Tyler's Travels

It's Go Time!

2011-12-08T22:11:00.000-08:00

In just over three weeks, I will be in the air flying to Swtizerland. I've purcahsed my flight and will be leaving Minneapolis on January 3rd for my Leadership Training School (Click here to read more about the school) at YWAM Lausanne. I am so excited for this amazing opportunity! So far, God has provided $3,900 towards my school. It's been really neat to see how God has provided, especially in the area of finances. I am still in need of$2,300 in the next three weeks. Would you pray about partnering with me financially towards this Leadership Training School? You can donate online (http://www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html) or by check (click here for instructions on how to donate by check).

I am really excited to see what the Lord has in store for me during this school. I am waiting expectantly for some awesome things to happen. It means so much to me to have a group of people that are supporting me not just with finances, but through prayer and encouragement.

Blessings & Merry Christmas,

Tyler Dean

How to Donate

2011-12-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to make a donation to Tyler, there are two ways to do so.

Here is how you can donate:

~By Check~

Make check payable to: YWAM (Do not write Tyler Dean on memo line - due to tax purposes)

*Attach a note (sticky note, piece of paper, etc.) indicating it's for Tyler Dean.

Mail Check To:

YWAM Pismo Beach

791 Price Street #119

Pismo Beach, CA 93449

**After your check is processed, you will receive a tax deductible receipt from YWAM Pismo Beach

~By Credit/Debit Card~

Go to: http://www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html

*Follow step-by-step directions on website.

**You do not need a PayPal account to donate online.

***After your donation is processed, you will receive a tax deductible receipt from YWAM Pismo Beach.

All donations are tax deductible and greatly apprecaited!

Life After Pismo

2011-12-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

Life after Pismo

Just over three years ago, I came on staff here at YWAM Pismo Beach in California. Throughout the last 3+ years, I've grown so much in my walk with the Lord. I've been able to learn from so many awesome people, and the Lord has let me do so many amazing things and serve and share the Gospel with many amazing people here in America and around the world!

Well, my time in Pismo is coming to a close. The Lord is leading me on a new adventure, one I'm very excited for!

My Next Step

As you probably know, I'm going to Switzerland in January to do a Leadership Training School (LTS) at YWAM Lausanne for three months (if you haven't read about the Leadership Training School, CLICK HERE). After the LTS, I won't be going back to Pismo Beach (well, I hope to visit of course!).

I feel like the Lord has said to me that He is going to open up a door through the LTS in Switzerland for where and what He wants me to do next. Secretly, I hope the Lord leads me to move overseas to a third world country. I feel at home and love being overseas and absolutely come alive.

It would be really easy for me to just decide to go and live in a country and I'm sure it'd be amazing and the Lord would use me greatly but I don't want to jump the gun. God is in control. I'm pretty sure He knows what He's doing. :-) I feel like He has something very special for me at the leadership school and that some puzzle pieces will fall into place as I obey Him one step at a time.

My personality wants to make plans for after the school, to take control and organize everything but the Lord continues to remind me that He's pretty good at making things work. I'm continually giving everything up to Him and just asking Him to send me wherever He wants me and to use me however He wants to use me.

One word that keeps coming to mind as I pray about things is "pioneer". I would absolutely love to pioneer a ministry/YWAM base overseas. I often times catch myself vision casting, day dreaming and imagining what we could do to further the Gospel to people who don't know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

I could go on and on about what I would love to do, what I'm passionate about, etc. But for now, I just wanted to let you know what's going on so we're on the same page.

Although I'm leaving YWAM Pismo, I am still a missionary with YWAM, but am just taking these three months to do a Leadership Training School at YWAM Lausanne to develop my giftings and leadership abilities. Therefore, this doesn't change the need for monthly financial support and special financial gifts for my ministry.

For those of you who donate financially towrads my ministry already, please continue to send your checks to YWAM Pismo Beach as you always have. They are going to continue to process and send me my support. If you have any questions regarding finances, please give me a call or shoot me an email.

With that being said, feel free to be praying for me as I am transitioning out of California to head over to Switzerland and wherever the Lord leads me after my three months in Switzerland, whether it's to Madagascar or Mississippi or anywhere in-between!

I would love to hear from you, whether you have a question, a comment or maybe you just want to chat about life. Give me a call or shoot me an email!

I love you all and am so thankful for you all. I am buckling up for the upcoming journey. I feel like God is going to take me for a fun ride!

In Christ,

Tyler Dean

Off to Switzerland!

2011-08-04T16:27:00.000-07:00

I hope your summer has gone well thus far! My summer has been great! I apologize for such a long time in between updates. I was waiting to write once I heard back from a school that I applied to. Now that I have done that, I have exciting news to share with you!

Leadership Training School
For the past 3 1/2 years, I've wanted to do a Leadership Training School (LTS), one of YWAM's top schools. I've never had the opportunity to set aside the three months to take the course. Well, that time has come! A handful of weeks back, I applied for the next Leadership Training School, which is located at YWAM Lausanne in Switzerland. I recently heard back from them and they informed me that they've accepted me for the upcoming school in January of 2012! I am extremely excited about this opportunity to grow in my leadership giftings and to continue to learn how to lead like Jesus lead. This LTS will be a great tool for my tool belt and will really equip me for future ministry. The three month school is taught by internationally renown leaders on various topics, such as: leadership styles, integrity as a leader, faith & finances, communications, decision making, servant leadership, and a lot more.

What's my next step?
My next step in the process leading up to the LTS in January is support raising and applying for a Swiss Visa. I am starting this now because I need to raise $6,100 above and beyond my monthly financial support before the school starts. I want to ask you to prayerfully consider partnering financially with me specifically for this Leadership Training School. Setting aside this three months to grow in my leadership giftings will greatly benefit me down the road in full-time missions. If you would like to partner with me financially, there are a few different ways to go about that and there is info on the right side of this page.

Local Outreach
Our base has been doing various different outreaches in our local community. Last month, we were able to partner with a very cool gleanings ministry. Basically, after farmers finish harvesting their fruits/vegetables, they contact this ministry to come in and pick all of the leftover fruits and vegetables. We were able to help them pick artichokes, and that we did! We picked well over 2000 pounds of artichokes in 6 hours! We were able to distribute them directly to needy families in our community, to local churches and a majority of them to our local food bank. We'd like to continue to partner with this ministry as it can really bless people that need food but don't have the finances to purchase it.

RescueNet US
Communications

I've also recently started helping with some communications for RescueNet US. You may be wondering what that looks like. Well, a lot of different things to be honest. Some of the different things I've been doing recently have been spreading the word about the upcoming training course in October to YWAM bases around the United States, working on our social media, researching disasters worldwide, working on forming a team to work in the communications department, and much more.

RescueNet Training Course
During the month of October, I will be at YWAM Salem in Oregon, staffing the 2011 RescueNet US Disaster Relief School. I have been asked to teach on Disaster Preparedness so I am currently preparing my teaching. Please pray that I will be able to clearly communicate what needs to be taught and for the Lord to help me gather all of the information and resources that I need.

Personal Stuff
God has been doing a lot in my life lately. I am really growing in my intimacy with Him on a daily basis. It's been fun to spend time with God. He is teaching me how to give everything, literally everything, up to Him. He wants us to give him our struggles, difficulties and just plain old surrender to Him daily. I've been digging into the Gospel's and am currently in John. It's been awesome read about Jesus' life and all that He did, whether He's healing the sick or feeding 5,000 people.

Thank You!
Lives are changing because of your prayers and financial support so I want to thank you for that. It's such a huge blessing to me and many others around the world - thank you!

God Bless,

Tyler Dean

Prayer Requests

2011-04-28T21:33:00.000-07:00

Hey!

How are you today? I just wanted to let you know a few prayer requests I have, and wanted to ask you if you'd be willing to partner with me in prayer!

Tomorrow, I will be heading to Las Vegas for a ResuceNet gathering with all of our North American team members. Please pray for safe travels, no car troubles, a great time of learning, and a great time with my teammates!
Clarity & direction for future ministry
God's continued provision
God's wisdom in leadership

I also wanted to ask you how I could be praying for you! Please do not hesitiate to email me back and let me know a few of your prayer requests!

If you haven't had a chance to check out my last update about my recent travels, you can read it on my website at: http://www.tylerdeanmissions.com

Once again, thank you so much for being so faithful in prayer for me and my ministry, helping me financially and loving me! I'm so thankful for you all!

May God bless you!

Tyler E. Dean

April Update - HE HAS RISEN!

2011-04-28T13:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

I hope that you had a blessed Easter on Sunday! The past month has been quite eventful. I went from California to Mexico, then to Nevada, North Carolina and back to California. Oh, and in two days, I will be back in Nevada again!

Mexico
You may recall me telling you about the Grassroots News training seminar that I participated in at YWAM Tijuana, Mexico (if you weren't able to read it, click here). The training course went great! It was an awesome time of learning, growing, seeing old freinds and meeting many new friends!

RescueNet
After my time in Mexico, I drove straight over to the RescueNet US headquarters, which is located at YWAM Las Vegas. It was a great couple days spending time with a few of my teammates. This coming Friday, I will be heading back to Las Vegas to meet with all of the North American team members of RescueNet. We will be bonding as a team, sharpening up on some of our medical skills and doing some planning for the upcoming training course which will be held in Salem, Oregon, in October.

Leadership Conference
I returned home from my latest trip last week, which was in a small town called Flat Rock, North Carolina (near the "larger" city, Asheville). I had the amazing opportunity to be at a conference there with all of the leaders in YWAM from North America. We had two main speakers throughout the week (along with many breakout workshops). Fred Markert spoke first, who is a YWAMer that has been to over 150 countries in the past 30 years which has opened up doors for him to speak all around the world. Dan B. Allender, Ph.D, psychiatrist and author of over 10 books, spoke second. Dan Allender spoke about leadership and how we should lead in a loving and Godly way by being humbled and having a servant attitude when we lead. God calls us to lead like Him, which is opposite of how a lot of leaders in the world lead. Usually the leader is trying to get more power and leading to bennefit themselves. God wants us to lead with humility, a loving heart and with a servent attitude and to help those you are leading to succeed in what God has called them to do. This is how I want to lead!

God has really been teaching me a lot in the past month and He continues to equip me for what He has called me to do! It's such a blessing to be able to learn from the perfect leader and teacher, Jesus Christ!

Thank you to everyone who helped me go on these trips financially and of course for all of your prayers - I really appreciate it!

Blessings to you,

Tyler Dean

Amazing Footage

2011-03-23T14:55:00.000-07:00

I am currently at a seminar in Tijuana, Mexico with Grassroots News International and I want to share with you the amazing news they are sharing from around the world, including a highlight from a rescue that was made in Japan nine days after the earthquake and tsunami. Feel free to browse around their website (I'm sure you could spend hours watching amazing videos): http://www.grassrootsnews.tv
Enjoy....

UPDATE: RescueNet Deployment Information for Japan

2011-03-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Greetings,

Where do I start…? It’s been a crazy past few days for me and the RescueNet team. We at RescueNet have been tracking a number of global situations around the clock with Libya & Japan being the highest profile cases. Libya is still too dangerous for RescueNet to deploy but we have not stopped monitoring the events that are happening there. When the fighting dwindles down, the needs will be enormous. The United Nations estimates 1,000,000 people will need aid in the days following the end of fighting there. We may be able to serve then. For now, it is far too unsafe to enter.

Japan, however, is a much more stable situation. News coverage is ubiquitous so I am sure you have seen some already. www.bbcnews.com has some of the best. The images and videos are staggering and surreal. It looks like a movie only more intense. The latest reports put the number of fatalities around 10,000. It is very tragic.

