Report from the CESC/CELG 2009

Al Akimoff, along with Jerry Praetzel, kept us enthralled with their testimonies of life back in the "good ol' days" of YWAM - and in keeping with the theme of "Releasing Spiritual Parenting" kept reminding us of the importance of remembering that we are YWAM and we have a long and wonderful inheritance as an organisation.

A subject that was directly addressed by Rochelle from YWAM Salem, was the mostly unseen, but immense and complicated issue of human trafficking. The Central European Region is one from where many of the girls originate, but more importantly it is a region through which many of them are trafficked. We were given some pointers on what to do, but more significantly, our eyes were opened to the fact that this practice exists and it is prolific in the region in which we are working.

Worship times were permeated with God's presence, and the prayer team from YWAM Salem were able to pray for each person who felt that they needed prayer, the Holy Spirit meeting each of us in the place of our need. The devotions each morning, led by Peter and Shanie Hinge (who are busy fighting cancer), were poignant and brought back to us the reality of what they are going through as a family and challenged each of us to a deeper walk with the Lord in our own lives.

"The conference was a good time to connect and build up vision and faith" reported one of the participants. Others said "The conference this year was an incredible highlight for our family. We were so blessed by all of the input from Al and Jerry and the team that came to minister to us." For me, it was a time to be reminded of what God has done (and is doing!) through us as an organisation and to remember why I love being in YWAM.

Belinda Chaplin
Banja Luka, BiH
For YWAM CE Communications