Gary and Darcie
News from Gary and Darcie de la Porte, 
serving with Youth With A Mission in Brisbane Australia
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welcome!

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 “People just exist and sometimes they’re really nice”

This is a quote from one of our DTS students, Chloe, as she shared a revelation from God one day. She was in the city and felt like God was challenging her to step out of her comfort zone. She doesn’t like starting conversations and talking to people, but knew God was wanting her to develop in this area. She talked with some people that day and felt a great sense of not only accomplishment but also a recognition that people are valuable and worthy of our investment. She ended her story with this important message:

“God isn't limited by our personality.”


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Youth Camp
We recently held a youth camp on the YWAM centre which turned out to be a great success. We had 21 teenagers from 9 country towns and Brisbane area. Three short stories:
  • I had the opportunity to be in a prayer group with two of them as we prayed together for Generation Z - their own generation. It was such a blessing to hear them share what God was sharing with them to pray for! 
  • One father (a friend of mine) told me how appreciative he was for the camp for his daughter as she shared with him, with tears in her eyes the revelations she had, and the transformation he noticed in her faith in such a short period of time. 
  • One of our staff caught up with one girl and offered to meet with her regularly to mentor her - and the girl said “I was hoping you’d ask me that!” 


New missionaries
We’ve had our newest intake of staff this month, with 4 new workers joining us! As a part of new staff joining I (Darcie) taught another round of training for our DTS leaders. This was a fun class - just 5 days but a very full 5 days! I’m really hoping they feel more equipped in their role as mentors to our new DTS that’s coming up. 

Recently I got this note from a missionary colleague at another YWAM centre as he was informing me he was moving on. 
“I'm not sure if you remember, but I was [in the course you taught] back in August 2011. I appreciated the way you delivered the content that was logical and easy to follow, gave clear instructions for the assessments and worked closely enough with each student to give them space to ask questions and seek understanding. I really admired the way you ran that course, and I think you're really gifted in this area. Through 11 years of working with YWAM Training, that was one of my most positive and memorable experiences.” I felt so honored to receive this encouragement even 11 years later!

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To the nations

Speaking of DTS, we just sent 3 teams overseas to 3 different countries. Japan, Solomon Islands and south-east Asia. They’re all so excited to be going. With just a week to go, one of the guys needed around $2500 to go. Our community prayed. I asked him a couple of days later how much he needed, it was at $2200. Then 2 days later $220. Everyone at the dinner table was cheering for God’s provision. 15 minutes later he announced he had all the money needed for the trip! With cheers and praising God all around, one other put into words what I was feeling as well “how fun it is to be at a YWAM community dinner when things like this happen!” This pic here is the community prayer commissioning the teams for their upcoming trip.


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Christmas outreach

Our teams went to a small country town for outreach the week before Christmas. Here’s what one team member had to share:
Helloooo! I'm Dahye from South Korea!
“We helped run a week-long Christmas festival called "Bethlehem Live". Bethlehem Live is an event to celebrate the day of Jesus' birth by recreating Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth. Through this event, visitors see a nativity about the birth of Jesus and walk through the streets of Bethlehem two thousand years ago, where they learn who Jesus is and what Christmas is about. During this event, I felt that people who didn't know who God is were able to make a starting point in their relationship with God through this, and I was so grateful to be part of this event.

“Many people listened to the gospel and praise while writing their prayer requests on the prayer wall; and talking to those who loved God was like looking at a lighthouse standing in the middle of the sea. This event became the lighthouse of God standing tall in Bundaberg, shining light on people and making people see truth that they had not seen.

“I pray that [all Christians] will become God's lighthouse where they belong, so that the unbelievers around them can see the light of God through the lighthouse and know his existence naturally.”


Visit to the U.S.

It’s about time that I (Darcie) plan a visit to the US, hopefully in May. I’ll stop in Michigan, Florida and Alabama! I’m so looking forward to this. At this stage Gary is unable to come, but if we can find a way to make that happen, we’re really hoping he could join!
It’s been over 4 yrs since the last visit, so it’s about time! If you would like to help me get there you can donate. The trip may cost up to $6000, of which I currently have only about $600. If that's something you feel you could do, see this page for ways to give.

Gary and Darcie de la Porte
delaporte@goywam.com