Newsletter - March 2023

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Dear Friends,

Special greetings from Basel, Switzerland & Freiburg, Germany!

I wish you are doing very well and may God's grace and favor be with you, your family and your community always.

It is truly a gift from God to be back in Europe!

It has been a miracle to be able to return, and I feel very privileged to be again in these beautiful lands that God loves so much.

As Latin Americans, we receive the Gospel from Europe and it is an honor to be able to come and be part of God's redemptive plans for this beautiful continent that gathers people from all nations.

Arrival

YWAM Freiburg

On December 30th I arrived in Basel and then traveled to Freiburg, Germany and YWAM Freiburg gave me a warm welcome in their community.

It has been very special to see God's work in this place, to make new friends, to meet new ministries in the city and little by little to be part of the German society.

During my first days in Freiburg I went to the Mayor's office to register in the city,

I opened a German savings account to receive my financial support, and I sent my papers to the Immigration office to apply for my work permit to stay as a missionary through Go Global in Germany.

In those days I had the special visit of my dear friends Rebekka & David & their daughters, and I was also able to visit the YWAM Bucaramanga team at the central station in Freiburg on their way back to Colombia.

Arrival

YWAM Basel

On the January 7th I was finally able to arrive at our YWAM Basel base in Riehen.

It was a great joy to see Markus & Diana and Jacqueline again at the base and to hear reports of the things God has done through the mission teams, and the teamwork with ministries and churches in the city. What a blessing!

Special Meetings

January - Basel

During my first two weeks in Basel, I had the opportunity to attend some special meetings in the city such as the worship service of the Evangelical Alliance of Basel that takes place once a year in the Münster Cathedral, the inauguration of the Evangelical Alliance week of prayer, the first meeting of the pastors of the Evangelical Alliance of Basel, and the evangelistic outing organized by the Basel Youth Alliance. I was also able to visit friends and leaders of the Alban Arbeit church and the Crossroads church, churches that are a great support for the YWAM Basel ministry.

During the different meetings and visits, it was a great joy to see again friends from the city and to feel very welcome by them. I missed them all very much!

Conveners

YWAM Swiss-German

On January 30, we, the conveners of the Swiss German Region, met at the YWAM Basel to pray and plan different initiatives and activities for our region. It was a great honor for me to see them again in person. They are great friends who inspire me a lot with their life and leadership.

Ministry

February - Basel

On February 7th we celebrated our first Open Meeting at YWAM Basel with friends from the city. This was a special time to pray together, worship God, give them a report on the ministry of the year 2022 and share with them our future plans.

Our desire for this year is to be able to strengthen our relationships and team up more intentionally with other YWAM Switzerland partner bases, with the local church in Basel and with Christian and social work ministries in the city and on the German border through initiatives, the Bible distribution project and the coordination of mission teams.

The ministry focuses of YWAM Basel are:

Convocation & Teamwork - Discipleship - Evangelism.

In these focuses we want to continue to advance as a ministry and now we want to serve also in Germany through the new doors that God is opening for us.

New Relationships

February - Freiburg

This time in Freiburg has been very key and special to make new relationships, meet new ministries and continue learning from other YWAM bases that are doing an incredible work for the Kingdom of God such as YWAM Freiburg.

During these two months I have been able to be part of some worship and intercession meetings of YWAM Freiburg. I have also been able to visit the House of Prayer on two occasions and in one of them I had the privilege of leading a time of worship.

I am also attending Calvary Chapel church on a regular basis, where I hope to continue to meet new people, and look for opportunities to serve the community.

On the other hand, I have also been working on forming a network of contacts from different ministries in different cities in Germany with the purpose of looking for opportunities to serve the local church and ministries through outreach teams that can support them through evangelism and discipleship.

I am planning to stay in Freiburg until the end of August while waiting for my residence permit to arrive. Thank God I was already able to find a place to live in Lörrach Haagen from September this year.

New Challenges

Driver's License

I am now in the process of changing my driver's license from Colombia to Germany. This is a process that will take several months and will have a high financial cost but I trust in God's provision for this. One of the requirements was to take the first aid course. This was a very interesting experience and very practical for life.

Oikos Church

Membership

During my first 4 years pioneering YWAM Basel, together with a team of YWAM Cartagena, I was visiting many churches and ministries in the city with the purpose of connecting the ministry of YWAM Basel with the local church and it has been beautiful to get to know so many special people and now I have many friends from different churches in the city which I consider the best gift of God for my life.

I have a special love for the local church and my desire is to keep visiting different churches and ministries in Basel, Switzerland and Europe but I have also felt the need to belong to a local church where I can meet regularly, at least once a month, where I can receive spiritual nourishment and where I can feel at home.

That is why I decided to become a member of Oikos Church. I have a special affection for their pastors Larwin & Silvia Nickelson and their leadership team and I hope to get to know them better and serve God together.

Preaching

Thomas Church

On Sunday, February 26th was my first preaching in German at the youth service of Thomas Church. I shared the theme of "How to listen to the Voice of God" as I consider this a key topic for our walk with God and our calling in the nations.

I enjoyed very much this nice invitation and I hope to repeat this experience soon.

Next Steps

YWAM Basel

As a ministry we want to run our first Discipleship Bible School from July to September, 2023.

We would like to resume the Bible distribution campaigns in Riehen and start them in Basel from July this year. For this we would like to train small teams from different local churches so that they can visit homes in their neighborhoods, offer them a Bible in their mother tongue, and connect those interested with their churches.

On March 10th we will be receiving a visit from Diana Gordillo, a missionary from YWAM Cartagena, who for several years has served as a missionary in India. She is planning to support the ministry until the 2nd of June and will possibly return to Switzerland for three more months in September.

From May 8th to June 12th we will be hosting an outreach team from the YWAM Cartagena Training School.

What a privilege from God it is to be able

to know you and count on your friendship!

I wish that today and always you walk in God's will

for your life and that His thoughts of peace

and love for you will surprise you and take you

beyond what you can imagine.

With love,

Luz Leidy