A message.

A personal message from me, a 23 year old from the US currently living in Spain, to Western Christians (particularly my fellow American Christians). I give this message from the place of a broken heart, in humility and love, desperate to see change in our world where there is so much suffering.

To those who fear Muslims, to those who hate Muslims...

Go. To. The. Nations. 

Preach. The. Word. Of. God!

Go to your city, Go your town, Go anywhere. 

Pray! 

Cry out to God on behalf of those who don't know Him. 

But please, don't stay in your hate. Don't stay in your fear.

Be Salt and Light to the world as Jesus commanded. 
Love our Muslim brothers and sisters. Bless them, pray for them, LOVE them. 

In the wake of the tragedies that have happened and are still happening all over the world, it is heart breaking! My heart aches for those who have lost their loved ones, to those who are running for their lives, to those who grow up orphaned and without a home, and also my heart aches for those who are deceived in thinking that killing innocent people will grant them eternal life in heaven. 
I mourn with them and pray for them constantly. 

But I have a question...

Did Jesus say, "love your neighbour and your enemies unless they try to kill you or unless they believe differently than you"? 

Here's what I see that Jesus said...

"And He [Jesus] said to him [a Pharisee], you shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and foremost commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." 

- Matthew 22:37-39

"You have heard that it was said, 'You should love your neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteousness. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" 

- Matthew 5:43-47

I beseech you to love. To pray. To bless. To be light in a dark world. To cling to the promises of God and to the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

"And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. GO therefore and make disciples of ALL the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe ALL that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." 

- Matthew 28:18-20

June '15 - Fiji Outreach "Sa ve naka naka lo" (God is so good!)

Bula Vinaka!

Yasawas Island, where we lived for 2 weeks in village called Soso Naviti.

Our team w/ some of awesome people we met in Soso Naviti

        I've returned to Australia after an amazing month on outreach. We had such a blessed time in Fiji doing various ministries and getting to know some pretty fantastic people! During our stay, here are some of the things we got to do:

• Evangelise on the streets in Lautoka, the 2nd most populated city in Fiji.
• Visit special needs school to spend time with and minister to the kids
• Went to the hospital in Lautoka to pray for the patients, which was so good!
• We spent 2 weeks ministering in a village called Soso Naviti, on one of the Fijian Islands, the "Yasawas"
• We spent 4 days helping out Vijay & Sashi on their farm, an awesome Indian-Fijian family.

Me w/ the Pastor's wife in Soso Naviti

        During our stay in Soso Naviti, we went out every day doing house visits, meeting the families who lived in the village, and offering prayer and encouragement everywhere we went. We saw the Lord do amazing things through visiting with the people! The Lord healed multiple people of various pains and sicknesses, He restored one couples marriage through us praying for them & teaching them the Word, also many people were greatly encouraged in the Lord and grew in their relationship with Him. It was a blessing to be apart of their stories and encourage others in their walk with God. 

      We also got to hold church services every night at the AOG church in the village. During these services we would join the church in worship, share testimonies of what God has done, and preach the Word of God every night and offer prayer to the congregation. 

Working in Sashi's garden

         The time we spent at Vijay and Sashi's farm was really great for our team as we got to help them by planting gardens and doing some of the farm work while we were there. Vijay is currently doing his DTS with YWAM Marine Reach, so he is only home on the weekends, and as Sashi had a 2 month old newborn daughter she was taking care of, it gave us a great opportunity to come in and bless her and her daughters. We were able to plant more vegetable gardens for their family, as well as help do work on the farm with the animals. We also got to cook with Sashi - can finally cook the Indian food I so love!!

House visits in Soso

Some of the children we met in Soso

         



It was a beautiful time in Fiji! We became friends with many of the people there and got to pray for many as well. God really used us during our short time there and I am blessed at the favour God had over us and our time there.  Thank you for all of your prayers and support for this outreach! I could feel the spiritual covering and God's hand upon us as we ministered to the beautiful people of Fiji! 

Only a week and a half until this current DTS is graduated! They are an incredible group of young people and I will be sad to see them leave, yet also so excited for what God will do in them and through each of them in their lives. They are on fire for the Lord, what a awesome way to live!

I return to the USA the 21st of June and I am so excited!! The next update I do will be in person :) 

God bless you all!

- Chelsea Ritter

April '15 - Missions Update; On the Move!

Hello family & friends around the world!

Update on the DTS & YWAM Toowoomba 

     Life has been exciting here at YWAM Toowoomba, Australia with all that God has been doing. We are 1/2 way through out 5th Music & Worship Discipleship Training School (DTS) with a group of 34 students. It has been an incredible time of learning more of who God is and His Kingdom as we serve one another and the community. 

This week we are concluding the Lecture Phase of the DTS and entering into Outreach Phase, where we will be sending 4 teams overseas to Thailand, Cambodia, East Timor, and Fiji for 1 month. This is a perfect opportunity for all of our students to learn to put into practice everything they've learned during lecture phase about the Kingdom of God and missions. I am happy to report that I have the opportunity of leading a team of 7 students to Fiji! Outreach Phase starts next week and my team will be in Fiji the from April 21 until May 23!

