A message.

A personal message from me, a 23 year old from the US currently living in Spain, to Western Christians (particularly my fellow American Christians). I give this message from the place of a broken heart, in humility and love, desperate to see change in our world where there is so much suffering.

To those who fear Muslims, to those who hate Muslims...

Go. To. The. Nations. 

Preach. The. Word. Of. God!

Go to your city, Go your town, Go anywhere. 

Pray! 

Cry out to God on behalf of those who don't know Him. 

But please, don't stay in your hate. Don't stay in your fear.

Be Salt and Light to the world as Jesus commanded. 
Love our Muslim brothers and sisters. Bless them, pray for them, LOVE them. 

In the wake of the tragedies that have happened and are still happening all over the world, it is heart breaking! My heart aches for those who have lost their loved ones, to those who are running for their lives, to those who grow up orphaned and without a home, and also my heart aches for those who are deceived in thinking that killing innocent people will grant them eternal life in heaven. 
I mourn with them and pray for them constantly. 

But I have a question...

Did Jesus say, "love your neighbour and your enemies unless they try to kill you or unless they believe differently than you"? 

Here's what I see that Jesus said...

"And He [Jesus] said to him [a Pharisee], you shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." 

- Matthew 22:37-39

"You have heard that it was said, 'You should love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" 

- Matthew 5:43-47

I beseech you to love. To pray. To bless. To be light in a dark world. To cling to the promises of God and to the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

"And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. GO therefore and make disciples of ALL the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe ALL that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." 

- Matthew 28:18-20

June '15 - Fiji Outreach "Sa ve naka naka lo" (God is so good!)

Bula Vinaka!

Yasawas Island, where we lived for 2 weeks in village called Soso Naviti.

Our team w/ some of awesome people we met in Soso Naviti

        I've returned to Australia after an amazing month on outreach. We had such a blessed time in Fiji doing various ministries and getting to know some pretty fantastic people! During our stay, here are some of the things we got to do:

• Evangelise on the streets in Lautoka, the 2nd most populated city in Fiji.
• Visit special needs school to spend time with and minister to the kids
• Went to the hospital in Lautoka to pray for the patients, which was so good!
• We spent 2 weeks ministering in a village called Soso Naviti, on one of the Fijian Islands, the "Yasawas"
• We spent 4 days helping out Vijay & Sashi on their farm, an awesome Indian-Fijian family.

Me w/ the Pastor's wife in Soso Naviti

        During our stay in Soso Naviti, we went out every day doing house visits, meeting the families who lived in the village, and offering prayer and encouragement everywhere we went. We saw the Lord do amazing things through visiting with the people! The Lord healed multiple people of various pains and sicknesses, He restored one couples marriage through us praying for them & teaching them the Word, also many people were greatly encouraged in the Lord and grew in their relationship with Him. It was a blessing to be apart of their stories and encourage others in their walk with God. 

      We also got to hold church services every night at the AOG church in the village. During these services we would join the church in worship, share testimonies of what God has done, and preach the Word of God every night and offer prayer to the congregation. 

Working in Sashi's garden

         The time we spent at Vijay and Sashi's farm was really great for our team as we got to help them by planting gardens and doing some of the farm work while we were there. Vijay is currently doing his DTS with YWAM Marine Reach, so he is only home on the weekends, and as Sashi had a 2 month old newborn daughter she was taking care of, it gave us a great opportunity to come in and bless her and her daughters. We were able to plant more vegetable gardens for their family, as well as help do work on the farm with the animals. We also got to cook with Sashi - can finally cook the Indian food I so love!!

House visits in Soso

Some of the children we met in Soso

         



It was a beautiful time in Fiji! We became friends with many of the people there and got to pray for many as well. God really used us during our short time there and I am blessed at the favour God had over us and our time there.  Thank you for all of your prayers and support for this outreach! I could feel the spiritual covering and God's hand upon us as we ministered to the beautiful people of Fiji! 

