Scientific Meeting » Chemogenetic Innovations in the Manipulation and Monitoring of Labeled Neurons Workshop

Chemogenetic Innovations in the Manipulation and Monitoring of Labeled Neurons Workshop

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Celebrating a Breakthrough in Mozambique

When the first YWAM church planting team came to a Mozambique province in the mid-90s to reach the Yao people, they learned there were very few Yao churches or believers in that area. They were told the Yao people were the hardest and most difficult people group to reach.

Now “churches are popping up like popcorn,” says Paul (not his real name) a local church planter and disciple maker.

“This is a phrase that Paul likes to use a lot because he is overwhelmed with what God is doing,” says Shephen Mbewe, a former YWAM location leader in Mozambique. 

The Yao people are a tribe found in northern Mozambique, Malawi and parts of Tanzania in Africa. They are mainly Muslim, but their Islamic faith is also blended with folk and animistic beliefs. 

When the YWAM team first came to the area they began spending time praying for the Yao, developing friendships with them by playing sports—especially football—together, using mercy ministries such as caring for the sick and wounded as a way to enter communities and demonstrating the love of God to the Yao.

There were so many children so much so that there was a dedicated team to work and minister to the children.

It wasn’t long before people became interested. They began reading the Bible and sharing the Gospel message with other Yaos. The Gospel has also spread to the Makua Meto and Chewa tribes through the Yaos.

Pedro, one of the leaders of the church planters in Niassa Province in in Mozambique.

“The people movement is growing with the awareness that others outside their own people group and tribe need to hear, too,” says Mbewe. “The Gospel is spreading like a wild bush fire, utterly unstoppable.”

But coming to Christ hasn’t come without a price for some of these new believers, said Mbewe, who spent time with Carlos (not his real name), a man who had been beaten up by a best friend after he became a Christian. The best friend had been hired by Carlos’ own uncle and intended to kill the new Christian.

However, instead of hating his former best friend for trying to kill him, Carlos forgave him and shared Christ’s love with him. The former best friend became a Christian and the two friends share Christ together.

As new believers risk their lives to share God’s love, God is working through them. 

A special shelter was built for the conference.

During a special Yao conference that brought in 750 people from the tribes of Yao, Makua Meto, Chewa and Nyanja, 76 new believers were baptized.

Part of the 750 people who came from all over the province – among them the Yao, the Makua-Meto and Chewa speakers.

“It was an incredible thing to witness the joy of these new believers—all of them first generation Yao, Makua, Meto and Chewa Christians,” says Mbewe.

Participants from 10 districts in this province and 65 villages could be seen singing, dancing and worshiping the Lord together. 

During the conference Mbewe was asked to speak about the Biblical view of the family and read from Genesis 1-3. Many of those in attendance didn’t have a Bible in their mother tongue—the language they learned at a young age. But as soon as the words were interpreted, Mbewe quickly saw how much impact God’s Word was having.

Shephen with Aldenice and Pedro. I heard someone refer to Pedro as the Apostle to the Yao.

“Many came to thank me for the word I brought,” says Mbewe. “I thanked them for letting me experience a mighty move of God amongst them.”

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Blog Post » Harnessing the Power of Technology for Mental Health

In this Director’s Message, Dr. Gordon discusses the potential that technology holds for expanding the reach of mental health care.

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Scientific Meeting » Making Health Care Transition Work for Youth with Autism: Youth and Parent Perspectives and National Resources

On December 13, 2019, the National Institute of Mental Health is sponsoring a webinar about transitioning from pediatric to adult health care for youth with autism.

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A single, low-dose ketamine infusion was relatively free of side effects for patients with treatment-resistant depression.

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Pray for Tokyo

Join YWAMers around the globe in praying and hearing from God. He is inviting you!

This month, we invite you to join the YWAM family as we pray for the largest metropolitan area in the world, the greater Tokyo area. By worldly standards, Tokyo has it all, but spiritually the 35 million people in the Tokyo area have many challenges.

The list of Tokyo’s notable global rankings goes on and on. Tokyo has ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index, was listed as most livable city in the world in 2015, is rated out of 60 cities in 2017 as first in terms of safe cities index, and Tokyo has the highest number of Fortune 500 companies. Tokyo will also host the summer Olympics in 2020 (July 24 to August 9).

However, from a spiritual perspective, there are challenges in reaching the people of Tokyo and Japan in general. Japanese nationals are steeped in a culture that esteems honor, harmony, loyalty and long work hours. They are very much a people group who value and care for those around them. But most of them don’t understand the true message of Jesus. It is estimated that fewer than one percent of the people are evangelical Christians. The national religions of Buddhism and Shintoism are closely tied to the Japanese identity, so choosing to follow a different religion can be perceived as rejecting your family or choosing to no longer be Japanese. Additionally, there is believed to be only one missionary for every 64,000 people in Japan. As YWAM’s JP Cohern notes: “That’s like one person being tasked to reach an entire football stadium!”

