Spent Christmas Day with the Children of the Dump and shot this video to show you

Thank you for allowing me to spend Christmas sharing Jesus with some of the cutest children in the world--click here to watch the HD video and see for yourself! One of my sponsors gave us $100 for the Children of the Dump, so we gave them what they wanted -Candy!

If you would like to become a sponsor or give a special gift you can start by clicking here.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

Watching the Pacific Sunset!

Sunset near the Crystal in Puerto Vallarta.

On my way to Puerta Vallarta!

The mountains outside Mexico city are beautiful!

Next stop: Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

For the past two years the Muldoon family (Dad -Jim, Mom-Cynda, Sister- Kaitlin) and I have spent much of our Christmas vacation working with the Children of the Dump in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. I will be departing once again for PV on Thursday. Don't get me wrong, we find time for the sun and the beach, but this is one of our favorite ways to give back as a family. Checkout some photos from recent trips below and check back for new photos in the coming weeks!

April 4-11th I will be leading a team from Road to Life Church to Dominican Republic! Update: Team is full

Click play on the above video to view photos from YWAM's recent outreaches to Dominican Republic.

Trip Update:
Because of an amazing response with in the first week, all 25 seats on our airline reservations are taken. I am sorry to announce that our trip will not be taking additional applicants.

This spring I will spend my vacation focusing on the needs of others in the Dominican Republic.
Imagine the bright smiling faces, joyous laughter and loving embraces as we meet the Dominican people, amazed at the joy in which they embrace life, even though many are poverty stricken. How blessed they will truly be when they encounter the love of God.
Through my team of youth and adults, they will receive love, not just from us, but from the One Who gave it to them. Our first desire will be meeting their physical needs and providing them with some stability for the future through building homes, painting, food distribution, teaching children, providing water, etc. This will give each of us the opportunity to speak into their lives and share with them the love of Jesus Christ.
Last year, teams built a kitchen for a school so the students could receive the proper nutrition to stay awake in class. In this tangible way, over 160 students, as well as their families, felt the impact of Christ's love.
Through your support of my trip to the Dominican Republic, we together can have an eternal impact on these needy lives!

Trip Update: I am sorry to announce that our trip will not be taking additional applicants.

$100 Due before December 1st -
Application and Deposit*
$900, Jan. 19, 2009 -
1st Payment**
$300,March 2, 2009 -2nd Payment**

$1300
 = Total Trip Cost (reduced from $1400!)

*Due to limited airline availability only the fist 25 deposits of $100 were guarantee a spot on the trip at this price. Deposits have been processed in the order that they are turned into Deb, at the RTL church office. (standard office hours apply)

**All payments must be made to Road To Life Church, and clearly include the name of the participant and the designation of "Dominican Mission Trip"

Applications can be downloaded by clicking here.

Passports copies must be turned in with application or by Jan 19th.
If you don't have a passport you must start this immediately due to 6 week processing time! Start passport process by clicking here.

If I can answer any questions please call Creagon's Cell 407.492.0098


England to Michigan in 7 days!

I just got off a 10 hour flight from London last Friday, and now, one week later, I will be flying to Michigan (Nov. 7-17). I look forward to spending a week thanking all the people who have been so committed in supporting what God is doing through me. As well, I see this week as a chance to invite new people to join my support team. If you would like to be a part of this team please let me know. (Phone 407.492.0098)

Communicating With Future Leaders

Every month thousands of people come to ywam.com looking to find their way into world missions. It is my privilege to help these people find the answers to their questions.
Every so often I get a letter from someone thanking me for the role I have played in their life. Many of these people are from various places around the world serving full-time in missions.
While I was in England (click to see video slide show) attending meetings about this very type of communication, one of the leaders I met showed me such a letter:

"I was 18 years old, ready to go full-time with another mission organization and then found out God had other plans for me... I was crushed and lost. A friend told me to check out YWAM... so I found ywam.com, wrote them and asked them [for a YWAM location] in the Czech Republic. Right away, they got back to me, told me they [had] just heard about the first DTS in Czech and gave me their contacts- I wrote them, applied, and was accepted as the first student ever in Czech.
This was all from ywam.com. They responded and helped where they could... it was absolutely life-changing for me... I would not be where I am today, doing what I am doing, if it was not for those guys and how they took the time to help me in my time of wondering!!!"

Today, she is an international leader focusing on communicating the Gospel in some of the least reached parts of the world. Thank you for helping me mobilize the next generation of leaders!

