My Experiences With God Through YWAM

Hello CCA Parish,

I want to thank everyone who prayed for me while I was overseas. It meant a lot to know I had so many people praying for me through the challenging transitions, various bouts of
sickness, and the multiple stresses of travel.

I want to share why I chose Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in the first place. I felt God was calling me to do something else before college, and through His guidance and with the help of my father, I was led to the Outdoor Discipleship Training Program (ODTS). A program designed to teach young adults more about who God is and what it means to be a Christian. This ODTS is one of YWAM’s many programs. YWAM is a non-profit, interdenominational Christian organization that encourages young students worldwide to learn about God and put into practice God’s calling.

A few months before I left, I was so glad to be able to give a presentation during the Adult Education Coffee hour, and I was so happy to see so many of you there. I would now like to provide a recap of my journey.

I spent the first three months of my lecture phase in Switzerland. What is a lecture phase? The lecture phase of my ODTS consisted of daily classes on weekly topics designed for us students to deepen our understanding of the nature and character of God. It showed me how he desires a more profound and personal relationship with us, and not only us but every person on earth! I grew close to my peers and team members as we embraced the challenges of following God’s calling of making disciples of many nations and daring to share God’s love with those around us. We became a family working with the Lord to learn more about him.

(Thatcher sharing testimony at a local church in Samaden, Switzerland)

I was so blessed to be in the beautiful Swiss Alps, but Switzerland is also centrally located in Europe. So over the months, my new friends and I, on our weekends of freedom, learned how to navigate Europe’s excellent public transportation systems and went sightseeing. We had pizza and cappuccinos in Italy, toured the rivers of Lichstein, marveled at the ancient villages in Germany, and ate Cordon Bleu schnitzel in Austria!

(Marveling at the beauty of the Swiss Alps, Overlooking St. Moritz Valley)

Our time in Switzerland was approaching an end; we had to leave the Schengen zone so that our visas would stay active. Taking our deeper understanding of God’s love and our hesitant attempts at evangelism, we went to Tirana, Albania, to finish our lecture phase and begin our outreach phase! In Albania, we worked with a YWAM division known as Fire and Fragrance. Their ministry in Albania was to reach out to young Albanian college students, inviting them into community. Game nights, discussion groups, and worship nights primarily aimed to build relationships and show them God’s love. I learned to trust the Lord in everything from these long-term missionaries who had devoted their lives to the Lord. And after a month in Albania, it was time to move on as God had called our team to Antalya, Türkiye.

(Praying with the Fire and Fragrance team over one of the college students)

In Türkiye, we were ‘on our own,’ unsupported by any local YWAM groups, paving the way for future mission work. Our first week In Türkiye went anything but as planned; the international climbing camp, where we were supposed to stay and do ministry, asked us to leave. They didn’t want our group there because we were under YWAM. This request led to a very stressful scramble as our leaders tried to find alternative affordable housing for our group. Through the Lord’s providence, we were able to find a contact through one of our guest speakers from our lecture phase who knew a local missionary in Türkiye, and with his help, we were able to find housing. Türkiye is a Muslim nation, and it is still illegal to evangelize openly. But we cautiously started reaching out to the local bazaars (outdoor markets) through prayer walking and spiritual discernment from our new location. Our contact is a permanent undercover missionary who works as a climbing guide. His ministry is to invite locals and travelers alike to take them rock climbing around Antalya to build friendships and relationships before introducing them to his monthly Bible discussions.

Here I learned how to serve the Lord despite the dangers and overcome the fear of man. I also learned to respect other cultures and share God’s love by respectfully building relationships.

(Jonathan and Brayden with our contact’s climbing group in the mountains of Antalya, Türkiye. Photo credit: Climbing_with_purpouse Instagram)

Sadly as all things must, the ODTS was coming to an end. We returned to Switzerland to debrief and prepare to return to our everyday lives, only with a new twist. Understanding and
sharing the love of God with all those who will listen is at the heart of every individual’s unique calling from God.

Ethan Thurman