September '14 ~ Update on the July '14 DTS

All Dressed up for the Aussie Bushdance!

Hello to all of my friends and family around the world! Here's a long overdue update on life at YWAM Toowoomba. 

July 2014 Discipleship Training School

As most of you know, the purpose for the DTS (and the purpose of YWAM) is to know God and to make Him known. The DTS is an intensive 5 1/2 month program where students (young adults from all over the world) get the opportunity to receive solid, intense teaching from multiple speakers on subjects like "the character and nature of God", "the Fatherheart of God" "Holy Spirit" "Evangelism" "Spiritual Warfare" "Lordship", and more. After 3 months of these teachings, and also being apart of local ministry and evangelism in the community -- they are sent overseas in teams to put into practice everything they've learned as missionaries. 

Pablo teaching on "Fatherheart" & ministering to students.

We are now over half way through the Lecture Phase of the July '14 DTS, entering into week 7 for which the topic is "Spiritual Warfare". This has been an incredible schools so far as our students have encountered God in powerful ways. The Lord has spoken identity and purpose over each of them and it is a privilege to be apart of their journey as staff. It has not been an easy season by far, as a base we are still in the "pioneering phase" and are still in the process of becoming established. This school we've had a lot of "firsts". During our 2nd week of lectures, 2 students decided to go home due to missing their families. We still care about them deeply and wish them best! We've heard this happens fairly often at YWAM bases, and in the end students do have to want to be here and be willing to let God move in their hearts.

Also, to give you news that only just happened a few days ago -- one of our students, James, received some devastating news regarding his family. We got him on the next plane back to his home to be with them. Please keep him and his family in your prayers, also for the students here, as on a DTS we really do become like a family and love each other deeply. He intends to return in a few weeks time, so please keep them in prayer. 

Worship at Ballistic

As a base we got the opportunity to be involved in a local youth event called Ballistic Youth Conference! It was a weekend of spirit-filled worship, workshops about leadership, prayer and revival, etc, there were sermons and teachings, and alter calls giving young people the chance to respond to God. The first night over 250 young people showed up from young groups all over Toowoomba. Over the weekend, 70+ young kids made a commitment to follow Jesus, and many of them for the first time! Praise the Lord! The DTS was able to attend the conference and help serve over the weekend which was incredible! 
Here are some pictures from the conference...
 

Landon (ywam staff) with the coolest kid ever!

An awesome testimony that happened at Ballistic! One of our students, Nikolai, had gotten bitten by a Redback Spider (very venemous spiders in Australia), and had to use crutches to walk due to the severe pain in her foot and leg. The doctor's said it could be a while before it went back to normal. Redbacks and nasty little nuggets. Anyways, that weekend at the conference, another student prayed for healing in her foot, and she was completely healed!! She was able to walk out carrying her crutches and hasn't had any problems since then!! It's amazing! God loves to heal His children :)

There are only 4 more weeks of the lecture phase before we transition into OUTREACH PHASE!

And some news I've yet to announce, myself and our school leader, Zac, are leading a team together to Malaysia for 6 weeks! We will take a team of 6 students on outreach to do various ministries in Penang, Malaysia. These ministries will include village ministry, homeless ministry, preaching and leading worship in churches, music ministry at local cafe's, and street evangelism! It will be an amazing outreach and God has spoken so much life and promises over our time there. God loves the Malays so passionately and we get the privilege of sharing His love with them! The Lord is so good and we are very excited!

Thank you everyone at home for all of your prayers and the support you've given me since the Lord called me to the mission field back in 2012. It has been quite a journey since then, and I don't foresee it ending for many years. I know the Lord has called me to the nations to preach the gospel and be His hands and feet in each location He places me in. Please know I could not do this without your support and prayers. Thank you immensely for your love, prayers, and support! 

July '14 - Return to Oz & the July '14 DTS

Hello Friends & Family!
It’s been a couple of months since I’ve written because I was able to go home and give most of you an update in person about the ministry here. My time at home with my family was amazing! After being in Australia for a year, being home with my family was exactly what I needed before going into staffing a 3rd Discipleship Training School. I was incredibly blessed by my being with my church and getting to meet with so many people to catch up and talk all about what God has done. 

 My time spent with the CCW Missions board and their families was especially rewarding as we were able to talk about missions and what’s coming next, as well as just being with familiar faces! It was a much needed time to rest and re-center before diving back onto the mission field again. My church also had a fundraiser for me while I was home to help support me while I'm in Australia. As most of you know, I do not get paid for being on staff with YWAM, rather I pay for all of my living expenses, outreaches, insurances, visas, etc. God is so good in how He not only allowed me to be encouraged and uplifted by my church family at home but He provided for ALL of my needs during that time. I am so grateful to all of you at home for  your generosity and for being willing to invest in the mission God's called me to and the ministry at YWAM Toowoomba! 

