Here is a beautiful video of a flash mob that the current Marriage of the Arts DTS did in Nürnberg. Hundreds of people took time out of their busy day to watch the spectacle. Enjoy!

This is my community here in Herrnhut, there are 4 different schools and staff from all over the world in this one picture. Look for me somewhere in the back.

Some call it chaos, we call it YWAM Herrnhut.

The Hope Dies Last team is officially back in the EU as of Thursday. I'm back at work at the base in Herrnhut, catching up on the changes from the last couple of weeks. This week is one of the busiest of the year for the base. The Fire and Fragrance DTS is back from outreach, and has collided in the best possible way with the new Mobile, Justice and MOTA DTS's. We worship as a community every Monday morning and it's better than coffee at waking up the base for the week. We are staff and 4 DTS's under one canvas roof, going different ways but facing the same direction. Our worship team rocks, in more ways than one, and we are super thankful for their talent and passion.

Transnistria

We had the awesome opportunity to go to Transnistria this past Saturday. This fragment of Moldova has been on my heart since the beginning of the year. It is controlled by Russian military and all we had heard was that it was very, very difficult to get in. We are very lucky to have made friends here with an amazing English teacher, Nina who is actually from the capital of Transnistria. She was willing to go with us and serve as guide and translator. With her help we got through the 3 checkpoints into the country, only paying a minimum fee for registering the car. 

Once in Transnistria we were all taken aback by the atmosphere of the place. There had obviously been  more money put into infrastructure and development than in the rest of Moldova and there was so few people in the streets and apartments. It is well known that this place is a hot spot for corruption and black market activity. There is a lot of secrecy and fear and there is very little information about how this separatist state operates. 

Transnistria needs some pretty intense prayer:

-For reunification with Moldova
-For corruption to cease
-For the people to live in freedom and security
-For missionaries and people within the church to have influence

For more info: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/transnistrian-time-slip/

All photos by Sean Rogers

Behind the Scenes: The Serghei Interview

Here's a little behind the scenes of the interview process for the Beginning of Life promotional video. It is a real joy to see how God is using me in this way to help organizations and ministries get much needed support. I am so impressed with all the staff at Beginning of Life for letting us into the organization, sharing their wealth of wisdom with us and for always pushing for Christ-centered excellence. Please pray for us as all the footage and information gathered over the last few weeks is compiled into a series of videos and distributed. It's a lot of work, a lot of late nights but seeing this project take shape has been so worth it.

Photo by: Sean Rogers

Filming the Beginning of Life promo video has taken us all over this diverse and interesting city, including to the 10th floor roof of an abandoned building on the edge of town. We're literally on the edge!

Moldova Update

We did this little intro for the outreach in Moldova a week or so ago for the YWAM Herrnhut blog. I'm so nervous on camera!

Chişinău

Here are a few photos we have picked up along the way as we film and interview for the promotion video for Beginning of Life.

Pick a Pocket Café Name!

Well they've finally picked a name for the beautiful new café in Herrnhut. Watch this video to see more about this ministry- thought and creativity goes into every aspect of it.

Pick a Pocket// London 2012

My lovely friends are taking over London! Many from the base have gone to London to be a part of programs running for the duration of the Olympics. They are doing street evangelism, working for various ministries and sharing art to as a means of meeting new people. You can read more about what they have been up to on the http://www.ywamherrnhutblog.com/ (where all these photos are from). Or have a look at www.facebook.com/groups/pickapocket  www.twitter.com/pickapocketnews

June 2012

Heres a glimpse of my new newsletter with plans and vision for the future, if you would like a pdf please contact me via the comments or send me your email address to amylaurenfraser@gmail.com

Herrnhut Prayer Tower

Some beautiful scenery from the prayer tower in Herrnhut from when Jonathon David Helser visited.

Kona Summer Surge

This is a pretty sweet opportunity to spend a summer in Hawaii! Check out the details here.

SEED

Check out this new ministry that a number of the students on our outreach to Eastern Europe earlier this year are helping pioneer. Go here and then click on ministries, scroll to SEED- Eastern Europe. Sean designed this page and we hope to be working with this team as the small group of people I work with continues to seek out what God wants to do in this part of the world.