Creagon in England via Video

Fairwell to England

The last sight of Brittish shores

At YWAM Harpenden England (just north of London)

Flying to London England

Last spring the international chairman of YWAM, Lynn Green, asked me to join a meeting of minds in Kona Hawaii. Today, I depart for the YWAM base in Harpenden England (just north of London) to continue the conversation we started six months ago. I look forward to sharing in more depth all we do at YWAM Orlando to draw this next generation into missions with the team assembled there. As always I appreciate your prayers, especially as the issues discussed may effect literally hundreds of thousands of potential missionaries. (Photo: Creagon and Lynn this spring at the YWAM base in Kona Hawaii)

Guess who made the front page of the newspaper

To read the article from the Samford Crimson Follow the link below.

UMin calls Samford students to go global - News
-Junior international relations and Spanish double major Hannah Joiner visits with representatives from Youth With A Mission at the Go Global Missions Emphasis fair held yesterday.

Finding God's Messengers on University Campuses

"I want to get in to missions, but I just don't know how"
"YWAM goes to South Africa? I want to go to South Africa and work with children. Can I do that?"
"Thanks for sharing your story. It helps me know that this (Missions) is really possible"

Today I got to meet and chat with the students of Samford University. Each student that stopped buy our display for the missions emphasis week wanted to make a difference in their generation, but many needed to understand what their first step would look like. I trust that with their drive to impact our world and the information I got to share today they will take action. I got to meet one student who met our YWAM team last year at this event. She will be departing for training in a few months before she spends time reaching out to the least reached people of South Asia. She is proof and encouragement that I must continue to search and find God's next generation of messengers among our university campuses.

Effective Funding for Experinced Misisonaries

Imagine being told that with in the next 3 months you would be overseeing a budget ten times greater than what you are currently operating on. To most of us this sounds too good to be true or the work of a freak chance like finding the winning the lottery ticket on a sidewalk, but for one team of dedicated missionaries this may be their new reality.

Last week I traveled to a YWAM center in an urban community to teach biblical principals of raising financial sponsorship and support to the local staff team. Many of this team have been struggling to get buy on only enough income to pay for very simplistic community style housing and donated food.

Many of God's dreams and visions for this team were consistently dismissed and thought impossible because nearly all of their funding was being absorbed by the most basic needs of life and so little was left for reaching out effectively with the Gospel.

It was my goal in a 5 day visit to help these dreams become possible again. I challenged each of the full time volunteers to create a budget based on the amount needed to be effective, not on the amount currently available. Only then was the true disparity between a mindset of Effectiveness and Poverty revealed.

By the end of last week I was amazed to see a visible glow in the eyes of each team member. God given inspiration that was once abandoned, now filled the spirits and minds of a revitalized team. Unique ways to reach out to the most oppressed of our nation with the love of Jesus once again filled the hopes of these experienced missionaries.

To be sure, there is still much work to be done before each of these visions are fully funded by committed sponsors, but a new paradigm has been discovered and a shift in thinking. There is now a marked feeling of measured optimism leading to the setting of achievable goals. I am quite certain that I will get to see astounding growth during future visits as the experience of these dedicated workers and the freedom of effective funding now will combine to share the truth of Christ in a very needy urban neighborhood.

Thank you, For your help allows me to experience the freedom of effective funding!

Flying IN Richmond VA

Michael Berg and I are teaching about financial sponsorship to the staff of YWAM Richmond Virgina. While there I got to experience one of the tools that they use to train missionaries in team work...
The HIGH Ropes Course!

Living with the Guys!

I'm living with 11 guys in a small 4 bedroom house! We represent 5 nationalities, Nigeria, Korea, Finland, Norway, and the USA. 9 of them are just starting their journey into world wide missions. For the next 12 weeks they will experience intense dicipleship training through our DTS at YWAM Orlando. Teachers will fly in from across the globe to spend one week at a time with these students focusing on subjects as imperative as World Missions, Forgiveness, Evangelism and Hearing God's voice to name a few. After these 12 weeks they will have become thoroughly prepared to share Christ's love for 2 months in nations like South Africa, Thailand or India. These young men are the future of World Missions and I am honnored to be a part of their training.

What is Evangelism?

I have been asking some of the students in our School of Ministry and Evangelism a question. Here is what they said.....

Teaching the next wave of YWAM Missionaries

While teaching this week at training session here in Orlando, I heard Tasha share the roots of her call to become a missionary with YWAM. Since she was a young child her heart has broken with compassion for people who have the least of in this world. Now she is committed to personally share the most valuable gift in the world to them, Jesus!
Youth With a Mission now has over 16,000 full-time volunteers around the world like Tasha. To be effective ministers of the Gospel each of these dedicated men and women have the great challenge of finding committed financial sponsors. Twenty of these minsters have traveled the world and are now in Orlando focused on learning effective principals and methods to find the financial support team that God wants to provide for them. I have had the privilege of teaching and acting as a "Coach". Most of these YWAM'ers are just starting their careers and their passion to reach the world for Jesus. Each have a vision including, orphaned children, youth at risk or the developing christian leaders around the world and I am continually inspired to help them to effectively achieve their dreams.

