June 2006

Chocolatesfor Jesus?

by Amy Ekström - I’m so thankful I don’t have to appease my God with chocolate. I’m not required to buy cookies on my way to church so that He will accept me. Besides, my bank balance would never allow it! Every day, here in India, I watch the desperate attempts of people striving to earn acceptance from their gods through the offering of sweets, mantras, tantrics, bell-ringing

and foot-touching.

Youth With A Mission / Restenäs 239 / 459 93 Ljungskile / Sweden *Tel +46 522 210 20 *Fax +46 522 202 45 *http://www.ywamrestenas.se *info@ywamrestenas.se *Plusgiro 89 61 56-7 *Organisation 858500 5633

Five ImportantQuestions

1. Who Are we? – We are Youth With A Mission, Restenäs, a university-level, missions training campus on the west coast of Sweden.

2. What do we do? - We mobilise, train and send people who are called to be missionaries, not only into their own communities, but also to some of the toughest places on earth, like North India, the Himalaya region, Ethiopia and Turkey.

3. Why do we do it? - Few people are willing, or able, to do what we do. Jesus said “Go and

make disciples of all [peoples]”Matthew 28:19. We believe God wants us to aim towards making disciples not only in Sweden, but beyond. Although our staff have sacrifi ced a lot to volunteer full-time

on our campus, we often feel the real missionaries are those brave few who come to be trained and sent out from our campus. Still, we know that we are all missionaries. And without our home-front efforts, these men and women of God who serve on the front-lines would be ill-equipped to build God’s kingdom in those harsh environments.

4. Who’s on our team? - There are three kinds of people involved in missions: Those who Go, those who Send and those who Pray.

We are the Goers. Others, such as friends, churches, businesses, etc. are the Senders and Prayers.

Each one plays a vital role in what we do

here. Restenäs pays a mortgage, fi lls its cars with petrol and pays for various other items on a daily basis, just like everybody else. So, many Senders give fi nancial gifts towards our facilities or

towards special projects we are involved in. Others donate material goods or services towards these things. Prayers pray for us and the work we are doing, knowing that without their prayers,

we couldn’t accomplish what we do here.

5. Why YWAM? – YWAM believes in young people. YWAM wants to release young people into what God is calling them to do. Young people are the history makers and leaders of tomorrow. And young people, especially young Swedes, have been, and will continue to be, a vital part in this process. Therefore, we know that what Youth With A Mission, Restenäs does is important for the future of Sweden… and beyond!

what we do here.

Tord, from Sweden, on a street in Cambodia, hanging out with some of the locals.

Jon, from USA, talks with a muslim man

while on his mission trip to Morocco.

Prayer Sixty young people, mostly Swedish, are currently out on three week-long mission trips in Turkey, India, Cambodia, Ukraine and the World Cup in Germa-ny. Pray that God uses them and calls many of them into long-term missions.

Several courses will begin this au-tumn, and we would like them all to be fi lled to the brim with students that can be trained for missions.

PraiseThank God for saving us from eternal death! Everything else fades in the comparison to His sacrifi ce.

Sixty young people, mostly Swedish, are currently out on three week-long mission trips in Turkey, India, Cambodia, Ukraine and the World Cup in Germa-ny. Pray that God uses them and calls many of them into long-term missions.

Several courses will begin this au-tumn, and we would like them all to be fi lled to the brim with students that can be trained for missions.

PraiseThank God for saving us from eternal death! Everything else fades in the comparison to His sacrifi ce.

The air was fi lled with mixed emotions, as excited students played guitar and acted out dramas during the Restenäs Christian School’s (RKS) fi nal end-of-the-year ceremony on June13th; feelings of joy, as the children look forward to the coming summer break, as well as feelings of sadness, as theirs was the last class to pass through the doors of RKS.

Philip McCurley, chairman of the Restenäs Leadership Team, thanked the staff. As he spoke a few,fi nal encouraging words to students, staff and parents, he noted that “Change can be hard, but it can also lead to something good”.

Principal Anders Bergström passed on greetings from ACE

Africa and Scandinavia, via Graham Yoko. ”I would like to wish you God’s richest blessing for the future. While the closing of the school will be an adjustment for everybody, you need to be encouraged that seeds have been sown, in many lives, during the time that the school was operating. We know that God’s word will always produce a harvest. Therefore, we are confi dent that He will watch over His word to perform it.”

RKS was started in order to bless not only YWAM, but also the local community. Recently, many families have moved from Restenäs, thus decreasing student numbers. There have also been many organisational dilemmas and a realisation of the diffi culties in running a Swedish private school. YWAM was humbled through this experience, but God helped us understand the importance of staying within our calling as a mission training centre. After unsuccessfully fi nding a way for another Christian school to take over RKS, the Restenäs board decided that the school needed to be closed. We are grateful to all those who worked hard during the years the school was running.

In contrast, my God does not require me to do these things. He simply asks for my love. He invites me to freely receive His acceptance through faith in Jesus Christ alone, free of charge. I believe this simple truth is God’s heart for missions. Not that we serve Him out of fear of famine or death. No. We serve Him because He rescued us. In turn we worship Him with our lives, committing everything to him, living on the edge of our seats ready to go wherever He calls us. And then, with hearts full of love and thankfulness, we race to the front-lines, reaching out to those who are lost in the darkness. We love them out of our love for Him.

Then, suddenly! I fi nd myself sitting in a basement, the rain dripping through rotten fl oorboards from the room above. It’s here that I witness true worship. No chocolate for Jesus, no cookies placed on altars before beautiful statues, behind glass cages, and certainly no visiting hours. Simply a room full of people who have given their lives to the Living God. We serve Him, and we follow His call because he paid for us. Ironically, we weren’t required to open our wallets, even once. Grace... it’s enough for us to give our lives, not just chocolates.

Laying down your rights - A concept that is foreign to our culture, indeed a concept that is foreign to the very nature of humanity. We live in a world in which the protection and exaltation of individual rights has become an obsession.

Making Jesus LordNow in Swedish - Order one for a friend - bookshop@ywamrestenas.se

Restenäs Christian School the End of an Era

RKS students performing for parents, teachers and guests during the last day of the school year.

Chocolates for Jesus..

There’s still time to register for this year’s ‘InTouch’ Renewal Gathering at

Restenäs 16-22 July, 2006. contact: info@ywamrestenas.se

website: http://ywamrestenas.se/index.php?id=201

inTouch Renewal Gathering

bookshop@ywamrestenas.s

90:-

Is That Really You God?CONTEST: Every tenth person to sign up a friend to receive the Restenäs News via email will receive a free copy of Loren Cunningham’s book, ‘Is That Really You God?’ in Swedish, postage free. Don’t under-stand Swedish? That’s okay. Do it for a Swedish-speaking friend.

Offer ends day 1 of the Autumn DTS - 7 September, 2006 unless our supply runs out fi rst. Don’t forget to include your postal address when you send your email. Send email address to webmaster@ywamrestenas.se

in Swedish

The next printed ‘Restenäs News’ will arrive in December.

Next Restenäs News (printed version) arrives in December.

Ask for it: info@ywamrestenas.se

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