Partnering with the School of Communication Foundations

In the middle of October Martial spent some time in Rwanda. It's a little overdue, but here's his version of events:

"The first aim of the trip to YWAM Kigali was to teach for a week on their first School of Communication Foundations(SCF). The school was designed to equip students with public-speaking skills and the writing of research papers. At the end of the 12 weeks students should be able to complete a 15 page research paper on an Unreached People Group(UPG) of their choice. They need to write on three 'spheres' as they relate to that particular group of people. The first sphere is family, with the student choosing two others spheres on which to focus their research. They will also research the worldview of this UPG.

I was invited by Susi Shar, the school leader from YWAM Burtigny, Switzerland. YWAM Burtigny has long had a focus on communication teaching and more recently they have decided to develop training partnerships with YWAM bases in Africa - which is good news for us! My topic for the week was "General Research Paper Writing" and I was asked to bring a biblical perspective to the subject. To be able to teach on research, I had to do my homework, my own research paper! After some weeks of preparing, I was able to pile some information into my 'internal hard drive' by doing a thorough research project on UPGs, gathering some information to be able to better help the students. If I was to teach the students how to write a thesis and a hypothesis and to support those with the strongest argument in an essay, I would have to give them some practical hints; it took me some solid preparation time.

The teaching went well, according to the feedback I received from students and staff. The only thing I struggled with was addressing a group mix genders and constantly referring to them as 'guys' which offended some the girls! Don't forget, I learned English all over the world ... I guess I picked up 'guys' from my American friends :-)"

We are hoping to continue to develop more training partnerships with YWAM centers like the one in Burtigny, Switzerland. In this way we hope to develop more communicators to help us serve YWAM's work across Africa.

Guest Blog - Debra Buenting from YWAM's International Communication Network

Miranda and I have been in meetings this week as part of an ad-hock YWAM Global Communication Team. We are working to advise and lead YWAM in issues surrounding communication in our mission. Miranda invited me to submit a guest post to her blog, so I welcome the opportunity to briefly consider communication with you.

The word communication comes from the Latin word, "communis." By looking at other words that come from the root, we get an insight into what communication really is. Common, communion, communicable, commitment, committee, community.

Communication is the primary means we have for connecting with others, for creating and maintaining relationships. We have at our disposal complex forms of language (which includes both spoken and written), as well as the language of gestures, facial and other physical expressions, non-verbal vocal sounds, and as our choices in clothes, cars, art, furnishings and many other things that reflect our unique personalities and communicate who we are.

In the beginning God spoke the world into existence. Just as God communicated and the world came into being, so we create realities when we communicate. As communication scholar Quentin Schultze (2000) wrote in his brilliant book, Communicating For Life: Christian Stewardship in Community and Media, “When we communicate, we create, maintain, and even change shared ways of life…Every time we communicate we creatively exercise God’s gifts by contributing good or bad practices of culture.”

It is helpful to view communication as THE tool for building relationships. The Bible is a record of God relating with individuals and societies and them relating with Him. It is often called God’s love letter because it is a primary tool we have for learning what He is like and how He relates to us.

We know that Jesus was a great communicator. He was unimpressed with the power structures of His day by those who used communication to dominate and conquer. Jesus demonstrated alternative a lifestyle as He loved those that society considered unlovely. He touched. He spoke words of forgiveness and healing. He encouraged. He gave up power to model servanthood. And instead of writing systematic volumes of theology or trying to implement His ideas through religious or political power structures, He told parables. Parables are nothing more than compelling stories that rely on indirect communication to share ideas and facilitate redemption.

Jesus used the technologies available to him during His time on earth. Remember when we took the boat a little way out so He could address the crowd? He was using the water as His megaphone to amplify His voice.

Jesus healed people’s bodies and spirits. When He healed the deaf and dumb, He was also healing their ability to communicate in a culture that made it difficult for people with physical challenges.

God created you to be a communicator. When you do it well, you are being who God made you to be and are helping redeeming a central element of the universe.

Blessings, Debra Buenting

I can't say it any better

I (Miranda) am at the Global Communication Team meetings in Harpenden, UK, this week. I will post more in the next couple of days about what this team is all about and some of the issues we are discussing.

In the meantime, do check out this post from a friend currently in Zimbabwe. She summarises some of the communication challenges for people working in a country in crisis such as this. Remember: we still have YWAM staff working in Zimbabwe!

EuroCom meets in the Netherlands

This week Martial has returned to Cape Town from Kigali, where he was teaching on the School of Communication Foundations ... more from him in a little while. In the meantime, Miranda has been attending meetings at YWAM Heidebeek in the Netherlands. People from the International Communication Network have come over from the States to be with YWAM communicators from all over Europe to discuss the ongoing development of EuroCom, the communication team for YWAM Europe. She writes:

EuroCom came together 3 years ago, starting from a very different point to the one AfriCom experienced 3 years before that. Whereas we started with a core team in one location and now have the challenge of building the network around the continent, they started with a group of communicators located in different parts of Europe and now need to create a core team that can coordinate a common communication strategy for the whole field. This week's meetings have been crucial because Jeff Fountain, the Field Director for this part of the world, is transitioning out of his role in the next 12 months and we want to have EuroCom in a solid place before the next director is in post.

The discussions started out a little 'murky', as is often the case in situations where a number of different players with different perspectives first come together. But as we worked through the agenda we found some clarity. One of our main goals was to develop greater understanding between the communicators and the leadership and in this it was very helpful to have those from ICN bring their perspective and paint the bigger picture of YWAM's communication strategy. It helped for me to describe the journey AfriCom has been on since 2002 and to highlight the main lessons we can draw from the way our Com Team has developed. Our other main goal for these meetings was to identify a core team coordinator for EuroCom and to describe the structure of the network across Europe. This we also succeeded in doing, identifying Rodney Blevins here at Heidebeek as the coordinator. The strength of having him in this role is the good working relatonship he already has established with Jeff.

