Team Thailand 2024

Mandala!

Kay Charlotte Led a Team of 10 Short-Term Workers from Fridley Minnesota to Chiang Mai and Fang, Thailand

There was lots of laughter, a few tears, and many hugs to love-starved kids. There wasn’t quite enough delicious Thai spicy Kho Soi noodle soup — can’t ever get enough of that! There was sticky rice with mangos and coconut cream sauce. There were temple tours and prayer walks, and lots of worship songs sung. There were even shouts of, “Pants on fire!” We witnessed a brave baptism and saw oozing buckets of squid in a smelly marketplace. But in 2 short weeks, our group of golden year travelers had the time of our lives on the best mission trip ever.

Serving Ministries that Are Fighting the Giants

Abba House in Chiang Mai and Mighty Oaks in Fang, are ministries for young people who’ve either been rescued from the sex trade industry or at risk of falling through the cracks and could be targeted for that industry. Both locations are well organized and faithful to serve their communities. We went to give our time and talents through work projects, teaching English classes, visiting and encouraging the missionaries at these locations but mostly, we spent time laughing and playing with the kids. It was a wonderful experience and well worth the two days of travel to get there. These ministries are fighting trafficking and are giving identity to some worthy kids. Our in country hosts Mark Custance and David & Gan Griffith were fabulous and took great care of the team.

Kay Charlotte, Monk Magnet

In all my travels ever, the Buddhist monks have ignored me. But this time, I spoke to five monks in just one day. I’m convinced the reason for me being what my team called a “monk magnet” began the night before, during our team prayer and worship time. I publicly repented for my arrogant Christian attitude because the Buddhists didn’t know Jesus, but I did. That might seem odd because I have a deep adoration for all the peoples of the world. Yet, for some reason I saw these non-believers as lacking, instead of me seeing the humility, beauty and devotion their beliefs require. I felt deep conviction when the first monk shared how, out of obedience, he’d left his family when he was only ten years old to live in the temple to learn more about his god. I felt a voice speak softly asking me, “When did you leave your family to live in solitude in sparse conditions and study the Bible 20 hours a day?” I of course was silenced. I don’t have that kind of discipline and drive for 20 hours a day of self-sacrificing obedience. I sat and listened to my translator and Holy Spirit, challenging my faith and dedication with each spiritual practice Prajak described, I paled in comparison. Humbled is an understatement. I was floored. When Prajak, invited me and my translator onto his front porch, he positioned a rickety old chair on his nicely tiled stoop which was freshly mopped. I waited for him to speak first. As you know, this is very unlike me, but I was so humbled I was speechless. He asked me why I was there and what I believed. And he asked me what I thought about what he believed. I said I admired his dedication and courage to live the life he lives. It was a perfect set up to share about Jesus. So, I did. At the end, he allowed me to pray for him and agreed to read the Bible left for him. This was the highlight of my trip.

Throughout the day, other monks approached me to ask for photos of them with the Buddha and they wanted to practice their English. I considered it an honor to be approached. I won’t forget the much needed heart adjustment, new perspective and good ole fashioned schooling I walked away from the repentance, which led to a monk memory of a lifetime.

Thank You for Sending Us

I can’t thank you enough for sending me to the ends of the earth to share the love of God to those who don’t know Him yet. It was a privilege to lead a faithful group of people on an adventure, stretching our capabilities and surpassing our expectations. I love that the team got a chance to experience another culture, see sights, tastes, sounds and sweet aromas of Thailand. I don’t have enough words to express my gratitude for those who believe in the mission our family is called to and who’ve faithfully been a part of our financial sending team for years. I can only say, I’m grateful beyond words to go and serve on your behalf. When we go, you go with us; we are partners in ministry.

Would You Like to Join Us?

Many have expressed a desire to partner with us to be part of what God uses us to do both locally and globally. We would love to have you join our sending team and be a vital part to send us as we teach, train and serve on the mission field around the world. Please click the “Join Us” link.

