Teaching in Turner Valley
The beautiful picture you see is sunset at the Turner Valley, Canada Youth With A Mission campus. This campus was pioneered by staff from the YWAM Montana campus where we serve now. It has a focus on short term missions as well as Biblical Studies. I had the pleasure of coming up here 2 years ago to teach in their Biblical Studies program, and now I am teaching one week for the Discipleship Training School. This satellite campus is smaller than ours, and has 8 students in their DTS and 9 students in their SBS program. Their focus as a campus overseas is the Shan people group in Myanmar (Burma). As you know from reading recent news articles, Myanmar is still ruled by a brutal, military junta. Even the recent cyclone which devastated the nation and killed thousands didn't cause the fall of this government. The Burmese government has been persecuting both minority people groups and Christians, and we have recently started a Bible school inside the country. My student, Daniel, from 3 years ago, just sent me a photo album of his 12 students who recently graduated from the first year! The Shan people have asked our Turner Valley campus to help them set up their own Bible school. Daniel's school is primarily focused on the Karen people, so it would be wonderful to see another people group reached with the Bible.
As I train these students this week, I think about the fact that in a few short weeks, they will go out on their mission trip to Myanmar to the Shan people. I am teaching the foundations of Christianity, so that the students will have this firmly in their hearts, and so they can know what foundational things to teach others on outreach. It never ceases to amaze me how God weaves all these people and places together: a Bible teacher from Kentucky, who lives in Montana, going up to Canada, to train people headed for Myanmar! Did I mention that the 8 students are from 4 different nations including Switzerland, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand, and the US? Go God!