There were a number of very techie people at these meetings. This is a great strength of the particular group of communicators we have in Europe and there is potential for them to help enormously in finding technical solutions to some of the communication challenges we have in other parts of the world. For a big picture person like me I tend to find the tangents of detailed discussion surrounding IT solutions a little tedious; I like to keep everyone focused on why we do what we do. But hey, we need both and we had a very talented group together for these meetings ... I for one am inspired to keep plugging away at helping YWAM to communicate more effectively!

AfriCom at UniQuip

This week AfriCom has been participating in a UniQuip event being held at the Muizenberg training center. UniQuip is a University of the Nations initiative to help develop YWAM staff around the world by offering a series of training modules as well as corporate teaching times. At the event this week, hosted by Maureen Mernard, we have trainers from the International DTS Center and other experienced teachers offering modules in subjects ranging from public speaking to running a successful outreach.

Events such as these are great opportunities for a Com Team such as ourselves to network with others to help strengthen YWAM staff. Large gatherings are also an ideal environment to catch up on stories coming from the various ministries represented. This week Miranda is helping to run a module on Marriage, Family & Ministry - a look at how to balance the needs and demands of parenting and marriage within a ministry context. The group is a wonderful mix of African, Asian and Western staff members and leaders, which has led to colourful discussions about how we see the roles of men and women when it comes to family commitments. By the end of the week we hope to walk away with some deliberate changes in mind to help both men and women function in more of the fulness of what God has called them to as individuals and as a family team (well, that's the plan!).

And while we are energized by these meaningful and important discussions, Martial is in Kigali, Rwanda, teaching on the School of Communication Foundations. He's having a great time with the small group of 7 students. We are excited about this partnership with YWAM Burtigny, a base well known for their communication training, and with YWAM Kigali, a strategic center in East Africa.

Southern Africa Conference

At the end of September 220 YWAMers from over 20 bases or ministries gathered together to attend the YWAM Southern Africa mainland conference. These meetings are geared to strengthen, encourage and motivate through teaching, worship and fellowship.
Evelien attended the conference on behalf of AfriCom and found that her conference experience gave her a great opportunity to meet with God, and with other people. The bases and ministries represented all gave presentations that together created a wonderful picture of what is going on in the mainland region of YWAM Southern Africa. There is a wide variety of ministries spread throughout South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana, all with great stories to tell ... so keep reading the blog for more! The venue at the Kruger Park base was beautiful, peaceful and close to nature.

Sarah Lanier was the guest speaker for the week. Sarah is the author of "Foreign to Familiar", a book which focuses on intercultural communication; her teachings were extracted from both the pages of her book and personal experiences.

Staff members who attended the conference each took something home with them - a story from another location that inspired, encouraged and motivated; a teaching that brought clarity on working cross culturally; or a reminder to stop and evaluate one’s ministry. We hope they also took home a sense of excitement about the upcoming School of Field Journalism and Communication Consultation (CRIT) … and that, when back in their respective locations, they look at their pretty promotional postcards, are reminded of Evelien’s presentation and seriously consider joining us for one of these great opportunities!

Making Connections

Working as a Com Team is all about building connections. Last week Pamela was once again out 'on location' at a church missions fair where, together with staff members from the Muizenberg base, she promoted the work of YWAM in Africa. She took the opportunity to use the promotional materials published by the International Communication Network based in Colorado Springs, USA, showing short videos and giving out many brochures. This gave her the chance to chat with many of the interesed people, to answer their questions and to seek to connect them with our work around the continent.

This week Evelien is the one out of the office. She has joined about 200 staff from YWAM South Africa at their staff conference, being held close to Kruger Park (they are camping so we hope they are safe from the lions!). Evelien will be promoting the School of Field Journalism and the CRIT consultation next year. Since we are hoping to see a regional Com Team emerge for southern Africa in the near future, both of these will be strategic opportunities for potential communicators from this region ... so we hope that Evelien gets the message through, above the roars of the animals at Kruger!

Photographic Fundraising

It makes sense to use the skills we have to raise finances and Martial has been taking this seriously. Over the last weeks he and his wife Lea have been working hard to prepare for a photographic exhibition. In fact most of the team have been involved: Tim made frames, Pam helped to set up the venue, Evelien served drinks at the opening night and Miranda acted as the MC. Held at a local coffee shop, Martial has framed several of his best shots taken in various locations around the world over the past half dozen years. Lea also created postcards and greeting cards of the prints for sale.

The opening night was a great success, with many visitors gathering at the coffee shop for a drink and to peruse the photos. Mounted with short descriptions of the story behind the shot, guests also enjoyed hearing from Martial as he described the context of some of the photographs. The exhibition runs for the next week and we are looking forward to hearing that many sales have been made: well done Martial!

Provision for Teaching Trips

Over the last weeks we have been looking ahead towards a couple of trips and praying like crazy that financial provision would miraculously arrive. One of the great privileges of being a Com Team is the opportunity we have to connect with YWAM teams around our region of the world and wherever possible to visit them to offer teaching, to research stories, to shoot video clips or to support them in other 'communication-related' ways.

In October Martial has been invited to teach for a week on the School of Communication Foundations being run in Kigali, Rwanda. This is a key opportunity for us to partner with others working in communication training and this school is the result of a special link between the team in Burtigny, Switzerland, and the team in Kigali. It is a wonderful opportunity for Martial to build connections in YWAM East Africa where we will be holding the Field Assignment phase of our School of Field Journalism.

In December Evelien and Miranda will be traveling to Lichinga, Mozambique where they will be teaching for one week on the Foundational Leadership School on communication and administration.

It really is a challenge to finance trips such as these, much as we love to visit the bases. We do have a few supporters who are committed to sending donations to AfriCom and these monies usually cover our monthly overheads such as rent and electricity. Traveling around Africa is expensive - especially in places like Mozambique where flights inside the country are not open to much competition - and most often we fund these flights through our personal support. This is not ideal and we would prefer to build up our level of regular financial support so that we can more easily budget for these expenses. YWAM Com Teams are not centrally funded and each is responsible for generating finances for their work.