July 2014 Music & Worship DTS

I returned to Australia July 7th, and the next few weeks were spent in preparation for the upcoming July DTS to start and also welcoming 4 new staff onto the YWAM Staff Team. As of July 25th, our July ’14 DTS students have arrived and we have officially started the Lecture Phase of the DTS! This is a smaller school than we've had in the past, which is really exciting for the season YWAM Toowoomba is in; and also works out well as it's looking like the January school will be quite large compared to schools we've run in the past! All of this is incredibly exciting!
 This week the topic is "Inductive Bible Study Method" which is teaching the students how to deeply study the Bible rather than just reading it. This is an awesome subject the start off with as this will stay with them through the duration of the school and throughout their lives as they read God's word and spend time with Him. 

Next week we have a speaker from New Zealand coming to speak on Hearing the Voice of God! Which during this week we will also be announcing outreach locations, giving students the chance to pray and let God tell them where to go for their outreach! Next week we also will be diving into local ministry with local churches and organizations in town to reach out to the community!

Something that we could use prayer for here is the sickness that's making its way through the base. Many of our students and staff are sick, myself included, and prayer for healing would be much appreciated! 

YWAM Toowoomba Staff Team - July 2014

More updates soon to come! Thank you everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement! It's so good to be back on the mission field that God's called me to. Lately God's been rocking me with just how powerful He is! I'm currently reading through 1 Samuel & Luke, and the fear of the Lord is overwhelming! He is so good!

"He raises up the poor from the dust;

He lifts the needy from the ash heap

to make them sit with princes

and inherit a seat of honor.

For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's.

and on them he has set the world.

He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, 

but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,

for not by might shall a man prevail.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;

against them he will thunder in heaven.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;

He will give strength to his king

and exalt the horn of his anointed."

~ 1 Samuel 2:8-10

June '14 - From AU to NZ to USA!

 Hello to family and friends around the world!

It's hard to believe that the January DTS is coming to a close. In 2 weeks all 29 students will be graduated and sent out into the world to make God known! Some will return to their homes, churches, and communities to be apart of what God's doing there, others will continue on with YWAM either staffing at a base or continuing their training to do mission work. 

New Zealand...
 

As you know, the week of May 14-21, myself and my co-staff Hannah joined the outreach team in New Zealand to finish their last week of outreach & debrief. I appreciate all of your prayers during that time as it went great! The team was doing so well in their ministry and it was really encouraging to be able to be there with them that last week. A majority of ministry they did was evangelizing in Auckland and Tauranga and they did amazingly! God really equipped them and encouraged them with boldness and zeal as they shared the gospel and prayed with people. A few people did accept Christ and many were encouraged! God used the team in an awesome way to reach people and students themselves grew in the Lord as well! The team also got to do ministry in youth groups and YWAM gatherings. 

Worshiping in Tauranga

Leading worship at the YWAM Gathering.

 









  

DTS Foundational Workshop...


The week after all of the outreach teams returned to Australia, YWAM Toowoomba hosted a DTS Foundational Workshop for YWAM Staff/Leaders across Australia. The purpose of this workshop was: (1) Encourage and spiritually strengthen each DTS staff and leader. (2) Further equip and empower you to effectively disciple others in their spiritual formation journey in fostering real change. (3) Help understand what a YWAM DTS is and what it is not. (4) Network and mutually encourage others working with the DTS. 

There were staff/leaders from 8 YWAM bases in Australia! It was an incredible time to learn and grow amongst other staff and leaders who had the same vision and purpose for DTS's and seeing young people encounter God. God's Spirit was so tangible and everyone who attended was greatly encouraged in the work God's called us to. 





DTS Local Outreach Part 2:

 This week our students are doing their final week of outreach here in the city of Toowoomba! They will be involved in all sorts of ministries such as City Women, the Base church, homeless ministry, Gospel for Asia, the Salvos (Salvation Army Church), street evangelism, and other local churches in town leading worship and helping out with the services!
As a staff team, our involvement in this ministry is limited this particular week as we are in the process of preparing for the upcoming DTS that starts in July! Only 7 weeks until we get a whole new group of students to train and disciple for another 5 months!

Which leads me to my personal bits of news...
First of all, I have a huge praise report recently regarding my Visa! As you know it's been a process and the Visa I had was very restricting in what I was able to do while working with YWAM. I had to delay applying for a new Visa that will last 1 year until I had the funds to do so; but a few days ago I was able to submit my application. The next day I received notice that my Visa had been granted!! Praise the Lord! 

