SOE Letter

My son, Trenton, and I have just completed an amazing and life changing experience. Through support and prayer, we were able to follow God’s call on our lives to attend Youth With A Mission’s (YWAM) Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Tyler, TX. During our first three months with this school, Trenton and I both grew in our faith as we learned more about who God is and experienced Him in extremely real ways. We were then sent on a two-month outreach to the country of South Korea where our eyes were opened even more to the power of God and to His redeeming love. While on outreach, Trenton and I, along with our team, were able to put into action what we had learned during the lecture phase of DTS. We worked with teenagers, showing them that being Christian isn’t about religion, but about the beauty of loving Jesus in everyday life and giving whatever He asks because of His great love for us. We taught English to students and to pastors. We led a VBS and participated in a camp about worship. We prayed over this country, its people, and all of its major influences. Having Trenton along was such a blessing for our team. No one can break through cultural barriers as fast or as well as a four year old. It was such a blessing for me to watch how close Trenton was able to get to everyone he met. The intense love he showed, with no reservations, did a lot of healing to many people we met. As Trenton spent his outreach experience building so many wonderful relationships, I was blessed to grow in ministering. I was able to lead small groups, speak about my testimony in small and large settings, and perform in a powerful drama about falling into sin and being rescued by our Savior. Being a positive voice into these beautiful people’s lives, and seeing Trenton and I grow so much at the same time, is a blessing and experience I will always treasure.

Now, I feel as though God is calling Trenton and I to attend the second half of YWAM’s training, the School of Evangelism (SOE). This will then allow me to staff with YWAM once I complete my SOE. There is a ministry of YWAM Tyler that God has really placed on my heart; Fatherheart takes in young, unexpected pregnant women. While these women live in the Fatherheart home, they are supported emotionally and spiritually through their pregnancies. The staff is there to support the mom’s choice of parenting or adoption and to help lay a foundation of success for both the mother and her baby. This ministry has become something my heart burns for, but the next step is completing SOE. As with DTS, in order to follow this call, Trenton and I will need prayer and financial support. The lecture phase for me is $3,645 and for Trenton it is $495. This does not include the cost of the two-month outreach. However, I will not be able to go back to YWAM with this money alone, so I would also like to ask you to prayerfully consider if God is calling you to partner with Trenton and I through supporting us monthly. No one is paid to be staff at YWAM. All the staff is supported through monthly supporters. This is how the people who are staffing are able to continue their call to missions. Because of my school loans and basic needs that come with raising a little boy, Trenton and I would not be able to go back to YWAM without people partnering with us in this way. We would need a monthly minimum of $350 in order to return to SOE.

The money needed always looks overwhelming to me. But I know that God will provide at the exact time He wants Trenton and I to return to YWAM. The next SOE begins April 1, 2012. If at that time I do not have the money needed, I will hold the money that has been given until I do have what is needed, and we will attend the SOE to follow. We are trusting in God: His timing and His provision. If you would like to know more about my DTS experiences and our trip to South Korea, you can look back on my blog: brittanyschwantz.blogspot.com. If you would like to hear stories, see pictures, or if you have questions, you can email me at bschwantz@hotmail.com or call me at 320-250-0842. If the Lord lays it on your heart to partner with Trenton and I monthly, or if you would like to support those finances, please send checks to:

Brittany Schwantz

13676 Co. Rd. 17

Holdingford, MN 56340

If you would like to partner with us through the cost of tuition, you can mail checks to the above address or straight to YWAM at:

YWAM Tyler

P.O. Box 3000

Garden Valley, TX 75771

If you send a check straight to YWAM, please also include a note with my name to ensure it is credited on my behalf.

I want to sincerely thank you for considering partnering with Trenton and I as we continue to go where God has called us to be. The desire of my heart is to do nothing but what God has planned for me and my son. I want nothing more than to be in the center of God’s will for my life, and I will continuously pray for Him to close or open doors as He leads me. Thank you for any support, prayer or financial, that you can give. I will continue to update my blog as events unfold. I am very excited to watch God continue to work in my life, Trenton’s life, and in the lives of people around us.

God Bless!