Youth on the Grow


Youth on Mission in Portugal by Cam Willems, Salem Church, at SASK.


Interest in a cross-cultural missions assignment was on the rise in our youth group, so last fall I decided to offer the senior youth (grades 10–12) the option of going on a missions trip over the Easter break. We did not know our destination, or what work we would do, but a core group wanted to go. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to speak into these hearts that were eager, so we began meeting every other Tursday morning at 7 a.m. to have Bible studies and to pray together. Our purpose for the trip was to make disciples of Jesus Christ, and our goals were to grow in our faith and in our personal relationship with Jesus, to serve others in love, and to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. We set this mission and these goals and started pursuing them before we even knew for certain where we would be going.


During the Waldheim Missions Conference last July, I met


with two representatives from Operation Mobilization (OM) to discuss the possibility of partnering with them on a missions trip. As we met and prayed together, we felt we should pursue going to Portugal. One of the main reasons was that the OM field leaders from Portugal were going to be home in Saskatoon on furlough, and we would be able to meet with them in person in preparation for the trip. Aſter meeting with them and praying about it togeth- er, we all felt that this would be a great fit for our youth. Tis trip would be primarily focused on evangelism, as opposed to relief work or building projects, which would definitely take each of our youth and leaders out of their comfort zone.


From October to April our team continued to meet every


other week. Our team prayer was that Jesus would take what we had prepared and multiply it for his kingdom and his glory just as Jesus multiplied the loaves and the fish of the young boy in order to feed thousands. When April arrived, our team consisted of five leaders, five youth, and one Salem church missionary who met us in Portugal. God was faithful in preparing us to go.


On April 17 we leſt Saskatoon and arrived in Porto, Portugal


on the 18th. Aſter 1½ days of orientation with the OM Portugal staff, we traveled to the city of Fafe. Tere we spent the remain- der of our trip in partnership with a small evangelical church and a pastor couple. Our team was given the opportunity to host two youth events in the community. We played games with kids from nine to 16 years old. We were able to share the gospel of Jesus with them through our testimonies and by using the Evangecube™ (www.e3resources.org) and One Wish bracelets and pamphlets (www.onewish4u.com). Tese evangelistic tools captured the attention of the Portuguese youth and provided opportunities for our team to have further individual conversa- tions about Jesus.


We were invited into the public and private schools in Fafe


to teach English classes and hand out One Wish bracelets. Many children and youth came and asked us for the bracelets and the explanation of what it meant. Our team scattered the seed of the gospel in those schools. One student we met decided to give her life to Jesus! Tis was so exciting for our team, but especially exciting for the pastor couple from the church because they had been developing a relationship with this young girl in the pre- vious months. As we leſt each school, the school administrators invited the pastor and his wife back with any other groups they might have in the future. We received an update shortly aſter we returned home that they were able to lead another student in the school to Jesus through the use of the One Wish bracelets that we leſt with them. Praise God!


We spent one day in the city of Fatima, a large pilgrimage


site for Catholic people from all over the world. Tis was a chal- lenging day for our team as it was quite spiritually dark, and we were also stretched out of our comfort zone as we evangelized on the streets surrounding the cathedral grounds.


We set aside a day for prayer and spent many hours in prayer


together. Te team youth said they had never spent so much time in prayer. Tey were surprised at how quickly time flew by. One of youth even said that the prayer day was a highlight of the trip.


God was definitely at work in the hearts of the Portuguese,


and in our own hearts as well. Aſter arriving home on April 28, we met a few more times for debriefing. During these times, each team member shared how they have had consistent and vibrant prayer and personal Bible study times as a result of our prepara- tions and our experiences in Portugal. Our relationships with Jesus have been energized, and our hearts are so thankful. We are very grateful for those who helped make this trip possible, and to God who took our “loaves and fish” and used them for his kingdom and his glory.


Fellowship Focus, July/August 2019 9


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