Standing On Your Tip Toes

If you have spent any time around Loren Cunningham the co-founder of YWAM, you will have heard him talk about vision and leadership. He says “that in leadership we often get thrown into the deep end of the pool standing on our tip toes with the water just below our nose and its in that position we usually learn how to thrive”. 

Phillip and I have found ourselves exactly in that place.
At the start of the year we prayed into 2019, and there was such a sense of the significance of this year but also that it would be a lot hard work, and so far this has been very true. 
I started the year in Kona with continuing to bring oversight and vision to the Crossroads DTS ( a DTS for this 30 and over). Just as we had hoped and believed for, the Lord is bringing those that are called to use their life experience, maturity, education and skill’s as well as having a heart for young people into the mission long term. We need more! Phillip has continued to bring leadership to campus development and the Construction Trade schools. I am continuing to be apart of campus leadership, running schools and doing all the other things I do and Phillip is carrying a lot of responsibility that has had some real challenges. It has been a very stretching year to say the least, but of course the Lord is faithful to us. 

Now let’s get to some of the most exciting stuff. There are quite a few amazing things we could tell you about but I will share two of our favorites.The SEND was probably one of the most powerful days I have ever experienced. Phillip and I went to Orlando a week early to help bring leadership to a YWAM young leaders gathering with Darlene Cunningham. Feb 23rd was the day of the SEND, and sat back stage from the beginning to end. 

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I felt like the greatest impact for me was being apart of the story and knowing the history leading up to this day knowing the price that was paid and the obedience it took for some of my closest friends to lay down their lives to see something like this happen. And something did HAPPEN! This was not just an event or conference but I truly believe it was a day that partnered with heaven and shifted the future as masses gathered for a new era of missions and evangelism and and tens of thousands of people gave their “yes’ to adopt the mission fields of the earth, from universities to neighborhoods to the nations.

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On that day of the Send over 40K people came to the stadium, and just under 60K watching on livestream. There where over 17K registered churches and over 100K unique IP addresses viewing it. Hundreds of Thousands of views on facebook. The day of the Send 18196 people committed to fasting, 531 gave their lives to Jesus! 2197 committed to College campuses, 2467 committed to High schools, 5064 committed to reach out to their friends, and 5423 committed to Go to the Nations!. ​

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There where many who committed to adopt children and have now already started the process to do so. There where many reports of people who where physically healed. At one point Todd White called out that those who had cut themselves doing self harm that God was going to make their scars disappear, and people wrote in telling us that in that moment that is exactly what happened. The testimony’s and fruit continue to come in.

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For Phillip and I and some of our closest friends, we had a very special miracle happen! Brian & Christy Brennt are dear friends that we have been running with for many years. They have been instrumental in a lot of the movements we are apart of. Christy has been a major prophetic voice into many movements and peoples lives. I don’t have adequate words to convey who they really are right now. Christy has had been very sick for over 30 years with Neurological Lyme’s Disease. She has been mostly confined to her bed for the last 10 years and all of the time I have known her. Many have prayed for her and we believed that there would be day that she would be healed. There where nights we thought we might loose her but her family had a promise from God. Christy was weak but took IV’s so she was able to sit back stage during the Send using all the strength she sound find to be there and was fading as the day went on. In the final few moments of the SEND, Phillip asked Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in Redding if he would pray for her.

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With some of her family and friends gathered around back stage we laid hands on her and Bill begin to pray. You could feel it was a Holy moment and THEN CHRISTY WAS HEALED!!!! She said it felt like the pain and disease drained out of her body and in that moment she was completely healed! Its been months now and she is still healed! Her 4 kids who 3 are grown have never known their mom healed. Friends, Jesus is alive!!!! ​

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I have to tell you about one more amazing story. Phillip along with our Campus Director Paul and Loren’s son David went to Nigeria, Africa. We have a YWAM base there led by an amazing Nigerian man, who for many years has been working with young men who where child soldiers and now militants. Many of these young men have murdered hundreds in the most horrific way and have given themselves over to the occult they possessed supernatural demonic power. When they come into contact with the love and power of Jesus they laid down their arms, and come out darkness into the saving transforming power of Jesus and then did a YWAM DTS. In our mission’s history this has been one of the most radical transformations of a people we have ever seen. David is a film maker and is working on a movie that will include the stories of some of these men. Philip went there on a discovery mission to meet with the leaders about planting a future construction trade school on the base. Part of these men’s transformation into wholeness is through training them in practical skills which gives them the dignity and ability to contribute in seeing their nation reformed. This is one of the most challenging regions in the world due to the complexity’s and turmoil of Nigeria so we are praying for wisdom and provision for timing and open doors. Let’s just say as a wife, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and thankfulness once he was out of the country, but of course the first thing he talks about is how soon he can go back.

We are continually traveling, ministering and speaking all over. There are so many amazing stories of what God is doing right now. We are always humbled and amazed
​we get to be apart of it. 
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I know that often in our update letters we communicate how people who feel led can be apart of supporting us financially. If you're still reading this, I would like to share vulnerably with you to communicate our current and urgent need for a breakthrough in our finances. We are currently at the lowest financial place that we have been since we where married. This year we have gone on several ministry trips that we had to personally fund ourselves and it took all the savings we had to go to Nigeria, The Send, and Maylasia. On top of that we need $2500 more a month of support to cover the bills that we have to pay every month. We need about $4100 more a month to reach our our goal. We are believing the Lord for some big things for our future as we know this is the call on our lives as career missionaries and the thing we will be forever giving our lives to, there is no plan B. We have committed to go to Egypt in a few weeks with Darlene Cunningham and some other YWAM leaders, but we need $6000 by this next week to be able to purchase our tickets. We are not in fear, as we feel like our marriage and our lives are more aligned with God than they have ever been and we are in the will of God. As we have prayed and we felt like we where to make our need known and trust that the Lord will move on hearts and speak to those who are meant to be apart of our support team. We want to invite people who love and believe in us to join us in prayer for this breakthrough. With the many responsibilities we both carry and the challenges that come with some of those, we just believe that finances is not meant to be one of them. 

If you do want to give towards this, first of all Thank you! Here is how you can: 
The best way is through our website Forward Mission, where you can sign up as a monthly supporter or give a one time donation, and all giving is tax deductible. If you don't need or want a tax deduction then you give via PayPal or cash app $amylward 

If you prefer to give through our YWAM account you can do that as well. 
Thank you for all your love and support. 
Amy & Phillip Ward
www.forwardmission.org

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