close on Tuesday afternoon Loren explained to us a situation of need within our own gathering. He told of how the giant tent that we had been eating under for the last few days wasn’t paid for yet. He shared that the balance was $5,840. My mouth dropped!!! I was sitting in a room of 175 missionaries. Most of them were under the age of 30. Loren said that we needed to reach deep and do two things. First, ask God if we are allowed to participate in this gift. Second, ask God how much we can give.

I immediately (without thinking) asked God, “Can we participate?” (I asked this because Mark and I have not yet finished paying for our schooling here.) God IMMEDIATELY said “Yes!” I then asked God, “What do you want me to give?” And He resounded “Everything in your pocket.” (This was weird because I don’t EVER carry money in my pocket. The day before I got money out of my wallet to purchase a shirt, and put the change back in my pocket. It was a late night, so that morning I just grabbed the money back off the night stand and shoved it in my pocket again.) I asked God again, “I’m sorry….how much?” And he responded, “Everything in your pocket” (I knew it was well over $20) I told Mark what God was telling me, and he said, “Do what God is telling you.” So I did.

I stood in the back of that meeting place and watched person after person say “yes” to God. I had NEVER in my ENTIRE life seen God move like that. It wasn’t pushy, it wasn’t long and drawn out, no one was saying “we’re going to stay here until it’s met”, it was just a 15 minute line of people willing to give according to what God instructed.

Y’all, $6,135 was raised!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

During this time God REALLY spoke to my heart. I have left money in our bank account ‘just incase.’ God spoke to my heart and said “If your hands are grasping onto something then there’s not enough room for me to fill them up.” God just told me that I have to COMPLETELY empty my hands for Him to be able to fill them up. Which takes an AMAZING amount of faith!!!!!! But I’m up for the challenge, I know that he is going to bless us more than we can imagine.

We look forward to sharing with you the AMAZING things God is doing. We are SO open to Him moving…..are you?

Week 1

Monday, July 26th we left Milton, Fl and headed south. We were thankful to be able to stop in Lake City and see an old friend (he's technically older than me so I can say that!) who I haven't seen in 7 years! He has an amazing testimony and he is SUCH a blessing!!!

This was the first time that he'd met Cooper and the last time that he had seen Camber was when she was 4 months old (She's blocked out the painful soup memory!)


After some sweet fellowship, we were back on the road for Orlando. We arrived at my cousin Debbie's house and got some much needed "down time."

The next morning the real fun began!

We got to the airport, unloaded our luggage and got it checked, got through security without a hitch, and got on the plane. This is how we felt about the flight:


The scenery out the window was BEAUTIFUL!

We were picked up by another missionary/ teacher for the base that we will be visiting in Bocas del Torro, Dale. He was in a white pick up truck that our family and luggage BARELY fit in, and we started the trek back to the YWAM base. Panama is BEAUTIFUL and there were many familiar sights!













I immediately began to feel "at home" and my heart hurt for the people of Panama. They are VERY poor and most have horrible living conditions.About the time that the kids became completely bored...We arrived!
We are (currently) the residents of the Youth With a Mission Panama base in Chilibre, Panama.

We were shown to our room, met with our classmates, and had dinner together. We then got the chance to get all settled in, well, as settled as one can get in 2 weeks. (We will only be at this base for a short time as YWAM celebrates it's 50th anniversary and we will be a part of that in San Jose, Costa Rica next week)

Here is our room:

We learned that our DTS (Discipleship Training School) has been asked to perform the opening ceremonies at the 50th Anniversary Celebration next week. The members of staff here in Panama, as well as members of the DTS have been piecing together a drama to represent a vision that Loren Cunningham (the founder of YWAM) had when he was 20 years old. He envisioned a sea with waves of young people crashing on the shores of every continent bring the two fold gospel of Jesus: Love the Lord with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. (Video will be posted in a few weeks).

So our drama features different styles of dance to represent the different nations that YWAM is ministering to right now. God has put some incredibly talented people in this ministry, but he has also given them a great deal of grace for those of us who have NEVER danced a day in our lives!

God has already so richly blessed us in our short time here. We look forward to learning more about hearing HIS voice and receiving confirmation from others about his plan for our lives.