Hope Zone in 2023

Hope Zone is our ministry in the Zona Norte region of Tijuana. It’s maybe the most challenging neighborhood in TJ. Prostitution and addiction are powerful forces here, and yet, our staff have created a ministry for the children and families that live in the community.

Our neighbors at a Hope Zone event

Bibles Distributed 2023

More than 800 Bibles were distributed in Zona North in 2023

Halloween Event

More than 475 people came through our doors and 32 accepted Jesus that night

Beds & Bookshelves

340 beds and 340 bookshelves were made in our carpentry shop and blessed Homes of Hope families.

12 Months of Operating Costs for 2024

$48,374 of our $56,000 goal was raised for 12 months of operational costs for year 2024

2023 was a year of witnessing fruit beginning to blossom. As we look back at all that God did, our hearts are in awe of the God that we serve. He was faithful with our ‘yes’ and did a deep work in the hearts of many in our community. We believe God is showing us that 2024 is the year of the harvest. A year where we will see the product of our labor. A year where the seeds that were planted will take deep root, develop properly and blossom into harvestable fruit. We are sitting front row, waiting with great anticipation for all that God will bring forth this upcoming year.

If you’d like to help fund Hope Zone’s ministry, just click the Donate button below. That link will take you to YWAM San Diego/Baja’s site to the Hope Zone donation page.

McAnnual Reports through the Years

As I wrote up our 2023 McAnnual Report, I came across some older ones that I thought were interesting. While I have done these at the end of the year, I’ve never truly done them annually, haha! (Maybe I shouldn’t call them McAnnual Reports… but McEnd-of-the-Year Report doesn’t sound as good…)

Anyway here’s a gallery of our reports dating back to 2012. Just tap or click the image to view the report.

You’ll note that the report from 2013 is about YWAM San Diego/Baja and not just the McClurgs. You might want to look at that one, and then look at a similar report about our ministry’s activity in 2023:

Finally, I’ve added links to these reports at the bottom of any page of the site. It looks like this:

Quick access to any of our end of year reports… Enjoy!

YWAM Kyiv DTS Designs

My friend Yulia from YWAM Kyiv asked me to design a tee shirt for their upcoming Discipleship Training School. What was supposed to be a tee shirt turned into something else entirely… 

The theme for YWAM Kyiv’s first DTS since the war has started is Waves of Hope. So I started with this:

Waves of Hope Tee Concepts… Hmmm… something doesn’t feel right

I didn’t hate the tee shirts, but I didn’t want to send them to Yulia. Something didn’t feel right. After staring at them for a few days, I realized that these look way more like California than Kyiv. Research was required… 

Research

I made a mood board… I collected images in my own lo-tech version of Pinterest. I started with the Ukrainian flag. Then I looked at the money. From there I went through photos of Ukrainian symbols and of Kyiv. Later, I grabbed whatever captured me or seemed like an interesting design direction.

Icons

As I was looking at as many things as possible, the scope of the job shifted for me. I didn’t want to make only a tee shirt. I wanted to create something more. I started playing with the idea of logos… I began to think of colors and type styles, and photography. One of my mood board images stood out to me and I designed a poster with a bunch of icons:

The beginning of an icon based system for YWAM Kyiv’s DTS

Posters

These icons could be combined with photos to create posters for social and physical print media

I shared the concept with Yulia and she loved it. She fixed the google-translated text, and gave great advice to refine the ideas. I’m hopeful YWAM Kyiv will begin to roll this out on social media soon and that they’ll be able to recruit many students for their DTS that begins in March.

Jesus and Justice

I serve regularly at the YWAM center in San Francisco. My friend Ruthie started a wonderful ministry there called, Because Justice Matters. This is the origin story of BJM.

Bright Stories: 15 Years of Because Justice Matters

Lush green countryside. Arched brick bridge over a babbling brook. Cobblestone streets through a tiny village. The distant sounds of mooing. A modest family home filled with love, two parents, a boy, and a girl, named Ruthie.

Little did she know her life’s call would take her far from her British home.

While on a school trip to Paris at age 13, God started to tug at her heart. Overlooking the city of lights, something welled up inside of her and she started to cry. All at once she was overwhelmed with God’s love for cities. He believed in cities. And he was for them.