     Once all of the outreach teams return to Australia in late May, there will be 3 more weeks of lectures and local outreach they graduate and are sent into the world!

Sabbatical to the USA

After this current DTS concludes, I will be returning to the States for the summer (roughly June 22 - Sept 6). That time is essentially for me to spend with my family, my church, and friends after having been in YWAM for most of these past 3 years. I also would love to give everyone an update in person of all that God has done and is still calling me to do. 

Update on what's next

      I have been serving with YWAM Toowoomba for 2 years; when I came on staff, I felt Him saying that would be the amount of time I will be on staff in Australia. However, I felt strongly that I was not to leave simply to go, but that the Lord was going to call me out of Australia and call me into something new. Several years ago, the Lord gave me His heart for Muslims and the desire to enter the mission field in Islamic communities to see them know and experience the love of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

     This coming September, the Lord has paved the way for me to go to YWAM North Africa for a training course  called the Foundations for Intercultural Study. This is a great opportunity to have hands on training in ministry on the field in a predominantly Muslim nation; being trained by staff from all over the world who have had decades of experience in ministering in Muslim Communities. 

What is the Foundations for Intercultural Study?

It is a training course with YWAM North Africa and is an  intensive, 3 month program designed to prepare people to serve in frontier locations throughout the Muslim world. It is training for missions in regions such as North Africa, Middle East, etc. 

Training includes understanding the Islamic worldview, Biblical basis for reaching out with the Gospel, language skills, cultural adaptation and working cross culturally, project planning, and more. This program will provide a basic understanding of the complexity of the Muslim world and how the Kingdom of God can expand into those communities.   Dates: Sept 9 - Dec 6, 2015

God is Good!!

     As you can see, 2015 is looking like quite a year and I am excited to continue to go and serve wherever God sends me. Thank you to all of my friends and family who are in prayer for me and support me! Recently I have been overwhelmed by God's provision and His faithfulness. God is good all the time and as I continue to say "Yes" to His direction, He continues to be so faithful to provide for all of my needs! I just have to boast in what God has done because I am so grateful for His faithfulness in using His Body to provide. I have been trusting in God for the finances to book my flight home to NC in June as I didn't have enough after paying staff fees and fees for the outreach. Recently, I received the news that someone donated the FULL amount needed for my flight from Australia to the States! Praise the Lord!! God continues to amaze me! He is so worthy of praise! 

Thank you to all who continue to pray and support me in the mission God has called me to! 

November '14 - Malaysia Outreach

Our team at one of the jungle villages right outside Penang, Malaysia

Malaysia was a very rewarding time of serving the local churches and ministries in Georgetown and the surrounding towns. We had the opportunity to do various ministries such as volunteering 3 days a week at the local homeless shelter, Kawan Center. YWAM Penang started this ministry years ago to give the homeless men and women in Georgetown a safe place to receive breakfast, lunch, a place to sleep, showers, and laundry. While we were there we were able to cook and serve the meals, paint a room, sit and minister with them, listen to their stories and share about Jesus! 

Natalie & Naomi leading worship at Kawan Centre

Malaysia is a very confusing place culturally and spiritually. Penang is literally a melting bowl of many cultures and religions including Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and other "spiritual wanderers". The people groups are extremely diverse from the Chinese, Malay, and Indian -- to all of the tourists and refugees from surrounding countries. In Malaysia there are 2 governments: there is the civil government for anyone who is not of Malay decent, the second is the Shirrah Law for all who are a Malay, as they are then automatically a Muslim. Once you are a Muslim you can legally never stop being a Muslim, and it is illegal to evangelise to a Muslim or else you will be arrested. This, of course, made street evangelism a bit of a challenge for our team, however, we were still able to evangelise a lot in the streets of Georgetown, talking to and praying for at least a hundred people! We didn't see many people immediately accept Jesus, however, many were open and listened and even let us pray for them in the name of Jesus! I know that many seeds were planted and that God is at work in the people there. 

Our team with the amazing family that hosted us - Peter, Puspa, Getsy and Gloria

The other ministries we were involved with was leading worship and sharing testimonies and sermons in local churches and christian gatherings. We got to be apart of the Penang House of Prayer as well, leading worship with them and attending their night services of worship and intercession twice a week. This was an amazing opportunity for our team as it allowed us to spend more time with the Lord in order to hear Him speak and be continually refilled with His Spirit in order to go back out and pour out.

Playing games with the children at LifeBridge School

LifeBridge School was one of my personal favourite ministries; it is a school run by Christian believers for refugee children whom the government doesn’t recognise. For this ministry, we were involved in as we were able to spend time with the children at the school, playing games, and teaching. It was amazing to be able to spend time with the children and share God’s love with them!

There were challenges during the outreach, as we unfortunately had to say goodbye to two of our DTS students who had to return home to America before the outreach was complete. It was difficult for all of us, however, God’s grace is sufficient during every season, He is always good and He is always faithful.

Overall, it was a good outreach where we were able to share God's love and preach His message! We saw the Lord at work in the lives of so many people we met and different ministries we got to work alongside. To God be the glory forever!