Anyway, having worried, prayed, trusted and prayed some more we felt led to send a gift to another YWAMer just getting started in communication ministry. We knew the principle of generosity should be at the centre of our journey of trust for our own finances, not as a formula but to demonstrate a heart attitude. Shortly after we did this we received two large donations that have together provided for the upcoming trips: hooray! Tbis is wonderful news: celebrate with us!

Minding the technological Gap

Yesterday I received the email pasted below. It is from a YWAM staff member working on the Buvuma Islands of Lake Victoria in Uganda, East Africa. She is writing about the move to change YWAM's international magazine from a print edition to an e-zine. I post this here because Catherine sums up one of the reasons why we need Communication Teams in places like Africa:

"Thank you for all your hard work on the new YWAM E-Zine magazine. I know it has taken tremendous effort. I therefore offer my contribution with extreme care because I don't want to discourage you. But the truth is you are not reaching as many people as you think. I know for a fact that most of the staff of YWAM Uganda do not have Internet access and the speed of our connection certainly does not allow us to view your magazine. So we are all out of the picture, again! We had an HIV & AIDS global gathering in 2006 but the only way to attend was to apply on-line. Very few of the staff had registered so finally a lady from UK who is on staff printed out a bunch of application forms and gave them to people. After they filled them out she just gave the whole lot to the organizers in person. And the whole idea of doing Go Manual surveys on the Internet is a constant source of frustration to us.

There are also many YWAM locations that do not have electricity. For instance we live on a remote island on Lake Victoria in Uganda. It has been a month since I was able to do emails and it requires a trip to stay overnight (and I have three small children).

I appreciate that Lyn Green wants to focus on healing the nervous system of YWAM. That is really needed. However, I don't feel the Internet is the best route for the majority of the YWAM staff in the field. I know printed media is expensive but it was the best way to make sure all the staff read the YWAMer magazine here. The National Office just left copies in the waiting area of the office and people read them. Now hardly anyone can read the computerized one."

In our capacity as bridge-builders we have to face issues such as these ... to find funds to print a magazine and post it to YWAMers in Africa; to phone people and fill in their YWAM surveys for them; to tell YWAM around the world the challenges staff deal with on a daily basis, as well as their triumphs and success stories. What a privilege to do this for people like Catherine!

College of Communication gathering

Last week we were able to participate in the meetings of the College of Communication, one of the faculties of YWAM's University of the Nations. The meetings were hosted in Kona, Hawaii, at the main U of N campus, and with the help of video conferencing 11 other locations were able to take part.

We were included in these meetings by virtue of the fact that we are now not only a YWAM Communication Team but also U of N school leaders. We felt very much like the new kids on the block, given that we have yet to actually graduate any students, but this gathering was the ideal opportunity for us to be introduced to some of the movers and shakers in the College of Communication.

There are YWAM communication schools running all around the world, in locations as far apart as Australia and Sweden, Hawaii and South Korea, Nigeria and India. In these U of N accredited schools, both small and large, students can train in general subjects such as Communication Foundations, or specialised subjects such as Digital Film-Making. We are proud to add Field Journalism to that list!

The gathering will become an annual affair as the college leadership team seek to bring greater connection to the different expressions of the college around the world. If this sounds familiar that's because it's yet another response to God's word to us as a mission to work towards greater health throughout our organisational body by promoting better communication.

And that, dear readers, is why we are here!

Trip to Uganda & Rwanda: Update

Evelien writes:
The first two weeks of August Tim, Henk (who works with DTS at YWAM Muizenberg) and I travelled to Uganda and Rwanda. Our mission: Tim was invited to teach at the DTS in Arua (Uganda) and in Kigali (Rwanda). We also spent two nights in Jinja (Uganda), for an interview with Sam Kisolo, the national leader, and to talk about the Communication Consultation that will take place in Jinja in April 2009.

For me it was great to discover a new part of Africa by travelling around by bus; we spent hours travelling from one place to another. I certainly enjoyed the views of nature and African life. And if you are looking for banana paradise, you can find it in Uganda and Rwanda!

It was great to connect with the different YWAM bases, to see how they live, and to get to know staff and students a little bit better. It was really encouraging to see the involvement of the bases in Arua and Kigali in the community.

In Kigali, Rwanda, the YWAM team is doing some amazing work in the local community: a primary school, vocational training, projects with widows, HIV-AIDS, ex prostitutes, orphanages and many more ministries.

Of course we communicated about communication! Good communication makes a difference. Having so many different ministries in the local community also means having lots of stories and testimonies. But how can we make sure all these stories will get ‘out there’? There is such a need for communicators. Communicating these stories, about what God is doing in Africa, will make a difference! Come and do the School of Field Journalism in January 2009!

Communication tools

Internet is a great communication tool. However, travelling throughout Africa shows that access to internet is not as common as it is in other parts of the world. Even though there is internet available in Africa, there are lots of places where the connection is very poor. It can easily take half an hour to read 2-3 emails. In some places the YWAM staff members have to travel to an internet café first to check their email. Thinking about “My Facebook” in rural areas? Sounds nice, but you can forget about it.

For us as AfriCom and everyone who wants to work on better communication, this means that we need to think of different ways to communicate with our YWAM family in Africa.

YWAM offers Medical Students Outreach Opportunities in Africa

A group of university students gathered together last week at the Tygerberg medical campus, in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, for a week-long mission conference. There were 18 different Christian organizations exhibiting, sharing and presenting their work. YWAM Africa's work was represented, along with All Nations, MAF, Doctors Without Borders, Open Doors, Mercy Ships, Life Winds, SIM and others. Floyd Mc Clung, director of All Nations, and Brian Sanders, from Underground Network church in the US, were the guest speakers.

AfriCom's Pam Kudiwa was glad to spend her birthday week behind the YWAM stand. “In the midst of the diversity of ministries I could see a beautiful portrait of what God is doing across Africa, painted by different brushes but inspired by One. Standing beside our YWAM Africa stand my mind could not help but think of how much creative freedom there is to network as organizations that are working for the same cause. This networking resulted in me collecting many ministry pamphlets, and holding conversations that did not just end with 'What is DTS' but with questions about what other organizations are doing and how we can partner together.”