Please continue to pray for us and the base and the staff and our classmates as we are under attack from satan daily!

Please pray for traveling mercies as we leave on Friday night for Costa Rica (an 18 hour bus ride.)

Please pray that the members of our class would hear God's voice clearly about where he is calling us for outreach (anywhere in the world.)

Please pray that funds would continue to be released to us to cover the expense of GO!- ing.

Thank you for your love and continued support!!

doing well

This is Mark again... got the internet up for the time being (it's been sketchy) so I wanted to post.

we're doing well and learning a lot... God has done some very neat things that i'll let Kim post that.

you can call us if you want at 850-304-0051 its an online voicemail and a milton, FL phone number... you can leave a VM or send text... we won't get it right away... but we will get it when we can get online.

I also finally got some pics up, they are geotagged so they are synced up with GPS coordinates so most have a little map next to them so you can see where abouts they where taken.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mr2donalson

enjoy :)

keep praying

Mark

And then.....

The next day we were awakened to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes! Our house host Allen had prepared breakfast for us.

With full tummies and sticky fingers we loaded up in the van to head into Toldeo.

We arrived at the Life House Worship Center JUST in time for worship.

The congregation is smaller than we’re used to, but we were all so greatly blessed by their sweet spirit of intercession for each other. The bore their souls right there in worship and lifted up their friends and families in a way that we’ve not seen in quite a while!

These people don’t come from the best background, and many of them have troubles that I’ve never had to even think about, but they are sold out for Jesus. They believe that Pastor Jeff is God’s man for this ministry and they anxiously await the opportunity to service God with him.

After being filled with the word some rested and some headed out to do shopping for the week. In addition to groceries to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner through the week the shoppers also came ‘home’ with the best pizza in the universe….MARCO’S!!!!!!!

We were thankful to have Janelle from the American Center for Women and Children come by and share a little about herself and the ministry that is the school.

We set up for our first day of ‘Joy Club’ and showered and proceeded to pass out for the night.

Up Next......

Last night started the next chapter in our lives. I left work at CLEAR for the last time. As I pulled away I sobbed and poured out my heart to God. I KNOW that his plan for us is far beyond what we could ask or even imagine. But sometimes I wish that the “lamp unto my feet” was more of a flood light.

Mark and I busily finished packing for our next adventure. A mission trip with our church to Toledo, Ohio.

Saturday morning, at 4 a.m., we packed up our borrowed church van and hit the road.

We were all delirious from adrenaline and anxious to see how God would move. It was a bittersweet time for Mark and I. We got some precious moments with our mentors and friends, Andy and Heidi DeGuire.

We also got to see a side of their children that we’ve not been privy to up to this point.

We drove, and ate, and drove, and ate.

We arrived in Cincinnati at about 8 p.m. and were warmly greeted by the leaders of ministry at the BCM house at the University of Cincinnati.

We were grateful for ANYWHERE to brush our teeth and lay our heads.

and so it begins... specific prayer requests for the next week

and so it begins... specific prayer requests for the next week

this is Mark posting as will be evident by my poor spelling and syntax... but you'll get the point :)

for those that don't know... kims last day of work was today... tommarow morning (3:30am to be exact) is the start of the next 5 months of unknown... tommarow we head to OH for a week long mission trip with our church, get "home" late sat (24th), Church on Sunday and then monday we drive to Orlando and fly to Panama on tues (27th)… yes God has a sense of humor... but we're looking forward to this although a little scared... we greatly appreciate your prayers and support.

but moving on to the real reason for this post... Andy our associate pastor and my mentor has given us a list for very specific things to have prayed for each day while in Ohio if you would please remember to pray us and these specific things each day we would be greatful.