RescueNet has 10 team members on standby but NOT on active deployment as of yet. We are in the process of communicating with the Japanese embassy to get an official invitation to help. RescueNet team members want to be there to help save lives and stabilize people’s emotional health. At this point the country of Japan has not issued an open call for aid, but rather accepted a few specific offers from international groups. Without an invitation any aid group, including RescueNet, is unable to render assistance within another country. The same would hold true for any foreign entity wanting to help in the US, Canada or any western nation. You can’t just drop in because you want to help. You have to go through official channels. So we wait.

We are not at a standstill though. We have two individuals on the ground in Japan to team up with some colleagues. Through these preexisting relationships we may be able to get better information of exactly what the damage is and where the help is most needed. The news is not the most reliable source. We can also possibly receive an invitation for our team to come and assist.

Please be in prayer for us as we seek information, relationship and a clear sense of where our resources can best be used. The damage is great, but that does not mean it is the place for us to be. Many of you know the mandate for RescueNet is the developing world; places that don’t have the availability of resources that the US and other first-world nations have access to. While Japan was hard hit, they were also very prepared and capable of responding. If this had happened almost anywhere else, the damage would have been magnitudes worse. Japan is arguably the most prepared nation in the world to handle quakes and tsunamis. After all, tsunami is a Japanese word.

You may be asking, “What does this mean for you? Are you going?” The answer is NO, I am NOT going but I have been and will continue to help with details of the deployment. I still have to complete one more training phase before I can deploy to a disaster. Please click here to read my last post about RescueNet and what my next steps are.

If you are able to help financially to send our RescueNet team to Japan if we do deploy, that would be a huge blessing to the team since we are an all-volunteer team and we have to pay our own way and purchase our own gear. If you would like to donate, click here.

If you have ANY questions at all, please do not hesitate to email me back or call me. I will update you as more information comes in. Also, be sure to read my previous update on my involvement with RescueNet(click here to read).

In Christ,

Tyler E. Dean

Back To Mexico I Go

2011-03-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

Next week, I will be going to Mexico for about six days. I will be attending a training course with Grassroots News International on journalism, field skills, camera work, mobile video editing and more at the YWAM base in Tijuana. Grassroots News International is a ministry within YWAM. It is a network of news gatherers around the world, who are committed to reporting the news as it happens, from where it happens. Content comes from the people on the ground where the news is happening. The course is designed to equip participants to gather news, and share it with the world. If you want to know more about Grassroots News International, click here!

I want to ask you to be praying for me throughout my time in Tijuana. Please pray that I can retain everything that is taught, for new friendships to be built, for the Lord to be glorified in all that we do and for save travels. Thank you in advanced for your prayers!

In Christ,

-Tyler Dean

I've been accepted to....

2011-02-22T13:01:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to tell you that I have been accepted onto the RescueNet team (an International All-Volunteer Emergency Disaster Rapid Response Team), which is a ministry of Youth With A Mission. You may remember that I took a RescueNet training course in October of 2010 at YWAM San Francisco.


A badly damaged intersection in Port-au-Prince, Haiti Photo taken from a member of the RescueNet team during their deployment to Haiti in January of 2010. http://www.rescuenetus.org

What is RescueNet?
RescueNet is a rapid-deployment disaster response team made up of trained volunteers within YWAM. We aim to be on a disaster site within 24-48 hours of it's outbreak. We take medics, trauma counselors, childcare workers, logicsticians. technicians and more to meet the need of those impacted by some of the worst situations imaginable.

What does this mean for me?
Since I have just been accepted onto the RescueNet team, I am not able to go on a deployment to a disaster zone -- yet! I have to complete a probationary period (since I'm new to the team - to make sure I know my stuff), which means that I have to staff the upcoming RescueNet training course, which will be in Salem, Oregon, in mid-October. So if a disaster hits anytime from now until October and RescueNet is called on to deploy for the relief efforts, I will not be deploying with the RescueNet team. After I complete my probationary period (after October), I will be "deployable".

Are you still a missionary with YWAM?
Yes, I am still a full-time missionary with YWAM Pismo Beach. RescueNet does not replace my role here at YWAM Pismo Beach but it will be an addition to the ministry I am already involved with.

What I Need for RescueNet
I need to raise additional finances on top of my monthly financial support for RescueNet since I have to purchase my own personal protective equipment (which is VERY important), training courses and deployments to disaster zones. I am currently in the process of raising $2,200 (If you want to see the breakdown of that amount to see exactly where the money will go, please let me know) for my initial personal protective equipment I need along with the cost of going to Salem, Oregon to complete my probationary period in October. There is information below on how to partner with me financially to help me start up with RescueNet.

My Heart Behind The Ministry

Patient in St. Marc, Haiti

I have always had a heart to do outreaches geared towards disaster relief and I now have the chance. When I went to Haiti in January right after the earthquake, it opened my eyes so much! It is such a special thing to share Jesus and to help people when they've literally lost everything. Now I will be able to help these people and share Christ's love with them through serving with RescueNet.

I want to help financially. How do I do that?
There are a few different ways that you can help me financially to raise the $2,200 that I need.

OPTION #1 - DONATE ONLINE WITH YOUR CREDIT/DEBIT CARD
Go to: http://www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html
Follow the simple steps to safely and securely complete your donation using Paypal.
**You do not need a PayPal account to donate. After you click donate, you will see "Don't Have a PayPal Account?" Under that, it says continue and you can fill out your information.

Option #2 - DONATE BY CHECK
Write a check made out to YWAM. (Attach a note indicating its for Tyler Dean for RescueNet).
Mail the check to:
YWAM Pismo Beach
791 Price Street #119
Pismo Beach, CA 93449

Thank you in advanced for your prayer and financial support. I am so excited about the adventures to come with RescueNet and am excited to share that with you!

Blessings To You,

Tyler E. Dean

**Every year there are over 350 disasters around the world. 80% of the victims are left without first aid, medicine, child care, shelter and help finding loved ones. They need you like they never thought they could. Learn how to meet a crisis with the Love of Christ."

"Because you can send us we can go; because we go they can live."

A daughter and mother reunited!
Photo taken from a member of the RescueNet team
during their deployment to Haiti in January of 2010.
http://www.rescuenetus.org

RescueNet Website: http://www.rescuenetus.org

What Is A "DTS"?

2011-02-22T10:47:00.000-08:00

Since some of you may not know what a "DTS" is, I wanted to explain it to you!

A DTS is also known as a Discipleship Training School, which is Youth With A Mission's (YWAM's) main training school they offer. A DTS is a requirement for applying as YWAM staff, and serves as a prerequisite to all other training programs within YWAM. The DTS is offered at YWAM locations ALL over the world. Some schools have a special focus on particular areas of ministry or nations.

Similar to the DTS is the Crossroads Discipleship Training School (CDTS) that focuses on the needs and concerns of students over age 30, such as second-career people and families with children.

The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is designed to help you understand God more deeply, live more like Jesus and identify your unique gifts and purpose to use in missions. DTS is an intensive, residential training course which begins with an 11 or 12 week classroom/lecture phase, followed by an 8-12 week outreach phase. DTS emphasizes cross-cultural exposure and global awareness, preparing students to answer the call to "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations" Matthew 28:19.

You may be asking, "Where can I do a DTS?"

There are 300+ locations around the world (in over 150 countries) where you could potentially do your DTS. That does not include the bases that don't run training schools. YWAM has over 1,600 bases around the world with over 22,000 full-time missionaries (I think those numbers are correct...?).

I suggest that if you are interested in doing a Discipleship Training School (DTS), that you check out YWAM's main website at: http://www.ywam.org. Here you can search by regions or specific countries in the world as well as the time of year you'd like to do yours at.

My DTS Experience

In January of 2008, I took a leap of faith and did my DTS here at YWAM Pismo Beach, where I am now a full-time missionary with YWAM.

I arrived in California on January 4, 2008, not knowing what the Lord had in store for me. I went to college for one semester in Minnesota but did not like it and didn't know what I wanted to do and I knew that there was something better for me to do. The first week of my DTS, I knew that I was in the right place!

Throughout my DTS, I got grounded in the Word and my relationship with Jesus absolutely exploded. I went to southeast Asia for my two month outreach, which was absolutely incredible.

I recommend a DTS to anyone who isn't sure what he/she wants to do or is called to do. My DTS helped me figure out what I was passionate about, what my strengths were and helped me get rooted in the Word of God.

Once again..."Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations" Matthew 28:19.

God Created You With A Purpose

2011-02-01T20:33:00.000-08:00

Throughout the day today, I felt the need to write another post. And again, I had no idea what to write about so I wrote three different rough drafts for posts but none of those seemed right. Let's hope this one does.

This afternoon, a friend stopped by our office and we talked for a while. I asked my friend, "If you could do anything, what would you do? What are you passionate about?" She replied with something like, "Well, I love what I do (she is a hairstylist), but I also love doing women's ministry."

Immediately, the missionary in me came out. I told her of a few ministries that do women's ministry here in the States and around the world.

Then I thought, you can do women's ministry as a hair stylist. You can share about Jesus to your co-workers and clients.

I often remind myself that wherever and whatever you're doing, you are a missionary, even if that's not your official job title.

Now I am NOT saying to not go if you feel like the Lord is calling you to give up everything and move to a third world country. If that is the case though, you better go! Have you ever given it thought? Have you ever prayed and asked the Lord if you are supposed to go?

If He hasn't called you to live in a hut, that is OK! He can and wants to use you with whatever you do, whether you're a hair stylist, a business man, a mechanic, a teacher, a carpenter, a chef, a secretary, a doctor... you get the point.

There is one thing I do know for a fact: God has created you with a purpose and I am truly excited to see how He uses you!

A Man Of God

2011-01-31T15:29:00.000-08:00

Last week, I felt like the Lord was nudging me to write a few blog posts this week. My first thought was, "a few posts in ONE week?!" I thought that was crazy. It's hard enough for me to write a few posts in a months time. So this morning, I still had no idea what to write about but then the Lord put something on my heart to share. I want to tell you about a man of God, how he's shaped my life and how you can pray for him!

Tim Ramey is the father of one of my best friends. In October of 1998, he received a call as a first responder and volunteer firefighter to a house fire. Just as the crew was finishing up and getting ready to leave, the chimney of the house collapsed. It fell on Tim. He should have died that night, and multiple times in the following weeks.

I remember waking up from the sound of an ambulance late that night, or should I say, early that morning. This was weird for me because I rarely woke up during the night and I am still like that to this day. I remember laying in my bed that night, at 10 years old, praying for whoever was in that ambulance. I later fell back asleep and woke up later that morning around 8:00. I walked downstairs to see my father sitting on the couch. I knew something wasn't right. My dad told me what had happened. Tim was the person in that ambulance who I was praying for. I was devastated. I couldn't imagine what my best friend, Jonathan, and his family was going through.

Tim was in the hospital for roughly the next two years.

Ti has had to battle a lot since the accident but the Lord has used him to impact so many peoples lives. He has most definitely impacted mine.

I'm sure Tim began to impact my life before I can even remember. All I know is that it started at a young age, whether it was him paying Nerf Basketball with Jonathan and I in the living room at age seven or teaching us how to be kind to others. As I got older, I could see more and more of a person striving to be Christ-like.

During Tim's recovery from his horrific accident, I could even see it then. That is amazing!

When Tim was finally able to leave the hospital after about two years, his brother-in-law (also known as Uncle Joe to Jonathan and I) drove him from Minneapolis to our hometown of Grand Marais, Minnesota, in an ambulance with Nancy (Tim's amazing wife) in the back with Tim. When they arrived to Grand Marais, hundreds of people were lining the street, clapping, cheering and holding signs, welcoming Tim, Nancy and the rest of the Ramey family home. How cool! Do you think Tim is an inspirational man of God? I think so!