This powerful moment compelled Ruthie to join YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and move to San Francisco five years later when she was 18.

It was everything her village was not. Busy. Loud. Chaotic, even.

But it was also beautiful.

And Ruthie fell in love with San Francisco and the people of the Tenderloin. It was her home for the next eight years.

Two significant moments marked Ruthie’s first year in the Tenderloin. And it would shape the way she did ministry forever.

“Two significant moments marked Ruthie’s first year in the Tenderloin. And it would shape the way she did ministry forever. ”

On her very first day in the Tenderloin, Ruthie encountered a woman working in sex work. Perhaps it was her long red hair that first caught her attention. She was beautiful. She made her way down the sidewalk, approaching men and ever so slightly pulling up her skirt.

In this moment, Ruthie knew that no matter what her past had been or what issue had led her to be alone on the street, that Jesus cared about this woman more than she could describe. She was precious and valuable to Him.

And Ruthie was angry that she was on the street.

But it went further than that. She remembered a message from when she was sixteen. Matthew 25: “When you fed someone hungry, you did that for me.”

This wasn’t a woman caught in expoloitation… 

This was Jesus.

And from every moment on she would get to minister to Jesus. Every day.

Then, her brother, her only sibling, died suddenly. She didn’t get to say goobye. It was her first significant loss and it was gut wrenching. After such a deep and painful trauma and a season of grief, Ruthie wondered if she would ever find her feet again. It was disorienting and disheartening to say the least.

God used these moments to open Ruthies eyes to her neighbors in the Tenderloin. To see Jesus in her neighbors. Neighbors, who like her, had experienced tragedy, trauma, and grief. But unlike her, these neighbors experience a type of poverty not often considered. A poverty of community, connection, and authentic relationships. Ruthie saw how friendship was a powerful way to transform communities.

“God used these moments to open Ruthies eyes to her neighbors in the Tenderloin. To see Jesus in her neighbors. Neighbors, who like her, had experienced tragedy, trauma, and grief. But unlike her, these neighbors experience a type of poverty not often considered. A poverty of community, connection, and authentic relationships. Ruthie saw how friendship was a powerful way to transform communities. ”
— Ruthie

The needs of women, particularly those who were abused or exploited became a common thread for Ruthie, whether she was on the streets of the Tenderolin or leading outreaches in Bangkok.

Fast forward several years and Ruthie needed to take a break because she was experiencing a season of burnout. But instead of pulling back completely, she volunteered at La Casa de las Madres and completed a Faith and Domestic Violence training course. A lot of concern was raised that the faith community was not responding to women in need.

Ruthie came home to her husband and said, “We have to do something.”

That something began with designing sweatshirts to sell to the various youth group teams coming to serve in San Francisco and raise money for the La Casa de las Madres shelter.

But what to put on the back of the sweatshirt?

It came to her one night in bed.

Because Justice Matters

That summer she sold hundreds of sweatshirts and raised thousands of dollars for women experiencing domestic violence.

But that wasn’t all.

Youth, who were buying the sweatshirts, started to disclose their own encounters with abuse and violence.

Ruthie discovered that youth pastors were ill equipped to address these needs, so she started training them. This developed into a local pastors’ training conference called Speak Freely where leaders were trained and resourced to support women and families experiencing violence.

It felt like something new was starting.

Ruthie remembers that moment.

“I don’t really know what this is. But I know it’s Jesus. And I know it’s justice.”

““I don’t really know what this is. But I know it’s Jesus. And I know it’s justice.” ”

And the rest is history.

A beautiful history of brighter futures for women, girls, and families in San Francisco

I love that we are connected to this story. The teenagers who bought those sweatshirts were on Mission Adventures outreaches in the city. I love that “our kids” gave so generously to La Casa de las Madres, and that this led to the foundation of BJM. This story is © 2023 BJM and was originally published in, Bright Stories: 15 Years of Because Justice Matters. This small booklet has 15 stories of transformation in the Tenderloin and is available from BJM for a $15 donation.

