Youth With A Mission Ireland

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Editors note 28-07-2010:As no DTSs in Belfast are currently planned, sponsored trainees from conflict nations will join our DTSs in Rostrevor until further notice.

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Around two dozen persons from Lebanon, South Africa, Israel and Palestine (and other nations) have joined us since 2003 on scholarships to attend DTS in Northern Ireland – typically in Belfast (2001-2010) with a reconciliation focus.

We continue this as an effort to integrate faith and a vision for reconciliation to make a real-world impact in places of conflict. The sponsored trainees are recommended by partner ministries in countries of conflict where we send outreach teams. They come to Northern Ireland to receive Christian missions training coupled with a perspective on reconciliation and peacemaking given context in the environment of post-Troubles Northern Ireland. They will then return rooted in their faith to their countries with an ability to build bridges, having ministered alongside YWAM in Northern Ireland on their DTS.

2010
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For the DTS starting on 21 January 2010, we are hoping to have 4 sponsored trainees. One is from Israel. One is from Lebanon and has been volunteering with us since the summer. The other two are from South Africa, currently working with two of our partner ministries outside of Durban – World Changers Academy and Light Providers. These organisations are involved in a variety of community projects in their area (online at http://www.wca-sa.org and http://www.lightproviders.com).

If you want to know more about these outstanding individuals, please contact YWAM Belfast directly.
Our needs for them are:
-To cover basic living costs – apprx. £2150 minimum for lecture and outreach phases, per person
-To cover travel costs for the South Africans – airfare and visa costs, apprx. £750 per person.

Will you help us raise up ambassadors for Christ in broken places?

Consider making a donation for this cause – any amount will go a long way.

Donations using PayPal are quick, easy, and safe.  For other methods, please contact YWAM Belfast. (Contact YWAM Rostrevor)

Also, join our cause on Facebook and invite your friends to participate.

Note: Scholarships are not generally available; you cannot apply for financial aid for DTS. We offer them (as a step of faith) only to those whom are recommended to us by our partner ministries in countries of conflict.

We were about twenty five people that week, meeting in a couple different locations on the Shankill in Belfast.  Usually, this annual conference is held in the summer, so our group was perhaps not as diverse as normal, since most people would be busy during the weekdays in November.  However, we were a nice combination of YWAM Belfast staff and volunteers, YWAM Harpenden School of Humanities, and Sword of the Sprit gap-year volunteers.  In all, we represented the nations of England, New Zealand, USA, Rwanda, Cameroon, Turkmenistan, Norway, Central African Republic, Lebanon, the Netherlands, and Ireland.  A good mix, anyways.

Jonny Clark (Director, YWAM Ireland & YWAM Belfast) led us through a brief but meaningful examination of Irish history to set a practical context for our surroundings and the teaching we would have.  Our primary guest speaker was Peter Adams (http://www.reconciliationtalk.com), who is involved in reconciliation work in England and overseas.  He spoke at length about peacemaking as part of the Christian mission, as well as God’s plan for the reconciliation of all things, and how we participate in that – in relating to people and in speaking about Jesus.  He used many stories about his work in Luton (England) with the Muslim community and his work in places like China and the Middle East.

In the afternoons, there were field-trips to community projects around Belfast to see how various groups engaged with the needs of this city.  The purpose of these outings were to inspire and spark ideas, as well as connect the teaching with practical application.

The video below was taken at the conference, and is pieced together from a 75-min talk Peter Adams presented on God’s plan of ultimate redemption for all of creation and our call to participate in it (Vimeo – about 30 min.).

(This blog entry first published at nakedicame.com)