Also, my biggest news...
I'm coming home for 3 weeks!! From mid June to early July I'll be in Wilmington to visit my family, my church, and my friends! I'm so excited to tell everyone in person what God's been doing here and what He's enabled me to do--also to tell what lies ahead for me at YWAM Toowoomba and as a missionary. I am truly blessed to be apart of such an awesome mission! 

Thank you for all of your prayers and your support! I would not be here without you and God's perfect grace and favor over my life!
 

YWAM Toowoomba Jan 2014 Staff Team

May '14 ~ God is on the move!

Hey!
It's crazy to think that it's been almost a year since I came to Australia as a missionary. Here's an update of what's been happening lately! 

At the moment things are quiet at the YWAM base here in Toowoomba--quite a change from the past 2 months! 
Beginning of April the Discipleship Training School I'm currently staffing finished the lecture phase and headed straight into outreach mode!


The first 2 weeks of outreach was split in half between doing renovations to some of the units here at the base and also working alongside the Easterfest Crew to set up for the festival. Both involved manual labor such as cleaning, a lot of painting, putting up huge tents, stages, fencing, and some of the creative work that went into making the festival look awesome! 
It was so rewarding working with Easterfest as we were able to serve and bless them immensely!
After Easterfest was over we were even able to
be apart of the team that tore down the festival and clean up Queens Park.

Now all 3 teams are overseas on their outreaches to New Zealand, Malaysia, and East Timor and have been for the past 2 weeks! We have had updates from all of the team leaders and things are going well. They are all excited and are doing incredible ministry in each location. They've been evangelizing on the streets, teaching English, playing in cafe's, serving the homeless, praying with people, seeing the locals experience the love of God for the first time! 

I have exciting news! 
Myself and my co-staff Hannah, have been asked to join the team in New Zealand to lead their final week of outreach and debrief! This was quite unexpected but an awesome opportunity! So in 8 days we will fly over and take over leading the team, allowing the current leaders to attend a family members wedding in the States. Please pray for wisdom and strength for both of us as we step into this role! While being amazing, this will also be a challenge for us both as we have never lead an outreach before now. Prayers would be appreciated!

Also here's an update on my Visa situation... It's been quite confusing.
Due to me traveling to New Zealand for the outreach, I have put my visa application on hold until I return to Australia. Once I return I will send in my application for a 1 year long Visa, which during that year I will be preparing for a Religious Workers Visa. Pray for favor in the immigration office and that I will be accepted for this Visa quickly! 

Another exciting piece of news I would love to share with you happened last week. Our Director, Kerri, invited myself and 2 of my co-staff to attend a meeting with Loren Cunningham (the Founder of YWAM) and other YWAM Directors and Leaders from YWAM Australia and other bases in the world! This was an incredible honor and privilege to not only hear Loren Cunningham speak, but to actually meet him and hear the vision and heart God's given him for YWAM and the direction it's heading! He spoke about many things, but something in particular he shared that was incredible was their vision about the Bibles. Previously, it was thought that although possible, it would be decades before there was a Bible in every language on the earth. Loren shared how God is on the move in this area and that not by 2025 as some have thought, but that God is specifically saying that by 2020 there will be a Bible in every language in the world!! YWAM is only one of the organizations working towards that goal and I believe it will happen! Praise the Lord!

The last thing I want to share is about God's provision. I am officially coming home for 3 weeks in June!! God provided through my incredible family and friends $2,300 for my plane ticket so I could come home to my family after 1 year of being a missionary with YWAM Toowoomba! I am overjoyed to see my family again! I also am very excited to connect in person with all of you back home and with my home church! Thank you for contributing to me coming home! I would not be able to do this without your support! May God's blessing be over all you and your family! 

 God bless!
~ Chelsea

March '14 ~ & We Press On.

 

The Discipleship Training School I’m currently on staff for is about to start it’s 7th week of the Lecture Phase. There has been INCREDIBLE breakthrough in the 29 students these past couple of weeks - the Lord has brought freedom, healing, and vision to each of them. The Lord has answered prayers that me and the staff team have been praying for since before the school even started. There has been a lot of confession and repentance this past month - rebuking lies the enemy has told regarding their identities, their worth, and their future and replacing all of the lies with the truth of God’s Word and His promises. The students have found freedom and Christ and are learning (most for the first time) how to walk in the freedom that is found is Christ Jesus. It is a privilege to be apart of their journey and see the complete transformation in them. 
Students are seeing God do so much through the local outreaches in the youth center here in Toowoomba, they go Friday and Sunday nights and are making such an impact on the lives of these kids - most of whom are from dysfunctional and financially struggling families. 

