The Clueless Disciple

A Simple Life, Surrendered

Recent Posts

  • Vision and Mission of Reaching the Isolated

    Vision and Mission of Reaching the Isolated

    The other day when my grandmother asked, “Can you explain, in brief, what you do so I can tell people?” I realized that I have not given the description of the “why, where, and how” of what I do with YWAM and the Maritime Academy in a concise way.  The following is a combination of what I send to prospective donors, plus some more info and vision.

    Imagine…

    There are families torn apart because of preventable diseases. Where diseases have been eradicated in developed countries, they can be debilitating for people in hard to reach places. Could medical professionals be available to all people no matter where they live?

    Many island communities don’t have enough food to feed all members of their society. Families go without food. Could agricultural experts train indigenous people with new techniques to harvest more?

    Papua New Guinea’s inner villages worship many gods. They don’t know the life that comes with Christ. Could the darkest societies be completely reached with the gospel?

    Most of these forgotten people all around the world are so isolated that they are only reachable by ship.

    YWAM Ships Kona has one of the twenty-seven YWAM vessels, in 2017 they:

    • Reached 231 villages with the Gospel

    • Served 49,997 patients with life-changing treatment

    • Installed 598 water filtration systems

    • Operated 3,777 surgeries

    Here is a video from the work YWAM Ships Australia is doing.

    Though the YWAM Ships network has twenty-seven vessels, the vision is to have forty in a few year’s time.  Our vision is big, the medical missionaries are ready…

    …but around the globe, there is a shortage of qualified seafarers and crew.

    The Good News

    The Lord led me to work with the marine-based ministries of YWAM back in 2016 and has directed me to the position of leading the initiative to see more discipleship and training programs for these ministries.

    Through the Lord’s guidance, I co-founded the Youth With A Mission Maritime Academy to meet this need of more crew. The Academy equips missionaries with maritime qualifications and experience through degree programs accredited by the University of the Nations. This enables all that we do with our medical and aid vessels around the world.

    We help teams and individuals cut through the noise of the maritime industry and get the training and qualifications they need to sail where the Lord is leading them.  We not only look to train YWAM volunteers but are also partnering with other ministries such as Operation Mobilisation, Mercy Ships, and Hellenic Ministries to see even more people reached with life-saving care and the hope that comes from Jesus.

    We have nurtured a team of twenty-two individuals (and growing) internationally that help impact nations through our programs and collaboration: five in our Coordination Team, five in our Academic Committee, five in our coaching team, and seven in our Advisory Group.

    When we started in 2017, YWAM ran one course in maritime (ship) training at two locations.  Now, we offer three Associates Degrees from the University of the Nations and eleven training programs at four locations… and this is just the beginning of what we have in the works!

    More info about the Maritime Academy can be found at http://www.ywamma.org.

    In addition to these amazing things the Lord is pulling together, there are a number of amazing prophetic words we are believing for and praying into for the future of the Maritime Academy.  If you would like to join us in prayer about some of these words, here is a list of some of them:

    There will be a wave of 200,000 new workers for missions coming out of America (a word for Christian missions in general).

    The need for maritime training in missions will bring ministries around the world together in collaboration.

    The next two to five years will be of growth, development, and recruitment, in both Academy staff and students, which will lead to further expansion in the next point.

    There will be a physical Christian Maritime University campus pioneered within the next six years from the work we are doing now.

    Know that with your prayers and financial support, you are a part of this mission and these victories.  What has been achieved and pioneered is because of you!

    Our testimonies are our biggest witness of God’s goodness in our lives, don’t forget to share them with your friends, it may just be what they need to hear to get them through their situation.

  • 5 Salvations, Mental Illness, and KC

    5 Salvations, Mental Illness, and KC

    A lot has happened over the past few weeks and is coming up. Starting new men’s small group, working to plan community local outreach opportunities, and coordinating an international YWAM Ships marketing campaign are just a few of the great things that have come from the past month and a half.