Only a week and a half until this current DTS is graduated! They are an incredible group of young people and I will be sad to see them leave, yet also so excited for what God will do in them and through each of them in their lives. They are on fire for the Lord, what a awesome way to live!

I return to the USA the 21st of June and I am so excited!! The next update I do will be in person :) 

God bless you all!

- Chelsea Ritter

April '15 - Missions Update; On the Move!

Hello family & friends around the world!

Update on the DTS & YWAM Toowoomba 

     Life has been exciting here at YWAM Toowoomba, Australia with all that God has been doing. We are 1/2 way through out 5th Music & Worship Discipleship Training School (DTS) with a group of 34 students. It has been an incredible time of learning more of who God is and His Kingdom as we serve one another and the community. 

This week we are concluding the Lecture Phase of the DTS and entering into Outreach Phase, where we will be sending 4 teams overseas to Thailand, Cambodia, East Timor, and Fiji for 1 month. This is a perfect opportunity for all of our students to learn to put into practice everything they've learned during lecture phase about the Kingdom of God and missions. I am happy to report that I have the opportunity of leading a team of 7 students to Fiji! Outreach Phase starts next week and my team will be in Fiji the from April 21 until May 23!

     Once all of the outreach teams return to Australia in late May, there will be 3 more weeks of lectures and local outreach they graduate and are sent into the world!

Sabbatical to the USA

After this current DTS concludes, I will be returning to the States for the summer (roughly June 22 - Sept 6). That time is essentially for me to spend with my family, my church, and friends after having been in YWAM for most of these past 3 years. I also would love to give everyone an update in person of all that God has done and is still calling me to do. 

Update on what's next

      I have been serving with YWAM Toowoomba for 2 years; when I came on staff, I felt Him saying that would be the amount of time I will be on staff in Australia. However, I felt strongly that I was not to leave simply to go, but that the Lord was going to call me out of Australia and call me into something new. Several years ago, the Lord gave me His heart for Muslims and the desire to enter the mission field in Islamic communities to see them know and experience the love of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

     This coming September, the Lord has paved the way for me to go to YWAM North Africa for a training course  called the Foundations for Intercultural Study. This is a great opportunity to have hands on training in ministry on the field in a predominantly Muslim nation; being trained by staff from all over the world who have had decades of experience in ministering in Muslim Communities. 

What is the Foundations for Intercultural Study?

It is a training course with YWAM North Africa and is an  intensive, 3 month program designed to prepare people to serve in frontier locations throughout the Muslim world. It is training for missions in regions such as North Africa, Middle East, etc. 

Training includes understanding the Islamic worldview, Biblical basis for reaching out with the Gospel, language skills, cultural adaptation and working cross culturally, project planning, and more. This program will provide a basic understanding of the complexity of the Muslim world and how the Kingdom of God can expand into those communities.   Dates: Sept 9 - Dec 6, 2015

God is Good!!

     As you can see, 2015 is looking like quite a year and I am excited to continue to go and serve wherever God sends me. Thank you to all of my friends and family who are in prayer for me and support me! Recently I have been overwhelmed by God's provision and His faithfulness. God is good all the time and as I continue to say "Yes" to His direction, He continues to be so faithful to provide for all of my needs! I just have to boast in what God has done because I am so grateful for His faithfulness in using His Body to provide. I have been trusting in God for the finances to book my flight home to NC in June as I didn't have enough after paying staff fees and fees for the outreach. Recently, I received the news that someone donated the FULL amount needed for my flight from Australia to the States! Praise the Lord!! God continues to amaze me! He is so worthy of praise! 

Thank you to all who continue to pray and support me in the mission God has called me to! 

November '14 - Malaysia Outreach

Our team at one of the jungle villages right outside Penang, Malaysia

Malaysia was a very rewarding time of serving the local churches and ministries in Georgetown and the surrounding towns. We had the opportunity to do various ministries such as volunteering 3 days a week at the local homeless shelter, Kawan Center. YWAM Penang started this ministry years ago to give the homeless men and women in Georgetown a safe place to receive breakfast, lunch, a place to sleep, showers, and laundry. While we were there we were able to cook and serve the meals, paint a room, sit and minister with them, listen to their stories and share about Jesus! 

