So it’s been 6 months since we’ve started our training with YWAM (Youth with a Mission). After posting some beautiful pictures of our new home in Hawaii from Sept-Dec, we’ve got cheeky comments from people saying: “Oh wow, we want to train in Kona, Hawaii too…it’s so beautiful” and “you guys look like you’ll having so much fun! I want to be a missionary too!” All legitimate responses since it’s ALL true – Kona is beautiful and we are having a lot of fun.

 

What I wish everyone knew is how blessed we’ve been to learn from people from all around Kona, Haiti and top-notch speakers who have come to our base . It’s going to be so difficult for me to eloquently summarize everything into a Facebook note but I’m going to try anyway.

 

First a little history lesson: Kona is where God – this invisible, omnipotent, personal Father of the heavens and the nations first invited 2 ordinary men, Loren Cunningham and Howard Malmstadt to dream with Him. In 1978, the first University of Nations was birthed in a old rundown hotel. 33 years later, YWAM Kona, the University of Nations has 600 branch locations in 143 countries, providing coursework in over 100 languages.

 

Present day: Walking back into YWAM Kona the day we returned from Haiti (where David and I lived for the last 3 months). I walked by the fountain, the cafe, the farm and the movie theatre, thinking and remembering that it all started on a piece of dirt road. You see…over here, people rarely get caught up with things, tools or programs, they are caught up with what God is doing and where their God-inspired passions will lead them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many dreams have been birthed here in Kona and here are just a few we’ve heard during YWAM’s 50th anniversary.

 

1)   The flying car invented by a missionary for Amazon locals who wanted to drive and fly when the road ends to other regions of their communities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7INsC6Ts3qc&feature=player_embedded

 

2)   Call2all nations who have been unifying churches and para-church organizations to fulfill the Great Commission. They are also in the process of mapping the whole world so missionaries can better meet serve the needs of various communities. http://www.4kworldmap.org/

 

3)   The Food machine, or what is commonly known as aquapondnics will use limited electricity, water and a country’s local nutrients to produce food in a short amount of time to sustain the community.http://foodmachine.org/

 

4)   Water for life, an organization committed to providing clean water through nature, simple and easy water purification techniques to train locals with specific skill sets to transform their own communities. http://www.waterforlife.org/about.php

 

5)   Inventing a new language called the Uniscript to help the illiterate learn to read in their own language the bible in a matter of days.

 

6)   A Mercedes semi-truck that will carry a stage, a bath, a kitchenette, a team and 30,000 bibles or other audio equipment. http://vimeo.com/17865515

 

7)   Grass roots news, a hub where break-news can be posted. http://grassrootsnews.tv/

 

8) Andrew West, a local resident here in University of Nations has a new TV show: Hog’s gone wild. Discovery Channel just picked it up as a show. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RRr_d3p7T0

 

9) Sourceview Bible: The first innovation to the bible in 500 years. http://sourceviewbible.com/

 

10) David and His Mighty Men: A full-length feature movie, a comic book strip and multi-media presentation by David Cunningham. http://collider.com/day-of-war-john-fusco-david-l-cunningham/48676/

 

Somehow, God has choose YWAM Kona to be that hub where humble, authentic leaders can come up with new and existing ministries. People who will be equipped with essential skills and are willing to passionately carry through this vision to all nations by becoming the physical hands and feet of this Invisible God to meet the injustices of the world straight on.

 

And…somehow, God has put us here in the middle of it all.

 

I’ve began to realize that Missions is not just a church evangelistic program anymore. It is a way of living over the edge that God has intended His people to experience “life and life to the fullest.”

 

This full life is lived out when intergenerational people from all walks of life come to dream together with God. Dream to see biblical transformation and restoration in the seven spheres of society (religion, family, education, government, media,arts/entertainment and business/science). And that is what we saw here in YWAM.

 

So, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that David and I were brought here to the YWAM base in Kona. Through this experience, God has shown us truly that nothing is possible. He has expanded our worldview and it has truly wrecked us.

 

We can never go back to impossibilities, hopelessness and despair. Like the nation of Haiti, we are crushed, but not destroyed. We are daily dying each day, so that others can experience the life and blessings of Christ. We will dance upon injustice and soon hope will HAVE to rise from the ashes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLwxWoEgI1Y – A video David made for YWAM Haiti (PAP)

 

Continue to pray for us and the next steps God is leading us. If you don’t already know, we feel lead to go East-bound to Asia. We feel intuitively drawn to Cambodia – don’t know why.

 

However, looking back at the steps we’ve taken, we feel that God is inviting us to dream with Him. Likewise, we would also like to extend that invitation to you as well. If you are a graphic designer, innovator, businessman, housewife, scientist, teacher or university student and want to be a part of this journey. E-mail us because we would love to pray together with you. We’ll also try our very best to network and connect you to the right people, pushing you towards the calling God has in your life.

 

With lots of love and hoping to see you all again very soon,

David and Melina Enge