    The Discipleship Training School (DTS) that did their three-month lecture phase here at YWAM Harpenden in January, are now on outreach in some remote villages in the Himalayas.  They hiked through the mountains to reach tribes that had never heard the gospel!  During their time so far, they have seen five salvations in the villages!

    Your prayers and support help with teams like this, as I am able to work with the DTS through relationship, discussion, and testimony during their time preparing for outreach!

    Mental Illness

    I am no expert and do not claim to know all that people go through, but do know that most mental illness is linked to spiritual attacks of the enemy.

    This is no exception for missionaries or people in ministry.  In fact, I would say that being in ministry could make you more susceptible to this form of spiritual attack, as the enemy sees that our work with the Lord is a threat to his works to kill, steal, and destroy.

    For me, I have seen this as the case in the past few months.  A number of my friends have reported heightened problems of mental illness and negative personal outlooks.  A few have even returned to their families to seek outside help and counseling.

    I bring this topic up because for some, people in ministry are put on a pedestal as nearly-flawless or having everything together, when in reality, we are all on this journey called life and trying to walk in relationship with Christ.  Things come up.  All of us have a past.  We are all broken without the Lord.

    We need to stand together in the face of the enemy to protect our warriors that serve on the front line.  Would you join me in prayer for the thousands in ministry around the world that suffer from mental illness?

    Kansas City

    Under two-weeks until I come to KC!  I am so thankful that a lovely supporter has loaned me a car for my time at home!  Also, I am ridiculously excited to drive on the wide open streets of America.  Reply to this email and I will send you a photo of how narrow these UK roads are.

    Let me know if you would like to meet while I am in town.  My main availabilities are June 10-12th and the 14th and would love to have a coffee or meal with you!

    Finance

    This past week has been a huge blessing with five new monthly pledges coming in.  This makes me more than halfway to full-time ministry funding!

    If you would like to financially partner or know of people who might be interested, I would be more than happy to chat and answer any questions you or they may have. Shoot me an email at: thecluelessdisciple@gmail.com and we can set up a time to talk!

  • From burnout to a renewed passion

    From burnout to a renewed passion

    Over the past few months, I have slowly gone from optimistic about all the New Year’s Resolutions I have, to discouraged and nearly burned out. But now I am more confident than ever before!

    How did this happen?  Well… Jesus.

    So, I launched the year with the goals to: run a marathon by Christmas (with small steps between), eat healthier, increase my working capacity and focus, among other things.  The list was comprehensively long.

    It started strong, but then failed.  Then failed again.  And again.  FAILURE.

    I got to the point where I was feeling incompetent and had no personal-life boundaries.  I lost motivation in work, because I could not find a way through the pile of to-dos.  I even started to get short and irritable with the people closest to me.

    Sorry, I do not mean for this to be a depressing update, because it is not!  God got me through it!

    When I was at my lowest, it was time for YWAM Harpenden (my home campus in the UK) to have our bi-annual “Community Days.”  It is a time for all staff to come together for two mornings during the week and seek the Lord and his vision for us as a campus.

    I went into Community Days disheartened.  I was to the point of nearly throwing in the towel and taking a break from missions.

    But lo and behold, the Holy Spirit showed up.  Not only did he show up to me, but also to the people around me.  He spoke through them to give me affirmations about what I was going through, and how he was calling me to more than what I was walking in.

    Some words that were from the Lord:

    “You are anointed to call people out into their calling with authority.” and “You are going to be able to see people’s potential and encourage them in it.”

    And

    “You are to walk in the pastoral and leadership giftings.”  and “You will have a large influence and be a great leader.”

    These confirmed some things that I was thinking, but had discounted them because of being disheartened.

    Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.  – James 1:12

    Since getting involved with YWAM, I have been hesitant to walk in the leadership I had been given.  I thought that people would say things like, “you don’t have the education for that” or, “you are too young to be in that position.”

    Since Community Days, my leaders and mentors (without my mentioning my experience at the event) have been pushing for me to be more in the forefront and giving me more leadership opportunities.  I have even received 2-4 offers of mentorship since the beginning of the Community Days to help me develop in leadership and in skill.

