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EpicQuest
-:- Panama Outreach Updates Summer 2006
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 “That’s when I realized that some of the lyrics to the music I was listening to made it hard for me to worship God.” said Josiah from Kentucky. He continued to explain his personal struggle to have a relationship with Jesus through the many distractions of life in this world.
The students successfully used the dramas and dances they had worked so hard to learn in Orlando to draw crowds of attentive Panamanian youth and adults. Josiah crafted his story to tie directly into the Gospel message of the drama that he and fellow students had just performed.
 Many times over the students spoke to crowds of up to two hundred people and described how God is the Hero of their life’s story. Most of the students said that this was the first time they have shared about their relationship with Jesus with such a large crowd and many more told stories about how God used them after the program to have a personal conversation with members of the audience about the Gospel, and even asked how they could pray for them! 
The majority of our schedule Saturday, Sunday, and Monday consisted of programs like this on the streets of Panama City’s suburbs. Tuesday was, as promised, a chance for the team to swim in the Pacific Ocean and shop at Panama City’s artisan market.
Wednesday the students are flying back to Orlando Florida for a day of spiritual reflection on the trip and a day of fun at a local theme park. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement on this trip!
Be sure to check out our new pictures at the bottom of the page and the student interview videos by clicking on the links to the right of this article. | Posted By: Creagon Muldoon on 7/26/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 2 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 0 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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 What would it have been like to be the first missionaries in panama? Our team got a good example Thursday and Friday when we split into three groups. Each traveled by dug out canoe to reach out to a different “Wounaan” or “Embera” indigenous tribes. For hundreds of years the world has changed around them, but these tribes have chosen to remain much the same, building their houses ten feet off the ground and using palm fronds for roofing.
When we arrived, the children of the villages gave us a very warm welcome and we immediately started playing games like duck, duck goose or soccer. Many of the indigenous youth have to walk forty-five minuets to get to elementary school and have no high school available near them. 
In response to the villages need YWAM Panama has started to provide a specialized boarding program for these students providing education and intense Christian discipleship. Many of these youth say they first understood the Gospel of Jesus when a YWAM team like ours came to their village. Our journey through the rain forests of Panama was a wonderful, eye opening experience.
We currently are back near the YWAM Panama center and will be working with local churches using our programs of dance and dramas to attract crowds and relate how Jesus has changed our lives.
Click the video links to see recent interviews from students.
Please keep us in your prayers as we believe that God wants to continue to do wonderful things with this team!
| Posted By: Creagon Muldoon on 7/22/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 1 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 5 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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Sixty one people and one hundred and twenty bags were packed with care, loaded with haste and all arrived safely Wednesday evening from Orlando to Panama. After a one hour bus ride we were at the Panama YWAM center. The girls found their housing and the guys took a short minivan ride to nearby housing.
The team met early on Thursday morning for a breakfast of cereal, yogurt and fresh fruit. We met together and so long term missionaries could gave us cultural orientation for our stay here.
We then traveled to a nearby neighborhood to meet the Panamanian people and present our dances and dramas. Our primary goal was only seen after the program as we were able to relationally share our faith with those who had watched us.
Thursday afternoon the team will be traveling by boat up a river to an indigenous tribe. The Panama YWAM center runs a high school for the youth of these tribes and has a wonderful relationship with the people. We will take this chance to share about how the Creator God desires to have a relationship with them personally.
I will continue to keep you updated as much as possible, but there is no internet or power available up the river. New updates will be posted as soon as possible. | Posted By: Creagon Muldoon on 7/20/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 1 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 0 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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Everybody arrived safely to Panama. It has been a long day and everyone is tired. We are all enjoying ourselves and are having a great time. The guys are worn out from helping the girls carry alot of there heavy luggage. We will all be sleeping very good tonight. Continue to keep us in your prayers. Everything has been going smoothly because of your prayers. Thank you. | Posted By: Grant Brandsen on 7/19/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 0 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 0 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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 All EpicQuest Panama students have arrived safely in Orlando Florida!
“Students have hit the ground running and started training hard and heavy” said EpicQuest Director Dave Nettles. YWAM Orlando Staff have lead times of teaching and discussion about worship, quiet times and how to share personal testimonies. “Fortunately I have a God who is a perfect Father!” said Michael Berg, YWAM Orlando Director,  as he spoke about the father heart of God.
Students spent Monday morning and afternoon learning dramas and dances they will be using draw a crowd and create relationships with the Panamanian people.
More updates are to come. 
| Posted By: Creagon Muldoon on 7/18/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 3 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 1 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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 Eleven students arrived in Orlando on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to take part in the 2006 EpicQuest Teen Leadership Training for the Baltic and Panama tours.
