Berlin // May 13 - 26

After 62 hours travel time from Nazareth to Berlin, we arrived at the YWAM base in Berlin, Germany on May 14. We are thankful to all of the members of staff at the base that helped us feel at home and helped us fill our schedule.
There was an American team from an organization in Florida. We partnered with them to do evangelism at the Brandenburg Gate. The spot at which we did our evangelism was where the wall had originally been placed in from of the gate. A highly touristic location. We set up a loud speaker and played the "Cupid Shuffle." We would have pass buyers stop and join our giant flash mob. After playing the song two times through we would as the crowd to take the time to watch a drama we had prepared. The drama was of a young woman going through the struggles of life and how when life got tough Jesus is there to give her freedom and Joy. You could feel the spirit of God each time we did the drama. After the Drama we went out into the crowd to begin conversations. Some Conversations  lasted minutes while others lasted hours.

YWAM Berlin's base is located in an apartment block. They have been growing and taking on more apartments to bed their staff. But like most YWAM bases they are high on workers but low on finances. So we took a few days to renovate an apartment that YWAM Berlin had acquired. Which included tearing down walls, preparing walls for plaster, and cleaning.

While staying in Berlin we had the privilege to meet, learn from, and work with man named David Campbell. He was originally from Texas now based in Berlin with a true vision to bring Gods love to the streets of Berlin. David was always trying new ideas when we were with him, including leaving the classroom and going to the park to have our teachings from him. In that same park was a community of homeless people. Where for few days we were able to speak and create relationships with though prayer time and by serving them lunch.

One of the most mind blowing things that we experienced in Berlin was during evangelism in front of the Brandenburg Gate. We had joined another Christian group and had already drawn a crowd. God pointed out a guy to me and I made my way over to talk to him. There were another 10 people that were on gathered with him and I could not talk to the guy himself. I was talking about Jesus and at some point a friend from YWAM Berlin joined in. We started talking about healing and asked if anyone had any pain. The guy I originally intended to talk to was in constant pain. He had been to doctors and none of them could help his legs and knees. Instead of praying for him ourselves we challenged one of his friends that least believed in Jesus to pray for him. We ran him through it and told him to command the healing in the name of Jesus. To the surprise of everyone the guy was healed on the spot. It really does not have anything to do with us, only Jesus can heal people.

-J O N N Y

Cambridge & Notting Hill // May 27 - June 2

Upon our return to London, the Outreach began to come to a close. While not going home to the base in north London. We spent our time saying at a church near Notting Hill.
On May 28th, we did intercessory prayer for Notting Hill. Afterwards we passed out flyers and raised support for the Rise Festival an upcoming event created to unite the community. Later that afternoon, we had a time of evangelism in the streets of Notting Hill.

On the 29th, we went to Cambridge for Global Outreach Day. We prepared gospel bracelets to give out to people with the Cambridge DTS team while also spending time in prayer for the event on the following day.

Saturday we kick started Global Outreach Day with evangelism in a local park. In the beginning we started to worship and spent some time in prayer. We then broke into groups of two and three sharing Gods love and the Gospel. Some people stayed around the meeting area singing and playing instruments, while others used gospel bracelets that we had made the day before. The event was a success and we saw many peoples eye truly open to the Love of Christ.


While in Cambridge we spent Saturday participating in Global Outreach Day. We talked to people in a park, using gospel bracelets made out of different colored beads, with each color representing a different part of the Gospel. Towards the end of the day I, along with two girls from the YWAM base in Cambridge, talked to three middle school aged girls. We offered them bracelets and shared the Gospel and told them how much Jesus loves them and desires to have a relationship with them. They asked a couple questions throughout the time and were very open. At the end of us sharing, we asked the girls if there was any reason they wouldn't want Jesus in their lives. They all said no. We explained that they could invite Him into their lives today if they wanted. They all excitedly agreed. We then helped them through a prayer where they opened up their hearts to God. It was such an awesome experience to get to lead three girls to Christ and see how they lit up with joy and excitement!

- V I C T O R I A 

On the end of our time, we took a day to bless the church we were staying by doing some gardening in the garden behind the church.

Israel // Part Two

On May 1st we traveled to Nazareth where we met the warm-hearted people we were going to spend the rest of our time in Israel with. We quickly got to know the city and it's strongholds. During our time in Nazareth we worked with the local Baptist School where we got to play athletic games, preform dramas and worship with the kids.

We also spend time at the English Hospital where we visited patients from the pediatric, maternity, dialysis and psychiatric words. We sang songs, prayed and spread joy to the patients.

While visiting patients in the hospital, we had the opportunity to play music, share stories and bring smiles to their faces even if we didn't speak the same language. We went to the maternity ward and I had the chance to sing for a Muslim woman and her 2 day old baby. At the end of the song she said she saw something different and wanted me to pray for her and bless her child. It was so cool to openly pray and declare life and truth into such a small and precious new life. 