    Even though I have been assured in my calling and where the Lord is leading, I have never felt THIS strong and confident about what He is calling me to and how to walk it out.

    I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for this next season!

    University of the Nations Maritime Academy Update:

    I had a discussion a few days ago with one of YWAM’s international leaders, and as a result, along with what the Lord has been talking to me about, we see that the vision and potential for the Maritime Academy is WAY bigger than any of us had imagined.

    It is clear that what we are doing with building the Maritime Academy is new territory, and territory the enemy does not want us to take. In order for this vision from the Lord to come to pass, we need an army of prayer warriors to join the mission! Are you willing to join the call?

    If you are willing to join the movement, please download this this prayer guide we put together (linked here) and, if possible, set an alarm on your phone for 12pm everyday as a reminder to pray for this mission for the nations!

    How has the Lord worked in your life recently?  I would love to hear your stories!

  • Season of life

    Season of life

    Update on the University of the Nations Maritime Academy

    During the last few weeks of 2018, leading up to New Years, I was really pushing to see what God had envisioned for 2019.  This year will definitely have a different flavor to the one we just saw.

    In 2018, we traveled around the world (twice), planting seeds about more efficiently equipping those called to serve the forgotten people on coastlines and islands around the world.  I personally visited four of the largest YWAM vessel equipped ministries around the world.  I used this time to cast the vision of a unified effort for training and glean understanding of how all the parts (campuses and ships) work together for the Body of Christ.

    This year, I believe, that we (our University of the Nations Maritime Academy team) are to be in a season of watering, fertilizing, and pruning the seeds we planted in the year’s past.  We are taking this season to follow through with what we have already communicated, build a solid foundation and structure for the Maritime Academy, and continue to build our team and ensure we do not overload ourselves with the task at hand.

    Highlight: We may soon be in a position to accept grants!  We envision two funds (for now), one to give scholarships for citizens of developing countries to train for and obtain maritime certifications, and the other fund to subsidize the pioneering of new training programs in developing nations!  We have carried this vision for the past two and a half years, and it is finally coming to pass! God is good!!!

    “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Luke 10:12) And our vision is to see more laborers trained and serving the kingdom where few have heard the Good News!

     

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    Finally received the Maritime Academy branding!

     

    A personal change of seasonings

    Coupled with the clear Word of the Lord on being in a season of working on the seeds we already planted, I feel like this is a time for me to slow down a bit and sow into the local community of YWAM Harpenden (UK) and work on Academy administration.

    Travel, for me, will be limited this year, but I am looking forward to some time of personal development and possibly even attending a Bible course later in the year (more on that in a future update).  I hope to use this time to gain a little more financial stability with further fundraising and paying off debt from last year.

     

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    The Bluewater DTS graduated at YWAM Harpenden just before Christmas!

     

    Visiting Kansas City

    Well, my sister (actually aunt and only 3-years older than myself, but we grew up together, so basically my sister) is getting married in June!  Since my birthday is just a week before her big day, I will be coming back to KC for my birthday (first time in 4-years) and the wedding events!

    I will be in the metro area from around June 7th to about June 16th.  I hope to see as many people possible in the short time, but will also be back in December to apply for another UK visa (unless the Lord leads elsewhere).

    Side note: If anyone has a spare vehicle during my time in KC, I would be very grateful for the use of it!  

     

    Awesome testimony

    We have been processing an application for a Fijian applying for the School of Navigation and Seamanship with the YWAM ship, the Next Wave. Yesterday we were going through his visa applications, and ran into issues with the application for Croatia that may have caused him not to attend the course.

    TODAY the Fijian and Croatian governments mutually agreed to waive all short-term visa requirements for each other’s citizens!

    This makes it so he doesn’t even have to apply for the visa for Croatia!  PRAISE GOD!

