A TEAM of young people from across the world are calling Fermanagh their home for the next few months as they complete training through YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Enniskillen, ahead of an outreach mission to Bosnia.
YWAM is a Christian organisation originally founded by American missionary Loren Cunningham. Recently, Alex Atwell – who is also originally from Fermanagh but had been working with YWAM in Rostrevor for a number of years – has returned to his home county to set up a YWAM team in Enniskillen.
As part of their work in Fermanagh, the YWAM team are running a five-month Discipleship Training School (DTS) which includes three months of lectures and two months of outreach.
“As part of that we now have five students who are taking that course. There’s two from Lebanon, one from America, one from here [Northern Ireland] and one from Germany,” said Alex, speaking to The Impartial Reporter.
As part of the DTS, the team are also doing The Borderwalk which Alex described as a peace walk and prayer pilgrimage from Rostrevor to Derry-Londonderry.
“It’s a 220-mile walk along the Border and we carry a cross which we use as a symbol of reconciliation,” he explained, noting how the DTS students started the walk this week.
After the two-week Borderwalk, the DTS students will complete six more weeks of lectures before they head off to Bosnia in October.
The aim of the DTS is that students will learn and grow in their own Christian faith.
“The desired outcome is that their world view would be shaped by living and learning with people from other countries and also people from other denominational backgrounds,” said Alex, adding: “Everyone learning from each other, but also learning from the different speakers and topics that we’re looking at.”
When the team go to Bosnia, they plan to impart what they have learned in the lecture phase to the people that they meet there.
“We tend to go to places of conflict or post-conflict; that’s why we’ve got people from South Africa and Lebanon on the school and that’s why we go to Bosnia on outreach,” said Alex.
After completing his DTS in Rostrevor in early 2016, Musa Ncane from South Africa has been a staff member on various DTS courses in Rostrevor, undertaking outreach in Enniskillen during his time there.
Having returned to his home country, he felt a call to return to Northern Ireland to work in Enniskillen this year.
“I remember walking in town and having a few conversations with young people [in Enniskillen] and while having these conversations, I saw a need for youth ministry, someone to be there for young people.
“I ended up being part of youth ministry in Enniskillen, but only once a month. Then we felt that God was saying that we need to move down here and provide that,” said Musa.
Last year, Alex raised money to help Musa travel back to Northern Ireland. He did this by taking on a marathon kayak challenge. Now back working with the YWAM team to staff the DTS in Enniskillen this year, Musa commented that he is excited to see what God will do during this session.
This autumn Alex is planning to do a similar kayak challenge to raise money for current DTS students Cynthia Matar and Christelle Alkazzi, from Lebanon, to go on the outreach mission.
“We sponsored them to do this course so when I’m doing the kayaking this year, the funds would be helping pay their way to Bosnia,” he said.
Earlier this summer, Christelle arrived in Fermanagh from Lebanon to begin the DTS.
Speaking to this newspaper about her time living in Fermanagh so far, Christelle said: “It feels great. With all the stuff going on in Lebanon I was having a really tough time, it was hard on me. I wasn’t in a good mental position.
“When I came here I felt immediately at ease. It’s been good.”
For more information on the work of the YWAM Enniskillen team, contact Alex at info@ywamenniskillen.com, or visit the YWAM Enniskillen Facebook page.
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