Besides their busy schedules, filled with studies and hospital work, an impressive number of students passed through the missions stands seeking for more ways to get involved in the world around them. Medical students whose passion is to pursue God's purposes showed their willingness to take time to do short term outreaches, and others just browsed for information. One group of medical students - whose only free time is in two months tim- are giving up their chance for a holiday to have a mission adventure with YWAM in Mozambique. They heard about the opportunity to cross the Zambezi River to bring medical supplies to an isolated village and jumped at the chance: “Can you please find out if we can go in October and November? We will organize our own transport and whatever else it will need for us to get there” Conrad said.

What a privilege to be a Communication Team for YWAM's work when there are so many willing volunteers just waiting to be informed and mobilized!

Celebrating the Nations

Here in Muizenberg the communication adventure remains alive. Martial and Pam joined together with the staff and students at the Muizenberg base for the global YWAM Prayer Day that takes place every first Thursday of the month; the theme for this month was the Christian Magna Carta.

After the prayer time there was a celebration dinner at which more than 20 nationalities were represented. The celebration was marked with food from different nations across the globe, ranging from main meals to deserts. The food combinations were just amazing. Pam was not feeling too well, so had to enjoy the aroma without benefiting from the taste.
However, what she missed at the meal table she made up for on the dance floor: the meal was followed by a dance party, with performances from the YWAM kids.

Starting this weekend Pam is teaming up with Virmz Largo (staff from the Muizenberg base) for a mission conference at Tygerberg college campus, in the north of Cape Town. They will be exhibiting YWAM's work around Africa, sharing the platform with other mission organisations based in Africa. There will be many opportunities to hear what others are doing across the continent and to talk to students who are interested in missions opportunities.

Trip to East Africa

On Saturday Tim and Evelien leave for 2 weeks to Uganda and Rwanda. They'll be flying into Entebbe and taking a bus on Sunday to Arua in the north of Uganda. There is a YWAM base there where Tim will teach on the Discipleship Training School for the week. His subject is Worldview, which he loves teaching and he invariably ends up having great discussions about things like gender, leadership and even attitudes towards work. Evelein is going with him and she will teach a couple of evening sessions to give an overview of the Bible. Accepting invitations to teach on DTS has always been a great way for us to make contact with bases around the continent.

It'll also be fun for Tim and Evelein to be at the base for YWAM's international prayer day, which takes place once a month. All the information about the prayer day - the theme for the month, teaching notes and so on - are available on a website, which can put them off-limits to staff around Africa with limited Internet access. Our team emails a short, easily downloadable version of the notes and sends out sms messages to as many staff as we have cell phone numbers for. So if they need a reminder to visit the Internet cafe, or to ask their leader for a print-out of the information, they can do so ahead of time. This is one of the ways we are trying to be part of bridging gaps within YWAM.

From there they will take a bus to Jinja where we have a large training and ministry centre (shown above) and where YWAM's national director for Uganda is based. There are a couple of reasons for spending the weekend in Jinja - no, not because the source of the Nile is there, nor because you can do great white-water rafting on the river! Firstly, the YWAM staff in Jinja have for some years been running great HIV/AIDS-related projects. We are in the process of producing a video for YWAM staff around Africa, promoting healthy practices and attempting to reduce the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. Needless to say, we do have HIV+ staff members; how we live together in community in a way that honours and respects one another is a critical issue. Tim and Evelein will be recording a couple of interviews with staff and leaders at the base for use in this video.

Secondly, next year we are hosting YWAM's annual communication consultation at the Jinja base. Visiting will give Tim and Evelein (especially her as she'll be doing much of the logistical administration) a chance to get together with the staff members there who will be helping us to host the event by organising housing, catering and so on. Hopefully by meeting face-to-face now we can avert some misunderstandings later ;-)

On Sunday they leave Jinja for Kigali in Rwanda. Again, Tim will be teaching on a DTS, this time on the subject of Missions. He's a great mobiliser and passionate about the subject, so it should be a good week. Kigali is where the regional director is based, so this visit will also be a chance for Tim to discuss with him our plans for next year. We are running a School of Field Journalism in South Africa and after 3 months of lectures we'll go to East Africa for a 2 month field assignment. Our students will join us for the communication consultation in Jinja and then go to different locations around the region in twos and threes. It's good that Tim and Evelien can meet with Method (the regional director) to discuss which locations they can go to; currently we're thinking of Sudan, Burundi and DRC.

Their final assignment will be to interview Method and his wife, Mary, who is the base leader in Kigali. For the last few years our team has been producing a news bulletin/magazine for YWAM in Africa. We've had a bit of a lapse for the last year due to lack of staff time and in this time the producers of the global YWAM magazine, the International YWAMer, have decided to convert to an e-zine. Given that we know it will be difficult for many of our staff around Africa to receive an e-zine and check out all the incorporated web links, we are going to amalgamate our Africa bulletin with the global magazine and continue to print and mail copies to bases around Africa. The first edition is due out at the end of August and obviously there'll be a time-delay between the e-zine going out and our print version being ready. Anyway, the theme of the first edition is Communication (there'll be an article about AfriCom!) and this trip is the ideal opportunity to interview Method and Mary for an Africa-focused article.

Then Friday it's back to Entebbe to sleep over and catch an early flight back to Cape Town via Johannesburg. Our two intrepid team members will no doubt be bushed, but they'll have accomplished a lot ... which makes the 2 weeks away from home very worthwhile!

Face Lift

Our office has a new look - we have painted the walls and done a few touch ups here and there. It looks great: the result of amazing team work!

The whole team is together for a few more days and we are trying to make the most of it. At the end of next week Tim and Evelien are teaming up for a two week teaching trip to Uganda and Rwanda. This will also be an opportunity for them to do some preliminary research and organisation for YWAM's CRIT communication consultation next April and for the field assignment for the students of our School of Field Journalism. There will definitely be more news about their trip in future updates.