    Here is the news article: https://www.croatiaweek.com/croatia-fiji-sign-visa-waiver-agreement%EF%BB%BF/?fbclid=IwAR36WPqoA_vm7dU3P_FBmtX-g4itBu8cL0DBjoMpsInxhmIPUYaqPU0CTz0

     

  • Seeing the fruit

    Seeing the fruit

    “When predictability is high, impact is low. In other words, when the audience thinks they know what you’re going to say, and you go ahead and say it, your words make very little impact. On the other hand, when an audience is surprised or intrigued, they will think long and hard about what they’ve heard….

    …if we’re trying to live questionable lives, then cutting the lawn, saying hi to the neighbors, washing our car, walking the dog and driving to the office every day is hardly an intriguing lifestyle. We need the impetus to propel us outward, into the lives of our neighbors, but also upward, into deeper intimacy with Jesus. We need to become a godly, intriguing, socially adventurous, joyous presence in the lives of others.”  – Michael Frost, Surprise the World! The Five Habits of Highly Missional People

    We are called to live “questionable lives” that make people question why we operate the way we do, then we have the opportunity to tell them about our relationship with Christ!

    Surprise the World! The Five Habits of Highly Missional People is a great book (thank you Church of the Four Corners for the recommendation), I highly suggest the read!

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    Working in the fleet support office at YWAM Ships Kona

    My “questionable life” the past few months has led to some pretty amazing fruits!  Thank you, Jesus!!!

    For the past month+ I have been visiting the major YWAM Ships campuses to talk training needs and collaboration strategies.  I have visited YWAM Ships Kona, YWAM Medical Ships New Zealand, and YWAM Medical Ships Australia.  The talks have been more productive than we could have imagined!

    —

    When in Kona, I met a man through a “divine” appointment who has had a vision for 20-years too, “enable and help mobilize the church through the telling of victory stories from the front lines [of the mission field], in an effort to inspire the advancement of the kingdom of God.”

    Months earlier, while in Thailand, I met with some brainstorming groups to talk about a new project for a channel that will be streaming a 24/7 feed of stories about ministry and news from the front lines.

    Because I followed where the Lord has directed me in regard to this trip AND going to Thailand, I was able to connect these two visions.

    There was another story like this that really showed me that I am not just chasing after my own dreams, but following God’s vision to connect His people.  Sadly, I forgot it….

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    On my way to YWAM Ships Kona, I met up with Erik, a fellow YWAM Ships guy who suffered a severe motorcycle accident.  Thankfully, he is making a full recovery!

    One of our ships ministries, YWAM Ships Kona, who only has two of the 27 YWAM vessels, achieved this in 2017:

    • Reached 231 villages with the Gospel
    • Served 49,997 patients with life changing treatment
    • Installed 598 water filtration systems
    • Performed 3,777 surgeries


    All services provided by YWAM Ships are free of charge and only possible by volunteers and financial partners.

    Nearly all of these patients were only reachable by ship because of how isolated the islands are.

    Here is a corporate promotional video from YWAM Medical Ships Australia:

    Pretty crazy right?!

    Our vision is to see more called to ministry with the ships and be trained to become qualified crew, which in turn, makes reaching these people with the gospel a reality!

    Here is a glimpse of the fruit from my YWAM Ships trip so far:

    Today, YWAM runs 1 course in maritime (ship) training at 2 locations.  We now have 16+ training programs at 5 locations scheduled over the next 3-years….. and I still have one more stop at YWAM Ships Newcastle!

    This amount of collaboration between the YWAM Ships Community is unprecedented and gives us amazing hope for the future of the ministry globally.

    We are thankful for this fruit that is only possible by God going before us in our endeavors!

    Thank you for your support and prayers as we continue to go into uncharted territory to see the Word of God reach all nations within our lifetimes!

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    My Reformation Day jack-o-lantern, Hawaiian style 🤙

    How are you living a “questionable life?”  What is the next step for you to become more “questionable?  I would love to hear your response, if you wish to share, please email me at thecluelessdisciple@gmail.com!