In 4 weeks, the school will begin outreach phase - which will be 2 weeks working alongside Easterfest - the largest Christian music festival in Queensland Australia, then after Easterfest they will go overseas on outreach. We now have the students split into 3 outreach teams: Malaysia, New Zealand, and East Timor. They will be going on outreach for 1 month with 2 staff leaders doing various ministries such as street evangelism, music ministry, preaching in churches, door to door evangelism, jungle ministry, ministry in schools, and more! I will not be going on outreach with the teams - this is because of the visa that I currently have. I’m learning that Visa’s are quite a complicated and difficult thing to work through as a missionary outside of my own country. It was difficult at first to not go on outreach again, however I know God is sovereign and I will be able to continue doing His work here in Toowoomba. I will be apart of the team of staff here at YWAM that will be hosting DTS Workshops, and hosting 2 other DTS schools from the Brisbane base for 1 week each - which is totally exciting and a great opportunity!

I am working our base director about applying for a new visa in about a month that will not restrict me from going on outreaches, etc. If I get accepted for this new visa, I will be taking a team on outreach for the July ’14 DTS, and possibly the following Jan ’15 DTS, Lord willing.
Please be in prayer with me that I will be able to require this new Tourism 600 Visa which will allow me to stay in Australia for another year with no limitations, while I work on applying for a Religious Workers Visa in the year 2015. 
It is my hope to remain here at YWAM Toowoomba for the next 2 years or so, until the Lord calls me elsewhere to do His work.
I am still in prayer over Africa, Lord-willing one day I will be there long-term :)

Personally, I am doing very well. I’ve found that living in community for so long - living alongside the 29 students I and the staff team are discipling and ministering to daily, requires me to constantly be relying on God as my only source or else I get drained spiritual, emotionally, and physically within a week. It’s quite intense, challenging, but so incredibly good because I’m having to live out everything I preach. I am growing spiritually and being stretched. I’ve always been an all or nothing girl, and the Lord knows that so well. God has been taking me on an amazing journey spiritually and I feel so blessed. 
Also, I can feel the spiritual covering over me through all of the prayers of family and friends back home. Thank you for all of your prayers - I could not continue to do what I do without prayer. 



God is Good!
An example would be last week. Last week we had a lot of ministry time (prayer, repentance, claiming the truth and promises of God over their lives, basically fighting for each student individually) as a school that lasted about 9 hours the first day, then another 5 hours or so the next day, then with doing small groups and talking with students one on one to follow up on what God’s doing, and more. Needless to say, after that - I literally had nothing left to give. I was completely drained and my only prayer was “Lord move, speak, and work through me.” 
At the end of the week, I was in my room with my roommate who had just gotten back from the Chiropractor after having X-rays done, with the news that she had partial scoliosis. She had severe back pain and couldn’t sit, stand, or lie down for longer than 20 minutes at a time, it had been like this without relief for weeks.
I was sitting there with her on the floor of our room as she was telling me all that the doctor had said, both of us completely exhausted, and I heard the Lord say so clearly, “Pray for healing.” He was reminding me of promises He’d given, His power, and that now is a perfect time because although I had nothing to give - He did. So we prayed for about 50 minutes. After about 15 minutes of prayer, the pain in her neck ceased, after 30, the pain in her upper back ceased, after 50 minutes, all pain was completely gone! That happened over a week ago - she is completely healed! 
I share that story to say that God is good, God is all-powerful, and never gets drained even when I feel like I am!

Prayer Requests:
1. My visa situation
2. The students to continue to grow in God
3. Boldness for the students when on outreach to preach the Gospel and see God move!
4. Warren and Kerri (the Base Directors) - in general and for grace, peace, and favor over their ministry and family.
5. The outreach teams going to Malaysia, New Zealand, and East Timor.


Incredible praise report!
God has completely provided all of the monthly financial support I need to continue on here at YWAM!! God is SO FAITHFUL and I am so thankful for those who have stepped out in faith to support me in the YWAM ministry God's called me to. I am incredibly humbled and honored that the Lord would entrust me in this way and I am confident in God's sovereignty to continue the work He has began with me here in Australia

I am so grateful for all of the prayers and support - I could not be here doing what I’m able to do without the support of the body of Christ. I will always be so incredibly thankful that I am blessed with a team of people back home who support me in this crazy calling God has given me. It’s for His glory that I came, and for His glory that I remain here pressing forward to see lives changed for God!
Thank you and I dearly love you all.
I will be coming home over the summer for a couple of weeks between DTS’s, and can’t wait to meet with everyone personally.
May God bless you all!  