I remember the first time Tim went to Sierra Leone, Africa. All I can say is wow! Tim, a paraplegic, going to one of the poorest, if not the poorest countries in the entire world! He didn't just go to Sierra Leone once either. He went multiple times. That truly inspired me. Even though I was young, I really wanted to go. I wanted to be like that...sold out for Heavenly Father!

Tim has and continues to play a big role in my life. When I was younger, I believe Tim was one of the people who planted that seed in me to be a missionary, even if I didn't realize it at that time. I thank you, Tim, for planing that seed then later watering it and encouraging me to be a full-time missionary. I wouldn't trade what I do for anything!

Currently, Tim is in the hospital. He had to go in for a few surgeries to try to take out an infection that is basically trying to take over his body. There have been a few complications with blood clots, which isn't good but overall, I think it's going alright. He's hoping to be home in a weeks time.

Here is where you and I come into play. Here is our role in this situation. We pray! We can pray for a quick and safe recover and that all of the infection would be gone. We can be praying that Tim would be encouraged and to find joy in this difficult situation. We can also be praying for Nancy and the rest of the family. The power of prayer is incredible - I have seen it first hand in my own life. Let's partner in prayer together and pray for this man of God and our brother in Christ.

Thank you, Tim, for planting those seeds in me and watering them. Thank you!

Coffee & Dessert Night Info

2011-01-05T14:44:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to remind you that the Coffee & Dessert Night is on this Sunday, January 9th at 6:30 PM at the Grand Marais Evangelical Free Church (120 East 5th Street). I will be sharing about what I've done this past year with YWAM as well as what next year holds. We will finish off the evening with good ole' fellowship, having coffee/tea and tasty desserts.

I hope to see you there!

Tyler Dean

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

2010-12-29T13:36:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends,

Thanks for stopping by my website. I just wanted to say that I hope you had a great Christmas and have a wonderful New Year! If you'd like one of my Christmas Newsletters, give me a call, send me an email or stop me on the streets and let me know! :-)

I also wanted to just give a reminder to you!

I am having that Coffee & Dessert Night coming up on the 9th of January at the Grand Marais Evangelical Free Church. It starts at 6:30 PM and I will be sharing about what's been going on in the past year and we'll have some coffee and nice desserts along with fellowship. I hope to see you there!

Blessings,

Tyler Dean

Do you like coffee & dessert?

2010-11-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends!

How are you? It’s been busy over here on the west coast but things are going quite well. I just wanted to write you a quick update of what’s been going on with me.

I’m excited that I am able to go to my hometown in northern Minnesota for the holidays to spend time with my family and friends. While I’m home, I will be hosting a Coffee & Dessert Night on January 9^th at 6:30 PM. I would love for you to come! During the evening, I will be sharing about what I’ve done in the past year with YWAM, what next year holds, as well as what the Lord has been teaching me. We will finish off the evening with good ole’ fashion fellowship, having coffee or tea and a yummy dessert together! Look for information on the evening below.

In my last update, I briefly explained about the disaster relief training school I did called RescueNet. I’ve received my certificate of achievement, meaning I’ve passed the course, which I am thrilled about! I am now in the process of applying to be on the RescueNet team. I will be sure to update you after the application process is complete.

Currently, I am in the process of setting up a few outreaches for next spring. We are taking a youth group to San Francisco to do homeless and human trafficking ministry. I’m excited because this is the same youth group that we took to San Francisco last year so it’ll be fun to see how they’ve grown in the past year. I recently had the opportunity to go and visit the youth group a few weeks ago and the students seem excited for the upcoming outreach. I will also be leading a team back to Haiti with a church in our local area. I’m really excited for this outreach because we’re going to be doing a house build for a few families and also because I felt like I learned so much the last time I went to Haiti and how to lead a team better. It will also be so much fun to see my friends from Haiti again!

COFFEE & DESSERT NIGHT INFORMATION:

WHO’S INVITED: You! Feel free to invite anyone!

WHAT WILL HAPPEN: An evening of fellowship & yummy desserts.

WHEN IS IT: Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 6:30 PM

WHERE IS IT: Grand Marais Evangelical Free Church (120 East 5^th Street, Grand Marais, MN 55604)

I hope to see you there!
Blessings,

Tyler Dean

HEEELLLLOOOOOOOOO!

2010-11-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hey Friends,

So - Just in case you haven't heard or have maybe forgotten, our YWAM base here in Pismo Beach is selling 2011 calendars as a fundraiser. The calendars have amazing photography from many different countries from around the world taken by our staff here at our YWAM base.

We are selling them for $15 and we are only taking orders for the next 24 hours. If you'd like to help us in this fundraiser and order a calendar, it would be GREATLY appreciated. Here's how to order securely online:

http://www.ywampismo.missionsconnex.com/calendar

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

-Tyler

RescueNet Training School Completed

2010-10-26T14:36:00.000-07:00

~ TREATING A PATIENT DURING A SCENARIO ~

After 14 days of intense training at YWAM San Francisco, I completed the RescueNet disaster relief training school. The course was amazing and I learned so much! I'm so thankful that I was able to do this. During the two week course, we covered various different topics such as, remote emergency medicine, trauma counciling, search & rescue, radio communications, fire suppression and much more.

Throughout the whole course, the Lord kept reminding me of Philippians 4:13, "For I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength." I was definitely a little nervous going into the training because a lot of students were already EMT's, Wilderness First Responders or had some other experience. Looking back though, I can totally see the Lord's hand in everything, helping me along the way, and giving me strength. A few days before the course ended, I was laying in my bed before falling asleep thinking to myself, "It's incredible how much I've learned thus far and it isn't even finished!"

In a few weeks, I will find out if I passed the course and if I do, I can apply to be on the RescueNet team. If I get accepted, there is two probationary periods. PP1 (Probationary Period #1) requires that I have to staff another RescueNet training course and for the PP2 I have to go on a deployment with the team. After I've completed the probationary period(s), I would be officially on the RescueNet team.

The Lord has also stirred a passion in me to get further training in these areas. I am planning on doing a WFR (Wilderness First Responder) course next year and I've also thought about doing an EMT school in the future.

When I find out if I'm accepted, I will update you on more of what RescueNet is and what this would mean for me, my next steps, etc. Please be praying that the Lord would open doors to this amazing ministry if it's His will.

I want to say thank you to those who prayed for me during the training course and also to those who helped me do this course financially.

In Christ,

Tyler E. Dean

~ Greetings from California ~

2010-09-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

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

Mexico Outreach & Conference Update and What God Is Teaching Me

2010-09-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

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 50^th 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

A Quick Update -- Mexico Outreach

2010-08-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I just wanted to let you all know that I'll be heading down to Mexico on Saturday for a 7 day outreach to Ensenada, Mexico, then going up north to Tijuana, Mexico for a conference with YWAM. This year, YWAM is celebrating it's 50th year of being a Christian missionary organization, so the southwest district of North America is meeting in Tijuana for a little conference. I want to invite you to be praying for our outreach, that we could be the hands and feet of Christ and share His great love to these people in need

With that being said, I'm excited to share what the Lord does while I'm in Mexico. Thank you in advanced for your prayer support. It's always such a blessings, so thank you!

In Christ,

-Tyler E. Dean

- An Encouragement & Thank You -

2010-08-10T13:19:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

I just wanted to encourage you and say thank you today.

As brothers and sisters in Christ, we are called to love and care for one another. So, how does this look. Here are a few ways.

*LOVE ONE ANOTHER
"Dear friends. since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." -1 John 4:11

*ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER
"Let us not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another." -Hebrews 10:25

*SERVE ONE ANOTHER
"Serve one another in love." -Galatians 5:13

*PRAY FOR ONE ANOTHER
"Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other." -James 5:16

"You should be like one big family, full of sympathy towards each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds." -1 Peter 3:8 (LB)

When you feel down or discouraged, remember that you're not alone. God has a family to support you and encourage you. Reach out to your brothers and sisters in Christ for support.

Thank you for your encouragement and support to me. Thank you for being amazing brothers and sisters in Christ.

Be blessed today!

-Tyler Dean

My Medical Update and More

2010-07-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

I have no idea where to start this update. A lot has happened. Good stuff. Not such good stuff. If I’m being completely honest with you, I’ve been having a difficult time lately. I’ve been trying to write this update for about a month and a half now but every time I finish it, I delete it because I don’t like it. I wrote about awesome things that the Lord did while I was in Haiti and other cool stories the Lord is doing in my life and the lives around me.

A lot of times as a full-time missionary, there is a big pressure to always act like everything is ok – like we have everything together. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. We don’t. We are normal people and we aren’t always perfect.
A lot has happened lately. I led a team back to Haiti to partner with YWAM St. Marc in their earthquake relief efforts. I visited my family & friends in Minnesota and I also found out I had skin cancer. Most recently, I broke up with my girlfriend, Jacque. It’s definitely been an interesting ride lately.

So, what do I talk about from here…?

Food Distribution in the Refugee Tent Cities in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Haiti was good. It was a difficult outreach but an amazing one at the same time. We did various different things, including: food distribution, tent city/refugee camp ministry, English lessons with refugees, a house build and more. Most importantly though, we saw the Lord transform lives around us. One of the students that went with us is now planning to go into full-time missions to Haiti. It’s so cool to see the Lord grab someone’s heart and also so encouraging when that person is willing to go and follow the Lord!

I also recently had the opportunity to go back to my hometown. It’s always fun to go back to Grand Marais to spend time with my amazing family and friends. While I was in Grand Marais, I had a doctor appointment to check out a dark spot on my finger that I’ve had for about a year. The doctor did a biopsy of it and the pathology report came back saying that it is a piece of skin cancer (don’t worry, it isn’t serious). The hardest part about this isn’t having the skin cancer. That can easily be treated. I could care less about that. The difficult part is that I want health insurance but am not able to get it. Even though it’s been a burden, the Lord has connected me to a few doctors willing to help so it will be taken care of sooner than later. Praise the Lord!

A few days ago, I broke up with my girlfriend, Jacque. It has been a very rough time since then but the Lord is teaching me a lot. I’m not going to go into a two page detailed reason of why we broke up but I will briefly explain it. Basically, I felt the Lord was saying to me that I was going to her for comfort, healing, acceptance, etc. It was almost like I was replacing God with Jacque. God was telling me that I needed to come to Him for healing and for comfort, etc. He wanted me to fully surrender to Him. I fought with this for a few days and tried to do this on my own and make our relationship work even better under my own strength. After the Lord convicted me again of it, I had to talk to her about it. It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do in my life, but I wanted to be obedient to the Lord. We’ll see what happens in the future. Even though it has been extremely difficult and I didn’t want to do it, the Lord has been teaching me a lot. One of the things He is teaching me is to simply cling to Him and rely on Him for everything. He has been giving me such a desire and hunger to search after Him at every chance I can get, whether I have 15 minutes before a meeting to dig into the Word or waking up earlier than I would like to, to spend time with Him in the morning. I’m not saying that this is always easy though. He is teaching me a lot about discipline, which has been challenging but awesome at the same time.

Isn’t it interesting that when we are at a low point in our lives, also known as “in the valley”, we get to know the Lord more than when we’re “on the top of the mountain”? It’s in those hard times when we encounter Him the most. I think that is because we need comfort and the only place we can turn is to God.

I would really appreciate if you continued to pray for me through this season, that the Lord would continue to reveal Himself in such a strong way. Thank you for your continual prayers and financial support. Without people like you, I could not do what I am able to do. You are such an encouragement to me so, thank you!