     

  • World-Wide

    World-Wide

    Imagine being nearly blind, where you can see shapes and colors, but not defined features.  Your world is fuzzy.  That is what you knew and how you lived your life and didn’t know better.  A life lived where your view of the world and path in front of you is never very clear.

    Reflecting back, I see now how blurry my vision was. At the time, it seemed clear, but actually when I look back, I had no idea what was in store!  When I had to leave the Bluewater DTS in Greece because of visa problems, my vision was blurred.  But, as per usual, God knew exactly what was next and never skipped a beat.

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    Tanner & Melinda Neufeld at their wedding.

    After a short time back to the U.K., I went to Canada for the wedding of Tanner and Melinda Neufeld, both were my fellow students in the 2017 School of Navigation and Seamanship on the Next Wave in Greece.  It was one of the most enjoyable events that I’ve had the privilege of attending due to their amazing family and friends who made it happen. Though the Neufelds are now in YWAM full time, their tight budget didn’t hold them back from being blessed with a FREE and beautiful wedding venue on Niagara River.  Though the name would suggest it, I still left Niagara without properly seeing the famous falls.

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    Me giving a presentation on the past 2-years in missions.

    I then continued to Kansas City where I spent a whirlwind of a week catching up with as many people as I could manage, along with a 2-Year in Missions Open House.  Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the Open House. It was amazing to see so many friendly faces under one roof.

    Every time I visit, it gets a little harder to leave. Each time, people have aged, their paths have changed, or I just plain miss them!  The most memorable and hardest things to leave are the moments I get to sit around the table with family and friends merely laughing and sharing stories.  Ministry isn’t without its toll, and that toll is never more evident than when visiting home.

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    In Thailand: a few of the gentlemen I have the honor of working with in YWAM Ship-Equipped Ministries community.

    YWAM Together is Youth With A Mission’s largest international conference that is held every two years.  This year, 4,000 attended in Pattaya, Thailand.  Thousands of Bibles were distributed, numerous healed, and the nation of Thailand empowered for this next season of their history.
     
    I attended the Together Conference immediately following my visit of KC.  The time in Thailand was (nearly) the most productive time of my life.  Because it was so big and so many attended, everyone we needed for approvals, in regard to new training initiatives, where there!  I was able to get done in a week, what a month or two worth of slow response emails would have achieved.  It was also an amazing time of relationship building and getting to know more of the YWAM Ships community.  I am so humbled to be a part of this community, and what the Lord is doing through YWAM world-wide!

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    The current YWAM Ship-Equipped Ministries world-wide.

    There are a lot of big developments that we are working on to make the YWAM ships more impactful, have a wider reach, and to be more efficient in how we operate.  As a lot of the bigger projects we are working on are not official or are still being discussed, I am not allowed to write about them on a public form like this.

    It constantly amazes me how much bigger God is than everything else.  Example: how am I, Domanic Jordan, able to go from no experience with vessels, to helping create a maritime training degree course within one of the most international universities on the planet?  How little am I, yet some ideas I have been inspired with are making small, yet positive, changes in the world’s largest international missions movement?

    Oh, how TRUE it is when He said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” [2 Corinthians 12:9] I thank the Lord that I was not qualified to do any of this work, because through my weakness, HIS power is made evident.  This is clear: it is not through me, but through Christ that all my works are achieved and made possible!

  • I am still The Clueless Disciple

    I am still The Clueless Disciple

    Not knowing what the next step is, is honestly, stressful.

    “When I first heard The Lord speak to me about going into the mission field, I wanted to know exactly what His long-term plans were.  My desire to understand what was in store for me soon blinded me from His desire for spontaneity.  It took me many (thank goodness minor) mistakes for me to realize that His true plan is like the Bible says, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7.

    With the calling that God has placed on your life, the feeling of not knowing what the next step is or what is up ahead can be expected.  In Psalm 119:105 it says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”  The verse says, “a lamp unto my feet.”  It is a light for your feet so you may see your next step.  It doesn’t say, ‘Thy word is a map,’ so we may plan every detail of our journey.