Visa requirements in Africa change constantly and one has to stay up-to-date with any new hoops that need to be jumped through! On previous trips to Uganda visas could be obtained very simply at the port of entry. A few days ago we discovered that our travelers will have to obtain visas from Pretoria before they leave. One of the requirements is a letter from your employer confirming that you are going on holiday!

Other news:

Martial and Lea have been back from their honeymoon for 2 weeks now; it's great to have Martial back in the office. Over the weekend we joined them for lunch in their new home. Thanks to technology we managed to share their wedding day by video - that was part of the lunch :-)

Student and staff applications are starting to come in for the School of Field Journalism next year. We continue to have a sense of anticipation as we brainstorm and prepare for that time.

Consolidation

It is cold here in Cape Town and the tendency is to want to hunker down indoors, to try stay warm and to simpy keep things ticking over. Is that what God is saying, though? In fact, we sense that we are in a season of consolidation, a time to strengthen our foundations so that we can sustain growth for the future.

What does this mean for us as a ministry? One area we need to strengthen is that of 'strategic partnerships' relating to finances, prayer and counsel. We are looking at setting up a not-for-profit organisation to help us separate personal and ministry finances and to make fundraising more straightforward.

We are trusting God to help us, over the next few years, to develop a network of communication workers around Africa. Next year will be a critical time in our development, as we host the School of Field Journalism and the global YWAM communication consultation (CRIT) ... a time where we hope to see multiplication of communication workers for the continent. In order to grow effectively our foundations must be strong. May we make the most of the next 6 months as we prepare for the next season!

Impact World Tour Comes to South Africa

Last Monday Evelien traveled to the YWAM training center in Worcester, 2 hours drive from Cape Town, to attend a fundraising banquet for Impact World Tour South Africa. It was great for her to connect with the YWAM staff at this large base, as well as to learn more about this huge evangelistic campaign.

Mark Anderson, International Director for YWAM campaigns, was the speaker of the evening, explaining the concept of IWT and plans for South Africa.
“Impact World Tour (IWT) presents the Gospel in 21^st century relevant ways, using elements of the culture itself to deliver the message of Jesus. The results are startling. Our history has proven that around the world large numbers of people are responding to Christ. We’ve seen approximately 10% of those in attendance in developed nations make public commitments. In less-developed nations, the response is many times even greater.”

The Impact World Tour is coming to South Africa in 2011, with an action packed presentation that will capture young people right across this region with a message of hope in Jesus Christ. Teams made up of skateboarders, BMXers, dancers, cultural artists and athletes will perform their acts.

Team Xtreme International plan to blow audiences away with their amazing feats of strength and athletic prowess. Ripping whole telephone books in half, bending steel bars, blowing up hot water bottles till they burst, shattering stacks of concrete bricks, and other displays of power and might, apparently leave audiences breathless and screaming for more (we can imagine!).

Change is the only Constant

The lack of blog posting is not an indicator of inactivity here at AfriCom. In fact, there's a lot going on ... especially in the personal lives of our team members.

Martial is currently in Switzerland, where he and Lea were married 2 weeks ago. They are enjoying their honeymoon and their time with Lea's family. As a team we are thrilled for them both as they embark on this special journey together.

The Heathcote family are also entering a new season with the recent arrival of their newly adopted daughter, Emmanuelle. She is settling into the family well and the transition has so far gone smoothly for them all. They are enjoying a 'sort of' paternity leave, popping in and out of the office as other considerations allow.

The common factors in both areas of change is the melding of different races and cultures, and the building of family. We are trusting that the lessons we learn in our personal lives will give us understanding and authority in our ministry lives, as we seek to build bridges between people and strengthen the sense of family across YWAM Africa.

YWAM Leaders for Africa to meet

Starting today the Executive Group of YWAM's Africa Leadership Team are holding their annual meetings. The larger team will join the Executive from Sunday evening, meeting together throughout next week. Leaders will travel from all over the continent to represent their regions or ministry areas.

Three of the AfriCom team members will be present at the meetings, taking the opportunity to connect with the leaders during their breaks. This gives us a chance to ask them in person for information updates. Miranda will also attend the meetings to act as an observer/communicator, posting daily updates on the YWAM Africa website so that staff members can follow the meetings from their locations.

This year we will take the opportunity of having the leaders all together to promote the School of Field Journalism and the Communication Consultation we are hosting next year. In this way we hope to encourage the leaders to appoint staff members from around the continent to attend these two key events. We believe their is the potential for a communication explosion in YWAM Africa, if we publicise these opportunities well.

Our annual month of prayer for Africa begins on Sunday. Prayer Guides have been mailed to each YWAM base in Africa, and we will also take extra copies to the leaders for them to distribute to their contacts. Meeting with them on the day the Prayer Month begins will be an ideal moment to launch the Prayer Guide and to pray together.

Invariably these meetings are very busy, with a packed agenda and many side meetings. Please pray for the Leadership Team to have wisdom, clarity of thought and unity in their decision-making. Pray for AfriCom to be an encouragement to the leaders and for good buy-in to the communication opportunities.

Trouble in Cape Town

This week South Africa is in turmoil as native-born Africans have turned against expatriate Africans, claiming their presence in the country robs them of jobs and housing. As violence has broken out in communities all over South Africa, people have fled their homes to congregate in hastily constructed camps.

Not far from where our communication team has its offices has sprung up the largest refugee camp in the Western Cape. We have been visiting daily, volunteering to help with food distribution and tent construction, but also hearing people's stories and taking photos. On Monday we joined with staff and students from the YWAM center in Muizenberg for their time of intercession, informing them about the refugee camp and mobilising people to help out.

Meanwhile our email inbox is filling up with stories from other parts of the country, from YWAM teams that are not simply going to places to help the refugees, but who are living and working amongst them. Their stories need telling as well, because in the face of division there are stories of unity across races, in the face of desperation there are stories of hope and in the face of hardship compassion is being demonstrated by the people of God.