God Bless,

Tyler E. Dean
tyleredean@yahoo.com

Medical Need

2010-07-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

Hello!

While I was in Minnesota visiting family and friends recently, I had a biopsy on this weird thing that's been on my finger for about a year and it's been getting bigger. The doctor called me a few days ago to tell me the test results and they found some cancer. DON'T WORRY! It won't kill me and cannot spread throughout my whole body. It can just spread more on my finger if I don't take care of it. Anyways, I just wanted to share that with you and I also want to share my next predicament.

I don't have health insurance but I NEED to get the skin removed somewhat soon so it doesn't get worse. This will require a minor surgery with a dermatologist specialist. Insurance companies will not accept me since now my records says that I had a biopsy and they found the cancer.

So basically, I need to find a dermatologist surgeon that could bless me and do it for free (or very cheap). I am going to call and ask around to various different places and just ask...it's worth a try! That's my biggest prayer request right now that all of the logistics get worked out with finding a way to get it removed.

So...I am looking for a dermatologist that can do surgeries pro bono or for a very cheap rate. I would be willing to fly to a different state (than California) because it would be cheaper than paying the full rate for the surgery. So if you know anyone who would be willing to do this, please let me know.

I will keep you up to date as things unfold. Thank you in advance for your prayer support. I appreciate it.

Blessings,

Tyler Dean
(218).370.2078
tyleredean@yahoo.com

Disaster Relief Training School

2010-05-12T21:41:00.000-07:00

Hi!
I just wanted to write a quick update and let you all in on my latest news! I have recently been accepted into a disaster relief training school called RescueNet.

What is RescueNet?
RescueNet works within the Youth With A Mission network as a disaster response team. It is an international organization recognized by the United Nations as a disaster relief agency. They specialize in treating the victims of natural and man-made disasters in the critical early days following these incidents.

When is the school and where is it?
The dates of the training school are from October 9 - October 23, 2010 and it will be held at YWAM San Francisco.

How much does the school cost?
The RescueNet school will cost roughly $1,000 for everything (training, material, food, lodging, transportation, etc.)

My Heart
I am very excited to participate in this school and get further training. I have always had a heart to do outreaches geared towards disaster relief. It is such a special thing to share Christ and to help people when they've literally lost everything. When I went to Haiti in January right after the earthquake, it opened my eyes even more. Shortly after I returned home, I heard about this school so I immediately applied.

What is my next step?
I will need to raise $1,000 to do this school. If you are interested in partnering with me financially to help me do this school, look under "How To Donate" on the right side of my website. You can also email or call me. I am also looking for people to partner with me in prayer for this school. I am excited to see what God has in store for this school.

God Bless,

Tyler Dean

---------------A blurb from RescueNet's website!---------------

"Every year there are over 350 disasters around the world. 80% of the victims are left without first aid, medicine, child care, shelter and help finding loved ones. They need you like they never thought they could. Learn how to meet a crisis with the Love of Christ."

UPDATE: Fruits of the Spirit

2010-05-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

Hey!

How are you? I just wanted to get you up to date on what I’m learning, what I’m doing and where I’m going and all of that good stuff.
God has been smacking me in the face lately, teaching me a lot of different things. It’s great!

One of the fruits of the spirit is self control. We always focus on the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and faithfulness, but in this day in age, we often overlook self control. In a culture where self control is almost looked down upon, it’s hard to go against the grain to have self control. God has been teaching me a lot about this lately. I have been working hard at being a good steward of what He has given me and entrusted me with. This has been hard to learn. Basically, it’s easier to buy a latte at Starbucks than to save money. It’s easier to buy a sandwich at Subway than it is to make your own peanut butter and jelly. I don’t want to be taking the easy way out. If I’m being completely honest with myself right now, I haven’t been giving money away or tithing. I feel like the Lord is saying to me that even if I don’t have the money to give, I should still give. Through this, the Lord is teaching me to trust in Him, that He will continue to provide. I want to ask you to partner with me in prayer as the Lord continues to teach me about this. Also, feel free to ask me how I’m doing with this.

I’ve been super busy recently, planning a handful of Project Sixty-One (the ministry I work with here at YWAM Pismo Beach) outreaches for the summer and fall of 2010. As you may already know, I am going back to Haiti in just over a week from May 16 – June 3. We will be working with YWAM Port-au-Prince and YWAM St. Marc (located 60 miles north of Port-au-Prince). During our time in Haiti, we will be ministering in the refugee camps along with helping on a sanitation project in the camps. We will also be working at YWAM’s orphanage and possibly doing a construction project. I’m really excited to go back to Haiti to share Christ’s love and to see my friends that I made while I was down there in January.

We are currently planning two more trips to Haiti in September and November. On those outreaches, we will be doing most of the same ministry and will be doing building projects. If you’re interested in going with me in September, let me know and I can get you more information on the outreach.

I hope to be writing updates while I am in Haiti but I’m unsure of the internet connection in the country.

I also want to say thank you for your encouragement, continued prayer support and financial help. I literally could not do what I do without people like you.

Take Care & God Bless,

Tyler Dean
http://www.tylerdeanmissions.com

Become A Fan of Project Sixty-One on Facebook!

2010-04-18T16:32:00.001-07:00

Project Sixty-One on Facebook

CRAZY TESTIMONY OF HEALING IN HAITI ALONG WITH VIDEO FOOTAGE!

2010-03-10T13:23:00.001-08:00

Hey!

I just wanted to share this video with you of what God is doing in Haiti currently. Click on the link below:

http://video.christianpost.com/20100302/revival-in-haiti-a-call-to-fasting-and-prayer

Also-I wanted to share this testimony of a miracle that took place at YWAM Haiti recently! The following is a story from Keturah Snow, a full-time missionary with YWAM Haiti.

"There is a little girl here at our refugee camp here who has a broken back and has been paralyzed and staying at our clinic here at the YWAM base in Saint Marc, Haiti." said Keturah Snow, a missionary with YWAM HAITI. "Our staff have been caring and praying for her. We got the news today that she cannot have surgery and if somehow she can, it won't be for awhile. Those that were with her when she got the news began to pray for her, and I would just like to share with you how big my God is...She moved her foot, and then stood up, and then walked!!!! Who needs medical school when you have Jesus!!"

What a cool testimony! I thought this was awesome! I am extremely excited to go back to Haiti in May with Project Sixty-One, the ministry I work with here at our YWAM base in Pismo Beach.

Talk to you soon! God Bless,

Tyler Dean
YWAM PISMO BEACH & CENTRAL COAST
http://www.ywampismobeach.org/project61/

The Energizer Bunny....

2010-02-23T21:36:00.000-08:00

Hello friends,

Well...this update is LONG overdue. My apologies. I feel like I have been going like the energizer bunny as of late!

Last night, I got home from Colorado. This past week, myself and another YWAM Pismo Beach staff, Jacque Gowing, had the opportunity to go to speak about our time in Haiti, helping in the earthquake relief efforts with YWAM Haiti, located in Saint Marc, which is about 60 miles north of the capitol city of Port-au-Prince. We also spoke about Project Sixty-One, the ministry we both work with here at YWAM Pismo Beach. Over the week, we spoke eight times at various different churches. It was so fun to see God opening so many doors! He blew me away last week-wow!! I will be leading two different teams to Haiti with Project Sixty-One. We are focusing on bringing medical and construction workers (Fore more information on these outreaches, go to: http://ywampismobeach.org/project%2061/#/outreaches ).

I feel like the Lord is really working in me with speaking in front of people. Two years ago, I would have never even thought about speaking in front of 700 people, but it happened last Wednesday evening! I've become way more comfortable and that is encouraging to me! I even noticed a difference throughout the week-Thank You, Jesus!!

Something else exciting is happening! For the past year and a half, I have been asking God to provide me with a little vacation. That has happened! I am going to Hawaii on Thursday (February 25) for ten days! The best part is, I had enough frequent flier miles so I only had to pay $10 for my flight!! I will be staying with my friend (who I met in Haiti) and his wife and kids. Its close to YWAM's main campus in Kona, Hawaii. I am very excited to get away and have some time alone with Jesus and to just relax. I feel like I've been running and running and running. I think the Lord knew it was time for me to stop for a bit. I think this will be very important for me to do.

I just want to say thank you once again for your continual prayer and financial support. God has done SO much in the past few months and its very exciting to be in the middle of it.

God Bless,

Tyler Dean

Interested in going to Haiti?

2010-02-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

Hello folks,

Are you interested in going on an outreach to Haiti with YWAM Pismo Beach & Project Sixty-One (The ministry I work with here at YWAM Pismo Beach)? Here are the two times we will be going in 2010:
May 16, 2010 - June 3, 2010
&
September 9, 2010 - September 19, 2010

If you are interested in going, please email us at:
project61@ywampismobeach.org

-ALSO-

You can now "Become A Fan" of Project Sixty-One on Facebook by clicking on the link below (You must have a Facebook account).

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Pismo-Beach-CA/Project-Sixty-One/277773544326?ref=ts

Blessings,

Tyler Dean

Radio Interview

2010-02-09T15:54:00.000-08:00

I was recently interviewed on WTIP Radio in Grand Marais, Minnesota, about my time in Haiti. If you would like to listen to the interview, you can click on the link below to hear a few stories and more of what I did during my time in Haiti.

http://www.wtip.org/drupal/content/local-2007-high-school-grad-contributes-relief-effort-haiti

There is also an article in the Cook County News Herald about my time in Haiti. Enjoy....

http://www.cookcountynews-herald.com/news/2010-01-23/Front_Page/Tyler_Dean_working_with_earthquake_survivors_in_Ha.html

Thank you all once again for all of your support and prayers.
God Bless,

Tyler Dean
tylerEdean@yahoo.com

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

2010-01-26T16:20:00.000-08:00

The following photos are from Port-Au-Prince, Haiti.
**Please click photos to enlarge**

YWAM's Refugee Camp: Saint Marc, Haiti

2010-01-26T16:18:00.001-08:00

Here are a few photos of the make-shift refugee camp at the YWAM base in Saint Marc. There were 56 people there. The YWAM base is preparing for up to 8,000 refugees.
**Please click photo to enlarge**

Saint Marc, Haiti

2010-01-26T15:49:00.001-08:00

I went for a walk down the road the last day we were in Haiti and the kids wanted to take pictures...a lot of them!
**Please click photos to enlarge**

BENNIFIT CONCERT & RADIO INTERVIEW

2010-01-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends!

I will be speaking at Sally Loo's Cafe (http://sallyloos.com/) in San Luis Obispo, California, on Friday, January 29th from 4:00 PM-10:00 PM. There will be various different bands playing, such as, Adam Pasion, Amy Williams, Crooked Wheel, Sierra Chavez, Matt Cross and many more throughout the evening! There is a $5 suggested donation. Kids under 12 are FREE!

-ALSO-

Sometime soon (I'm not entirely sure when), I am being interviewed by WTIP Radio in Grand Marais, Minnesota. I will be talking about my outreach to Haiti to help in the earthquake relief efforts. You can tune in and listen online at: www.wtip.org
I will email you and let you know the date and time of when it will be aired, so be checking frequently for updates!

Thank you,

Tyler Dean
http://tylerdean.blogspot.com
tyleredean@yahoo.com
(218).370.2078

HAITI UPDATE:

2010-01-21T16:29:00.000-08:00

Hello from Haiti,

It was rather nice to not wake up to an earthquake this morning...unlike yesterday morning. Today wasn't exactly a very physical day until the very end but was crutial to helping the Haitians in need. I was making ID Cards and registering hundreds of refugees that are evacuating Port Au Prince. I did that from 7:30-3:30. During the few slow periods of time, we went over and played games with the kids (orphans) who were in our refugee camp at the YWAM Base and just loved on them. I really love Haitians! They're beautiful people.