Natalie & Naomi leading worship at Kawan Centre

Malaysia is a very confusing place culturally and spiritually. Penang is literally a melting bowl of many cultures and religions including Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and other "spiritual wanderers". The people groups are extremely diverse from the Chinese, Malay, and Indian -- to all of the tourists and refugees from surrounding countries. In Malaysia there are 2 governments: there is the civil government for anyone who is not of Malay decent, the second is the Shirrah Law for all who are a Malay, as they are then automatically a Muslim. Once you are a Muslim you can legally never stop being a Muslim, and it is illegal to evangelise to a Muslim or else you will be arrested. This, of course, made street evangelism a bit of a challenge for our team, however, we were still able to evangelise a lot in the streets of Georgetown, talking to and praying for at least a hundred people! We didn't see many people immediately accept Jesus, however, many were open and listened and even let us pray for them in the name of Jesus! I know that many seeds were planted and that God is at work in the people there. 

Our team with the amazing family that hosted us - Peter, Puspa, Getsy and Gloria

The other ministries we were involved with was leading worship and sharing testimonies and sermons in local churches and christian gatherings. We got to be apart of the Penang House of Prayer as well, leading worship with them and attending their night services of worship and intercession twice a week. This was an amazing opportunity for our team as it allowed us to spend more time with the Lord in order to hear Him speak and be continually refilled with His Spirit in order to go back out and pour out.

Playing games with the children at LifeBridge School

LifeBridge School was one of my personal favourite ministries; it is a school run by Christian believers for refugee children whom the government doesn’t recognise. For this ministry, we were involved in as we were able to spend time with the children at the school, playing games, and teaching. It was amazing to be able to spend time with the children and share God’s love with them!

There were challenges during the outreach, as we unfortunately had to say goodbye to two of our DTS students who had to return home to America before the outreach was complete. It was difficult for all of us, however, God’s grace is sufficient during every season, He is always good and He is always faithful.

Overall, it was a good outreach where we were able to share God's love and preach His message! We saw the Lord at work in the lives of so many people we met and different ministries we got to work alongside. To God be the glory forever! 

September '14 ~ Update on the July '14 DTS

All Dressed up for the Aussie Bushdance!

Hello to all of my friends and family around the world! Here's a long overdue update on life at YWAM Toowoomba. 

July 2014 Discipleship Training School

As most of you know, the purpose for the DTS (and the purpose of YWAM) is to know God and to make Him known. The DTS is an intensive 5 1/2 month program where students (young adults from all over the world) get the opportunity to receive solid, intense teaching from multiple speakers on subjects like "the character and nature of God", "the Fatherheart of God" "Holy Spirit" "Evangelism" "Spiritual Warfare" "Lordship", and more. After 3 months of these teachings, and also being apart of local ministry and evangelism in the community -- they are sent overseas in teams to put into practice everything they've learned as missionaries. 

Pablo teaching on "Fatherheart" & ministering to students.

We are now over half way through the Lecture Phase of the July '14 DTS, entering into week 7 for which the topic is "Spiritual Warfare". This has been an incredible schools so far as our students have encountered God in powerful ways. The Lord has spoken identity and purpose over each of them and it is a privilege to be apart of their journey as staff. It has not been an easy season by far, as a base we are still in the "pioneering phase" and are still in the process of becoming established. This school we've had a lot of "firsts". During our 2nd week of lectures, 2 students decided to go home due to missing their families. We still care about them deeply and wish them best! We've heard this happens fairly often at YWAM bases, and in the end students do have to want to be here and be willing to let God move in their hearts.

Also, to give you news that only just happened a few days ago -- one of our students, James, received some devastating news regarding his family. We got him on the next plane back to his home to be with them. Please keep him and his family in your prayers, also for the students here, as on a DTS we really do become like a family and love each other deeply. He intends to return in a few weeks time, so please keep them in prayer. 