According to the YWAM Tokyo Facebook page, “The Japanese culture reflects the Kingdom culture. As a culture, they love politeness, they crave community and relationship. They reflect the kind nature of kingdom culture so selflessly and yet they still don’t know the king they reflect.”

Tokyo at night Photo credit: Global Sherpa

Despite these challenges, the YWAM Tokyo Facebook page notes that something has started to shift in Tokyo. They are witnessing miracles in public, there appears to be a new level of openness in the hearts of the people, churches are uniting and supporting each other and ministry pioneers are rising up all over the nation of Japan.

Listen to the letter

Please join us this month for YWAM’s prayer day, called The Invitation, as we pray for the people of Tokyo. If you only have a few moments to pray during The Invitation on Thursday November 14 please pray that the missionaries and Christians there would experience a new power in their ministries and that God would open the hearts of the people like He did with the early church.

Thank you for being part of The Invitation. We would love to receive stories from you regarding how you prayed. You can email us at prayer@ywam.org.

A woman in Tokyo.
Photo credit: YWAM Tokyo

Prepare to Pray:

As a group, consider and discuss the mission field in Tokyo and greater Japan. Considering less than one percent are evangelical Christians, this represents a huge opportunity with many challenges. Look at a map of Tokyo and/or Japan. Now consider and discuss the early church based on your knowledge of the book of Acts. How might a movement to reach Tokyo and Japan be similar to the early church movement? How are they likely to be different?

Review and pray these verses that represent progress with the Gospel for the early church one at a time, and as you do, ask God to show you how they might apply to Tokyo. List key points that God shows you regarding Tokyo and incorporate those points as you pray.

• Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:41)
• But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand. (Acts 4:4)
• So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6:7)
• When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48)
• So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. (Acts 16:5)

Praying at YWAM Tokyo
Photo credit: YWAM Tokyo

Pray for Tokyo:

• Pray for Japanese individuals to be bold in choosing Christ, for the church to support and surround new believers, and for believers to be courageous in sharing their faith so that others might believe.
• Pray for the people to choose their identity in Christ over other religions. At the same time, pray for believers to discover ways to honor and redeem Japanese culture.
• Expectations regarding long working hours keeps the people away from spending quality time with their family and also limits interactions with friends who could share Jesus with them. Pray for the hearts of people to change so that there is greater balance of work and social interactions. Pray that they will have time to encounter God.
• Pray for strengthening of families through faith in Christ. Pray for quality time with one another. Pray for the Japanese children to be trained in the way they should go by their parents. Pray for transformation and wisdom for parents.
• Pray that God would release more laborers to come to Tokyo and Japan and for others to invest in the Kingdom work there.
• Pray for workers in Japan. It often requires years of relating and befriending locals before they accept Jesus. Pray for favor and patient endurance. Pray that they will see a shift in the openness of the people.
• Praise God for public miracles and other works He is doing in Tokyo.
• Pray for short-term missionaries to come and evangelize the young people.
• Pray for greater networking among churches and mission organizations.
• Pray for the upper classes of Japan to be receptive to the gospel. Pray for Christian businessmen from other countries to share their faith with Japan’s affluent.
• Pray about the secular aspects of the culture: 70 percent claim no religion but many still follow ancestor-venerating Buddhism and polytheistic Shintoism. Most Japanese are secular. Some of Japan’s leaders call the nation a “superpower without a moral compass.” Pray they see Christ as their true moral center.
• Over 30,000 suicides are committed per year in Japan. Pray for those facing depression.
• Teenage prostitution and bullying is a problem amongst the youth. Pray that Christians would be agents of healing to those who are hurting.
• The world’s lowest birth rate and highest life expectancy has produced a large senior citizen population. Pray that God would move amongst the senior citizens.
• Pray against the idolatry in temples and ancestor worship in homes that blinds the minds of even the very secular “non-religious” Japanese.
• Strong pressure to conform causes converts to Christ to compromise or fall away. Half of those who get baptized leave their churches within two or three years. Pray for believers to be strong.
• Pray against the strong materialistic mindset. Only 10 percent believe in the existence of a personal God.
• Sokka Gakkai has grown to 10 million affliates. Many new religions start each year based on the occult, worship of extraterrestrial aliens etc. Pray against a stronghold of delusion.
• The church in Japan is fragmented but the recent tsunami and earthquake resulted in better unity amongst the churches as they worked together to bring relief. Pray that it continues to unite and become a powerful witness.
• Pray for the ministry of YWAM Tokyo (ywamtokyo.org). Among other ministries, they have a seminar called “A Million Lights” in which they train Japanese believers how to share their faith clearly with their family and friends.