After we finished making ID Cards, we walked a mile down the road to the abandoned hospital to see how it was looking. It is now completely gutted out, sanatized, painted and almost done with putting electric into it. When we arrived, there was a slight riot going on. There was one man who was telling Terry (YWAM's National Director of Haiti) that he owned the building but he obviously didn't. In the large circle of chaos, the locals were getting very frusterated with this man and he eventually ran off. Terry talked to the Haitian's and they all started cheering and clapping because they know that what we are doing is going to help the community greatly. Praise the Lord! After we walked the mile back to the YWAM Base, we arrived and there was a small semi filled with beans and rice to feed all of the refugees so we carried bag after bag after bag of rice and beans into the storage space. It got quite heavy after a while of carrying.

Tomorrow morning, we are leaving to the Dominican Republic at 5:00 AM to catch our Saturday flight back to California. Please be praying for safe travels, sleep and ease crossing back over the border into the DR.

When I return home to California, be checking my blog (www.tylerdean.blogspot.com) for pictures and many stories of the outreach.

Thank you all for your continual prayers, support and encouragement. It is so great, so thank you!!!!!

Blessings,
Tyler Dean
tyleredean@yahoo.com

HAITI UPDATE: A Rude Awakening!

2010-01-20T16:42:00.000-08:00

Good Evening,

I have absolutely no idea where to start...there are so many stories....

This morning at 6:03 AM, we had a wake-up call...it wasn't from my alarm clock. I found myself jumping out of bed, sprinting down the cement stairwell with 30+ other people trying to get outside while the building was swaying. There was an earthquake...aftershock...call it what you want. It was intense.

It was horrible to hear the poeple in the refugee camp screaming at the top of their lungs during and after the earthquake. Some of the injured people that should NOT even be standing up, were trying to run. They were absolutely terrified of another quake. Please be praying for them.

After everything settled down, we had a great time of worship and prayer for each other then started our work day. We continued to clean the hospital down the road. Its becoming very nice. They have bumped the number of refugees (injured) up to 8,000 to come up here to St. Marc. The UN, Haitian Police and possibly US Military will be providing us security for everything.

We also worked at moving the refugees from the YWAM Base's arena to a different location to preparing the arena for doctors, YWAM teams, etc. To make a very, very long story short, the place we were supposed to take the refugees fell through and so we are still housing and caring for them. They are happy to still be here because they know they are safe here and well cared for.

Tomorrow, please be praying for us as we start receiving bus loads of refugees, teams, doctors, etc. I am signing off for tonight due to tiredness. Thank you all so much!

Blessings,

Tyler Dean
tyleredean@yahoo.com

HAITI UPDATE: January 19, 2010

2010-01-19T15:35:00.001-08:00

Hello folks,

Just to warn you, this is going to be a quick update because I am exhausted and I've tried to type this 4 times but the power keeps going out...anyways....

This morning, we woke up at 6:00 AM to start our day. I spent the morning a mile down the road at the abandoned hospital washing it out and sanitzing it to get it ready for the refugee camp. We are preparing for 2,000-3,000 people who are wounded, to be arriving in St. Marc at the hospital we are cleaning and two local schools. Relief aid personel will be staying at the YWAM Base here in St. Marc, too.

After lunch, I worked at the refugee camp that is here at the YWAM Base, doing medical work. I've never done anything quite like that. It was intense. We worked with quite severe abrasions, burns, head trama, broken bones, etc.

Here is a quick story from a kid who is at the refugee camp here at the YWAM Base. He was found dead underneath a fallen building. They put him in a coffin and took him to the morgue. While the doctor was going through the morgue, he heard pounding and opened the door and the child was alive! He has severe head injuries (and more).

That's all for today. Time for bed. Thank you for your continual prayers!

In Christ,

Tyler Dean
tyleredean@yahoo.com

HAITI UPDATE

2010-01-18T15:50:00.000-08:00

Hello friends & family,

This morning, we woke up at 1:00 AM to leave to the border of Haiti. We arrived around 8:00 and passed within 5 minutes. They didn't even stamp our passports or anything. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Two and a half hours later, we arrived in Port Au Prince, where the earthquake did by far the most damage. We had police escorts on the front and back of us from the border all the way into the capitol city. They escorted us into the city's main police station across the street from the presidents palace, which was totally smashed to the ground. I don't really know how to describe what it looked like inside the city streets of Port Au Prince...it was what I would imagine a war zone to be like. Buildings were totally flattened...cars crushed, cement on the streets and poeple wondering everywhere, looking for hope. I heard we didn't even see the worst part(s) of the city, either.

After going to the police station, we departed up to Saint Marc, where YWAM Haiti is located. We will now be staying with them until Friday. We will be VERY busy here and working long days. We don't plan on going into Port Au Prince too much, if at all anymore due to the dangers in the city and the needs here in St. Marc.

Everyone from Port Au Prince is evacuating and going north, up to St. Marc. The YWAM base has a field on the side of the building which is now turning into a refugee camp. Anytime now, we will be getting tons more people. We are racing against time to set up an old abandond building the government is letting the YWAM base set up into a refugee camp and a make-shift hospital. There is also a school on the northeast side of St. Marc where we will be turning into a camp, too, along with our YWAM base here in St. Marc.

There are thousands upon thousands injured and needing medical help and food. Please keep these people in your prayers. Also be praying for us, to share Christ's love with them and to help them in any ways possible.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. We apprecaite them greatly and need them!

Love you all!

Tyler Dean
tyleredean@yahoo.com

HAITI UPDATE: The First 48 Hours

2010-01-17T14:41:00.000-08:00

Hello from the Dominican Republic. Our journey began on Friday, January 15th. We left Pismo Beach at 7:45 PM to go to Los Angeles. We stopped in Santa Barbara to pick up more medical supplies from Pacific Rescue. After a long drive, we arrived at YWAM Los Angeles at 12:30 AM.

Before we knew it, we were awake at 3:30 AM to catch our flight to Chicago, then to Miami and finally to the Dominican Republic (DR). Our flight was delayed one hour from Miami to the DR so we arrived on the Carribean island around 12:50 AM. We breezed straight through customs and found our van driver from YWAM Dominican Republic.

After an hour drive back to the YWAM base, we arrived around 2:15 AM and helped load a van with medical supplies and water that departed at 3:00 AM. Due to arriving late into the DR, we couldn't go into Haiti that morning. After a very long day, we were finally able to sleep...at 2:45 AM.

This morning (Sunday, January 17th), we woke up early to talk over our plan of action. It has ended up good good that we did not leave to Haiti very early this morning. We were able to set up more of a game plan on how to get into Haiti and how to get out on Friday, to catch our Saturday flight back to California.

We will be departing to Haiti at 2:30 AM (In roughly 7 hours). We have a 54 passenger bus that we will be taking to the border of Haiti. We are riding with a team from Pennsylvania. There will be 25 people on the bus with us. We will be packing up the bus with our medical supplies along with 10 cases of water that we purchased today.

From the border, YWAM Haiti will pick us up. Please be praying for safety crossing the border and for safe and smooth travels to Port Au Prince and to the city of Montrouis, where we will be living. It will be at least a 7 hour bus ride tomorrow...not including however long the border crossing takes.

Thank you all for your support and continual prayers. Your prayers are GREATLY appreciated. I will update you as I can throughout this week. Once again, thank you so much for all of your encouragement, support and prayers!

Love,
-Tyler Dean

Another story from the field in Haiti....

2010-01-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

Here is another story from Philip in Haiti.

What a crazy couple of days. We received word that Samaritan’s Purse would be setting up a staging area at the mission compound where our other eye clinic is being established. So we spent the morning planning what we needed to do in the next week and then went to the compound about half way to Port Au Prince to see if Samaritan’s Purse had arrived. We still have little to no cell phone service which makes things so much more complicated. We found out that a group of the inmates that escaped when the prison wall collapsed was hijacking vehicles in that area and that Samaritan’s Purse was not there. Due to issues with communication, we do not know when they will get there. Our plan is to partner with them and be involved in their water treatment program and distributions and medical clinics.

Right now Port Au Prince has not been secured enough to let most humanitarian aid teams in. The UN is working but there are still so many dead bodies and everyone is still sleeping in the streets. The situation is extremely desperate and thousands of people that lost everything in their collapsed homes are trying to escape the city and go stay with loved ones and friends in the outlying provinces. We are working on getting a food distribution system in place to meet the needs of the refugees and the families that are receiving them. We want to be able to provide food as well as clothing and clean water. Most of the people we have become friends with have taken in family members and are trying to help them deal with the trauma and fear from their experience in the quake. We want to be able to meet their physical needs but also the emotional and spiritual trauma from such a devastating event. The people are so traumatized from the event itself that they have not even really begun the process of mourning for their lost loved ones. Pray God will give us the chance to minister mercy and grace to as many as possible.

We sent a search party consisting of a big truck with 3 motorcycles on back into the city again this afternoon to look for Dago- one of our close friends’- brother and for Julie Wirries. We praise the Lord that just after the team reached the city we received word that Julie’s son had already received communication that Julie was safe. PRAISE the Lord! We do not know anything more than that at the moment.
We had a prayer time with Dago and the team as we were sending them out and it really was a sweet time as God met with us and they saw how much we loved them and were concerned for their safety.

I will let everyone know how things develop. We will be working north of Port Au Prince until we see the opportunity to partner with some groups establishing sites of ministry once the city is secured in the next day or two. Once most of the bodies have been removed and the houses that are still livable are reoccupied, things will be much easier. Then the long and arduous process of rebuilding and dealing with the homeless and hungry and sick begins. The airborn diseases and contaminated water supplies are a definite concern.

There are constantly bodies being brought through our area in open trucks being taken to morgues and graves north of the city. Every passing body is a reminder of the extent of the event. We would love to set up a food and clothes distribution center here in Montrouis. As food and fuel becomes more scarce, the prices are going to continue to rise and make it even harder for the average Haitian to support their normal household, much less the extra people they are bringing in.

Please pray for the people of Haiti. They are so afraid right now and hurting. We hate it. To see people you love so desperate is heart wrenching. We still don’t have cell service to call our family and internet is limited but know we love you and miss you and praise God you are alive and safe there. Seeing so many people lose children and parents and siblings helps us have a new perspective of how blessed we really are. Mom and Dad and Megan and Luke we miss you. We love you. We wish you were here to help us. Know we will be careful and yet not shy away from the opportunity to go wherever God leads us.

Blessings,

Philip Causey

URGENT: HAITI OUTREACH UPDATE....

2010-01-14T19:03:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends,

This is the latest update on my Haiti Outreach...as of 7:02 PM, Wednesday, January 14, 2010.

I am driving down to Los Angeles tomorrow evening and flying to the Dominican Republic on Saturday. From there, I will be taking a bus to Haiti to help in the earthquake relief efforts. Would you please pray about helping me financially to help the people in Haiti. You can give online at: http://www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html

You can also give by mail. Here’s how….
Write a check made out to YWAM.
Enclose a note indicating it is for Tyler Dean’s Haiti Outreach.
Mail To:
YWAM Pismo Beach
791 Price St. #119
Pismo Beach, CA 93449

I will be giving updates as I can. Please be praying for myself and my teammates and for the Haitians for safety, guidance and the Lord’s will to be done while we are down there.

Thank you and God Bless,

-Tyler Dean
tyleredean@yahoo.com

URGENT: Help me go to Haiti!

2010-01-14T14:13:00.001-08:00

Hello friends & family,

I am going to Haiti on Sunday night to help with the earthquake relieve effort. Would you please pray about helping me financially to go and help the people of Haiti.

