Sunday, September 26, 2010

~ Greetings from California ~

Greetings from California,


I know I just wrote an update a few days ago, but I wanted to write again to share something cool that the Lord has been doing, to give you a little medical update on the skin cancer I had, and also to let you know of a need that I have.

One afternoon awhile back, myself and a few others were praying and asking the Lord to open a door for us to get involved in the community more, whether that was with the local government or helping someone with handyman work. Well, the next day, a lady named Ernestine called the office, asking if we had anyone that would be willing to help her do yard work and a little maintenance because she can no longer do it on her own. How cool is that? Since then, the city council has also been calling me about once a week to see if I can round up people to help them out with different projects around the city. Praise the Lord for the favor He’s giving us and for opening doors to share the gospel. Through this, the Lord has really been teaching me how to serve and bless others.

You may be wondering how my skin cancer is doing that I had on my finger. Well, it’s completely gone! The doctors gave me these drops that I put on twice a day for 6 weeks and it slowly killed the cancerous cells. My finger is back to normal. Praise God! Thank you for your continued prayers for this. It means a lot to me. Everything else has been going really well for me and the Lord is continuing to teach me so much in this season. It’s been really exciting for me.

In regards to my need, my car (1996 Honda Civic) is completely falling apart. The suspension is shot, it need new breaks, the AC is gone, it needs new tires, the window motors are broke so they won’t roll down, my clutch is going out, and the list keeps going on and on.

Honestly, I cannot afford to fix any of these problems right now and I’ve come to realize that fixing these problems will cost more than the vehicle is even worth.

Now, I know that this is a lot to ask for, but I would like to make it known that I need a newer and more reliable vehicle. Since YWAM is a non-profit organization, you can donate a vehicle and receive a tax deductible receipt for the value of the vehicle.

My need for a vehicle with the work I do is vitally important. I use it daily for many different things, such as going to meetings, airport pick-ups and drop offs to Los Angeles/San Francisco, driving students around, going to different work sites and much more. If my car happens to break down in the near future, I cannot afford to either pay for the fix or purchase a new vehicle.

Again, I know this is a lot to ask for, but I thought I should just ask to make my needs known to you. Feel free to spread the word to other people that would possibly like to donate a vehicle as well. If you have any questions at all about this, please don’t hesitate to email or call me. I would appreciate your prayers that the Lord provides a vehicle for me. Thank you for all the prayer support you already give me. It’s such a huge blessing.

In Christ,

Tyler Dean

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Mexico Outreach & Conference Update and What God Is Teaching Me

Dear Friends & Family,

    As you know, I was recently in Ensenada and Tijuana, Mexico for about two weeks. The first week we were there, we stayed at YWAM Ensenada, catching up with old friends, meeting new friends and sharing the love of Christ to the locals. The last couple days we were there, we were at YWAM Tijuana for YWAM’s 50th Year Celebration. The founders of YWAM, Loren & Darlene Cunningham, spoke throughout the four day event about how God started this mission, how He’s been so faithful to us as a mission the past 50 years and also asking God how He wants to use this mission in the next 50 years. It was a marvelous time!

    I need to be honest though. Before we left to Mexico, I had a really bad attitude and did not want to go - at all. One of the reasons I didn’t want to go was because I didn’t have money to pay for it. Well, God took care of that quite easily. The day before we left, I still didn’t have my money, but that afternoon, the exact amount showed up anonymously for my trip. That started everything. I knew even though I didn’t want to go, I was supposed to.

    While in Mexico, God addressed my bad attitude and I realized that it was more than about this trip. I had a bad attitude towards a lot of things going on and I wasn’t even admitting it to myself. Some of them were relating to my pride, dying to myself, and serving others even if I didn’t feel like it.

    I hated the attitude I was having, thinking that my ideas were the right ones and the other ideas were wrong or that I didn’t need to help this person because I just didn’t want to. It was so silly. I wanted so badly to get over it. What I felt like wasn’t the real Tyler.

    Finally, a light bulb went off in my head. I asked God to change my heart. I prayed – a lot! I prayed that He would soften my heart, to work in my heart and to take away my negative attitude and replace it with a willing heart, a loving heart, a servant’s heart. He has and is continuing to!

    Since giving this up to the Lord, things have been amazing these past few weeks. It’s amazing what God can do when we see our faults, are willing to admit our faults and ask God to change our hearts. It’s hard to be humbled, to admit that we’re wrong, but I believe that is when you see the most growth. I pray that I continue to let God mold my heart how He wants it to be, that I would be vulnerable and that He would continue to humble me. Would you pray for me in this area as well?

Thank You & God Bless,

-Tyler Dean