Worship at Ballistic

As a base we got the opportunity to be involved in a local youth event called Ballistic Youth Conference! It was a weekend of spirit-filled worship, workshops about leadership, prayer and revival, etc, there were sermons and teachings, and alter calls giving young people the chance to respond to God. The first night over 250 young people showed up from young groups all over Toowoomba. Over the weekend, 70+ young kids made a commitment to follow Jesus, and many of them for the first time! Praise the Lord! The DTS was able to attend the conference and help serve over the weekend which was incredible! 
Here are some pictures from the conference...
 

Landon (ywam staff) with the coolest kid ever!

An awesome testimony that happened at Ballistic! One of our students, Nikolai, had gotten bitten by a Redback Spider (very venemous spiders in Australia), and had to use crutches to walk due to the severe pain in her foot and leg. The doctor's said it could be a while before it went back to normal. Redbacks and nasty little nuggets. Anyways, that weekend at the conference, another student prayed for healing in her foot, and she was completely healed!! She was able to walk out carrying her crutches and hasn't had any problems since then!! It's amazing! God loves to heal His children :)

There are only 4 more weeks of the lecture phase before we transition into OUTREACH PHASE!

And some news I've yet to announce, myself and our school leader, Zac, are leading a team together to Malaysia for 6 weeks! We will take a team of 6 students on outreach to do various ministries in Penang, Malaysia. These ministries will include village ministry, homeless ministry, preaching and leading worship in churches, music ministry at local cafe's, and street evangelism! It will be an amazing outreach and God has spoken so much life and promises over our time there. God loves the Malays so passionately and we get the privilege of sharing His love with them! The Lord is so good and we are very excited!

Thank you everyone at home for all of your prayers and the support you've given me since the Lord called me to the mission field back in 2012. It has been quite a journey since then, and I don't foresee it ending for many years. I know the Lord has called me to the nations to preach the gospel and be His hands and feet in each location He places me in. Please know I could not do this without your support and prayers. Thank you immensely for your love, prayers, and support! 

July '14 - Return to Oz & the July '14 DTS

Hello Friends & Family!
It’s been a couple of months since I’ve written because I was able to go home and give most of you an update in person about the ministry here. My time at home with my family was amazing! After being in Australia for a year, being home with my family was exactly what I needed before going into staffing a 3rd Discipleship Training School. I was incredibly blessed by my being with my church and getting to meet with so many people to catch up and talk all about what God has done. 

 My time spent with the CCW Missions board and their families was especially rewarding as we were able to talk about missions and what’s coming next, as well as just being with familiar faces! It was a much needed time to rest and re-center before diving back onto the mission field again. My church also had a fundraiser for me while I was home to help support me while I'm in Australia. As most of you know, I do not get paid for being on staff with YWAM, rather I pay for all of my living expenses, outreaches, insurances, visas, etc. God is so good in how He not only allowed me to be encouraged and uplifted by my church family at home but He provided for ALL of my needs during that time. I am so grateful to all of you at home for  your generosity and for being willing to invest in the mission God's called me to and the ministry at YWAM Toowoomba! 

July 2014 Music & Worship DTS

I returned to Australia July 7th, and the next few weeks were spent in preparation for the upcoming July DTS to start and also welcoming 4 new staff onto the YWAM Staff Team. As of July 25th, our July ’14 DTS students have arrived and we have officially started the Lecture Phase of the DTS! This is a smaller school than we've had in the past, which is really exciting for the season YWAM Toowoomba is in; and also works out well as it's looking like the January school will be quite large compared to schools we've run in the past! All of this is incredibly exciting!
 This week the topic is "Inductive Bible Study Method" which is teaching the students how to deeply study the Bible rather than just reading it. This is an awesome subject the start off with as this will stay with them through the duration of the school and throughout their lives as they read God's word and spend time with Him. 

Next week we have a speaker from New Zealand coming to speak on Hearing the Voice of God! Which during this week we will also be announcing outreach locations, giving students the chance to pray and let God tell them where to go for their outreach! Next week we also will be diving into local ministry with local churches and organizations in town to reach out to the community!