Appropriate Technology

This week we have been joined by Greg who is connected to Mission Builders, a YWAM ministry based in Montana, USA. With many years experience in project management and a good understanding of the unique realities of a YWAM environment, Greg is a very insightful guy to help us process through our goals and overall direction.

This is something we have come back to multiple times, since it's always good to revise previous plans and ask the tough questions to help us check if we are on track. Similarly, when new staff members join - as Evelien did in February - some group dialogue is needed to ensure we all share the same priorities and sense of direction; that we all know why we do what we do, the way we do it.

Now half-way through this planning process we are identifying aspects of our vision that require a different approach to the one we have had. Our staff members from Africa have been reminding us again of the importance of creating a sense of family across YWAM ministries in the continent and we have discussed how a truly personal approach is needed to build a strong sense of belonging. As communicators we can get carried away with high tech solutions, while it is perhaps the most 'basic' technology that is the most appropriate. Is it time to think of putting the laptop aside for a moment and hand-writing personal letters to the leaders?!

Planning time for School of Field Journalism

Having gotten our initial 'ducks in a row', this week we have been tackling the details of the curriculum for the School of Field Journalism. We have agreed with the YWAM training center in Muizenberg to host the school on their premises, which is a wonderful opportunity to partner with them, and have agreed on a January 2009 start. We are hoping for 15-20 students who will join the greater student body at YWAM Muizenberg, made up of people attending the Discipleship Training School and the School of Biblical Studies. There sure will be a buzz around the place at that time!

We have been having lively team discussions this week as we seek to build up an overview of the 12 weeks of the lecture phase. We want to have a schedule that reflects the passion we have for our African context, as well as equipping the students with research, writing and media skills so that they can go out into the field and relay the stories they hear about how God is at work around this wonderful continent.

Our team discussions are always spirited affairs; we are a group of strong and opinionated people! It is great to see how we pass through a process of earnest discussion, disagreement and debate (yes, and sometimes digressions too!) and finally arrive at a place of agreement. Invariably our conclusions are way more creative and insightful than if we had taken the easy route of no conflict! We are all committed to the process and ultimately having fun: what could be better?!

Day of Prayer for Zimbabwe

A desperate cry from the hearts of Zimbabwe screams across the world. It calls upon all Christians of every denomination in every nation to focus their prayers on the critical situation in a nation experiencing dire distress and teetering on the brink of human disaster. Let the cry for help touch your heart and mind. Let it move you to do what You can immediately to ensure this DAY OF PRAYER takes place in your country and neighborhood, whether in churches, halls, homes or elsewhere: Sunday 27th April, 2008.

LatinCom

This week Martial and Miranda are attending YWAM's communication consultation, otherwise known as CRIT: communication, research & information technology. It's an annual gathering for anyone involved in these areas within Youth With A Mission and was initiated 4 or 5 years ago when YWAM realised it had to get serious about strengthening its communication infrastructure. There's a strong international contingent - people are here from as far away as South Korea - but each year there is a particular focus on the host region. Next year we will be hosting CRIT in Africa, which is very exciting.

South America has a pretty good track record when it comes to the communications sphere. There have been some great video and graphics initiatives, as well as training courses being run by teams around the region. In spite of that there has been too little focus on communication within the organisation, leaving a great need to facilitate stronger connections between YWAM teams. This is especially the case between those teams in Brazil, which is Portuguese-speaking, and those in the rest of Spanish-speaking Latin America.

There are various working groups taking place throughout the consultation, helping to make progress and build momentum in the main focus areas.
Miranda writes: The group I am helping to facilitate is working to launch a Communication Team for Latin America. Having been a part of starting AfriCom it's fun to work at the process - it's a lot more noisy than I remember our first meetings, with a dozen Latinos all making their voices heard! Things came together pretty well today and it seems that by the end of the week we'll have leadership in place and some initial goals and projects for the team.

Some of the EuroCom team are also at the consultation. The various individuals are all part of different working groups, so not officially meeting together. Having said that, they're a bit stuck and feel that leadership issues have prevented them making progress in Europe, so there have been some extra meetings with them to look at those issues. After working so hard Martial and Miranda will have to come back to the office for a holiday!

Pray for Africa

The Prayer Guide for 2008 is ready! We are thrilled with the result of months of research, writing, design and translation: this year's guide to praying for issues affecting Africa sees some great developments from our 4 previous editions. The biggest change is that the guide is more issues-based than YWAM focused, with lots of information that will help churches and Christians around the world pray for the continent. Facts and figures are listed alongside personal stories, and there are ideas about how to get involved as well as pointers for prayer. This guide is not limited to specific dates so that although YWAM Africa will designate a month for concerted prayer, anyone can use the guide at any time. We hope to see many more people get excited about praying for our beloved continent as we offer them this excellent tool and encourage them to use it!

For copies of the Prayer Guide please email us at: ywamafricom@gmail.com

Field Service

The sign on this truck tickled me. As you know, our Communication Team is part of the wider Field Service Team for YWAM Africa. Waste disposal is not normally part of our remit ... but you never know what you might get asked to do in the name of service;-)

Ministering 'Connection' starts at home!

As a Comm Team for YWAM a part of our ministry is to bring a greater sense of connection to our staff members and teams - connection with other teams in Africa, and with the YWAM leaders for the continent as well as connection with what's happening in other parts of the world and with our global leaders. Not so long ago we felt challenged as a team that we can only minister that sort of connection to the extent to which we are living it and experiencing it among us. It's obvious really: we'll have no authority in this area is we're not 'walking the talk', as they say.

Since that time we've continued to make an effort to foster a strong sense of belonging among us as a team of very different individuals, all with different experiences, cultural backgrounds, genders, ages and personalities. We get together often to hang out or share a meal and we try to really listen to one another. It's all pretty simple, really ... it's just amazing how quickly we lose our sense of connection when we get busy and start focusing on what we have to do instead of the people we're here to serve with! Incidentally, we have a GREAT team and love what each person brings to the mix :-)

Leadership Workshop

Last week AfriCom was hosting a Leadership Workshop at YWAM Muizenberg, a great opportunity to develop more partnership with our local training base. Our trainers for the week were Tania West and Julie Hodge, visitors from the UK home church of Tim and Miranda.