The TLT – as they have come to be referred – disembarked from different regions of the United States, such as Michigan, Texas, New Jersey, Virginia and New Mexico.
Teen Leadership Training is a foundation course for older teenagers that takes place before the rest of the outreach participants arrive for their respective outreaches. Because most of the TLT have prior EpicQuest or missions experience, this will help them bridge the gap between the staff and younger participants, said staff member Alexa Attila.
 Friday began for the participants with various teachings by the staff. The myriad teachings included lessons of modesty, the linking of generations, importance of worship, intercession and the servant mindset.
“I think He’s really going to use who I am and things that I like to do,” said Ashlee from New Mexico. “I just see God really revealing Himself to me in this time. I really feel like God is wanting me to do something and I’m up to it.”
The students also participated in role-playing exercises where they were asked to lead in a simulated team situation.
Initial feelings about the upcoming outreach were generally optimistic from the TLT.
 “I don’t even want to put expectations on (the outreach) because I know He is greater than I can even think of,” said Jessica from Florida. “I’m ready for Him to stretch me.”
“Last year was a lot about self-discovery and learning things about me and learning about… God and other Christians and stuff,” said Pilgrim from Michigan. “This year, I’m hoping to be more of a servant to the team and… really help everyone else grow.”
Most of the Baltic outreach participants for the will arrive in Orlando, Fl., by Sunday from places such as Kentucky, Arizona, New York and Canada. Four Latvian as well as two Swedish participants will meet up with the other students as they arrive in Europe later on in the week.
The Panama outreach participants will arrive in Orlando, Fl., on July 16 from places such as Illinois, Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan and Singapore. | Posted By: Tony Kim on 6/16/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 1 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 1 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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Teen Leadership Training Arrival Time
Teen Leadership Training students who plan on arriving for the TLT training must be at the Pine Castle United Methodist Church Oasis building between noon and 4 p.m. on Thursday.
The address for the Pine Castle facilities is:
5933 Randolph Ave.
Orlando, FL 32809
For a map to Pine Castle U.M.C., please click here.
The Oasis building is across the street from the Pine Castle Christian Academy.
Arrival Times for All Participants in EpicQuest
Baltic – Sunday June, 18th between noon and 3 p.m.
Panama – Sunday July 16th
Panama Baseball – Sunday July 23rd
The address for the Pine Castle facilities is:
5933 Randolph Ave.
Orlando, FL 32809
For a map to Pine Castle U.M.C., please click here.
The Oasis building is across the street from the Pine Castle Christian Academy. | Posted By: Tony Kim on 6/14/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 0 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 0 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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Posted are the songs to which the 2006 EpicQuest participants will be worshipping during the outreach.
1. All Who are Thirsty
2. Beautiful
3. Closer
4. Deliver Me
5. The Earth’s Song
6. Enough
7. Famous One
8. Freely
9. Grace Like Rain
10. Held In Your Eyes
11. Here is our King
12. Here I Am to Worship
13. How Great is Our God
14. In The Secret
15. I Will Not Forget You
16. Like You Are
17. Majesty (Here I am)
18. Make a Joyful Noise (I Will Not Be Silent)
19. Marvelous Light
20. My Glorious
21. No One Like You
22. No Sacrifice
23. Nothing But the Blood
24. Not To Us
25. Oh Lord To You
26. Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful
27. Only You
28. Our Love Is Loud
29. Salvation
30. Song of the Redeemed
31. Sweep me Away
32. The Vision
33. To the Deep It Is
34. Undignified
35. We are Hungry
36. Wholly Yours
37. Yearn | Posted By: Tony Kim on 6/13/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 0 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 0 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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 If anyone can say that they have been raised as a YWAM kid, then it’s Grace McKinney. After this summer, McKinney, 20, will have 13 years of EpicQuest King’s Kids outreaches under her belt. Obviously, she’s no stranger to the missions life.
McKinney’s parents, Gary and Deanna, have been missionaries for over 25 years in Spain, where she spent most of her childhood. Ever since she was 7 years old, McKinney participated in King’s Kids outreaches in Spain.
 She came to YWAM Orlando in 2000, when she found out she would be unable to attend the Spanish King’s Kids outreach that year. She has come back every year since. She finally decided to move down to Orlando to work with the base throughout the year after she took on the position of EpicQuest program director in 2003.
This summer, McKinney will be choreographing four dances for both the Baltic and the Panama outreaches with the help of Baltic Tour staff member Alissa Petersen and participant Kristen.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” she said of creating and preparing the dances. “But it feels good to see the finished product.”