Sat July 17
- pray for our safe travel today all the way to our stop-over in Cincinnati. It’s going to be a LOOONG day (Psalms 91:11-12;)
- Pray for our spiritual preparation (Colossians 1:9-12; Ephesians 6:10-20)

Sun July 18
-Pray for our safety to Toledo and while there in the city for the week
-Pray for us to settle in quickly to our housing arrangements at the Southside life Station and get oriented to the ministry of the week (Ps 32:7-8; Ps 121:5-8)
-Please pray for the DeGuire children to especially obey their parents this week! (Deut 5:16)

Mon July 19
-Pray for God to open a wide door for effective service to our ladies who are teaching and serving at the American School for Women and Children, our men who will be building relational bridges with international students and our whole team as we reach out to children on the southside of Toledo. (1 Cor. 16:9; Eph 5:18b)

Tues July 20
-Pray for God’s Spirit to open the minds of the unbelieving (2 Cor 4:4-6) through our kindness, love, and bold witness (Acts 4:31)
-Pray for a servant spirit among us as a team (Mark 10:45)
-Pray that God would open to us a door for the world, that we would speak forth the mystery of Christ (Col 4:3; 1 Thess 2:2)

Wed July 21
-Pray for God to grant repentance to the lost (2 Tim 2:25)
-Pray for God to give us his heart for the lost of the world (Matt 28: 18-20) through the Prayer Tea & continued relationship building, and training.
-Pray for our team to be able to work together well, get along graciously, and serve one another (Phil 2:3; Eph 4:1-3)

Thurs July 22
-Pray the seeds of the gospel fall on receptive hearts, and that people would hear Him knocking on the door of their hearts and let Him in (Mark 4:19-20; Rev 3:20; Prove 20:12)
-Pray for us to be good stewards of the relationships we’ve made this week & that God might lead us to a “person of peace” (Matt 10:11; 1 Thess 2:8)

Fri July 23
-Pray for good follow-up of new believers
-Pray for the team as we enjoy some down-time together that our love for one another would grow deeper and that we would enjoy one another! (1 peter 4:8; John 13:34-35)
-Pray for safe travels to Cincinnati tonight as we prepare for the long journey home tommarow!

Sat July 24
-Pray for safe travel all the way home (Ps 121:5-8)
-Pray for God to continue the work He began in each one of us though this experience to find ways to live missionally at home (Phil 1:6; Acts 1:8)
-Pray for our relationships with one another to be uplifting and encouraging (Hebrews 10:24-25)

The letter we SHOULD have sent out!

A friend recently turned me onto a website called ‘Stuff Christians Like.”
The writer, Jon Acuff, takes a realistic look at the peculiarities of being a Christian.




*****DISCLAIMER*****
I am possibly the most sarcastic human being in the free world. I think that sarcasm is a highly developed skill that very few possess. I am sorry if this is offensive to you.

***********************

So….Here’s ‘Stuff Christians Like #256”
The mission trip funding letter….ala Mark and Kim:



Dear Friends and Family,

I never write you letters.

That’s a weird way to open a mission trip letter. The truth is that I don’t write anyone letters and if I opened up this letter by pretending this is just the latest in a long chain of correspondence we’ve kept up oh these many years, that would feel as fake as when people run out of things to say and ask you questions like, “hot enough for you?” Wow, that was a really atrocious run on sentence, but I’m excited about this trip and I’m not going to let sentence structure stand in my way.

If I were you, I would probably be thinking, “Mark and Kim are going on a mission trip?” That’s a completely fair thought. I keep asking myself that too. We are not the first couple people think of when it comes to feeding the hungry/helping the poor/working on a coconut farm. Plus, we're so busy. Work is really intense right now and this is not a good time to go on a mission trip. But I’m not sure if there is ever a “good time” to go on a mission trip. And I could probably come up with a list of reasons why I shouldn’t go, but I keep coming back to the one reason I should – God loves people.

I’ve been trying to live that in the life I currently have. I mean it’s easy to pray for far off places and far off people, but loving who you live and work with is a challenge. I’ve been trying to see my life as a mission field, not just this trip. And it’s been cool to see the way God has used this new approach to everything from the way I tip at restaurants to the way I treat people in traffic. But now, it’s time to take the things I’ve learned to a new longitude and latitude.

We are going to Panama, Central America for 5 months. Going wasn’t a hard decision. When it comes down to it, Jesus laid out a pretty simple religion for us, didn’t He? Love God, love others, and love ourselves. Nope, deciding to go was easy. Paying for it however, is a real challenge.

