What a year 2012 was for us here at UofN Bali! Last year began with great uncertainty for us, as the owners of the property housing our classrooms, dining and accommodation facilities attempted to break our lease and have us evicted. For most of the year, in the natural, it looked like they would be successful and we would have to vacate the property.

Breakthrough

But, as a base, we came together in unity and prayer and lifted the whole situation up to God, trusting in Him and surrendering ourselves to His will, whether that was to move or to stay. In the end, towards the second half of 2012, God worked a miracle and turned the whole situation around. It was as if God really did confuse the plans of the enemy with the owner’s attempts to evict us coming to nothing. At the moment, it appears that we will be able to maintain the use of our facilities through till the end of the lease in 2017. We give praise to God for His incredible grace and breakthrough for us!

Training & Babies

During 2012, we also ran various training programs. Early in the year, we ran an Introduction to Primary Health Care School, and in September we ran a DTS which is currently on outreach in Indonesia and East Timor. We also ran a Harvest Multiplication Training Seminar in August, training workers in the principles of establishing church planting movements. 2012 also saw the arrival of some little YWAMers, with 4 new babies being born to various UofN staff and student families throughout the year. We also saw the addition of spiritual children throughout the year, with numerous people coming to faith through our various schools and ministries.

DTS’s and BLS

As we look ahead to 2013, we’re excited for what God has for us this year. For the first time, the UofN Bali will be running 2 DTS’s for the year, with one beginning in May and the second in September. The DTS in May will be run in conjunction with a ‘Waves’ DTS, designed for international adventurers who may be attracted to Bali but who are hungry for God as well. We will also be establishing the Basic Leadership School (BLS) in March. This will be a 2 year program, training and equipping students in basic leadership principles with a focus on godly character. Students in the BLS will both learn about leadership as well as be given the opportunity to apply these principles through staffing our schools. In March, we have the privilege of Ross Tooley, one of the first workers to join YWAM many years ago, coming to train our BLS students over a period of 3 days. We’re looking forward to receiving from him and being inspired to grow in godly leadership.

Pioneering new schools

During 2013, we will also be working at pioneering 2 new schools beginning in January 2014. The first is the School of Frontier Missions (SOFM), which will train students to present the gospel in a cross-cultural setting as well as an understanding of the basics of church and church planting movements. The other school is the Community Development School (CDS), which will train students in the principles of wholistic ministry and how to see entire communities transformed for the kingdom of God in every sphere of society. With many development and poverty issues in the Southeast Asia, our desire is that God will use this school powerfully to be a blessing to many in the region.

In closing

So, for 2013 we’re trusting God for a greater anointing, greater growth and greater influence for His Kingdom and His glory this year. We are hungry to know more of Him in this New Year, being transformed to reflect more of His character. We desire to produce more fruit for Him this year, fruit that will remain (John 15:16). We are trusting that He will add more nations to come join our UofN Bali family and serve alongside us, with staff already representing nations such as Indonesia, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, Madagascar, Brazil, USA, India, UK, South Korea and Australia. Please join us in prayer, that God would anoint us with His Holy Spirit to fulfill all He has for us in this coming New Year!

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