Liz and the Lions Tour Up-date

My delightful friends that form 'Liz and the Lions' are currently just over mid-way in their tour of the states. They've been playing festivals, bars and churches all around the place. Check out their venue dates here and go and see them! Tell them I said hi and I love them! They'll also be performing in the UK for the duration of the Olympics at all sorts of venues, I'll keep you updated closer to the time. If you haven't heard them yet then you can stream their whole album here.

Silence

I've been thinking a lot about silence lately. How much we need it. How hard it is.

"When we try to express communion with God in words, our minds quickly come up short. But, in the depths of our being, through the Holy Spirit, Christ is praying far more than we imagine.

Although God never stops trying to communicate with us, this is never in order to impose. The voice of God is often heard only in a whisper, in a breath of silence. Remaining in silence in God’s presence, open to the Holy Spirit, is already prayer.

The road to contemplation is not one of achieving inner silence at all costs by following some technique that creates a kind of emptiness within. If, instead, with a childlike trust we let Christ pray silently within us, then one day we shall discover that the depths of our being are inhabited by a Presence."

For more information:

http://www.taize.fr/en_article12.html

Madagascar

                                     

I was able to stop in Madagascar on my way home to Germany from Australia and spend a few days with my two little sisters before we headed back to our respective corners of the world. We travelled up into the highlands, crowded onto local buses and ate at street stalls. Maybe again one day.

DTS

Photo courtesy Sean Rogers

I had the privilege of staffing the last Marriage of the Arts Discipleship Training School and I wrote a little thing for the upcoming school students.

DTS is:

A laying down of expectations; of rights and a taking on of dreams; of destiny. It's a 7 month date with the divine- a deepening of a relationship with an ever present God who is not afraid of commitment and almost certainly won't take you to a bad movie. It's a meeting of minds, of hearts and souls. It's His Kingdom colliding with our reality. It's prayer, 'yeah' prayer- a conversation with someone able, willing, wanting to share His thoughts and then act on them. It's worshipping; bare feet, a crowded room. It's a high stakes game of faith where you already have the winning hand. You'll change beds, countries, attitudes and your life. You'll bring luggage and leave without baggage. You will cry-tears of happiness, sorrow and empathy. It's a choice you'll have to make everyday: to wear grace, to be present, to push in, to stay hungry, to value humility. It's a decision you won't regret. It's written into your history; it's part of your plan. It's a question you have to answer, are you READY??

 Way to make a person homesick, have a look at this video of the base made by my friends- Sean and Chad.

THIS is a link to a little write-up on the editor of the Moldovan magazine 'Escape'.

Escape magazine is-

"...a tool for forming a positive worldview among the young generation. We proclaim our anti-glamour and anti-consumerist movement, which we named ‘Simple Style’.

We convince teens that their value is not in their bank account, that they are not obligated to have all ‘new’ and ‘lastest’. Love and friendship is not for sale. We attract their attention instead to arts, education, contemporary music, their talents and strong families."

Ella Jane

Some seriously soulful music from my friends Laura and Caleb aka EllaJane. Laura has a gorgeous, powerful voice, and a heart to see her gift used to glorify God. Have a listen or download 3 free tracks below and then visit Ella Jane Official Website to download or order their full CD! Hope you love it as much as I do!

Answering a few support questions...

A few people have asked me recently how I am supported. I am very blessed to have a few loyal supporters who partner with me financially and share in what God is doing through me. I know I cannot do what God has called me to do alone and so I live a life of faith and dependency on Him and his ability to link people together. At the moment I receive about 380 Australian dollars a month regular support which covers my expenses as I lead a simple life in Herrnhut.  I have been reliant on God's miraculous provision to spend time on outreach doing the work he has called me to do. Financially I am aiming to get my support to around 1000 Australian Dollars a month. I believe this amount would give me the freedom and opportunity to fulfill my commitments for the year and continue to seek obediently after God's direction. If you want to partner with me please contact me on amylaurenfraser@gmail.com or feel free to donate via the PayPal button on the side of the page. Thanks for your support.