To be honest with you, I just don’t have $3000, laying about the house, eating baked Tostito chips and watching soap operas. So, instead of selling my plasma 87 times, I decided to send letters to people I don’t usually write and ask for something I don’t usually ask for, money. I’d love if you could financially support me on this mission trip. A little, a lot, any would be great. And if you want to know more about the trip, please let me know and I will give you a call.

The one thing on the form letter I got from church that I agreed with was the request for prayer. If you could pray about the trip, that would be great. As much as God loves mission trips, other people don’t. There will be a whole host of obstacles that pop up and entangle themselves around our ankles as we prepare to go love the people of Panama. And knowing that you are praying would mean a lot to me.

Thanks for reading this rambling letter. I have included the form letter version as well in case you prefer a more traditional approach to the “can I please have some of your money” letter.

Sincerely,
Mark, Kim, Camber, and Cooper Thomas

How To Give

We've had several people ask us the best way to donate toward this phase of our ministry.

I included a PayPal button on the right hand side of your screen if you wish to make an electronic donation. You have the option of making a one time gift or a monthly support donation, which ever works best for you.

If you're uncomfortable with that, you can always mail a check or postal money order to:

5222 Goshawk Dr.
Milton, FL
32570

Thank you SO much for your prayers and continued support.

It's Officially Official

We received this e mail this morning:

"Hi Mark and Kim,

I just wanted to let you know that after reading your applications, references and praying we have decided to officially accept you into the DTS school for July! :) So feel free to let you friends and family know all about it. We're excited for you guys. Can't wait to see you.

All the best,

David Tracy

--
Juventud con Una Mision
Panama"

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

We're OFFICIALLY in!!!

How Much Does This Cost Anyway?

We have had several questions about the financial aspects of this mission opportunity. Because we are focused on the DTS (Discipleship Training School) portion of our ministry right now I will let you in on the secret of exactly what we need an what it's for.

$410
Passports (Already purchased)

$4000
DTS (Mark and Kim's Schooling, includes lodging and food)

$400
Extra cost of feeding the kids (Apparently you have to do that daily!)

$1900
Plane Tickets, Round Trip (We have to have round trip tickets so that they'll let us into
the country on the visa that we'll be getting)

$1000
Extra Money for spending/ "just in case" fund


After taking into consideration the pay checks that Kim will still receive and the items that we have already sold, we are about $3000 away from being "fully funded." We know that God has called us to this mission at this time and that He will provide (even if it has to fall from the sky!)

What does God's Voice Sound Like?

In the fall of 2009 Mark began taking a “Spiritual Gifts” class on Sunday mornings with our church. He went through the study that outlined all the spiritual gifts and how each one works with the others. At the end of the study the participants are asked to fill out a questionnaire to determine where God may have gifted them. They are also asked to employ other close friends and family to fill out the same form to determine what gifts they exhibit in everyday life. Mark pined over the evaluation, and even took it more than once, just to see if anything had changed. He contacted his mentor, who was the teacher of the class, to discuss the outcomes of the evaluation as well as look over the surveys that friends and family completed. He began to fervently pray about what was to come next for him. All in all, he basically got weird on me!

A couple of weeks later I was at work, reading McManus’ book ‘The Barbarian Way’ and something struck my heart. I don’t know if it was residual from the chapter that we were on in the small group study of Chan’s ‘Crazy Love,’ or what I was reading that second, but I just couldn’t shake the word missions.
I immediately put the book down and went on search for Mark. (We were working at the same call center) I just stood there dumbfounded until he finished the call. Then I asked “Really, MISSIONS???” He chuckled and tried to hold back tears. And that’s where it all started.

We started to pray that if it was really missions, Where? When? How? Mark said that Panama (where he had spent a good deal of his youth) was heavy on his heart. But he wasn’t sure if it was because that’s ‘home’ or because it’s God. So we asked God to be clearer.

December 14 Mark opened our daily devotional bible to do his quiet time. He was greeted with the title “Take Courage From Him.” As you read on the devotion tells the story of St. Patrick. You see, contrary to popular belief, St. Patrick isn’t Irish. He’s English. He was kidnapped by pirates when he was sixteen and taken to Ireland. After six years of being a slave he escaped back to England. But God had already begun a work in his heart. Because in about 400 A.D God called him back to Ireland to preach the gospel.