You can give online at:

http://www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html

You can also donate by sending a check made out to YWAM to:

YWAM Pismo Beach
791 Price St. #119
Pismo Beach, CA 93449

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Thank you,
-Tyler Dean

Earthquake in Haiti.

2010-01-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

Philip Causey did a DTS here with YWAM Pismo Beach last year and is now a missionary in Haiti. Here is a story from him after the earthquake that hit a few days ago.
(In the photo above, Philip is on an outreach in India during 2009. Click photo to enlarge.)

Shaken In More Ways Than One

Some people that work on our campus here in Montrouis live in Port Au Prince, in the area that was the hardest hit by the earthquake. Without cell phone communication after the quake, they were not able to get through to their families and only could listen to local radio talk about the thousands of homes that had collapsed. We could only spend the night in prayer and prepare to take them to search for their families first thing this morning.

As we made our way to Port Au Prince, it was clear that we were in for a tough day. We were able to get through streets strewn with debris and power lines. Every hospital had closed gates and thousands of wounded and dying on the sidewalk outside. We stopped in at one hospital to search for our friend’s wife. While we were there, we started treating people with non-life threatening wounds...digging chunks of cement out of gaping wounds, cleaning head wounds, etc. Kerry had one girl that a mom begged him to go and check on. When he got there, she was completely covered with a sheet. When Kerry pulled the sheet back, he was sure she was dead. Covered in flies with a gaping head wound, disfigured face, Kerry was able to find a weak pulse and get her to respond. She is 19 years old. He got her some water and tried to see if there was anything he could do but he had to just tell the family how to care for her as she waited to see if the hospital would open. Kerry prayed for her and her family and left broken hearted.

We picked up a 12 year old boy that some friends and his parents were carrying down the road on a door as a stretcher. They needed a ride to the hospital. While in the back of the truck, we tried to help him but he had a major head injury and a crushed shoulder. I was so broken as I weeped over the little guy. I felt so burdened that we had to talk to him about his faith before he died. We got down on our knees as he looked at us through swollen eyes. He gave a testimony of loving Jesus and believing that God was waiting for him if he was to die. We prayed and wept with him. We dropped him off at the hospital and left not knowing his fate. Keep him in your prayers. On the way back home, all I could do is cry...just seeing all of those dead bodies just tore me up inside. All I could think about was, "I hope they know Jesus." When we got home, I worshiped and praised God for everything. I fell asleep for about 20 minutes and got woken up by another aftershock.

Those are just a few of the people God sent our way today but we feel overwhelmed yet grateful that God is letting us be a small glimmer of light in such a dark time. I have never seen a war zone but I would have to suspect it looks similar. We could not count the dead bodies in the streets and on the sidewalks. Everyone is afraid to go back into the buildings so they all have sheet tents built in the streets. One of our good friends that barely escaped before his house fell, spent the night standing in a parking lot with over 2,000 other people praying God would let them see one more day.

Just keep us in your prayers. On top of everything else, we have some type of sickness that everyone is getting here. Logan, Joy, Shelly, Pastor Rick, Caleb, and Bob have all been very sick with fever and intestinal problems. Joy and Logan are still in the bed.

We know God is good all the time, and he is in control! We will try to keep you updated as internet is available.

Blessings,
Philip Causey

Philip works with the Reeves family in Haiti. Feel free to visit their website at:
http://newvisionhaiti.blogspot.com/

A New Season

2009-11-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hello folks,
As you probably know, last January-June of 2009, I worked with the Discipleship Training School (DTS), the main school that YWAM has. I had a blast staffing the school and learned so much throughout the 5 1/2 month course. I was able to lead a few students to Nicaragua for their outreach phase of the school.

In the past few months, the Lord has been doing a lot in my heart and I have decided to start working with Project Sixty One, a ministry that we have here at YWAM Pismo Beach & Central Coast. Because of working with Project 61, I will no longer be staffing the Discipleship Training School(s).

What is Project 61? Project 61's desire is to see individuals and teams of all ages getting involved in missions...and we would love to help! So basically, you or your team, picks the location of the outreach, length of the trip, ministry desires, etc. You can also let us know if your group needs training before the outreach begins. The best part is, we set it all up for your team and tailor it just how you'd like it so you get the best of both worlds! An outreach that is suited specifically for your team with no stress of setting it up and all those little details.

Project 61 is based off of the scripture, Isaiah 61, which has spoken anointing over each and every one of us to preach Good News to the poor, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and to release prisoners from the darkness. Project 61's desire is to go forth in that anointing; creating a full service opportunity for individuals and teams to be mobilized into missions. Our mission is to engage the community to service one another through short term outreaches, as well as taking the community to the nations and exposing them to God's heart for the world.

I am extremely excited for this opportunity and also for this new season the Lord is bringing me into. If you have any questions about this, feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email. I'd love to talk to you more about it and explain it in more detail. You can also visit Project 61's website at:
http://www.ywampismobeach.org/project61/

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family!

In Christ,

Tyler Dean
218.370.2078
tyleredean@yahoo.com
http://www.ywampismobeach.org/project61/

The Lord is faithful!

2009-11-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Folks,

As you know, I had been trying to raise $1,689 for various different things, such as a house deposit, rent, first month start-up fees/bills, flights, car insurance & registration, etc. So in just under two weeks, the Lord provided me with all of that money. Thank you, Father!

I also wanted to say thank you to all of you who helped me by praying for the Lord's provision and will to be done. Also a big thanks to everyone who partnered with me financially. It was and is so amazing and exciting to see the Lord providing daily!
I am still trying to raise $200 more in my monthly support. If you have any questions about this, feel free to contact me by email or phone.
Once again, thank you so much!

In Christ,

Tyler Dean
tyleredean@yahoo.com
218.370.2078

Yay!

2009-11-04T16:25:00.001-08:00

Hey friends,
I just wanted to start out by saying, THANK YOU! Thank you for praying for me and helping me out financially.

As you know, last Tuesday, I was in need of $1,680. By Monday the 2nd, the Lord provided and dropped the total to $995. Today, the total has dropped to $745. Thank you, Lord!

Please continue to partner with me in prayer with this situation. If you want information how to give, either shoot me a message or visit:

http://tylerdean.blogspot.com/

Once again, thank you all so much. I will write again and let you know what's going on.
Thanks!!

-Tyler Dean
tyleredean@yahoo.com

Thank you, Lord!

2009-11-02T15:20:00.000-08:00

Hello folks,

Thank you for continuing to pray for me with my current financial situation. As you know, last Tuesday, the 27th, I sent an update/prayer request out stating that I am in need of $1,680 by Friday, November 6th.
The Lord has been so faithful in providing thus far. Since Tuesday, He has provided me a total of $685. That leaves me with only $995 left. I am still asking the Lord to provide the remainder ($995) by Friday, so please partner with me in prayer with that.

Like I said before...If God has put it on your heart to partner with me financially as well, that would be amazing! I know He can provide anything, so I am just trying to trust Him with all of this. If you're not sure how to give and you would like to, you can write a check made out to YWAM (Address Below). Attached a note indicating that it's for Tyler Dean. You can also donate online by going to this website: http://www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html

Thank you for praying for me. I really appreciate it. Also, thank you to those who have partnered with me financially!

Much Love,

Tyler Dean
791 Price St. #119
Pismo Beach, CA 93449

http://www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html
tyleredean@yahoo.com

Prayer Card

2009-10-27T21:16:00.001-07:00

If you would like a prayer card, please email me with your mailing address at:
tyleredean@yahoo.com

Thank you,
-Tyler Dean

Praise Report!

2009-10-27T20:26:00.001-07:00

In my latest post, I talked about how we were looking for a bigger community house due to a new staff coming at the end of the month. Well, I'm happy to announce that the Lord has provided us a new community house! It's exactly 1.1 miles away from the house I live in right now. It's definitely a step up from my current house. We're all very exited to start living there. The rental company/landlord is letting us move stuff in early so we don't have to do it all in one day. We can officially start sleeping there in three days (Friday night)! Yahoo! Thank you all for your prayer support in this situation. The Lord has blessed us greatly!

I still have some prayer requests with the housing situation, some to do with finances, and a couple very important ones that have nothing to do with finances! They are....
-To build relationships with our new neighbors.
-For us to impact the neighborhood we're in.
-Favor with sharing the Gospel with neighbors.
-The deposit for the house is: $375 per person.
-Start-up fees for phone, internet, gas, & electric total out at: $75 per person.
Total for the new house: $450 per person

I am still praying about, and trying to go to the east coast (Washington D.C. & Boston) around Thanksgiving time to visit my brother and a few other friends along with going to Minnesota to spend time my whole family for Christmas and to visit friends as well! Costs are....
Flight(s) to the east coast would top out around $500
Flight(s) to Minnesota will be around $350.

This is the time of year for me that I also have a lot of annual expenses as well. I still have to pay for....
Auto Insurance: $280
Vehicle Registration: $100(For the year)

And last but not least, I am trying to raise my monthly support by at least $200 per month, so please keep that in prayer as well.

Total amount trying to be raised by Friday, November 6th is: $1,680

If God has put it on your heart to partner with me financially as well, that would be greatly appreciated! I know He can provide anything, so I am just trying to trust Him with all of this. If you're not sure how to give and you would like to, you can write a check made out to YWAM (Address Below). Attached a note indicating that it's for Tyler Dean. You can also donate online by going to this website: http://www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html

Thank you all so much for your continual prayer and financial support! It's greatly appreciated!

Love,

Tyler Dean
791 Price St. #119
Pismo Beach, CA 93449

http://www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html
tyleredean@yahoo.com

Prayer Request(s)....

2009-10-27T20:25:00.001-07:00

Hello folks,
How are yall doing? This is a little update for you, as well as some of my needs & prayer requests!

I'll start with the update....
So, I've been quite busy with various different things around the base. One of the bigger things is:
We have a new staff member coming at the end of the month and we need a bigger house. So, I have been working on getting a new community house (For those of you who don't know, a community house is where our YWAM staff live. We aren't on an actual base. We have different community houses around the Pismo Beach area so we can reach out into the communities that our house(s) are in.). This has been a fun, stressful, busy and exciting process!
There is also a new Discipleship Training School (DTS) that starts in January, which is rapidly approaching us! Everyone has been preparing for the new school and we are all very excited for it!
I am also wanting/trying to go to the East Coast (Washington D.C. & Boston) around Thanksgiving to visit my brother and a couple of other close friends, along with going to Minnesota around Christmas time to see family and friends.

So, in order to make all of this possible, I need your help!
I would like to ask you to partner with me in prayer for all of this. Here are a few highlighted prayer requests:

-Wisdom
-Favor with rental companies/landlords
-For God to speak to us clearly on what house He wants us in
-God's will to be done in ALL of these situations
-Finances for:
-Housing Deposit/Start-Up Fees ($450)
-Airfare to the East Coast & Minnesota
-For yearly expenses (Car Insurance, Car Registration, etc. ($400)
-A new bed (To help my back)
-More monthly support (Praying for $200 more per month)

If God has put it on your heart to partner with me financially as well, that would be greatly appreciated! I know He can provide anything, so I am just trying to trust Him with all of this. If you're not sure how to give and you would like to, you can write a check made out to YWAM. Attached a note indicating that it's for Tyler Dean. You can also donate online by going to YWAM Pismo Beach's website and using PayPal.

Lastly, I just want to thank you. I appreciate you all so much! Thank you for your prayers and financial support. I literally could not do what I do without you folks...so thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

IN CHRIST,

Tyler Dean
791 Price St. #119
Pismo Beach, California 93449

www.ywampismobeach.org/donate.html
tyleredean@yahoo.com

My Prayer....

