Emily Thompson Update from Perth, Western Australia YWAM Mission

Edited By Gordon L. Fuglie

The Hope Office recently received an update from member Emily Thompson, who is doing mission work in Perth, Western Australia province, for Youth With a Mission (YWAM).

Hello, friends and family! Wow, it has been a wild three months in Perth. We have just begun our outreach, but I have some big updates to share with you! Before we get into it, let me tell you about our final weeks of YWAM’s lecture phase. Some of the topics we discussed were Team Dynamics, Leading Worship, and Leadership and the Role of the Holy Spirit in Worship. We concluded this phase by recording songs that we all wrote!

Now, about our outreach destination. We are not going to Tonga after all! That may seem like a disappointment but, actually, we wanted nothing more than to go where the Lord calls us…and that’s here in Perth! As we waited for support funds to come in, we prayed about where God really wanted us. This led us to believe that the Holy Spirit was directing us to stay in Perth and pursue the ministry opportunities that were right in front of us. There is a great need in this coastal city of 2.3 million, and a great work that God is doing in Perth, and a move of the Holy Spirit over Australia.

Thank you all so much for providing for me and my team--whether it was financially, prayerfully, or in encouragement. And to share with you how God provides when it seems like there’s no way to receive what you need, remember that God knows our needs and eventually will make a way!

As we waited on the Lord for $21,000 (Aus. dollars) to go to Tonga, we saw that there was no funding coming in. We took that as an opportunity to pray about where God wanted us to be instead. As we waited on God, we began to discern that we might be called to serve in Perth. Once we made the decision to stay, we had a sense of peace and joy. As we waited for funding, our team was blessed to receive a large sum. Eventually we received more than our original budget! I am convinced that it was from our posture of obedience that God confirmed that He would provide for us, even in ways we couldn’t always see. 

While we are here in Perth, we will be working with children, discipling young adults, leading YWAM Perth’s youth group, directing worship for different groups out of homes and churches, serving YWAM Perth in practical ways, and continuing our leading of worship for various ministries here on our base. 

We will also be traveling over to Canberra, Australia’s capital in the eastern part of the country. We will be there for about 4 weeks, participating in various ministries that are helpful to the YWAM base there, and of course leading worship! 

I’ve missed you all and hope you enjoyed this update.

Much love, Emily