For us, this was a confirmation that God was calling us to Panama. First....St. Patrick's Day isn’t in December!!! WHY in the world would our devo for that day tell THAT story? A story about a boy who spent 6 years of his life in a foreign country....just to be called back to minister there again? Yeah....but I needed more. After having bad experiences with jumping too quickly before, I prayed that God would show us again that Panama was where He desired us to be.

Christmas time came, and every year our kids get the same thing: An ornament, a movie, and stocking stuffers. This year we became the proud owners of VeggieTales Story of St. Nicholas. I thought it would be great to show the kids that even Santa gives because he wants to show the world Jesus. (Considering we don’t actually ‘do’ Santa.) We popped it in one night and before the movie started there was a commercial for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child (which you can read more about here.) In the commercial the French peas were packing a shoebox full of stuff to send off to another country for a child for Christmas. (Samaritan's Purse Ministry is a way for us to tangibly show God’s love as well as send the message of the gospel.) Guess where they were sending this shoe box???? Any guesses….YUP! Panama! Out of the 100 countries that they are involved in….PANAMA!!!!!


The next Sunday we were reading a passage and only 1 word stood out to me. Go! It was that GO exclamation point that just “flew all over me.” We knew that God was not only calling us to Go! but that He was indeed calling us to Panama. But with who? How does one get involved in foreign missions anyway? Again we prayed. While Mark was living in Panama he was involved in “King’s Kids.” A drama ministry of YWAM (Youth With A Mission). So we looked into what it would take for us to join up with YWAM. We learned that to join as YWAM staff we would first need to complete a Discipleship Training School (DTS). We looked at YWAM’s webpage and immediately I was struck with this:

“The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is designed to help you understand God more deeply, live more like Jesus and identify your unique gifts and purpose to use in missions. DTS is an intensive, residential training course which begins with an 11 or 12 week classroom phase, followed by an 8-12 week outreach. DTS emphasizes cross-cultural exposure and global awareness, preparing students to answer the call to "Go!”
There it was again. That GO exclamation point. God was clear. We were to Go! We were to go to Panama. And we were to go with YWAM.

We knew then that we were to Go! We were to go to Panama. And we were to go with YWAM.

Partner in Prayer

Dear Friends and Family,

We are writing today to share some exciting news with you. And before you get too excited…NO…we are NOT expanding our family!! We are inviting you to join us in prayer as we answer the call of God for us to serve Him with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Panama. Yes, we know this is a drastic step! Mark began to feel called to full time ministry in October of last year. We have been praying very hard about what this call on our lives means and how we are to go about fulfilling it. God placed Panama on Mark’s heart and again we began to pray. God has revealed in some interesting ways that this is the path that he has for our family at this time.

Youth With A Mission is an international volunteer movement of Christians from many backgrounds, cultures and Christian traditions, dedicated to serving Jesus throughout the world. YWAM is involved in many ministries touching the lives of millions of people in over 150 countries. Their purpose is simply to know God and to make Him known. The doors in Panama have recently been more open than before to the gospel. YWAM Panama is working in the schools, with orphans, with the disabled, through children’s ministries such as Kings Kids, and reaching out to indigenous tribes.

To qualify to be on staff with YWAM you must first complete a Discipleship Training School. The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is designed to help its students understand God more deeply, live more like Jesus and identify their unique gifts and purpose to use in missions. DTS is an intensive, residential training course which begins with an 11 or 12 week classroom phase, followed by an 8-12 week outreach. DTS emphasizes cross-cultural exposure and global awareness, preparing students to answer the call to "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations" Matthew 28:19. This is our first step. Mark and I (and the children) have been accepted to spend 5 months in Central America attending the DTS offered through YWAM Panama. We will board a plane in January and make our way to Panama for training. Where God will lead us from there, we are unsure.

We are excited and terrified. We know that God is able to do AMAZING things through a willing vessel and we want His spirit to flow through us. You can read more about YWAM Panama and the ministries that it’s involved in at www.ywampanama.org.

Thank you in advance for your prayers! We know that “the Lord hears the prayers of the righteous.” (Prov. 15:29)

In HIM,
Mark, Kim, Camber, and Cooper Thomas