Although McKinney holds the title of program director, she will also be assisted in teaching the dances to the students by staff members Alissa Petersen, Kaitlin Muldoon, Justin Berg and student Kristin.
 “It’s great to have such a diverse team to work with,” she said. “I definitely wouldn’t have been able to put this program together without their help. They add a wonderful flair to this summer’s choreography.”
No matter how many EpicQuest outreaches that she has staffed, McKinney has one constant hope for the participants every year:
“My expectations for EpicQuest are to see the participants step out of their comfort zones – that they would be able to do things that they never knew they could do and see the way that God wants to use them.”
For more information on Grace McKinney, please watch the video interview. | Posted By: Tony Kim on 6/13/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 1 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 1 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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 Life has changed dramatically the last year for Grant and Amy Brandsen. After their beachfront wedding in Connecticut last August, the couple returned to the Orlando YWAM base to spend their first year together helping out with two Schools of Missions and Evangelism, leading downtown evangelism in the city as well as a small group. This summer, however, the newlyweds felt that God has called them to be a part of the Baltic and Panama EpicQuest outreaches.
Affectionately branded in the office as the combined “Grant-n-Amy,” the Brandsens have become well-known at the YWAM base for their love of children. Although they have no children of their own yet, their passion for children is evident in the love they show to the children of the staff members at the base.
 “I have a passion for kids – ever since I was little,” Grant Brandsen said. “I’ve always grown up working with kids in daycares.”
It is from this love of children and the opportunity to work with a younger age group that the Brandsens felt God leading them to staff EpicQuest.
“We never worked with this age group – only college age (students),” said Amy Brandsen. “I think it’s important to get the younger generation involved with missions during their teen years.”
 The Brandsens’ role during both the Baltic and Panama outreaches will be that of family life coordinator. Specifically, the Brandsens will be playing the parental role for the students in both outreaches as they keep watch of the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the students.
“We’ll be looking at the well-being of the students,” said Grant Brandsen. “We’ll look at how much rest they are getting, how much fun they are having, how much food they are eating and giving them a family atmosphere.”
Even before they meet the students face-to-face, the Brandsens have been trying to familiarize themselves with the students as much as possible.
“We’ve been getting to know them through the prayer journals and phone calls,” Amy Brandsen said.
 And although the duo may be known by the singular name, “Grant-n-Amy,” the two have their own hopes for the EpicQuest outreaches.
“I really hope they get a heart for evangelism,” Grant Brandsen said of the students. “I hope through this that they not only grow in their walk with God… (but) they learn to evangelize better.”
Amy Brandsen’s hopes for the participants, on the other hand, are a bit more personal.
“I really want to develop friendships with the students who are coming and I want them to get God’s heart for missions,” she said.
For more information on the Brandsens, please watch the video interview. | Posted By: Tony Kim on 6/13/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 1 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 1 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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The EpicQuest staff visited the Oasis building, where the participants of all three EpicQuest outreaches will be sleeping, worshipping and training during their stay in Orlando, Fla.
The Oasis building is the youth building for Pine Castle United Methodist Church, located 4 miles away from the YWAM Orlando base. The building was offered for the 2006 EpicQuest outreaches by Pastor Ozvaldo “Ozy” Alvarado, the associate generational pastor of the church.
“Oasis – the building itself – is a safe place in a safe community,” Pastor Ozy said. “It’s a convenient place for missions training.”
The Oasis building is an optimal place to hold a portion of the Baltic Tour boot camp, according to EpicQuest director Dave Nettles. The facility has many resources available to the participants, including multiple showers, a kitchen, a sound system and projectors.
“I just really love missions and love seeing youth on mission,” Pastor Ozy said. “I really believe youth can make a difference in the world today, so I’m all about helping any agency and missions organization.” | Posted By: Creagon Muldoon on 6/12/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 0 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 0 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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 The summer outreach season officially began Monday at Youth With A Mission Orlando as the staff for the base’s three summer outreaches arrived at the base to begin training and preparations for three EpicQuest ministries as well as 14 Mission Adventures outreaches.
The 14 EpicQuest staff began a one-and-a-half week training session which will prepare the staff with the spiritual, physical and mental knowledge crucial for an effective and smooth outreach.
EpicQuest Director Dave Nettles reiterated the focus of the outreaches not as a performance for the people of Latvia and Sweden, but as an act of worship to God. It is as they experience sharing their faith with others through performing arts and witnessing that they develop a deeper relationship with God, he said.
