October '08 Update

Dear Family and Friends:

 

 

 

 

One verse that helped me through the 5 months missions trip: Psalm 34:8  “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him.”

 

As a quick background…, YWAM is one of the largest mission organizations in the world, with around 14,000 missionaries, working in dozens of different countries. I trained at the Kona, HI base, at their University of the Nations, learning from a new speaker and topic every week, subjects like hearing the voice of God, things in your past that may be affecting your present decisions and the way you relate to others, God’s “original design” for each of us, breaking strongholds, and identifying spiritual gifts. We also had opportunities to serve on campus through work duties, and times of preparation for outreach (learning to work in our teams, learning about different areas of the world), along with much prayer.

 

 

 

 

Then off to Brazil, to put into practice what we learned, and to continue learning. The YWAM base my team worked on there is in NW Brazil, in the Amazon River Basin. At this base, some of the ministries include village outreach, a clinic, a school there on base, with my team helping out in any way we could. We helped with cleaning various buildings, worked in the kitchen, and worked outside.

We were a Christian media team, and the local folks lacked the equipment and know-how to produce good media, so we helped them in that by producing several different films, while teaching them along the way how to produce their own Christian films in the future. Two were about villages/tribes in the surrounding areas, interviewing families who have gone into those tribes and have lived among them.

 

 

 

 

Another was a promotional film to raise awareness for the need of teachers there on the base. One was a fictional episode that we put together there, casting locals from the base. There’s a TV program that’s very popular in Brazil and reaches several million people, kind of like a soap opera. We produced a version of that TV show, but one which promotes Christian family values. When the episode was presented to the TV station there, they loved it and are asking for the next 12 episodes to be brought to them! Through this, the Brazil base is getting their foot in the door to minister and be a witness to the local TV Station. The people of Brazil are SO into TV; this is a great way to reach them.

 

During this trip, our team became very close, through prayer, encouraging each other, and learning to lean on the Lord for guidance, direction, and the strength to get through each day and each decision. As a result of this trip, I saw many lives changed, including my own. There were people saved; it was amazing to see the lives that were touched.

 

Cathy

 

Cathy Welch

12504-107 Sabal Point Dr.

Pineville, NC 28134

704-488-5589