YWAM San Diego/Baja's 2023 Numbers

2023 Has Been A Big Year for YWAM San Diego/Baja

So many guests, so many Homes of Hope, so many students, and of course, a whole lotta Mission Adventures!

7500 Guests Engaged 52000

We hosted over 7500 guests at our campuses in San Diego, Tijuana, and Ensenada in 2023. And each week, more than 1000 people were ministered to in our community initiatives.

Homes of Hope Houses

Number of homes built in Baja Mexico compared to number of homes built in other nations

YWAM San Diego/Baja’s Homes of Hope ministry had a banner year. Nearly 500 total homes were built in 15 nations — and quite a number of homes were built in Ukraine to help those who have lost their homes in the war. Every home is given to a family in need and built by volunteers. All together this represents millions of dollars in generosity shown to those who need it most.

University of the Nations

183 students attended our schools. They put into practice what they learned in 11 different nations.

The University of the Nations is YWAM's global university, and we offer coursework at both our Tijuana and Ensenada campuses. The foundational course is called Discipleship Training School and is the gateway to further study and/or joining YWAM staff. Each school includes an 8-12 week practical application where students put into practice on the field. In 2023, YWAM SDB students traveled to 11 different nations.

Percent of YWAM SDB Staff Who Have Attended a Secondary School

40% of our staff have furthered their education by taking a secondary school in the University of the Nations

We’re very proud that so many of the staff in San Diego, Tijuana, and Ensenada have furthered their education by taking more U of N courses. Many of our staff have even received Masters degrees.

Mission Adventures

980 teenagers participated in our Mission Adventures ministries in Tijuana and Ensenada in 2023.

Mission Adventures is going strong. Hundreds of teenagers from dozens of churches have participated in our ministries this year. Our theme was, Taste and See (from Ps. 34), and it was a big hit with the students.

Kay Charlotte and I are grateful to be serving on staff here. We love what God is doing among us, and we are looking forward to another big year in 2024.

Connecting, Eating, and Drinking

A Fellowship Dinner at HopeHaven

This Week, I Gave a Talk for the Eastlake Young Adults here at HopeHaven.

Let’s Define Fellowship

The Bible puts a lot of emphasis on fellowship. This is more than hanging out, there’s real connection going on here. There’s a Greek word, koinónia, that we translate into fellowship. It means:

  • a) partnership, help, participation

  • b) sharing in, communion

  • c) spiritual fellowship

This kind of connection is more than being acquaintances or being familiar. This is about being known. This is about a measure of intimacy with one another that includes our inner spiritual person. The goes beyond minds meeting, to our emotions being recognized and honored, to our spirits being one, and even a participation in our will. Yes, we are all individuals, even married couples are two individuals, but there is a one-ness that is created in koinónia that somehow reflects the Trinity.

Rate Yourself: How Connected Are You? 1 2 3 4 5

From One, Many; From Many, One

This is the gospel in microcosm. From one, came many. And now, as many, the goal is to become one. From God came Adam, and God saw that this was incomplete. And so God caused Eve to come from Adam. Now we have a “many”. And this many was given to each other so that they would form a “one” in marital love. Of course, not long after, sin entered and broke this oneness between Adam and Eve, and also between humanity and God. And in a mysterious way, God intends today’s many to become one, and that this one Bride would join with God’s Bridegroom and one-ness will be complete. All our relationships, all our connections reflect this dynamic of many and one. There’s something mysterious and lovely at work here.

And this is what we are doing tonight. There’s something meaningful about gathering around a table and eating and drinking together. This is a sharing of the stuff of life. Each of us has contributed something. Many of us brought the meal. All of us bring our presence to this gathering. And together we celebrate life and food. We celebrate the goodness of God. Around this table we become more one. Over this meal our unity expresses something about who God is and what he is about. Let’s not underestimate eating together. This too is mysterious and meaningful.