 “The energy – the synergism – between the kids and how fast it’s going… it’s amazing to see the growth and how fast they are growing,” Nettles said. “I find it incredibly rewarding.”
Many of the staff repeated the same message as they stated that their main hopes for the outreach was to see the faiths of the participants to grow, as well as their own.
Alexa Attila, 20, from Benton Harbor, Mich., was a former EpicQuest participant who has transitioned into a staff position for this year’s outreach.
“I’ve grown up loving it,” said Attila, of the EpicQuest program. “It’s really changed my life and my walk with the Lord.
“One of the biggest things I’d like to do (this summer) is inspire the kids and their relationships with the Lord and learn from them. The Lord really challenged me to learn from the youth.”
 Others, like Cynda Muldoon, 54, of Benton Harbor, Mich., for whom this outreach is their first staffing experience, hope to become encouraged by the participants to openly share her faith as they will during the outreach.
“I’ve always had a passion for children,” Muldoon said. “I’m anxious to see these kids (share their faith) and learn from them.
“I feel like our role is like a grandparent role in this family and that thrills me.”
Even as the past EpicQuest participants were remembered for their synergy, YWAM Orlando staff member Dave Matthews, 25, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, saw more opportunities for the youth to grow in their spirituality.
 “I got to meet a whole bunch of youth that got me really excited about what we were doing and kind of envious about what they were doing as youths,” Matthews said of last years Arctic tour.
“Last year I kind of saw the opportunity to see more youth to realize what they could be and grow more in that. We had an opportunity last year with the Teen Leadership Training to lead more and I’d like to see that grow more. All it takes is one person to speak to another through the power of their testimony and the power of the Holy Spirit. They have the power to change people’s lives.”
Matthews particularly remembered the earnestness of 16 year-old Kristen Berg as she witnessed to the people of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.
 “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this girl is just crazy for that,’” referring to her forthright faith.
The staff – in addition to praising the participants – also commenced leadership training exercises and reviewed footage of previous EpicQuest outreaches to discern how to prepare for this year.
Staff training will continue until the 14th of June, which is when some of the older, experienced participants for the three EpicQuest outreaches will arrive in Orlando for Teen Leadership Training, which prepares those students in leadership roles during their outreaches. | Posted By: Creagon Muldoon on 6/12/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 0 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 0 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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A staple at the Youth with a Mission Orlando office, EpicQuest director
Dave Nettles, 44, is no stranger to the mission field.
 Nettles started to seriously consider a career in
the mission field after a church member back at his hometown of Louisville, KT, gave him a
book by YWAM founder Loren Cunningham, “Is That Really You, God?”
“I’d always thought that it would be a fascinating thing to do, to be on
the front lines of evangelism and sharing the gospel with people,” he said.
“(The book) gave me insight and realization that, ‘Hey, I can do this’ and that
God was really calling me to do it.”
Before he became involved with YWAM in 1992 Nettles worked in Louisville, KT, as a youth
pastor. After joining with YWAM, Nettles and his family moved to the former
Soviet-country of Belarus to establish a new base
there. Now, the Belarus YWAM base is the largest King’s Kids office in
Europe.
Dave recalled the most poignant moments during his time in Belarus.
“(I remember) seeing God work in the lives of the kids (in Belarus) and –
more importantly I believe – in the lives of the adults in the churches that we
started to work with and seeing them catch a vision of working with young
people,” he said.
Nettles joined the Orlando base on October of 2002, where he has
led three King’s Kids EpicQuest trips. The last two trips – the Arctic Tours –
led Nettles back to the Europe to the countries of Sweden, Finland, Norway and Russia.
 This year, however, Nettles will not be going on the
EpicQuest Baltic trip to Latvia and Sweden.
“I’m not going on the Baltic Tour, which is the first one here in
Florida that I
haven’t been on, so it’s fun to be able to release that and watch that go,” he
said.
The director instead will be working with various YWAM Orlando summer
outreaches in different roles. Starting Monday, June 5th, staff for
the EpicQuest outreaches to the Baltic and Panama will
start their training to prepare for the arrival of the participants and the
ministry times, where Nettles will be one of the main teachers.
One of the summer outreaches with which Nettles will be involved is the
new EpicQuest Panama baseball outreach, which will
focus on bringing together participants with a love for God and sport with
others who long to possess both of those passions.
“The growth of the youth ministries department and the youth ministries
programs that have gone on – I’m excited to be a part of that,” he
said.
| Posted By: Creagon Muldoon on 6/12/2006 - 0 Comment(s) - 0 Flickr - 0 Picture(s) - 0 Audio(s) - 0 Video - 0 Other File(s) |
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