Something that we could use prayer for here is the sickness that's making its way through the base. Many of our students and staff are sick, myself included, and prayer for healing would be much appreciated! 

YWAM Toowoomba Staff Team - July 2014

More updates soon to come! Thank you everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement! It's so good to be back on the mission field that God's called me to. Lately God's been rocking me with just how powerful He is! I'm currently reading through 1 Samuel & Luke, and the fear of the Lord is overwhelming! He is so good!

"He raises up the poor from the dust;

He lifts the needy from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit a seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's.

and on them he has set the world.

He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, 

but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,

for not by might shall a man prevail.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;

against them he will thunder in heaven.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;

He will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed."

~ 1 Samuel 2:8-10

June '14 - From AU to NZ to USA!

 Hello to family and friends around the world!

It's hard to believe that the January DTS is coming to a close. In 2 weeks all 29 students will be graduated and sent out into the world to make God known! Some will return to their homes, churches, and communities to be apart of what God's doing there, others will continue on with YWAM either staffing at a base or continuing their training to do mission work. 

New Zealand...
 

As you know, the week of May 14-21, myself and my co-staff Hannah joined the outreach team in New Zealand to finish their last week of outreach & debrief. I appreciate all of your prayers during that time as it went great! The team was doing so well in their ministry and it was really encouraging to be able to be there with them that last week. A majority of ministry they did was evangelizing in Auckland and Tauranga and they did amazingly! God really equipped them and encouraged them with boldness and zeal as they shared the gospel and prayed with people. A few people did accept Christ and many were encouraged! God used the team in an awesome way to reach people and students themselves grew in the Lord as well! The team also got to do ministry in youth groups and YWAM gatherings. 

Worshiping in Tauranga

Leading worship at the YWAM Gathering.

 









  

DTS Foundational Workshop...


The week after all of the outreach teams returned to Australia, YWAM Toowoomba hosted a DTS Foundational Workshop for YWAM Staff/Leaders across Australia. The purpose of this workshop was: (1) Encourage and spiritually strengthen each DTS staff and leader. (2) Further equip and empower you to effectively disciple others in their spiritual formation journey in fostering real change. (3) Help understand what a YWAM DTS is and what it is not. (4) Network and mutually encourage others working with the DTS. 

There were staff/leaders from 8 YWAM bases in Australia! It was an incredible time to learn and grow amongst other staff and leaders who had the same vision and purpose for DTS's and seeing young people encounter God. God's Spirit was so tangible and everyone who attended was greatly encouraged in the work God's called us to. 





DTS Local Outreach Part 2:

 This week our students are doing their final week of outreach here in the city of Toowoomba! They will be involved in all sorts of ministries such as City Women, the Base church, homeless ministry, Gospel for Asia, the Salvos (Salvation Army Church), street evangelism, and other local churches in town leading worship and helping out with the services!
As a staff team, our involvement in this ministry is limited this particular week as we are in the process of preparing for the upcoming DTS that starts in July! Only 7 weeks until we get a whole new group of students to train and disciple for another 5 months!

Which leads me to my personal bits of news...
First of all, I have a huge praise report recently regarding my Visa! As you know it's been a process and the Visa I had was very restricting in what I was able to do while working with YWAM. I had to delay applying for a new Visa that will last 1 year until I had the funds to do so; but a few days ago I was able to submit my application. The next day I received notice that my Visa had been granted!! Praise the Lord! 

Also, my biggest news...
I'm coming home for 3 weeks!! From mid June to early July I'll be in Wilmington to visit my family, my church, and my friends! I'm so excited to tell everyone in person what God's been doing here and what He's enabled me to do--also to tell what lies ahead for me at YWAM Toowoomba and as a missionary. I am truly blessed to be apart of such an awesome mission! 

Thank you for all of your prayers and your support! I would not be here without you and God's perfect grace and favor over my life!
 

YWAM Toowoomba Jan 2014 Staff Team