As we all continue to have life disrupted by COVID-19 restrictions, we hope it has not been too difficult for you and this letter finds you looking forward with hope to the year ahead. Despite restrictions, the YWAM Maritime Academy team have moved forward, creating marine training courses for our YWAM Ships’ trainees via online platforms. Even while working together remotely, each working from home, it is amazing how connected we can be with the free technology available.
Right now, we are racing to complete a distance learning course and get it to the Royal Yacht Association for approval by mid-December. This course will basically cover most of the material we used over the last few years to run our School of Navigation & Seamanship (SoNS) and should aid the different YWAM campuses to start their own SoNS. Please pray we can do this and nothing comes along to delay us.
On 14th January 2021, YWAM Ships Kona, Hawaii will start a SoNS using our teaching material. They have a sailing instructor there already, who has been running their SoNS for a few years now, so this will be a good trial for us. By April 2021, with COVID-19 restrictions easing hopefully, we hope to see SoNS start in Newcastle, Australia; Corpus Christi, Texas and Split, Croatia.
Despite the challenges of this year, I remain grateful for God’s provision and the help I have had creating this teaching. I would particularly like to mention Maddie Stephens from Chico, California who has greatly assisted me, and the rest of the remote team introduced on our website www.ywamma.org
For those of you who financially support our efforts, we wish to express our particular thanks. Without your generosity, we would not be able to produce material like this for our fellow YWAM volunteers.
Around the world YWAM Ships’ crews are helping isolated, poor communities. Good examples are in Papua New Guinea, Marshall islands in the Pacific and with the m/v Pacific Hope on its way to Honduras right now to bring aid.
Pray with us that 2021 will be a year of further expanding our efforts and reaching the often forgotten people of the world.
May this Christmas season be a blessed and safe one for you.
From the YWAM Maritime Academy team