    If God showed us everything, where would the fun be in that?  If we knew every step ahead of time, how would our faith be built up?

    Walk with Him in intimacy and faith daily, because practice makes perfect, and having faith and a relationship with God is no exception.

    Be clueless.  Trust Him.  Have fun.  He will give you a greater adventure than you could ever imagine.”

    Above is a quote from my blog’s “About” page written over a year and a half ago.  I guess it is good to reflect on the words of the past, as they often ring true throughout your life.

    Image of the Bluewater DTS staff and students.
    The Bluewater DTS staff and students while in Split, Croatia

    One week ago, I found out that I had 3-days to leave the country of Greece, or else I would be there illegally.  My application for an extension of my Greek visa had been denied.  It had nothing to do with me and more to do with the fact that immigration continues to tighten with refugees continuing to flood Europe.  Because of this set back, I had to leave the Bluewater Discipleship Training School (DTS).

    The disappointment of not being able to see the DTS students to graduation after coordinating the school up to this point was stomach sinking.  But as God does, He works all things for the good of His Kingdom.

    I am now back in Harpenden, England (I have a 2-year visa for England, so I am safe), and working on projects that have been neglected for the past month, as I have been caught up with the DTS.  The “plan,” for now, is to work on YWAM Ships Training (soon to be renamed) and to finalize and publish the website within the month.  There are a lot of other marketing, communication, and training development things happening as well, but I won’t bore you with the details (if you want more info, please email me).

    My plans to come visit Kansas City are still happening!  I will be there from August 20th until the 28th-ish (still not confirmed, dependent on how well fund-raising goes).

    Prayer Requests

    The big push right now is finances, and praying for more partners in the mission.  If I do not raise $500 more per month by the end of August, I will probably have to resign from the mission field (I am loosing my biggest supporter in August).  This is not me being dramatic, this is a fact.  Any help you can give helps the mission!  $500 can be just five people giving $100 per month, or ten people giving $50!

    Please consider supporting the mission.  If you have any questions on what I do or on how to give, please do not hesitate to contact me via email or on Facebook Messenger.

  • Quick Updates

    Quick Updates

    Based off of my current busyness with serving as Purser on the s/y Next Wave, co-founding new training programs through YWAM’s University of the Nations for the ships ministries: brining hope and healing to the forgotten coastlines and island of the world, and coordinating and staffing the School of Navigation and Seamanship and the Bluewater (Sailing) Discipleship Training School (DTS), I have found that more brief updates may be easier for me, but also less of a book for all of you to sift through.  Because of this, most of my updates will now take 5-minute (or less) to read.

    Our School of Navigation and Seamanship (SONS) was blessed with numerous amazing teams visiting!  This night we had five different YWAM teams join us for a fun night of games and special meal.  The teams that joined us were on outreach serving both the refugees and the Next Wave during their few weeks with us!

    The Next Wave Crew & SONS worked hard to get the vessel into ship-shape for the Bluewater DTS.  It starts in just over 1-week!  The picture above shows the flying jib (one of the sails) being installed.

    A little less than two-months ago, we did a long-weekend sail training voyage around the south of the island on the s/y Next Wave.  We participated in fire drills, sea-survival training, heaving sails, and man-overboard exercises.  The weekend was a success, letting the SONS practically practice what they learned in theory over the weeks.

    The schedule for next year is to run the DTS and SONS at the same time to enable us to sail more frequently and give all the students much needed sea-time to acquire further certifications.

    All of the School of Navigation and Seamanship class of 2018 graduated!!!!  Two will be back with us around August to serve as crew during the Bluewater DTS, one will be pursuing the call of starting a ships ministry in the Caribbean with his family, and two (one already mentioned) wants to start deep discipleship ministries through sailing.  100% return to the mission is exactly what we pray for!