- T I N A   H A Y S




On May 7th we went to Nazareth Village which is a section of land that is a replication of a 1st century Nazarene Village. Some helped out in the gift shop by cleaning while others dressed up in 1st century attire and acted like people living in the same surrounding as Jesus.

       

 In the evening we went to a mountaintop to worship and pray for the city.

                        


We also took a day trip to the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River in Tiberius. While at the Jordan River, Jonathan and Alisa were baptized.

We also had times that we ministered through various ways in Tiberius...

On the first night in Tiberius, our team and the Finish YWAM team split into smaller groups to go out into the surrounding neighborhood and speak with people. This specific night was the Jewish holiday ***talk about custom and bonfires*** . I myself came across a group of young boys who were gathered around a Bonfire, and made conversation with them. Majority of them were school aged children between 13-19, so personally it was easy to talk to them. Through asking questions about their culture, the boys became interested as to why I was in their country and wanted to know about me and my up-bringing. I told them, respectfully to their culture, as much as I could about my faith and they were all amazed that I could go to a 'school' that allowed me to travel the world getting to meet and talk with new people. So we sat and ate food that they made, had marshmallows, and then I taught them how to play rugby (Australian pride!), which was awesome! Most of the boys wanted to talk about going into the Israeli army because they were headed there within the next few years... This brought up topics about conflict and injustice. They talked about how they had mixed feelings about joining the Army. Some wanted to serve their country, others found it quite intimidating and unfair that it was more of an obligation rather than a choice to join. Other boys were just quite unsure and confused about it and didn't want to have to think about it until they were older. Through this conversation I had the opportunity to talk to them about peace, grace and what I believe because of my own relationship with God. None of them had arguments to make and were only hungry to hear more about what I had to say. Most of the group believed in the same God as I, but they didn't understand why He would make the sacrifice of Jesus for them. I know this was an incredible appointment because the Holy Spirit worked and allowed me to speak out the answers to the boys questions that I know wasn't human knowledge or just my words! I was able to add them all on Facebook and exchanged emails which was pretty incredible, and I can see how valuable contact is. Whether this was a one-time appointment, or a chance for me to make longer lasting relationships, I know it was a major God moment and an opportunity to speak truth into the lives of these boys.    

 - H E C T O R   S M I T H 

On the second day in Tiberius we split up in pairs. I was in a group with Sandra, a girl from the Finish YWAM team. On our way into the city we hung out magnetic signs with “Jeshua” on them. After our walk we decided to start at the promenade directly at the sea.

We sat down on a bench and asked God what He wanted us to do. After praying, both of us felt like we should talk to the guys at the boat dock. We began to talk to them and they asked us how a Finish and German girl met in Tiberius. So we told them about YWAM and our DTS. We talked about the different nations in our team and how we are all united because of God’s love. They were really interested and liked the idea of being together with a lot of people from different countries, traveling together and have an amazing community.

After we talked to them, we sat down and enjoyed the view over the Sea of Galilee. Surprisingly, the one guy offered us a delicious ice coffee and invited us on a 100 sheckle speed boat trip on the sea- for free! It was an amazing experience and it showed how incredible God can bless us.

- A L I S A   H I N D E R B E R G E R 

During our time in Nazareth we got to serve and help a lot of different people. We got to experience how God works through different nationalities and how when we tried to bless others we ended up just as blessed. God's grace is amazing and it's been encouraging to meet other people who are just as in love with our savior Jesus.

Israel // Part One

We arrived in Israel on April 24th and traveled to Bethlehem. We spent the rest of the day settling in and resting. The next day we visited the Nativity Church, which is said to be where Jesus was born. The next day we attended a local church, followed by a traditional Israeli lunch. We then spent the afternoon in Palestine where we had a prayer walk around the town. The next three days were spent at a Refugee Camp where we spent the mornings painting a community room and the afternoons with the children. We had 2 hours with the children each afternoon in which we did crafts, played games, did face painting and just spent time with the children. 

{ video of community room painting } 

When the walls were finished with their base coats, we were able to paint a mural of a tree where we used our hands to make the leaves and promote unity. 

The following day was spent in Jerusalem as we traveled around, touring the city and seeing all the different places mentioned in the Bible. It was an amazing way to really visualize and see the Bible come to life and a great start to our journey in Israel. 

{ in front of the tomb where Jesus was said to have been laid } 

We're currently in Berlin, Germany. We will continue to post updates from when we were in Israel followed by updates of what we're doing here in Berlin. Danke! 

Video // Munich

Munich // April 16 - April 20

In the past week, our team has spent quite a bit for our time with he youth from the church. On Friday, April 17th, our team spent the afternoon fellowshiping with each other and picking up from the shops for our next stop. That evening we headed back to the church to participate in the church's weekly Friday evening youth service. Jonny spoke to the group about evangelism. He explained how, when we talk to people about Christ, rather than using a bunch of "Christian Words" like "grace" or "sin" we should just tell people who Christ is to us and what that means. After Jonny spoke, he gave people to opportunity to receive prayer if they wanted. So our team were able to pray for quite a few people.