2009-10-13T20:40:00.000-07:00

Dear God,
Thank you for this new day! Father, I ask that you lead me through this day, speak to me, lead me to people You want me to talk to. God, let Your will be done today. Lord, help me be bold in my faith! Help me not sugar coat Your Word, the Gospel, or what You can do. Help me to share Your love! God, I ask that You teach me how to love just like You love! Thank you, Father!
God, I pray that you wake up this world! Help us, Father! Lord, help us...lead us...direct us to make disciples of all Your nations! Help us love all Your nations! God, we thank You and praise You! We give You all the glory, Lord!
It's in your name we pray, Jesus...Amen!

A Simple Hello....

2009-10-13T19:57:00.000-07:00

Last Friday after dinner around 7:00, I was running late on my way over to a young adult church service. I knew if I didn't stop and get coffee, I would have definitely fallen asleep.

As I was at Starbucks waiting for my latte, I saw a young man about my age, who was wearing a black fleece North Face jacket, who was on crutches also waiting for his coffee. I noticed that his right leg had very recently been amputated right above the knee. He looked tired, worn out and just plain down....

Immediately, God put it on my heart to talk to him...to say a simple hello. As I was wrestling with the fear of man to go speak with him, the lady who was making coffee yelled out, "Tyler, your latte is ready-thank you!"

I went up to the counter and grabbed my coffee. I walked out the door, got into my car, turned the key and drove off....

...Why...?

Why didn't I take a few minutes to talk to this young man...to say a simple hello. Why?

I don't know if the Lord would have lead me to just say hello, to encourage him or if He would have lead me to pray for him. I don't know what I would have prayed...maybe for God to meet him where he was at in that moment...Possibly for God to heal his right leg...for it to grow back completely..? I don't know. Maybe he wouldn't have even replied back to my simple hello. I do not know....

I guess I will never know....

This has stuck in my head since that Friday evening around 7:00. I've thought about it a lot. I pray that God puts that young man back into my path once again so I can say that simple hello...so I could possibly even pray for him!

Some of you may have experienced something similar. My prayer for you, too, is that we could both be bold, obey God and get rid of that fear of man...to say that simple hello...and possibly even pray for him....

Psalms 23

2009-09-30T09:00:00.000-07:00

Psalm 23

The LORD, the Psalmist's Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.

1The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name's sake.
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
6Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

**To listen to a song based off this scripture, copy and paste the link below to a new window.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoXWIK1lfyo

Verses....

2009-09-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
-Ephesians 6:10-20

The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid.
-Psalms 27:1

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
-Philippians 4:13

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.
-Colossians 3:23

A good name is more desired than great wealth. Favor is better than silver or gold. The rich and the poor have a common bond. The Lord is the maker of them all.
-Proverbs 22:1-2

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
-Matthew 6:34

Photo's from Ticuantepe, Nicaragua

2009-09-19T01:02:00.000-07:00

In Masaya with a couple of the glue kids.

2009-09-19T00:38:00.000-07:00

JUCUM (YWAM) Nicaragua

2009-09-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

Students from YWAM Nicaragua's K-6 School

2009-09-17T23:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more pictures....

2009-09-17T22:46:00.001-07:00

...and more!

2009-09-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

My latest outreach to Nicaragua: August 21-September 5, 2009

2009-09-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

Hello folks,

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write an update about my latest outreach to Nicaragua. I've been really busy with various different things. Anyways, here it is....

On August 20th, around 2:00 PM, I hopped on the six hour train ride from Pismo Beach to Los Angeles, to catch another 30 minute bus ride to the Los Angeles International Airport, to catch my 12:30 AM flight to Managua, Nicaragua. After roughly 24 hours of traveling, I arrived in beautiful Nicaragua. I used the public transportation to make my way down to Ticuantepe, where we stayed the first week.

As I was walking down the cobblestone road, with a huge backpack on my back, full of kids toys, coloring books, markers, English flash cards, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. and a smaller backpack on my chest in the 100 degree humid heat, friends and families that I met a couple months before ran out in the street to hug and greet me. It was really fun and encouraging to see everyone again. I threw my backpack(s) off and played with the kiddo's. At last, I made it to the house we would be staying at!

The first few days I was by myself in Nicaragua because we couldn't all get the same flight due to high prices. So, I made the best of my time! I went grocery shopping for the week. I bought rice, beans, garlic, avocados, bananas, plantains, mango's and a more for under $7! I also went around to different families houses to visit them and let them know that I'd be back with more friends later on in the week. They were thrilled!

At last, everyone arrived! We jumped right into ministry. We went around, introducing Rachael, Katy (From my hometown in Grand Marais, Minnesota) and Natasha (On staff with YWAM Pismo Beach). It was fun for them to get to know everyone, pray for people and fellowship with them.

One day, we stopped at my friend Juan's house to pray for their family. Juan's wife said to me, "The last time you were here, I was sick and you prayed for me. I didn't tell you, but God healed me that day of my sickness! I am all better now!" It was really cool to hear that God healed her. The smile she had on her face was incredible! That day we prayed for her daughter because she had kidney stones. Keep praying for her as she just went through surgery a couple days ago.

During our time in Ticuantepe, we took two afternoons to go down to Masaya (A town about 20 minutes south). There are kids (Anywhere from 8-20 years old) living on the streets who sniff glue to get their fix. We hung out with the "glue kids", played music with them, talked and prayed with them. We also were able to buy a bunch of bananas and mango's! Please be praying for these kids as they (sometimes) like living on the streets because they have no responsibilities and can do what they want and also for their addiction to sniffing glue (shoe glue).

After our stay in Ticuantepe, we spent two days in San Juan Del Sur (Southern Nicaragua) then headed up to Diriamba, where the YWAM base is, to stay with them the remainder of the trip. It was super fun to see friends at the YWAM base and also in the barrio (neighborhood). In the mornings, we worked with the school (k-6) that the YWAM base runs which is also on their base. It was fun to be with the kids and play with them. In the afternoons, we went into the barrio to do evangelism, pray for people and just trying to be a light amongst the spiritual darkness. We also helped out with their Children's Ministry, which is on Friday afternoons. During that, they do worship, skits/dramas and small groups with nearly 130 kids! Throughout the course of the year, they act out stories throughout the whole Bible.

One day when we were in the barrio in Diriamba, we went to a friends house to pray for them. Two months earlier I went to the same house. Three weeks before, her husband was shot and killed. The family was going through a very difficult time with it but God was revealing His love for them in incredible ways. The lady told us she was pregnant as well. She is still pregnant today, but the baby isn't growing properly. The baby is very, very under weight and turned upside down and is due just one month away, in October. Please keep her in your prayers as this is a difficult time for her and the family.

Like I said before, it was very fun to be back at the YWAM base in Nicaragua. Thank you to everyone at YWAM Nicaragua for your friendship and hospitality.

Then came Saturday...the morning we had to fly back to the States. We woke up early to catch our 4:00 AM taxi ride to the airport where we all had the same flight to Houston, Texas. After that, Rachael & Katy flew back to Minneapolis and Natasha and myself flew back to Los Angeles.

We were all able to get together and debrief our trip, to talk about the good things that happened and the not so good things that happened (Don't worry, there weren't too many bad things! HaHa). Everyone really enjoyed there time in Nicaragua and would like to go back someday. We all saw God move in amazing ways and we all learned a lot from Him and each other. I encourage you, if you know Katy, Rachael or Natasha and you see them, ask them about the trip and hear some stories from them.

I want to thank you for helping me, in prayer and financially. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you! I received multiple emails from friends who set up specific times daily to pray for our team or got a prayer team together to pray for us throughout the outreach...so...THANK YOU! I truly appreciate it!

I do have some new prayer requests as well. Since being in Nicaragua, I've seemed to have caught a stomach parasite (possibly from the water) and also I have a toe infection (from cutting my toe). I've been really busy trying to take care of all this medical stuff, spending quite a bit of time at the doctor, soaking my foot and what not. Please be praying that I heal up quickly and don't have to spend more time at the doctors office. Also pray that my toe stops hurting so bad so I can walk properly and sleep good!

Once again, thank you for all of your prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

God Bless,

-Tyler Dean

Prayer Request

2009-08-28T13:20:00.001-07:00

Hello folks,

As you may know, I´m here in Nicaragua for a two week outreach. The team is doing very well. We need your help though. I am asking you to partner with us in prayer. God is doing something huge so we want as much prayer as we can. TODAY (Friday, August 28) at 4:00 PM (Mountain Time Zone), we are going to be doing worship, prayer and street preaching in a park in Ticuantepe. We are very excited for this and believe God is going to do something huge! We need your your prayers. We will be doing a similar thing tomorrow morning around 10:00 AM in a town called Masaya at the Central Park. We want YOU to cover it in prayer. Here are some prayer requests....

-BOLDNESS
-To not have fear of man
-Confidence
-Annointed words and for God to speak through us.
-For our translator(s)
-For people to come
-Open Hearts
-Revelation of his purpose and will.
-ISAIAH 61
-Answer to prayers (Including healing, being set free, etc.)
-Strength

Thank you all so much and I´ll send an update in the next few days.

God Bless,

-Tyler Dean

It's official! Nicaragua Outreach Update

2009-08-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

Hello friends,

Well...It's been a crazy last couple days, organizing and getting ready for this outreach to Nicaragua. I leave in roughly 9 days!

Everything is slowly coming together. Today was a big day and a huge step forward! All the flights were able to be purchased and Katy is supposed to get her passport in roughly two days and we are very excited!

Natasha, who is on staff with me at YWAM Pismo Beach, is also coming with us to Nicaragua. After praying about it, she felt like she was supposed to come along. She will add a lot to our team and we're all excited to have her come with us.

I am still looking for more financial help with this outreach. If you feel that God has put it on your heart to give, you can send a check to the address below. If you wish to receive a tax deductible receipt, write checks out to YWAM Pismo Beach. Please do not put my name anywhere on the check. Just put a note in the envelope explaining it is for Tyler Dean's Nicaragua Outreach.

Here are some prayer requests:
-Smoothing out the logistics
-Finances
-Divine appointments in Nicaragua
-Open hearts with the people we meet in Nicaragua
-Personal growth in all who are going on the outreach.

Thank you all for your support, financially and in prayer. Like I said before, Rachael, Katy, Natasha and myself are very excited to go to Nicaragua and are looking forward to see what God has in store for us!

Blessings,

-Tyler Dean

I am going to Nicaragua?!

2009-08-07T22:33:00.000-07:00

WOW!

Well, there is a very good possibility that at this time in two weeks, I will be in Nicaragua, Central America!!

Here is how....

Two nights ago, I was praying and I kept getting the word Nicaragua over & over again.

Yesterday morning, my housemates and myself were doing some worship & intercession and I kept getting these pictures and very clear visions of two of my friends from my hometown in Grand Marais, Minnesota, Rachael Bohnen & Katy Borud. In these pictures and visions, we were at the YWAM Base in Diriamba, Nicaragua, praying for different families, praying for the sick in a hospital in a town called Jinotepe, playing with Nicaraguan children in Ticuantepe, speaking at churches, doing street preaching and evangelism and also working with the "Glue Kids" in Masaya. God spoke very clearly to me that I was supposed to go...IN TWO WEEKS!

So later that afternoon, I gave Rachael and Katy a phone call, explaining what happened. Both Rachael and Katy are very, very excited for the opportunity to go to Nicaragua to share Christ's love! Katy is currently in the process of getting her passport, so please be praying for favor with the passport situation.

This morning, I emailed a couple different people in Nicaragua to set up lodging and ministries. Within two hours, I received emails back, so everything is pretty much set up for us down in Nicaragua!!