Human Trafficking Prayer Guide

Prayer is powerful, and a crucial aspect in the fight for justice. Here are some general prayer requests that are on my heart relating to the issue of human trafficking.

• Orphans are at particular risk of human trafficking. Many orphanages only look after children up to the age of 16. Pray that the children are educated about how to avoid being coerced into an employment situation that takes away their freedom. Pray that they get the chance to live the life that God intends for them. Prayer with particular reference to the Romanian orphanages of Beclean that thousands of children call home.
• Poverty forces many to make desperate choices that put them in dangerous situations. Many women from Eastern Europe and South-East Asia in particular, are offered jobs working as domestic help or in the entertainment industry. Many will be coerced into the sex industry because of accrued debt or drug addiction. Pray for rehabilitation centre Beginning of Life in Moldova as they use biblical principles and prayer to rehabilitate women rescued from commercial sexual exploitation.
• Pray that governments, particularly in the developed work, will wake up to the reality that legalising brothels does little to protect women and much to encouraging a culture of immorality.

These are some of the beautiful decorations (and food) at the Shine event I spoke at last night. Thanks so much to all of the amazing women who listened and engaged as I spoke about human trafficking in Eastern Europe. 

Check out the beautiful new DTS website for YWAM Herrnhut. I helped write the text for the Mobile and Justice pages- let me know what you think! http://dts.mission-live.com/

Photo courtesy of Taylor Pool

Some dear friends and a special memory of the Herrnhut Christmas market. Anyone familiar with YWAM knows its an endless stream of hellos and goodbyes as people move into and out of your life as they follow God's calling all over the world. Honored to know people so committed to the Great Commission and willing to make such personal sacrifices for His glory.

Eastern European Street Art

Photo/Art courtesy of Stephen Sou

A little bonus to living in a creative, dynamic community of missionary artists is having very talented friends.  My friend Stephen spent some time in Eastern Europe recently and did some street art that speaks out against the atrocity of human trafficking. This poster advertises abolitionist organization notforsalecampaign.org and says 'Human Trafficking. Just Business'. 

New Pick a Pocket Project... It's a Big One!!!!!!!

Me selling a Liz and the Lions CD. Photo courtesy of Dan Ax

Pick a Pocket is an awesome ministry from YWAM Herrnhut and it is making a real change in the lives of many around the world. Have a look at some of the many things we are involved in and please consider supporting us as we seek to bring God's kingdom to earth by giving our all and devoting our skills, gifts and energy to see an end to extreme poverty. Pick a Pocket

ATOM Magazine

I am very proud of this little publication! It is a compilation of stories and testimonies from the school I just staffed. It came together in about a week and a half, and was a mammoth effort for a few dedicated people. We printed 2,250 copies for distribution all over the world and within 2 days the online copy had been read 1000 times. Please pray that many people are moved by the stories and photos!

This is a poem I wrote inspired by Liz and the Lions. Hope you like it!

Photo courtesy of Dan Ax

You might remember I was able to go on tour with this band, Liz and The Lions, a while ago. They are moving on to great things with the release of their EP. I love the music, every song is from the heart. You can download 3 free songs on noise trade or get the whole CD! They are fellow missionaries who live to share God's love and they want to do big things in the music world. The above photo is from their gorgeous release party at the Wasser Schloss.

Radio Recording in Moldova

We had the chance to be interviewed a while ago to talk about what we had seen and felt while we were in Moldova. It's 23 minutes long, but I recommend it! http://www.sendspace.com/file/o1jnny

A glimpse into outreach

Moldova.

Hi from freezing cold Moldova!  We arrived at night into Chisinau last week without any contacts or accommodation and God totally led the way to this local Baptist church. Chad (the other leader) and I were coming by train from Budapest where we met with one of the founders of Not For Sale. We had sent the students ahead of us by car from Romania and were to meet with them in the train station. When they arrived we were really happy to see them, but we realised that we still didn't have any place to stay that night and no contacts either. As we all sat in the vehicles in the train parking lot  we were just thankful we were all together again. Some of the students decided that they wanted to go and look for the YMCA that we saw on the map and check it out for accommodation. As they left we sent out emails to supporters to pray right now for open doors (literally).