New students coming to YWAM Orlando!

This summer I have spent most of my days helping the next wave of students prepare to come to YWAM Orlando. Today we have over One Hundred people applying for our Discipleship or Evangelism training schools that will start September 22nd. I have come to feel that I know many of them and have even spent many days talking and praying with them on the phone. I can't wait to see all the things God wants to do through them by sending them to the nations. This group of students is especially meaningful to me as both of my pastors daughters (Kara and Lish Schoplein) will be attending our schools.
Here is a Video from last years team and the time they spent with the children of South Africa. Many of these children have lost both of their parents to HIV/ Aids.

Billy Graham: Technology, faith and human shortcomings

True inspiration for our generation's need for Spirituality and desire for Technology!

Capitol worship

Worshiping and praying at our nations capitol with thousands

Praying in DC

Lish and Kaitlin praying at TheCall.
Perfect weather and awsome group.

On our way to TheCall DC

I am in DC with a team of youth from Road to Life Church at TheCall DC

Since I have joined YWAM I have been looking for a good way to explain who this family is and what we do. Recently I have found a good video that sums it all up well. Enjoy!

An invitation to pray

The family of YWAM Orlando I have joined here in Florida has been growing, from 14 full-time volunteers to now over 60 in the past 8 years. At any one time, 180 students, workers and their families may be eating meals at our location that was designed for one quarter that number. To house the flood of new missionary students, we have bought 15 houses in surrounding neighborhoods.
My role is to keep the flood coming, and rather than turning young missionaries away, we are committed to expand YWAM's physical capacity to keep pace with the demand. Michael and Darla Berg, YWAM Orlando Directors, have been at the point of this effort to find a location that can train, house, and feed such a movement here, in central Florida. Recently, some wonderful things have happened with some great potential. As you pray for me, would you include the prayer requests outlined in the following letter as well?

A letter sent by Michael Berg this week:

Greetings,
Darla and I wanted to let you know that the staff and students here at YWAM Orlando have started a 24 - 7 prayer time which began Friday April 18th and will continue at least until we see the release of the campus. We are praying about the upcoming meetings that we will have with the owners of the 199-acre property. We believe that God desires to train literally thousands of missionaries in the upcoming years from this campus.

We have been negotiating the purchase of this property for 2 years and the recently planned meeting was postponed by the owners. The reason for the postponement is to allow them to approach the county one more time to see if they can sell it as a residential development, which would produce far more money for them.

Please pray that:

1. God would move on the country commissioners to declare clearly that this property was committed for ministry purposes and that they must honor this commitment

2. God would give us wisdom as we continues to negotiate

3. God would provide all the money necessary to purchase and renovate this campus

Thanks for standing with us!
Michael & Darla Berg

P.S.
We invite you to join us as a part of the Remote Prayer Team anytime.
If you would like, you can sign up for a specific date, and hour through our website: www.ywamorlando.org/prayer

We would love to hear from you if you get any scriptures or words during your time of prayer.
If God shows you anything during your time of prayer, please email: prayer@ywamorlando.com
If you have any questions give us a call at 407-273-1667.

YWAM Orlando

Phone: (407) 492-0098
Email: Info@ywamorlando.org
Web: www.ywamorlando.org

Home School World Changers

If God is preparing a generation to change the world, at what age would He start to interest these students in World Missions?

Thursday will mark my forth and final Home School conference of this year. At each, I have the privilege to meet kids who have grown up reading true biographies of Christian heroes from all over the globe. I know God is preparing to change the face of this world through some of these students, and I want to do everything possible to help.

I brought a video camera along with me, so you could hear what they think God has done and how He is inspiring their lives through these books.

What Matters to Me?

Some one has created a video that captures my heart. Wish I would have created it!

Quotes from YWAM Orlando Students

My passion to find the next generation of missionaries leads me through-out our nation. I am inspired to press-on when these youth come to YWAM Orlando' s schools and programs. Recently, our staff spent some time asking simple questions to our current students and got some encouraging

What has happened in your Discipleship training school so far...?

"So far DTS has really given me confidence in my ability to communicate with God. It has showed me prayer in more ways and with more depth and clarity than before. My communion with God has been incredible and I looking forward to the messages He has for me and the world." Craig Swandby- Discipleship Training School Student

"Being [in DTS] has really given me a vision for my future and helped me realize what I really have a passion for." Nathaniel Lane - Discipleship Training School Student

What has your School of Ministry and Evangelism experience been like so far.....?

