Thoughts from the Director

And so God made a promise. He wanted to show Abraham that He would never change His mind. He made the promise in His own name. God gave these two things that cannot be changed, and God cannot lie. We who have turned to Him can have great comfort knowing that He will do what He has promised. This hope is a safe anchor for our souls. It will never move.” Hebrews 6:17-19 NLV. As I reflect on the past year I am blessed by this wonderful character of God. He cannot lie and He will do what He has promised. Space will not permit me to tell of all the things we feel God has promised and is now bringing to pass, but they are many. God has poured out His blessings on YWAM, Lebanon by providing finances to continue the work and has provided additional staff, for which we are grateful. During the past year and a half I experienced several health issues, which was a new experience for me, but I recovered rather quickly from them all. I recognize that to be the grace and power of God. Though my body felt periods of slowdown, my vision has not, and I look to the future with great anticipation and hope for the ministry God has placed us in. I believe God has spoken. He will open new doors of opportunity for us personally and for YWAM Lebanon.

We covet your prayers and continued financial support so that the Kingdom of God will move onward and upward. Our goal is to occupy till He comes.

Welcome

Tony and Cheri are our newest staff members. They are jack-of-all-trade people—a very useful skill around here! Tony is currently helping with the ESL class and Cheri is helping in the kitchen and doing the bookkeeping. They both do a host of other tasks, as needed. Very soon, they will be staffing our next CDTS, and next fall they will staff our first-ever School of Intercessory Prayer. It is exciting to have them here, and already we wonder how we managed without them! Welcome, Tony and Cheri!

TESOL

What a wonderful year we had in 2004 in the TESOL arm of YWAM Lebanon PA to encourage, esteem, edify and equip 61 students in six TESOL schools for the year. These graduates have gone into thirty (30!) countries to teach to reach people for Jesus. As in 1 Samuel 7:13, we, too, raise our Ebenezer and state “hitherto hath the Lord helped us. ” We began this year with a small class of four persons, all planning to go overseas–China, Sudan, and Venezuela. We look to our Lord for what He will do throughout this year in our desire to train people to teach to reach.

ESL

There’s a real international “flavor” to our base right now. We are enjoying wonderful times of fun and fellowship with the students in our English as a Second Language class. Our lives are continually being enriched as we share with our current students from Brazil, Poland, South Korea, Japan, and Iceland. Each of them has been quickly learning English – not just in formal classroom settings – but while rolling around a skating rink, shopping in local stores, touring the Amish country, visiting a chocolate factory, and exploring the Pennsylvania countryside. We’re excited about all that God is doing in our lives, as well as theirs, during this time.

YWAM Lebanon Faculty and Staff

YWAM Lebanon is people—lots of people, at the moment. We currently have three schools in session, a first for us. So, who are the staff that teach and provide support for these schools? David Bauman, our director, wears many hats, from carpenter to bill payer to communicator to organizer to trouble shooter to…you name it, he does it all. Miriam Bauman is our chief cook and bottle washer, co-decision maker, painter, shopper, and doer of many unsung deeds. Marlene Truss teaches the TESOL classes, her primary responsibility. Between TESOL classes, she is generally elsewhere in the world, attending to orphans and refugees. Lynn Hartman, head of the ESL program, also helps Marlene with the TESOL program. She also teaches in various schools around the world, so is here only part of the year. Faye Mills, has been the main teacher in our ESL class this spring, and has spent much time meeting the myriad needs of foreign students not yet proficient in English, both in and out of the classroom. Marilyn Neville, is full time base staff, serving as secretary/receptionist, substitute teacher for ESL, small group leader for CDTS, and doing whatever she can to help out. Erna de Wet is our pastoral care staff. She leads our base intercession times, is available to pray with students and staff for their personal needs, and helps out with our computers. As you can tell, we all stay pretty busy. Every day brings new adventures. Fortunately our staff is flexible and multi-talented, so out of the clamor of many tasks, the Lord weaves a choreographed dance, and gives us a ring-side seat to watch Him at work among staff and students, accomplishing His work among us.