An hour passed and the students arrived back with positively giddy with excitement and beaming smiles. After they settled down a bit...they began to tell us the crazy story of how God provided. As they prayed before they left one of the students, Charlene, heard God say, 'Bread of Life.' They arrived at the area where the YMCA was supposed to be and nothing was there, I think it was a P.O. Box or something ridiculous like that, but they were not phased and pressed on. They realised there was Internet in the area and decided to search if there was a 'Bread of Life Church.' Nothing came up in Moldova, but through some random clicking they found a pdf. file that was from a church called 'Light of the World.' At the bottom was two phone numbers and they called the first one and it didn't get them anywhere. So they called the second and heavy Russian sounding gentlemen answered. He was blown away and could not believe that we had found his number and wanted to know how we had discovered it. He spoke little English, but could speak Romanian and Russian. Through some translation we told him who we were and at the end of the conversation his words were, 'You come here.' Meaning his church. 

They have been wonderful about getting us connected to the country from the get go. We have been working with a house for children thrown out of the orphanage system at 16, with a human trafficking program that runs a rehabilitation facility for women rescued from the sex industry, with an 'old peoples orphanage', a prison integration centre, a burns hospital, a Central Asian student English college, about 6 local churches and more!!!! Seriously I never imagined in a million years that God would use me as one of two leaders on a team of 25 that has been involved in so much ministry. We have seen a number of people come to know God, more return to faith and many encouraged and emboldened by the story of faith that God is continuing to write through this outreach.


A lot people in Moldova are lost in a 'face culture' that blinds them from seeing the blessings of their country. They have a lot of corruption, there has been no President for three years, and the unemployment is amazingly high. Moldavians want to leave there nation and will take any opportunity to jump ship that they can get. But after all of that, I have seen their love for foreigners, the love for their community, and love for the land that has been blessed to them.


In general, the students are amazing and many want to go into full-time ministry after this outreach which is the real outcome of this time. We head back to Herrnhut via Slovakia for a quick debrief next Friday and its really weighing on me how special this time has been and how much we have seen God move in this time. I had to give up my little piece of home in Herrnhut, my room, as I couldn't afford to pay rent on it while I was away and I wanted to be able to contribute as much to the team as possible. I will be sleeping on friends floors as I once again try to head up creation of a full size professional magazine in 2 weeks. All of us are exhausted but it is so exciting to see the finished result and to realise what an amazing tool print media is to reach a wide audience.


After we get the magazine into print, we head out on a tour of churches for 10 days to share first hand with people and to call more into missions. I don't know where I will be yet but we'll see what God wants to do. After DTS graduation on the 24th of March I will make my way over to Australia for the first time in nearly 4 years!! Crazy to think about it that way. I'm really looking forward to some time with family and connecting with churches.


Thanks so much for all your prayer and support.

This video is from one of the ministries that we are investing a lot of our time in. It is an incredible privilege to work with these girls and to come alongside them as they find a new future in relationship with Jesus. I have so much more to say about them and will try and write more soon. Stella's Voice


Another ministry we are working with is Beginning of Life. They run a rehabilitation center for rescued women and publish an educational magazine which they distribute through an anti-trafficking program in local schools. They reach an estimated 16, 000 students with this crucial message every year. 

At 6 ft 5 inches Treg looks pretty ridiculous holding the tiny ukelele that he plays, but he has incredible talent and an amazing passion for Jesus. Every purchase of his EP goes to support our team. Listen, it's so worth it.

Some of the team in the mayhem of the Roma settlement built in the main rubbish dump of Thessaloniki. It's highly likely that a child took this picture. 

My 'plan' to always escape winter by going on outreach in Africa at this time of year was foiled immediately by God's call to take a team around Eastern Europe right through the heart of winter. I was blessed by the provision of proper snow boots which has probably changed my life. At least the snow is very pretty...