The Unstoppable Gospel
October 19, 2020 - January 1, 2030
The Unstoppable Gospel
Anika Hochstedler, 25, New York
[January 2018 DTS, Wild Heart, Outreach location: Solomon Islands]
My favorite part of outreach was when we went to the outer islands of the Solomon Islands. For a week, our team went from village to village; some of the places we visited had never even seen white people before. We had ministry time where we would share a “program” with them, bringing testimonies, leading worship, and giving a message from the Word. We were able to hand out bibles that were translated into their native language and pray with them.
A week before, our team got words about getting the chance to pray for people who were practicing ancestral worship. One night, one of the beach villages invited us to speak to them, and we had no idea, ministry wise, what we were going to bring. Going with the Holy Spirit, we hoped that everything would come as He led us. And boy, did He surprise us! We were sitting in this little chapel on the sand, waiting for the Lord to give us direction with where to go. Honestly, we just sat for a while. The whole village was outside staring in at us, expecting something to happen.
Finally, we received the words “simple gospel”, leading us to do a skit that we made up highlighting creation and Jesus’ ministry. Afterwards, one of our team leaders shared his testimony, where he was taken out of witchcraft and gang affiliation and into a life with Jesus. He was able to relate to these people, yet also share how Jesus changed his own life and revealed God’s loving nature. We had just about every hand raised when we asked who wanted to receive Jesus as their Saviour. We prayed for everyone that night! There were so many with pain that were hungry for freedom and in need of healing. We explained that they needed to renounce the gods that they worship, and accept Jesus as their only God. The chief of the village stood up and HIMSELF declared that he would no longer worship other gods, but God alone.
We then went into an incredible prayer time with them, where I sang some worship in the background and my team went and laid hands praying for healing. The chief and some of the elders of the village gave us this vision that they saw tongues of fire standing over our heads like the church in Acts during pentecost. Come to think of it, it was in the time between Easter and Pentecost Sunday that this happened. Pain left and blind eyes opened! I think the coolest part of this was that even though we didn’t speak or understand each other because of our language barrier, they still received a revelation of who God is, and His healing through the Holy Spirit. The chief again stood up and thanked us saying they thought we would have come with material things like clothes, glasses and medicine, but instead we brought something so much better. Late in the evening as we left that village we praised God for all that we had just witnessed. It was one of the most remarkable and memorable nights of my life!
“Doing The Cover to Cover DTS at Marine Reach was one of the best things I’ve decided to do. Reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation helped me see more of the different characteristics and nature of God. The Cover to Cover DTS was great. It taught me how to be diligent, manage my time properly, and helped me have a more sturdy foundation and in my beliefs. “
Talon Jernigan, 20, USA
“My life used to be run by my fears, my struggles, and my failures. I had no way of fighting them because I didn’t know the truth. Over my time with YWAM and beyond, I have encountered so much freedom as God has shown me the truth of who He is in His Word. Dive into the Bible on Cover to Cover and watch God transform you as He begins to show you who He really is and who you were really made to be.”
David Souter, 22, England
“Since being here at Marine Reach, my hunger for God has continued to grow more and more. In the Kingdom Come stream, our heart is to see the world changed by the message of His love and the demonstration of His power. It’s such a privilege to be apart of a group of people so on fire for Jesus!”
Joseph Pope, 25, Virginia, USA
“At the beginning of the DTS I did not believe in the power of prayer neither did I believe that God even heard my prayers. By the end of it I had no doubt in my mind at all that we have a Father in heaven who always bends His ear to us when we speak and that when we pray in the name of Jesus miracles will be birthed by our words and God’s power.”
Calvin Joubert, 20, South Africa
“Before doing the Justice Movement stream I was so full of hatred and anger toward the perpetrators of human trafficking; completely lacking the love God has for them. But through the stream meetings and prayer it’s been a beautiful journey in which God has shown me how deep and vast His love is for ALL His children. God completely changed my view and I couldn’t be more thankful for this experience!”
Kara Spencer, 19, BC, Canada
“We had been married for 5 years when we came to Marine Reach. As a married couple, we learned a lot about each other and ourselves and gained a lot for our marriage. What we enjoyed most during the GO PAC stream times was the mix between the depth we dove into God’s Word, getting to know His plan for us better, and the times thinking and learning about the interesting Pacific cultures. We think it is so important to get to know new cultures. At the base, there are many different cultures, but you really want to get to know the one culture where you live and where you’re going on outreach. We experienced that when spiritual basics are understood with the heart and not only with the mind, that is what brings change into your daily life, and that is what you can carry home after DTS.“
Tobias & Annika Dietrich, 26 & 26, Germany
“The Pilgrimage DTS allowed me to take the time I needed to get to know God more and grow closer to Him while spending lots of time in His beautiful creation. God also used the hikes to challenge and encourage me to rely on Him more.”
Colin Berkley, 24. B.C. Canada
“Being a part of the Pilgrimage Stream impacted my life for the better. Not only did it teach me how to function in a small community (as we shared the burden of climbing those mountains together), but also how to rely on one another, have fun and worship together, and, most importantly, how to be vulnerable with each other. The focus of our Stream taught me what it looks like to be on a pilgrimage for God. God calls us out of our homes to the wilderness, where we’ll see Him face-to-face, and are forced to fully depend on Him before we receive His inheritance.”
Harty Dumalagan, 21, B.C. Canada
“This is the craziest stream ever, not just doing fun activities, but the people I was with; they are wild as! Throughout the school, I’ve learned so much from the Bible that doing life with God and living my life on the edge is so much more interesting.”
Mun Hei, 21, Malaysia
“Wild at Heart? Yes, of course! But whatever adventure I went for, I wanted to be the one in control. During my DTS, God changed my heart to go wild with Him. I learned to trust in God and that I don’t have to be in charge, as long as I know the One who is!”
Silas Bauer, 21, Germany