    After less than a week back in Harpenden, I met up with the other DTS staff in Croatia (where the first 2-weeks of the DTS will take place) for staff training.  All the staff and students will be participating in the STCW Basic Training in Croatia (a requirement to serve on any commercial vessel) before continuing to the s/y Next Wave in Lesvos, Greece.

    The last few days of staff training have consisted of: praying over each student and listening to the Lord for words of encouragement for each of them, digging into the Gospel and studying what it means to be servant leaders, and getting to know each other better with team building.

    Prayer Requests

    • Wisdom and guidance for the coming DTS and how to best disciple others.
    • Funds for the ministry and training programs of YWAM Next Wave, as there is maintenance that needs done, and not enough income to cover it, yet.
    • I hate to sound like a broken record, but I really do need your help praying in the finances for me to stay in missions without going further into debt.  I am trusting the Lord for the finance, as He has called me to this walk. 

    Let me know how I can be praying for you!

  • Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

    I can’t do it.  All the responsibilities, being a good influence, always practicing patience, and living a life that always looks good from a ministry perspective.  It is hard.  My past still looms in my mind.  What I could have been follows me.  What would my life be like if I would have stayed on my own course back home?

    More on that below (it was a rougher week)

    School updates:
    Well, the School of Navigation and Seamanship (SONS) has finished the third week of the course, but only there first week of our time in Greece.  I could not be happier with our group of guys.  They all have a heart to stay in the ships ministries, and even possibly starting their own! (This is what we have been praying for!!!)

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    The SONS (left to right): Matt (coach), Josiah, Domanic (co-leader), Joshua, Brian (leader), Dane, Ben (staff), and Steven.

    The first two weeks were in Croatia for their STCW Basic Training (It was half the cost, as compared to the one in the UK that we were considering), and to use YWAM Croatia’s sailing yacht to give the SONS guys more sail time, as we won’t be doing two days of it here in Greece.

    Sailing the St. Brendan in Croatia with the YWAM Croatia base leader, Jarod.
    Firefighting training during the STCW course in Croatia.

    I am so pumped about the coming Bluewater Discipleship Training School (DTS)!  We have six of the seven required students to run the course, so prayers for at least one more please.  So far, it looks like we will have five staff/crew, which are a great group of lads and ladies that I cannot wait to work with.

    Life updates:
    This week has honestly been a little rougher.  There was a lot of admin stuff that needed done, random things that kept me from having productive days, and being home sick, now for back in Harpenden, England and back in KC.

    What would my life be like if I would have stayed on my own course back home?

    I could be in marketing, with a degree, and would probably be married, and making a life for myself, if only I would have stayed in Kansas City.  I wouldn’t have to submit myself to having to “beg” people to support me just to eat and have a bed to sleep in.

    BUT, I wouldn’t have found the deep relationship I now have with the Lord.  If I would have ignored His call on my life, I would not be living to the potential He had for my life.

    Despite the occasional hard and stressful day, or having sentimental feelings of the past, I would not change a single thing I have done with the Lord.

    In the hardest times, we have to stop, readjust focus, and continue, only in the strength the Lord gives us.  When we feel like we are pushing along in our own strength, that should be a big red flag that it’s time to refocus on God and what he wants out of the particular situation.  There are few worst things than to push through to the end of a project and realize the Lord had a way easier way just waiting, but we were too heads down and hard headed to stop and meditate on Him for the solution.

    I am now to a point of being so busy that I can’t afford, not to stop and seek the Lord in everything.  If I was to do it in my own strength, I would crash and become a hermit somewhere.

    What I do on the daily:

    • Cultivate relationships, train, and disciple others
    • Coordinate/Co-Leading the School of Navigation and Seamanship and Bluewater (Sailing) Discipleship Training School on-board the Next Wave
    • Developing the new website for maritime training and crew management systems for YWAM and the University of the Nations, called YWAM Ships Training
    • Ship yearly program scheduling for the Next Wave
    • Procedure and effective system implementation and training
    • Marketing and social media for YWAM Next Wave
    • Communications and future program/course development
    • Photography and videography projects for various ministries
    • Working towards further maritime certifications that will help me to be more helpful in the ships ministries
    I don’t say all of this because I am trying to make me sound cool, it is to show how truly the Lord can give you strength!  I would absolutely lose my mind if it wasn’t for the Lord’s provision and strength.
    So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
    1 Corinthians 10:31

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    The YWAM Croatia staff and DTS students, the SONS staff and students, and all of their families.