The week started with teaching and application aimed at helping individuals to know themselves better. Of the 14 YWAM staff members attending the workshop many had already done some sort of personality or gifts test ... but the way Tania and Jules led us through the process and the solid bible teaching that went alongside meant each one of us learned something new.

We progressed to looking at team dynamics. This was a great process for AfriCom as most of our team was there; we learned more about how the individuals in our team function instinctively, what each brings to the team and how we can help one another to work best. Later we moved on to skills of leadership, including managing people through change and other topics that are very helpful in the YWAM context.

It was great to have trainers from outside the mission who connected so well and so quickly with our group and offered a helpful, observer's perspective. The teaching was excellent and we hope to be able to multiply this kind of training opportunity in the future, perhaps in other parts of Africa. These kind of partnerships enable us to meet more of the needs of YWAM than we could do alone: Thanks Tania & Jules!

Training, this week & next.

This week Tim has been teaching on the subject of Missions on the Discipleship Training School at the YWAM center in Muizenberg. He enjoys teaching and this has always been a great way for us to connect with YWAM staff and students. When he is teaching on Missions he communicates his passion for the people of Africa as well as his many missions experiences in different parts of the continent. The DTS group leave for their outreach phase in Sierra Leone next week so Tim did his best to fill them with anticipation for their time amongst the people there.

In the office we have been preparing for a five-day Leadership Workshop starting next Tuesday, after the long Easter weekend. The workshop is also at the YWAM center in Muizenberg, another great opportunity to partner with them and grow our working relationship.The emphasis of the training will be on developing leadership by growing in our understanding of ourselves and others. Though we are organizing the event none of us is scheduled to teach, we will be sitting in and soaking up the wisdom and experience of two friends from Tim and Miranda's home church in England. Tania and Jules are very experienced in the area of leadership: Tania West is a leadership and management trainer and Jules Hodge is a gifted bible teacher and management consultant. We are excited to have them visit to work alongside us and looking forward to great things next week!

International Communication Network

Tomorrow Miranda returns from Colorado Springs where she has been meeting with YWAM staff at the offices of the ICN.
About 5 years ago, Tom (not his real name; the gentleman on the far right of the photograph above) initiated the idea of having Com Teams around the YWAM world. After years of working for YWAM communications on a global level he had realised the need to delegate responsibility to field-based teams. AfriCom was the first of those teams and has paved the way for Comm Teams to multiply and to become part of YWAM's global communication strategy.
Miranda had the opportunity to meet with a number of people now working to promote Comm Teams throughout the YWAM world, brainstorming with them ways to strengthen the initiative and help make teams more effective.

YWAM Communications is going through a big transition at the moment as our global magazine - The International YWAMer - moves from being a print publication to an e-zine. Tom and Stacey (far left) have written and edited the IY for many years and now Tamara (left of center) will take over. An e-zine has certain implications for our YWAM staff in Africa since many of them will struggle to receive that email or to access the incorporated links. AfriCom will therefore be creating a special print publication for Africa, a combination of our 'Djembe' magazine and the IY e-zine articles. The guys at ICN are very supportive about this initiative, helping us to finance the printing and mailing; this is an indispensable tool for YWAM Africa because it helps to mobilise new missionaries and encourage those already on the field.

YWAM Prayer Day

Every month YWAM holds a global day of prayer across our mission family. The leaders send out a fantastic package of information each time, including a letter from the International Chairman (Lynn Green), teaching on that month's topic and extra resources such as testimonies, video clips and so on. An email is sent to every YWAMer who has signed up, directing them to the related website, which is really well done. The only thing is that not everyone around the world is able to access this kind of web-based information ... which is where Communication Teams like AfriCom come in.
It's our job to find a workable solution so that our staff around Africa are included in these prayer times. It's taken a bit of creativity - for a while it seemed we weren't even able to get people signed up for the emails - but we are on track to make this work. We send out a text message to as many cell phone numbers as we have for YWAM staff members in Africa, alerting them to the upcoming Prayer Day and giving them the theme and main text. Then we mail a short version of the email information ... those that have adequate Internet facility can refer to the wealth of information on the website but those whose Internet is unreliable or expensive are not excluded from the initiative. So far so good: if anyone is reading this in Africa, do mail any YWAM cell numbers to ywamafricom@gmail.com.

The A Team!

Don't you love our latest photo? From back left, Martial from Benin (Visual Communication), Tim from the UK (Research & Writing), Evelien from the Netherlands (Office Management), Miranda from the UK (Team Leadership) and Pam from Zimbabwe (Writing). But there's room for more: come join us!

Writing Course

Pam joined AfriCom with a view to growing her writing capabilities - she has a passion for telling the stories of what God is doing in Africa! She has already seen some of her articles published on the YWAM websites but is keen to hone her writing in order to really 'fly' with the creation of pieces about YWAM's work ... of course we all want to be able to function independently and become part of multiplying the communication team around the continent.

For a while now we have known of a correspondence course in journalism that's run by a British company called Writers' Bureau. The course was recommended to us by a British YWAMer in Arua, Uganda. It's a modular course that provides a structured way of practising writing and getting lots of input from experts. A recent flyer in the post alerted us to their new year special, which prompted us to pursue financial support for her from AfriCom friends around the world. So a big THANK YOU goes to all those who have kindly helped to fund this course for Pam - it's going to make the world of difference to her ability to function effectively as part of AfriCom.

This week at AfriCom

A quick update on activity in the Cape Town office of the AfriCom team ...

