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WHAT WE ACTUALLY
DO
The country of Vanuatu
has a great need for training, especially for young people. The school
drop out rate is high and without the proper training, young people in
the urban areas have
a hard time finding and keeping jobs.
Over the years of
establishing some of YWAM's University of the Nations courses here, we
have realized that most young people are actually not in a place to
succeed in any academic or vocational training environment, either
because it is simply a foreign concept to them or because they are
dealing with issues in their lives that make a success impossible.
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Here at V2LIFE we are
creating a safe environment for these youth to grow and develop for a
season in their lives to then be in a place where they can succeed in
formal training with us, with YWAM in other locations, with other
educational institutions and in the job world.
There is also a very
big need for a holistic Gospel being taught. A Gospel that does not
entirely focus on handing out tickets to heaven, but carefully includes
all aspects of the NT concept and Greek meaning of what we commonly call
'salvation'. Therefore we try to include this teaching in everything we
do - be it discipleship, teaching and preaching, community development
projects, medical mission.
If you are interested
in the details of what we are doing on a daily basis we encourage you to
follow our various FaceBook profiles and pages.
You can also find out more about
our specific ministries we are running and establishing by clicking on
the below links.
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LIFE FARM
Vanuatu is to a large
degree based on subsistence farming and that is also the environment
most young people would be most familiar with. V2LIFE runs a small farm
to use this circumstance as a tool to disciple young people.
A handful of youth are living and working
at the LIFE FARM. They have recognized issues in their lives such as
addictions, emotional hurts, moral struggles and all their implications
and a general loss of direction in their lives that are momentarily
hindering them from getting an education or a job.
Life at the farm is filled with all sorts
of manual labor - taking care of our chicken and goats, working the
fields, processing the harvest or selling the products, only to mention
a few here. We also want to branch out and teach fish farming and even
handicraft and arts in the future.
Besides learning valuable hands-on skills
the youth also learn about responsibility, reliability, honesty, work
ethics, team work and many other important values for a successful and
meaningful life.
As part of teaching skills in the area of
agriculture and aquaculture we see it as a great opportunity to
introduce and even research new and better models and systems of how
people in developing nations on a grassroots level can use these areas
to create a better livelihood for themselves. We hope that over time we
will be able to start impacting families and communities in Vanuatu
through the youths who will have lived, worked and learned with us.
The farm runs alongside our LIFE FAMILY
which really gives the context for life at the farm. It is like the farm
is family run. |
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LIFE FAMILY
The LIFE FAMILY
provides the context for our farm. The two ministries really go
together, depending on each other. It is like the farm is family run,
staff and participants living and working together in a family like
environment.
It is during the family times when the youth receive encouragement
discipleship and counseling to help them form life-giving biblical
habits and patterns. Within the family there are also times of worship
and intercession as well as teaching sessions on selected topics.
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LIFE TEAMS
Receiving life is one
thing; giving life is a whole different story. As Christians we freely
receive real life from God and we are called to freely give life to
others. Our
LIFE TEAMS do exactly that, they go out and give life to the ones that
need it the most. Although the teams always carry an evangelistic
message when they go out, their focus is more on a practical side. They
show their faith through their works. Biblical Salvation is a holistic
concept parallel to the Hebrew concept of Shalom describing a state
where everything is the way God intended it to be. Therefore, at the heart of our outreaches is
a holistic approach to both community development and the proclaiming of
the Gospel.
Sometimes we form a team with our own staff
and participants and go out, sometimes it is teams coming from overseas.
The spectrum of work goes from strategic community development projects
(clean water, healthcare, construction) all the way to what's sometimes
called 'Acts of Random Kindness' where the teams go and serve people in
any way possible - cleaning houses, gardening, shopping, doing laundry,
etc.
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TRAINING CENTER
Ok, maybe we are
pushing the 'life' thing a bit, but our heart behind the training center
really is much more than just running a few interesting courses. We want
to train young people for a life of service for God.
At this stage we are
still establishing the Training Center, but we are getting close to
being ready to have courses run here.
The first one we are
focusing on is the School of Biblical Studies (SBS). This is a 9 months
long intensive course where students study through the entire Bible.
Other courses we would
like to have run are in the area of science and technology, counseling, healthcare,
and early
childhood education . We encourage other YWAM
Bases that have a heart for multiplying schools to get in touch with us
about running one of their schools in Vanuatu.
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LIFELINE
Main Entry:life-line
(1 : a line to which persons may cling for safety)
2 : something considered vital for survival
The second one of the
above definitions exactly describes what our LIFELINE ministry is all
about. We place a high value on this side of our ministry. It includes
areas like our logistics for food and transport, the maintaining of our place,
administration, hospitality, but also worship and intercession.
We strongly believe
that this side of the ministry is not only crucial for the effectiveness
of a ministry, but, when taken seriously and done right, it is an area
in Christian Service that can bring so much glory to God.
We do not want to miss
out on this opportunity to glorify God and make great efforts in this
area just like in all other areas of our ministry.
If you are a handyman,
an accountant or a chef and want to serve God in missions, you will feel
just as important as the Bible teacher or counselor working with us.
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