Beautiful Tokyo; Beautiful People
Photo credit: YWAM Tokyo

Take Action

• Contact YWAM Tokyo to learn about opportunities for yourself or your location: http://ywamtokyo.org/
• Share the love of God with the Japanese people. Check out this website kairosprojectjapan.netto see more testimonies and find out how to get involved!
• Read the new YWAM Tokyo blog post: http://ywamtokyo.org/october-update/
• Learn more about ministering in megacities. Ask God if this is what He has for you. For more information on Tokyo and YWAM’s Cities Ministries: https://www.ywamcity.org/.
• Research the state of missions in Japan and ask God how he would want you to respond: https://omf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/missions-japan-infographic-TEAM.png
• Reach out to a missionary that you know in Tokyo or Japan. Let them share some of their challenges and the visions that God has given them. Make a commitment to pray for and/or support them.
• More detail regarding Japan and how to pray can be found in the book Operation World (https://www.ywampublishing.com/p-382-operation-worldbrthe-definitive-prayer-guide-to-every-nation.aspx). Consider praying regularly for Tokyo and/or Japan. Operation World suggests praying for Japan July 25 – 27 each year. Obtain a copy of Operation World if you do not have one and pray regularly for the nations according to their calendar.
• The Invitation is considering prayer topics for 2020. Please let us know topics that are on your heart by emailing prayer@ywam.org.

Tokyo Wallpapers
Photo credit: wonderfulengineering.com

• If you are interested in prayer and communication, you can be part of The Invitation. Contact us at prayer@ywam.org. We need an administrator/coordinator; photographers/videographers; and researchers.
• Share on facebook.com/youthwithamission, post a picture and add a comment about how you prayed.
• Go to twitter.com; search for #praywithywam and tweet about your prayer time/post a picture. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• Send an email to prayer@ywam.org letting us know how you prayed and what God revealed to you.

How We Prayed

 October 2019 – Children At Risk

• The YWAM Facebook post for The Invitation was shared 119 times. Many indicated they were joining in prayer. One person encouraged people to support and pray for YWAM.

Future Topics:

• December 12: Yemen

Series: Spiritual Principles from YWAM’s Early Days

• January 9: Lordship of Christ (Darlene Cunningham)
• February 13: Holy Living (Lynn Green)
• March 12: Fear of God (Maureen Menard)
• April 9: Seeking God (Loren Cunningham)

Mount Fuji
Photo credit: YWAM Tokyo

Don’t Miss The Invitation:

• Sign up for prayer updates. Go to ywam.org, find the “Stay Connected” box on the home page, put in your email address and click “Sign Up.”
• Download prayer updates in a specific language. Go to ywam.org/theinvitation. (Currently available in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Korean or request other languages.)
• Join the conversation about how God is leading in these prayer times. Comment on the Facebook page on the second Thursday at facebook.com/youthwithamission or on Twitter @ywam, hashtag #praywithywam. You can also post a photo on Instagram and use the same hashtag, #praywithywam.
• You can now listen to The Invitation as a podcast. To sign up or listen to past episodes, go to: ywampodcast.net/prayer.
• If you sense God giving you a word or a direction for YWAM’s prayer, please contact us: prayer@ywam.org.

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On December 11, 2019, the National Center for Mobility Management and the Federal Transit Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, are providing a free webinar on transportation and mobility services for youth with autism transitioning out of high school.

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Haitian Riots, Bahamas Rebuilding and more

Riots in Haiti, more rebuilding in the Bahamas with the M/V Pacific Hope,
YWAM Trentino is in need of a new ministry locations, we talk about some of the challenges that we’ve found while reaching out to indigenous Aboriginal Australians, YWAM Milano runs a community centre in Italy distributing books and teaching young men to cook, YWAM Teams help to restore sign in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea, YWAM Athi River hosted a medical missions team in Kenya, and more on the 120th episode of the YWAM News Show …

On the YWAM News Show we work to bring you stories and opportunities from around the world and around the mission to share with you about some of what God is doing, and how you can be involved.

In this episode of the Youth With A Mission News Show we bring you many stories form around the mission. Have listen to the full podcast:

Listen here

The stories that we talk about on this episode include:

• Updates on the riots in Haiti
• M/V Pacific Hope moves to Grand Kay in the Bahamas
• YWAM Trentino needs a new ministry location in Italy
• We hear about some of the challenges faced when reaching out to Indigenous Aboriginal Australians
• YWAM Milano operates a community centre in Italy
• YWAM Team helps to restore sight in PNG
• YWAM Athi River bring medical missions to Machakos and Nyeri counties
• YWAM Cebu in the Philippines will be running the Children at Risk School
• YWAM Dunham in Canada will be running the Acting School and Film School
• University of the Nations Bali in Indonesia will be running a Community Development School
• YWAM Chico in the USA is running a School of Intercessory Prayer

You can listen to all these stories, read more about them, and find links to all the details, on the YWAM News Show Web-site.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded more than four million dollars in FY 2019 to support seven research projects aimed at developing and validating screening tools to detect signs of autism spectrum disorder in the first year of life.

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On December 3, 2019, Dr. Roland R. Griffiths will present “Psilocybin: History, Neuropharmacology, and Implications for Therapeutics,” as part of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Director’s Innovation Speaker Series.

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