"The [SOME] has not only challenged ME intellectually, emotionally, theoretically, and spiritually, but also has challenged ME to take what I've learned and apply it to lead people to a Jesus style life." Chase Jackson- Student in the School of Ministry and Evangelism

"So far I have learned a lot. Something that sticks more than any is the way God has placed value on us as we have been created in His image. When I consider His love for me, to simply put it "I am blown away!" Bobby Benavidez- Student in the School of Ministry and Evangelism

"This School has challenged me a lot more in what I believe, why I believe it, and how I can communicate that to other people. It's hard but totally worth it." Sarah Aubel- Student in the School of Ministry and Evangelism

"Coming back for a SOME has allowed God to challenge my beliefs and restore many misconceptions to truth. Setting aside a few more months to [explore] why I believe what I believe has exposed falsities and solidified truths. God is faithful to reveal Himself when you earnestly seek Him." Nate "Grizzle" Phillips- Student in the School of Ministry and Evangelism

Flying again

On my way to Indy for the first home school event this year. I look forward to meeting some more potential missionaries!

This makes it all worth it!

For years I have been managing a team of our staff and students who make phone calls to potential YWAM Participants. Many of these calls are done from 7-11pm. Now days we average over 1000 outgoing calls each week and most are simply leaving a message on their answering machine. Every once in a while I get an encouraging note about the work we are doing and this happened again yesterday. I wan to say thank you for making this type of ministry possible.
Below is the unedited email that our team received:
________________

Hi YWAM Orlando Staff,
I just wanted to take a second and thank you for how you are building the kingdom. Not only does it appear that your ministry is effective in Orlando and the surrounding cities, but your love for Christ and others extends far beyond, even to my neck of the woods in North Carolina. I have received several calls from your staff members and interns over the past couple years inquiring about getting involved with YWAM Orlando. Although that is not the path God has for me right now (I'm going to La Paz, Bolivia on the mission field in the fall!), I praise Jesus for these phone calls. Each time I've talked with someone from your staff it's been at a time when I really needed encouragement, and the YWAMer has always offered to pray for me over the phone. Even though I haven't felt led to get involved with your base, the people I've talked with have been incredibly encouraging and excited to hear about the ways God is working in my life. I have been moved by the way the Holy Spirit connects us as believers, even if it's just a phone call from a stranger. :) So thank you for seeking Jesus. I commend you for having a staff so eager to love and serve God and others.

Sara

Safely Home

We got in at 1 am Sunday Michigan time (because we were re routed through Newark instead of Huston) and then shared at church Sunday Morning.
I'm a bit tired but I loved this trip! Thanks for your prayers

Back From second Village

I will be uploading photos and videos soon

To the next Village

We are about to leave on our way to the next village!
Be back Thursday night, but may not be able to post until Friday.
Enjoy the video/photos of the past days!

Panama Photos

For more Photos click here!

Back From First Village! - Video

Off to the village

More photos and updates tuesday when we get back

Great night in Panama

We found our house and settled in last night for a well deserved sleep. This morning we will eat breakfast and then go to church. After church we are off to our first village. We wont be near internet until we return, Monday night. signing off until then...

Safe arrival in Panama

More updates tomorrow when we have more time on the internet!

Ready for take-off

On our way to Panama from Huston!

Safe flight to Huston

After an early morning start, our flight was so smooth that we found the time for some peace and quiet. (Especialy with these two napping!) For some of our team this was their first flight and takeoff was very exciting! All seem to have enjoyed the first half of our travels today. Next flight: Panama!

Ready to fly to Huston

We got to Chicago safely and are about to take off! I will make a post when we get to Huston.

Flying to Panama

Video from Panama

This Music Video was accualy filmed on location with one of the villages we will be working with. Byond its amazing message, it is a beautiful way for you to see where God will be leading us through this week.

Panama Photos

Here are some Photos from the last team I lead to Panama.
Look out for some new photos from this team!

PANAMA Schedule

March 29th - April 5 I will be leading a team from my home church in St. Joseph MI to the Central American nation of Panama.
Thanks For Praying for the YWAM Panama Trip! Check back for Updates, photos, and hopefully the odd video interview! (Panama is a very flexible culture so this schedule will change multiple times a day but I thought you might enjoy a rough outline.)

The Bergs and I in Kona

Report #2 from Kona

What if Jesus wants ten times more missionaries to see His Kingdom Come?

Kona Report

Just had an amazing week in Kona. Check out this video report.

Look at the new computer!

Can some one say macbook?