The Prayer Guide for this year is well on its way to becoming a reality and we are proud of the in-depth research that has gone into this edition. Tim has done an awesome job, with Pam assisting with country profiles. Doing just as great a job, Evelien has been working on our database, a tedious but absolutely necessary job that enables us to be in touch with as many YWAM staff people as possible around the continent. Martial has been working on the HIV/AIDS training video, beginning with some interview pieces for editing later. He is also working with Rifka, a photography intern from YWAM's Media Village; she has been helping to pick out some great shots to illustrate the Prayer Guide.

Meanwhile Miranda is heading off to Colorado Springs to meet up with the team at YWAM's International Communications Network. More on their meetings later!

Use of cell phones in Africa.

Check out this news piece about the use of text messages in promoting HIV/AIDS awareness in Uganda. If they can do it, then so can we;-) Cell phone coverage is far-reaching and even our remote teams can be reached with a text message ... having said that, this photo demonstrates that cell coverage can be sporadic: this shot was taken at the YWAM base in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe; this window sill is the only place in the building where the staff can be guaranteed to get a signal!

HIV Awareness - Video Project

Kate Muammar is a member of YWAM Africa's Field Service Team; she promotes and supports healthy practices in YWAM communities, with regards to HIV/AIDS, and also facilitates ministry engagement with this critical issue. But, as one person supporting these grassroots initiatives across the whole continent of Africa, Kate is in need of multiplying herself!

AfriCom offered to help Kate by working with her to produce a short DVD. The goal of the piece is to provide YWAM centers with a brief overview of the facts and to present some simple, healthy choices leaders and staff can make in order to fight stigma, promote prevention and care for one another. A further DVD is planned to help YWAM ministries understand how to incorporate HIV/AIDS awareness into their regular ministry to the people around them: DTS leaders can include HIV training in their curriculum; Personnel Directors can make sure they orientate new staff to healthy base practices; and so on. In both cases the DVDs will be accompanied by helpful workbooks to enable staff to learn more and to discuss the issues together.

Kate has been visiting Cape Town from Lusaka, Zambia, where she is based. We used the time to begin planning the DVD with her. It is wonderful to have the opportunity to collaborate with other members of the Field Service Team on efforts to strengthen YWAM Africa ... and to help Kate be in several places at once, at least on screen!

Reaching out to YWAM Zimbabwe

Last week Tim joined a team of six from South Africa to make a short visit to YWAM Bulawayo in Zimbabwe. The team was made up of Member Care staff and other leaders and - as well as their expertise - they took with them food supplies and some cash towards the ongoing base renovation costs (the base is a little run down).

There was opportunity for one-on-ones with most of the 8 Zimbabwean staff. The visiting team prayed and then reflected later on this time. Tim says: "We all felt that the morale was good on the base. There was a sense of renewed purpose and fresh vision. The staff had recently begun work repainting and rebuilding – and this physical work seemed to reflect the spiritual state. In prayer we sensed that the base had “moved beyond survival mode” and were in a time of Nehemiah-like vision and rebuilding of broken walls."

The base contributed gifts from their own finances towards the food, towards the YWAM Africa Field Office, and also towards YWAM’s monthly day of prayer. This reflected their deep desire for connection to the wider YWAM family.

The base leader, Patricia Biassi, thanked the team, and Kobus Van Niekerk in particular, for frequent visits and faithful support over the recent years. Without this, Pat said, she would have lost hope. Now she senses God giving fresh vision and she expressed deep gratitude to those outside Zimbabwe who have given and encouraged her team through the hard times.

Zimbabwe continues to be in a critical and unstable state. Mega-inflation of 18,000% means the few goods in the shops are very expensive. Presidential elections are scheduled for 29th March 2008. Pray for the country during the time of campaigning, as this is a potentially explosive season.

Another trip is planned for April, after the elections, to take in more food, building supplies and money.

YWAM International Prayer Day

Last September YWAM's Global Leadership Team introduced the idea of an international Prayer Day for the entire mission, every month through 2008. This fabulous, unifying initiative is being run almost exclusively using Internet-based communication ... whilst emails featuring links to the comprehensive website are a most effective tool for much of the world, for some places these tools exclude people instead of including them. Many of our teams around Africa simply do not have adequate Internet access that is cheap enough, reliable enough or close enough to enable them to access these resources.

This challenge has forced AfriCom into getting familiar with bulk text messaging! As well as sending out smaller emails which do not require recipients to access information on the web, we have decided to send messages to as many YWAM staff cell phone numbers as we can. These short reminders will at least prompt people to pray and help to make them feel involved. The added advantage is that leaders, who for various reasons tend to be information bottlenecks, will have help reminding their staff to be part of this global initiative.

The bulk sms could be a great tool for a Comms Team like ours ... perhaps we could send out mini news updates to the whole field on a regular basis?

Field Service Team meetings

Last week Martial and Miranda flew to Pretoria to attend the annual meetings of the Field Service Team. Some time ago AfriCom was made part of the FST, a group of people whose focus is to strengthen YWAM across Africa through Member Care, Staff Development, Leadership Development and Communication. These people represent a wealth of experience across Africa and a decent level of expertise in their areas, so it's good for us to have time together and to learn from one another. Our annual meetings are the only time we are all together in one place and it's a good time to exchange information and strategize or decide where to focus our efforts. We collaborate on common projects for the continent, such as Support Raising and HIV/AIDS, each contributing from our area of expertise (e.g. we would produce a video to accompany other training pieces on HIV/AIDS, or contribute material for a staff development e-zine on communication). The FST is strongly connected to the ALT, with the recognition that we act through influence not authority. Our common goal is to make the work of the leaders easier!

Kobus van Niekerk is the acting Field Director for YWAM Africa, a very challenging role not least because his constant and extensive travelling costs the earth. It would be a difficult job for anyone, let alone having to raise the finances as well! He and his wife, Rika, are an amazing couple who have given everything for the sake of seeing YWAM established in Africa; an awesome example and a tough act for anyone to follow. This week Tim is traveling to Zimbabwe with Kobus to see the team working there and to support them. The situation for the YWAM team in Zimbabwe is just one of the hotspots Kobus has to address ... I'm not sure how he deals with stress, but whatever it is he should market it; that could solve his fundraising issues!!