The next day we set out and headed to the centre of Munich with the youth from the church to do some evangelism. Without us knowing beforehand, there was a huge gathering of people for political reasons in the centre. Once everyone arrived we began to pray, thanking God for the opportunity and the time He gave us to be able to go out and share, we also invited the Holy Spirit to come and join us. We then split into teams of three or four and headed out, with one team interceding at our meeting point. The teams spent the next two or three hours walking around the city, sharing, blessing and bringing joy. When the time was up we met up again, and shared stories of how our afternoon went and before closing in prayer. We headed back to the church for a time of worship and fellowship. The church blessed us with pizza for dinner.

On Sunday morning, some of our team were given the opportunity to lead two groups from the Sunday School, the 7-11's and the 15-17's. When the service was done we then went out for lunch with the youth from the church, and then went to the English Gardens, where we relaxed and hung out. This included a few games of American Football and soccer. We then headed back to the church for dinner and more fellowship.

On Monday 20 April one of the team celebrated his birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONATHAN!! To celebrate, we went out as a team to a nearby Bavarian restaurant for lunch. It was a great time of relaxation and celebration. After lunch we went to buy balloons for our time of evangelism that evening. We then caught the tram into the centre of Munich with the balloons. On many of these balloons we'd written words of encouragement. As we walked around the city centre we asked God who we should give these balloons to.

Evangelism in the City Centre of Munich

Evangelism in with the Youth from CBG

Teaching, Dramas, and Singing in the Children’s Services

Munich // April 9 - April 15

On April 9, we arrived in Munich, Germany, after an incredible miracle happening. As you may already know, Tina had her plane ticket provide, so she's been able to join us! An amazing miracle!
We made our way from the airport to our first stop in Munich, a church where we were planning to stay the night at. That night while eating dinner we ended up having a spontaneous small group.

April 10 was our first full day in Munich. We started the day with a time of prayer and intercession for the church we spent the night in. We then grabbed our belongings before heading out the door to explore Munich and get a feel for the city we now found ourselves in. We were out all day and finished the day by moving locations to the next church. Our leaders had been able to make connections with another church, CBG, who were willing to host us. That night we joined the youth service that runs on Friday evenings in the church.

The next day, 11 April, we headed over to Munich's Olympic Park (where the 1972 Summer Olympics were held). Whilst there we had some time together as a team to intercede for the city that lay before us. We also had a few talks with the people passing by. The church we're staying at runs an English Service once a month on Saturday nights, so we attended that service when we got back. Towards the end of the service there was a time to pray for healing over a few of the people in the congregation.

On Sunday, 12 April, we attended the church's morning service, which was in German, with English speaking translation. When lunch was finished we headed into Munich to have a time of evangelism. In Germany its against the law to have a gathering (a group of 3 or more people) in a public place to evangelize without prior consent. Our group broke off into teams of two people and walked around the city with "free hugs" signs. It was a great way to open up the conversation to share with people because they wanted to know why we were doing this.

On April 13, we took face paints to a little park outside a shopping mall to spread some joy. Three of the guys went to a nearby sports field where they were able to have an awesome conversation with some guys.

On the morning of April 14, we took the time to clean the church. We also spent some time working on our media project, which was getting this blog up and running.

Then on Wednesday, 15 April, the students were challenged to pray as a group and ask God to reveal to them as a team what He wanted them to do for the day. What was decided was to go out and buy hamburgers and chocolate to hand out to people. We then broke into three teams. One team took the chocolate and went into the mall to hand out to the shop assistants. Another team took hamburgers and served them to the homeless. The last group walked around the area praying for the city and the teams.

The next day, 16 April, the Lord lead our team to have a faith day. The students were split into two teams (one team; girls and the other, boys) and sent off with only the clothes and shoes they had on (no money, phones, watches or bags). They had to trust God to show them what to do and where to go for the six hours they were in Munich. The staff then had their own faith day, blessing each other. It was a day where we had to completely rely on the Lord to show us where He wanted us to go and what he wanted us to pray for. It was an incredible day full of faith and trust! As a team, we talked to many people and saw God working in even the smallest of things.

Face Painting in a local park 

Evangelism - Spreading the joy with free hugs!

*Testimony

"We went out to do evangelism on Wednesday. The boys went to a nearby soccer field and the rest of us stayed next to a playground to offer free face painting. Not much seemed to be happening, but then out of no where a young lady began to talk to me. She asked me what we were doing here. I began to explain and ended up having a very good and deep conversation about God with her. She then explained to me that she worked for a local newspaper and wanted to write an article about our small evangelism in the park and our DTS. In the end she took a group photo of us and was really happy to have a "great story" to share." 

- ALISA