    Please prayerfully consider partnering financially by giving a one-time or recurring monthly tax-deductible donation, as all listed above is done voluntarily and still having to pay for travel, room, and board.
  • Professor Jordan?

    Professor Jordan?

    For some people it is kind of unclear or confusing what I do as a Missionary with Youth with a Mission (YWAM).   I have heard things like, “He travels a lot!” or “Sailing? What does that have to do with being a missionary?” all as a result of not knowing what my current role in missions is.

    Without making it complicated and long, here is the story and what my role is.

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    While attending Discipleship Training School (DTS) with YWAM in Malawi, Africa, the Lord spoke to me about numerous things in my future.  One of those things was to work with the Ships Ministries of YWAM.  The Ships Ministries impact the lives of thousands of forgotten people groups around the world every year, supplying medical, optical, and dental needs, along with walking out the gospel to those we serve, all done by unpaid volunteers.

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    The way the Lord called me to serve the ships is to train and multiply training programs to equip more of YWAM’s missionaries with qualifications to take the doctors and outreach volunteers to these lost people around the world.  When the Lord placed this on my heart, it seemed insane and I didn’t think it was possible.

    Just in case you didn’t know, until I was headed to my DTS, I had never left the US of A, and had always lived in landlocked Kansas City, Missouri.  On top of all that, I had only been on a boat three times in my life, prior to God calling me to this path for my life. 

    Before I finished my DTS, I applied to the School of Navigation and Seamanship (SONS) in Kona, Hawaii.  Through the Lord’s continued guidance, though, a pioneering SONS was drawn to my attention on the Next Wave ship in Greece.  There, I met the SONS course pioneer for both Kona and Greece, Brian Sloan, one of the International YWAM Directors of YWAM Ships Ministries.  While he explained his heart for developing more training, and bases that offer training for the Ships Ministries, he used many of the exact words the Lord spoke to me six months earlier.

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    With the obvious hand of God guiding the opportunities before me, I am now the Co-Leader for the School of Navigation and Seamanship on the Training vessel the Next Wave starting in two weeks, and Coordinator of the missionary training program held on-board, the Bluewater (Sailing) Discipleship Training School, starting in July.

    As the Ships Ministries continues to grow, we have gained 22 vessels in the past 10 years. We need more order and structure for the crew management of the fleet.  As such, Brian, a few others, and I are heading the development for a global platform for the crew, trainees we are discipling, and volunteers, to be fluid between the 26 ships and their needs.

    So, for the leading question, I am the co-leader of the School of Navigation and Seamanship, which is a University of the Nations course, does that mean I am “Professor Jordan,” now? 😉

    As for the other things the Lord spoke over my future, you will just have to stay tuned and find out!

    This entire testimony has been thanks to God and all of those who have partnered with the Lord and I on this mission for the Nations!  I am so thankful for the all the support of those who have partnered financially and prayerfully over the past few years and am always praying for you!

    Everything I do is volunteer and unpaid, plus I have to pay for my housing, food, and travel, even for the schools I am staffing/leading!  If you would like to become part of the story and help people worldwide see the Light of Christ, please prayerfully consider supporting me financially.

    “Well, I will go down, if you will hold the rope.” – Andrew Fuller, on how he will go in missions, if people who also believe in that mission will make it possible by supporting him (holding the rope).

    ATTENTION

    There is a new tax-deductible option for supporting me in missions!
    Support still needed per month: $650 (going into debt)

    If six people partner at $100 per month
    Or
    If 13 people partner at $50 per month
    Or
    If 44 people partner at $15 per month

    Any amount helps keep me on this mission with God!