Prodical Son

Jüjü Juillard
13 hours ago
7 min read

Hello Friends

I wrote this newsletter last week from my bed, as I spent a good two weeks in and around bed with a lung infection. I have been very busy again over the past few weeks and months, which is probably why my body finally took the rest it needed. On the bright side, that means there are all the more exciting stories for you, haha.

By now I am also feeling a lot better.

But first, I want to tell you our story with Nick. Although this was already 5 months ago now, it is a really beautiful testimony of second chances and how God's plans are so much cooler than anything we could ever imagine.

Enjoy!

Table of Contents

Nick

Recap

Nick

This is probably the biggest testimony from our Fiji outreach.

Pretty much at the exact same time we were having our lecture phase in New Zealand, Nick was doing his DTS in Suva, Fiji. Apparently, he wasn't very reliable there and, for example, ran away from the base a few times. Due to a lack of change on his part and a somewhat unfortunate process on the part of his school, he was sent home after his first week of outreach in Fiji. He actually planned to run away on his way home, but the school leaders paid for a taxi because they wanted to bless him one last time, and so he was driven to his aunt: Aunty Va, the base leader in Nadi, where we had also just completed our first week of outreach. He really wanted nothing more than to get away from YWAM and forget his DTS (because I think the process wasn’t very nice to him either). However, we still needed a Fijian to come with us for translating etc., so his aunt sent Nick along with us. Which was probably the best thing that could have happened to him and to us.

So, that was the backstory, of which we knew almost nothing until much later. For us, the story started here: Nick was a huge help right from the start. He took on the responsibility of being our guide and translator very well from day one—but more than that: he was a lot of fun, brought his own ideas into the ministry times and church services, preached, often did the dishes without being asked, communicated with our hosts and, most importantly of all, he fit into the team incredibly well. We got along great with Nick and also saw his eagerness to learn. So we asked him if he wanted to come with us for the next two weeks as well (Both times we asked him just the day before, sorry Nick). During our last week with him, we started to find out more and more about his backstory and then, without his knowledge, spoke with his original DTS. After several phone calls, and because they heard how much Nick had changed, he was allowed to return to his old team, and we sponsored his outreach costs. We were able to tell him and the rest of our team in his very last hour with us that he wouldn't be going home but instead gets to go to Malaysia. You can imagine how happy we all were! God wrote this story better than we could have ever dreamed. And so Nick didn't go home during the first week of outreach, but got a second, unexpected chance, became a good friend of ours, was able to serve his country in this way, and could now go to Malaysia as a missionary (which financially wasn't really possible before). But the most important thing: God gave him a second chance and showed him how much He loves him!

I also need to mention here that I am by no means telling this story to show what good deeds we have done. Quite the opposite. For us, our time with Nick was beautiful and we think he blessed us more than we blessed him. He was a huge help and a good friend right from the start—neither of which we would have had if he hadn't been forced by Aunty Va to come with us😀 And of course, I was glad to have a second guy on the team😉

Recap

Re-Entry & Grad-week

We met up again in Whangarei after 8 weeks, prepared the students for going home, and, among other things, had the graduation. Since the next DTS (and now also a BCC!!!) had already started in January, our houses were occupied and we were accommodated in bungalows at a campsite. We had class, were able to connect with the other teams again, and got to know the new students. We celebrated, had fun, found closure, and, accompanied by many tears, said goodbye.

Staff Debrief

During this week, we met as a staff team and discussed the school quarter, looking at what went well and what we could improve, also with the help of student feedback. Fortunately, the feedback was almost exclusively positive! We also prayed, reminisced, held one-on-one catch-ups, and wrapped it all up with a meal together in the park.

Holidays

For my first week of holidays, I got to stay with Nico and Bri, my co-leader. It was very restful and away from the normal work environment. I did a lot of cooking, reading, went hiking, and played with their little daughter.

DTS-Workshop

This actually would have been my second week of holidays, if it hadn't been for a DTS workshop taking place in Fiji. I was able to learn so much that I can bring back to the team and apply on future schools. I managed to make a few new connections, catch up with friends, and also form some new friendships with some really cool people. Besides that, it was incredibly beautiful to get to know various people my own age who are truly invested in the Pacific. I am convinced that this week will significantly shape my future with YWAM, and that some of the people I met here will write history in the Pacific, or are already doing so.

Operations

Whenever staff are not part of a school, they become part of the "Operations Team." On one hand, this team is responsible for a lot of the practical work, such as cooking, repairs, and various other tasks. On the other hand, we pray a lot for the school and the base, and we invest time into our community outreaches, as well as ministries of other organizations and churches. It was my first time on the Operations Team (since I've been involved in every school up until now, haha), and I really enjoyed the quieter daily routine.

Easter camps

Over Easter, I was involved in two very different camps:

In the first camp, there were about 5,000 teens, many of whom were not Christians. Everyone slept in their tent villages, and twice a day there were sessions with worship, preaching, etc. in a big hall, plus plenty of workshops. I got to help out at the corner store, had a lot of fun, and got very little sleep (just as it should be for a good camp😁).

The second one was more of an outdoors camp, but for younger children and only during the day. There, I supported the teenage leaders, got to share an input with them, and simply helped out wherever I was needed.

Open Season

"Open Season" is what we call the time when no school is currently on campus. During this time, the focus is primarily on community work, preparations for the upcoming schools, and individual tasks. Since we have grown a lot over the past two years, we have significantly more capacity for projects outside of the DTS. We have much more specialized teams, and people are able to lean into their strengths. Something I find incredibly beautiful about our campus is how visionary we are. I don't promise anything anymore these days, but I think at some point in the future, I will share more about the vision and plans of our base.

Pastoral visits in Asia

I got to spend 3 weeks in Indonesia and Thailand. About halfway through a DTS outreach, we send a leader from our base to the teams to do a so-called pastoral visit. The goal is to not just send the teams out, but to accompany and support them on site as well.

During the first week, I went to Bali with Barry, our ministry leader, to see how he handles it all. After that, I went to Thailand and visited our team in Chiang Mai. We went to a mountain village there to work with the locals. This was my message in the prayer chat back then:

"We are currently in a mountain village in Thailand. It's quite cool here😅 I feel a little bit like I'm in a Kung Fu movie😂 Thirty years ago, this village didn't have a single Christian, and now about 14 out of 100 families are followers of Jesus. Today we visited the village head's wife. She told us (through two translators: from English to Thai to Karen) that she and her husband would like to be Christians. However, there are two things standing in the way: 1. As the head of the village, her husband has to perform certain traditional rituals that involve worshipping spirits. It is uncertain what would happen if they were to resist this. In such a small village and such a strong "fear-and-power culture," that could have very uncomfortable consequences. 2. In Karen culture, such decisions are made with the whole family. Either everyone changes their faith or no one does. Coming from an individualistic culture, this is very difficult for me to accept. However, I also believe that God can use this for something positive, and I see the potential for an entire family to come to Jesus. But for that to happen, the family first needs to be in one place to discuss it. At the moment, however, all the children are living in different parts of the country."

That was definitely an experience. While the team worked with the children for up to 6 hours a day, I conducted one-on-ones with the students. This allowed me to get a deeper insight into the team and hear how each individual was doing. I was also able to bring in some fresh perspective, encourage them, give feedback, and pass along a tip or two. All in all, a very beautiful and fruitful time.

The last three weeks

Now you are all caught up again. Although I’ve already been back from Asia for 3 weeks, not much exciting stuff happened because I was sick. The DTS has been back on base since Saturday and they are having their final week here before they head back home or move on into secondary schools and missions.