Rate the Quality of Your Relationships 1 2 3 4 5

To Follow Jesus Is to Live in Community

Currently we are experiencing a kind of tribalism. People have banded together based on mutual hate, and what they are against. Our Jesus community is absolutely different. It is based on mutual love, it’s shaped by what we are for, and a celebration of our individuality and our unity.

I used to be a “one friend” kind of person. I had a best friend and I leaned into that. There were other friends, but my focus was on that one. This was hard for both of us. Jesus is a “many friends” kind of person. He called a dozen disciples, yet there were many more. He actively trained 72, and there was “the five hundred”, which in my mind isn’t probably literal, but more along the lines of “the many others who were part of the community”, and was likely often more than five hundred people. I’m not talking about being introverted or extroverted. I’m talking about a brokenness I had in not being willing to risk to create many healthy relationships.

Community was the classroom, Jesus was the teacher, sacrificial service was the curriculum. The graduates were transformed. They were a whole people, a new kind of humanity that was both diverse and unified.

More Questions to Consider

  • What role does chemistry play in community? Is chemistry enough to create and maintain community?

  • How big of a role does technology play in community? 1 to 5 it… How far can technology take us?

  • Describe community

  • What will it take to create community like this?

There Are Obstacles

It is scary to create a true community. Most of us dabble in community. Most settle for a pseudo-community. We go to church. We come to group. Yet we hold back the core of who we are. We allow the surface to be known. And we can tend to think that we’re getting somewhere if we allow people to see that we aren’t quite perfect. But most of us don’t allow ourselves to be known. Our subconsciousness is repeating, “If they only knew _______ , then they would reject me.” Over and over we tell ourselves, “I am not _______ enough. Therefore, I’m not worthy of love and belonging.” Community promises intimacy, but it requires vulnerability. Many are unwilling to pay this price.

  • Individualism: We often hold out, just in case something better comes along. However, true community requires commitment. To live under the authority of Jesus’ teaching and his way of life, is to live in community. To live in community is to be committed to be present and to participate.

  • Autonomy: We give up doing whatever we want when we lovingly yield our lives to Jesus. In the same way, we allow ourselves to be identified as belonging to the community of believers.

  • Idealism: Sometimes we like the idea of community better than the gritty reality that is community. We can demand that the community be perfect before we participate. Community is often messy.

  • Fear: There is a longing to be known and somehow this is terrifying. Being known means facing those voices that say we are not enough. All of us are scared at some level. All of us fear rejection. It doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert or if you’re an extrovert, all of us are being asked to humbly expose who we really are.

  • Hurt: Many of us have been hurt by our circle before. It may have been back in Middle School when those kids didn’t want you at their lunch table. It may have been a church circle that was less than welcoming. It will take courage to allow yourself to enter into community. It is possible to be hurt. However, let our community be a place where when this happens, we all are committed to creating healing.

With Which of These Obstacles Do You Identify Most?

There Is a Place for Confession in Community

Healthy communities have trust. It’s safe to be vulnerable. It’s safe to be imperfect. It’s understood that sin is a part of us that we are figuring out how to eliminate. Healthy communities have accountability. We help each other by being aware of one another, of seeing each other, and of accepting one another. At the same time, we help each other recognize what is out of bounds and when we are out of bounds.

We have lost the art of confession. Sharing specifically how we have fallen short is powerful, and it helps reshape us into our true selves. Confessing in our heads has way less power. Saying it out loud with your people can be transformative. We are going to end our meal with communion. This can be our moment for being real with one another. But don’t worry, this isn’t about heaping shame on one another. We confess our sins, so that we may be healed (James 5:16).

For you, you might confess what is in the way between you and greater community. It might be about the way you spend your money. It might be how you judge others. It can be any way that you are out of bounds.

When we confess our sins, God is faithful. He forgives us and purifies us. You are absolved of your sin. You’re free from it’s power. You’re free from death and have access to full, abundant, and eternal life in Christ Jesus!

Community is Jesus’ school of love. Worship happens here. Spiritual formation happens here.

Donate

You can support us directly here. For a tax-deductible receipt, please visit the Join Us page and donate via YWAM.

Semi Regular Annual Reports