Sunday, November 01, 2009
Fall at YWAM-Chico
Hello Everyone!
Greetings! Much has happened since we wrote our Spring / Summer Update (which is part of why it took so long to post that update to the blog). Some have been the normal day-to-day things of ministry here, others have felt like testing in one form or another. Here’s a quick update on what’s going on currently…
Shawn's surgery went well--thanks for your prayers!
Shawn had the surgery to correct bilateral hernias late in September. We are thankful for the many prayers and words of encouragement we received through phone calls and email during that time. And we thank God for those who have sent special gifts to help out. God’s favor has also been with us in finding a caring doctors who understand the challenges of not having health insurance in today's economy. Here at the end of October, Shawn is almost back to full speed, after about 3 weeks of "light duty" work as Head of Maintenance. We appreciate your continued prayers for complete healing.
Teaching for the DTS and Crossroads classes
In this time of needing physical rest, Shawn was called upon to teach in the DTS (Discipleship Training School) and CDTS (Crossroads DTS) for the 1st two weeks of October. This perfect timing gave him a break from Maintenance responsibilities and a fresh chance to pour into the students. He taught in the mornings on "Our Identity in Christ" as believers. He enjoyed seeing the students really come alive as they discovered God’s heart towards them and better understood their authority and position as children of God. Let us know if you want to here more about this powerful message.
Mission Builder Work Team
In mid-October, a work group from Lacy, Washington, joined us to assist with some major renovations in the Conference Center, including carpet removal in two floors of dormitory housing. It’s so exciting to have this extra help for this huge project. We are all thankful for all their hard work and expertise! Some even spent the weekend moving bunk beds back into the rooms. God bless them all!
K-2nd Grade at the International Christian School
Ginger is loving teaching the Primary Class again this fall. It was a tough decision to move classrooms again, but God provided a wonderful new staff member to teach the Jr-Sr High class, and Ginger began to feel drawn back to her "roots" in early childhood education. She also continues as the Lead Teacher / Principal, so she gets to keep using all the things she's learned about running a private school over the past 3 years.
This year, Ginger has a class of eight — seven of whom are energetic and animated boys, ranging from 4 ½ to 8 years old. Thankfully, for this multi-grade level classroom, Ginger was able to get an aid for ½ of each day… She’s really enjoying all of her students; each have bright young minds, and the heart for Jesus that her challenging students have is especially beautiful. One particularly difficult day, in the middle of dealing with computer network issues, she got blessed by a precious impromptu prayer from one of her most challenging boys.
The Crossroads DTS is almost over, when most of her students will go on Outreach with their parents. As we approached this fall, we felt God wanted us to accept the various challenges with love and patience, relying on HIS power, wisdom and grace to help these beautiful families grow and receive spiritual and emotional healing during their 12-week Crossroads DTS. Every week we see how God is blessing them, and us, as we must rely – sometimes moment by moment – on the direction of the Holy Spirit. It's such a pleasure to be able to serve in this way.
Check out our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/shawnNginger.bansen, to see more photos of the Maintenance Men, Crossroads class, and International Christian School!
Greetings! Much has happened since we wrote our Spring / Summer Update (which is part of why it took so long to post that update to the blog). Some have been the normal day-to-day things of ministry here, others have felt like testing in one form or another. Here’s a quick update on what’s going on currently…
Shawn's surgery went well--thanks for your prayers!
Shawn had the surgery to correct bilateral hernias late in September. We are thankful for the many prayers and words of encouragement we received through phone calls and email during that time. And we thank God for those who have sent special gifts to help out. God’s favor has also been with us in finding a caring doctors who understand the challenges of not having health insurance in today's economy. Here at the end of October, Shawn is almost back to full speed, after about 3 weeks of "light duty" work as Head of Maintenance. We appreciate your continued prayers for complete healing.
Teaching for the DTS and Crossroads classesIn this time of needing physical rest, Shawn was called upon to teach in the DTS (Discipleship Training School) and CDTS (Crossroads DTS) for the 1st two weeks of October. This perfect timing gave him a break from Maintenance responsibilities and a fresh chance to pour into the students. He taught in the mornings on "Our Identity in Christ" as believers. He enjoyed seeing the students really come alive as they discovered God’s heart towards them and better understood their authority and position as children of God. Let us know if you want to here more about this powerful message.
Mission Builder Work Team
In mid-October, a work group from Lacy, Washington, joined us to assist with some major renovations in the Conference Center, including carpet removal in two floors of dormitory housing. It’s so exciting to have this extra help for this huge project. We are all thankful for all their hard work and expertise! Some even spent the weekend moving bunk beds back into the rooms. God bless them all!
K-2nd Grade at the International Christian School
Ginger is loving teaching the Primary Class again this fall. It was a tough decision to move classrooms again, but God provided a wonderful new staff member to teach the Jr-Sr High class, and Ginger began to feel drawn back to her "roots" in early childhood education. She also continues as the Lead Teacher / Principal, so she gets to keep using all the things she's learned about running a private school over the past 3 years.
This year, Ginger has a class of eight — seven of whom are energetic and animated boys, ranging from 4 ½ to 8 years old. Thankfully, for this multi-grade level classroom, Ginger was able to get an aid for ½ of each day… She’s really enjoying all of her students; each have bright young minds, and the heart for Jesus that her challenging students have is especially beautiful. One particularly difficult day, in the middle of dealing with computer network issues, she got blessed by a precious impromptu prayer from one of her most challenging boys.
The Crossroads DTS is almost over, when most of her students will go on Outreach with their parents. As we approached this fall, we felt God wanted us to accept the various challenges with love and patience, relying on HIS power, wisdom and grace to help these beautiful families grow and receive spiritual and emotional healing during their 12-week Crossroads DTS. Every week we see how God is blessing them, and us, as we must rely – sometimes moment by moment – on the direction of the Holy Spirit. It's such a pleasure to be able to serve in this way.
Check out our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/shawnNginger.bansen, to see more photos of the Maintenance Men, Crossroads class, and International Christian School!
# posted by Shawn N Ginger : 11:38 AM