With love in Christ Jesus,
~ Chelsea Ritter 

Jan '14 - New Year, New DTS, New Season

Hello to my family & friends in America and around the world! 

It's been quite a season these past 3 months. As most of you may recall, I recently staffed my first Discipleship Training School (DTS) with YWAM Toowoomba from July - December 2013. Those incredible 31 students have now all graduated and left to either go home or continue on as missionaries. Some went to other YWAM bases in the world to be on staff, a few returned to YWAM Toowoomba to staff alongside us, but all are pursuing the Lord's heart for their future. It was amazing and the Lord moved mightily amongst the students, the staff, the community, and in Thailand while the teams were on outreach. 

With that school completed, things here at YWAM Toowoomba have continued to move forward. The Lord has given us favor to start out first January Music & Worship DTS! It's very exciting as now we can run 2 DTS's a year and train up more young people to take the gospel of Jesus out into the world! 
As announced last week, I am currently on staff for the January DTS. Last Friday we welcomed 29 new students to YWAM Toowoomba and kicked off the Jan DTS on the 25th. Last week was the first week of lectures and we had a speaker from YWAM Brisbane come in to speak on the Character & Nature of God and also Hearing God's Voice. It was very crucial because knowing God more and hearing His voice seems to be a deep desire in each student - which is amazing! Now, we are about to start week 2 of lectures where they will be taught on Worship & Repentance.

The school is shaping up to be an incredible journey for the students and staff. We have almost a whole new staff team, which allows us to be able to do even more ministry in the community! We have 2 of our staff working alongside Easterfest, and 1 staff member working at what's called The Base - a ministry for youth and the homeless here in Toowoomba. We'll also be sending different teams of 10-12 students each week to The Base to do ministry as well.

One of the things I love that God's doing here (and has been doing for years) is the unity between the believers in Toowoomba. Honestly, I've never seen a city where the believers are united together in prayer and love like I've witnessed and been apart of here. They have what's called the Christian Leadership Network - which basically is a weekly prayer meeting with ALL of the christian leaders in the city: church pastors, youth leaders, school chaplains, ministry leaders, anyone in any position of leadership within any denomination and affiliation in the Christian community. I've attended the meeting multiple times to prayer with the different leaders in Toowoomba, and it is a beautiful experience to witness the leaders all united in prayer and in spirit. 

All in all, the Lord has proven Himself so good and so faithful; I'm sincerely blessed and privileged to be doing what He's called me to do. I love how he continues to prove that He does not call the equipped, but He equips the called. God is good all of the time!

I do have something on my heart to share with you for you to prayerfully consider...

Originally when the Lord called me here, I thought that my time here would be a 6-12 month season—the Lord had something else in mind. The Lord has made it clear that my time here is not short-lived. As of January 2014, I have committed the next 2 years to being full-time staff here at YWAM Toowoomba. Being that this path is not a specific school but a commitment as a full-time missionary, it changes the layout of my financial needs. As you know, as a missionary and a YWAMer, I do not receive a paycheck of any kind for what I do. The Lord is teaching me to rely fully on Him for all of my needs financially. With that being said, I am trusting God for an additional $200 a month for room and board, food, and future mission outreaches. Any support will help and be greatly appreciated! Calvary Chapel and my parents currently support me as a missionary, and at this time, I am seeking to add those that would be willing to partner with me financially for my extended time as a YWAM missionary in Australia.

I know God has an army of supporters lined up for me to carry me in prayer and financial support. Monthly commitments would enable me to commit fully to this call God has placed before me. Individual donations are also a huge blessing. Partnering with me financially makes you equally as instrumental in training up the next generation and carrying the love of Jesus across Australia, and across the globe. By supporting me as a missionary, you are allowing me to carry the Gospel to wherever God calls me to. On outreaches we would be working in/with churches, evangelizing in villages and on the streets, building houses, teaching English, healing the sick, working in shelters, and ministering to women and children in the sex-trafficking industry. The ministry we do varies on the locations God calls us to, but wherever we go we are the hands and feet of Jesus.

Monthly support can be sent directly to me at YWAM address below, included in CCW offering with noted designation, OR if it is easier, it can be done through CCW secure give online, and include "Chelsea Ritter YWAM" in memo. Please don’t hesitate to email me at misslady.ritter314@gmail.com if you have questions or want to update on my journey. I am also available to Skype, face to face, or through facebook, if you would like to hear more testimonies and stories of what God’s done and what His plans are for what’s to come


Thank you so much for taking the time to read and consider this. Please keep me in your prayers and know I love and miss you all! 

God Bless,
- Chelsea