The approximate dates of the outreach would be from August 22nd-September 5th. Therefore, I need to purchase a flight early next week. Please be in prayer that I can find reasonable airfare.

I am looking for financial help with this outreach so if you feel that God has put it on your heart to give, you can send a check to the address below. If you wish to receive a tax deductible receipt, write checks out to YWAM Pismo Beach. Please do not put my name anywhere on the check. Just put a note in the envelope explaining it is for Tyler Dean's Nicaragua Outreach.

Thank you all for your continual support, financially and in prayer.

Please be praying for:
-Smoothing out the logistics
-Katy's passport situation
-Finances
-Divine appointments in Nicaragua
-Open hearts with the people we meet in Nicaragua

I will keep you posted on everything as it works out more. Also, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me at: tylerdean32@hotmail.com or call me at: 218.370.2078. Once again, thank you all so much!!

Blessings,

Tyler Dean
791 Price St. #119
Pismo Beach, CA 93449

Another Outreach?!

2009-08-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

Hello folks,

I just wanted to throw it out there....

There may be another outreach brewing...very, very soon...Like, two weeks soon. Please be praying for guidance, finances & favor.

I'll keep you posted!

Thanks,
-Ty

How to comment on blog posts....

2009-08-06T21:56:00.001-07:00

Hey friends,

So, this is just to let you know how you can comment on my blog posts...
Here is how to do it!!

1.) Read my blog post.
2.) Enjoy my blog post...hopefully.
3.) Click on "Comments" right below the blog post.
4.) Under where it says "Post A Comment"...Post your comment(s)! :)
5.) After you type your comment, click on "Post Comment".

I hope to see some comments on the blog posts-It's fun to hear from people!

Thank you all for your support!

Blessings,

-Tyler Dean

Tyler Dean is speaking!

2009-07-18T12:31:00.001-07:00

Hello folks,

This is a reminder....

I am in Minnesota! On Wednesday, July 29, at 6:00 PM, there will be a dinner at the Evangelical Free Church in Grand Marais, Minnesota. After the dinner, I will be sharing about what is going on out here in California, working with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Pismo Beach and will also be showing slides and sharing about my latest outreach to Nicaragua, Central America. Bring your family & friends and anyone that is interested!

When: July 29, 2009 @ 6:00 PM

Where: Evangelical Free Church of Grand Marais
120 East 5th Street
Grand Marais, Minnesota 55604

Why: To have fun!

***PLEASE RSVP if you are coming and how many people will be eating. Thank you!***

Phone: 218.370.2078 or 218.387.9512
Email: tylerdean32@hotmail.com

Also, if anyone wants to help cook or bring anything, please contact me. Thanks!

**If you cannot make it on Wednesday the 29th, I will be sharing very briefly on Sunday morning, August 2nd, at the 10:30 church service.

Blessings,

-Tyler Dean
218.370.2078
tylerdean32@hotmail.com
http://tylerdean.blogspot.com/

How Great Is Our God By: Louie Giglio

2009-07-07T10:50:00.000-07:00

Your life is a miracle and the Creator of the universe knows you by name. He's big enough to breathe out stars, yet intricate enough to fashion together the trillions of cells that make up every facet of who you are. The God who spoke the universe into existence made you, too, and knows everything about you. From the smallest molecule to the situation you find yourself in RIGHT now, He's aware of your circumstances and intimately acquainted with everything you do. And He cares about you and promises to carry you through...

That's where we find hope in the midst of the darkest places in life. The journey is often complicated and painful, filled with confusion and chaos. Yet, the cross of Christ reveals God's promise to preserve and restore you no matter what the circumstance. He will hold onto you and hold you together, giving strength to those who hope in His unfailing love.

He is the everlasting God!

GWAM

2009-07-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s time for our second annual Golf With A Mission (GWAM), a fundraiser for YWAM Pismo Beach & Central Coast! This is the largest fundraiser we do for the whole year. The proceeds go towards our ministry here in the Central Coast. This year we are really excited to send 10% of these funds with our good friends, the Jones’ (who have been working with us for 4 years at YWAM Pismo Beach), to start their work in East Asia!

If you live out of town, we'd like you to consider sponsoring a hole for this years event if you are unable to attend! If you would like information about sponsoring holes or how to play in this years tournament, please email me at: tylerdean32@hotmail.com. Also, please pray for GWAM! We would like to make this year even more of a success than last! Thanks so much for your time and continued partnership with us and our base through your prayers and support!

Blessings,

-Tyler Dean

God CAN heal and DOES heal!

2009-06-15T22:31:00.001-07:00

Hey,
So I have a cool testimony & praise report!

I don't know if you know or not, but I have some knee, hamstrings & back problems...I've had scoliosis practically my whole life. Scoliosis is pretty much where you have a crooked spine. I also have extremely tight hamstrings (the muscles in the back of your upper leg). Due to my very tight hamstrings, it pulls on my lower back to cause even more pain and inflexability. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and cannot put on my socks and shoes due to such a sore back and very, very unflexable hamstrings (I'm not limber by any means). I can remember back to one whole week my senior year of high school where I couldn't straighten my back for the whole week. I was crouched over in intense pain. I also haven't been able to sit on the floor with my legs crossed since...I can't remember when.

Anyways, let's get to the fun part!!!

So today, some of the staff here at YWAM Pismo Beach were having a meeting in the office and at the end of the meeting, we decided that we were just going to pray for one another....
When it was "my turn" to get prayed for, I sat on a chair in the middle of everyone, joking that I can't sit on the floor...
So I said my prayer requests and then my friends added that we needed to pray for my back, knees & hamstrings...I kind of said, yeah yeah...sure we can.
So they started praying for me and I was just saying, "God, if you want to heal me, my back, knee or anything, I trust in You and I know that You can heal. I just want Your will to be done."
After we were prayed, my friend Cody told me that he feels like I'm supposed to stand up and try to touch the floor...which I knew I couldn't do...but I did anyways...
I slowly bent over towards the floor and I could put the whole palm of my hand on the floor, which is a miracle because usually, I can only put the tips of my hands just past my knees to the middle of my shin. Praise the Lord!!
After I stretched a couple times, I tried to sit on the floor with my legs crossed and I could do it WAY easier than I have in years. It was so exciting for me because it's always kind of disappointing to be so unflexable and to have a back of a 106 year old man at age 20.

Anyways....

I just wanted to share that with you and I hope it's an encouragement to you. I know that God can heal and He does heal...He even can heal YOU!!!!

Praise the Lord!

June 13, 2009

2009-06-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

Heyyyyy,
The 2009 Surfers DTS is now finished. Firday evening, the students graduated after their 5 1/2 month school. It was fun to watch all the students grow so much through out the past 5 1/2 months and so fun to celebrate with everyone!
As for the rest of my summer...I'm busy!
On Wednesday, our base had a meeting where we change department rolls, such as, Accounting, Fundraising & Advertising, Financial Facilitator, etc. Our accounting facilitator is moving to Asia in late July, therefore the base needs a new facilitator, so I'll be heading up the accounting department, which is a big task, but I'm excited to learn more about it. These next 3 to 4 weeks, I'll be training in for that new responsibility.
Next Saturday, my two very good friends and co-workers are getting married. This week will be busy preparing for the wedding! It should be a fun day of celebration!
I will be going home to Minnesota on furlough in July. I booked a flight from the 19 of July to August 4th. I'm really excited to see everyone!
I'm also hoping to go back to Nicaragua this fall again to scout more of the country for future outreaches, going back to the families we helped and possibly helping lead a team there from the Central Coast of California...so pray for finances on that trip and I'll keep you updated on that for sure!
In September, I may be going around to 5 or 6 different western states to speak at several different YWAM bases about a new ministry that's getting started at our base geared towards youth and getting them involved in missions and exposing them to it. I'm really excited for that opportunity!
I'm also hoping to take a week vacation this summer or fall to get away and relax, so also be praying that finances come in for that!
And besides all of this, myself and the other DTS staff will be planning for the 2010 DTS, which is a long and busy process.
Anyways...Just wanted to let you know a little bit of what will be going on this summer for myself.
Thanks for visiting my blog! :)
Blessings,
-Tyler Dean

Arrival in the USA!

2009-06-07T22:11:00.001-07:00

Hey friends & family,
So...after being awake for 20 hours straight, I'm back in California. We woke up at 2:00 AM to travel up to Managua (the capital city of Nicaragua) to catch our 6:30 AM flight to Los Angeles, California, with an hour layover in Houston, Texas. At 2:00 PM, we were greeted by Will Barrow (YWAM Pismo's Base Director), who came to pick us up and drive us up the coast to Pismo Beach. My two students, Andrew & Lisa, wanted to go through Beverly Hills to see what it was like on the way to Pismo, so we did. Let me tell you...that was the ultimate culture shock!! Going from a country where a family makes, on average, $200 per month, to Beverly Hills, where there are Porches, Lamborghini's, ferrari's & mansions everywhere you look. It was very difficult to see, but definitely eye-opening.
After the 3 hour drive up north to Pismo Beach, we finally arrived, being greeted by the two other DTS Outreach teams (Who went to India, Thailand and one other location in Asia) and YWAM Pismo Beach staff. It was so good to see everyone and fun to share stories and laugh together.
So it's been 8 weeks and 3 days...and it's over...I'm back in California. It's great to be back, but I'm already looking forward for my next trip to Nicaragua! God taught me so many things on this outreach and He revealed Himself to all of us, seeing Him healing the one lady's neck to teaching us through His word. Praise the Lord!
I want to thank all of you for supporting me in prayer and financially as I went on this outreach to Nicaragua! I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, so thank you so much!
God bless,

-Tyler Dean

Getting demolished by kids! Diriamba, Nicaragua.

2009-06-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

Just throwing kids! :) Ticuantepe, Nicaragua.

2009-06-04T14:27:00.001-07:00

Little girl in Ticuantepe, Nicaragua.

2009-06-04T14:26:00.001-07:00

Biggest garbage dump in the Western Hemisphere-Managua, Nicaragua (Bad quality photo, sorry!).

2009-06-04T14:23:00.001-07:00

Doing a skit at a church in Ticuantepe, Nicaragua.

2009-06-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Market in Diriamba, Nicaragua.

2009-06-04T09:56:00.000-07:00

Streets of Masaya, Nicaragua.

2009-06-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

Lisa speaking at a church.

2009-06-04T09:49:00.000-07:00

Andrew speaking at a church.

2009-06-04T09:47:00.000-07:00

Playing with some kids in Diriamba!

2009-06-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

The last day of May...The 31st!

2009-05-31T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hey friends & family,

How are you? I'm sorry I haven't written too much lately. We've been pretty busy. We're doing well here in Nicaragua. We are in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua. It's in the southern part of Nicaragua on the Pacific Coastline. We are staying here until June 5th, then we head up to Diriamba to the YWAM Base then fly out very early Saturday morning back to Los Angeles.
While we've been here in San Juan Del Sur, we've been doing a lot of worship and intercession, reading the Bible as a team (We have been reading through the New Testament and finished it today!), and prayer walking throughout the town and the neighborhoods. We haven't had a translator here in San Juan Del Sur (SJDS) yet, BUT, God provided a lady who is willing to translate for us. We prayed and asked God to send us a translator and He did!! Praise the Lord! Tomorrow & Tuesday, we'll be going around with the lady to different barrio's (neighborhoods) in SJDS to tell them about Jesus, pray for them and hopefully be a blessing to them! We're very excited to see the Lord at work these last few days of outreach.

Here are a couple prayer requests:
-For our team to be able to finish outreach strong!
-To be bold in our faith!
-More and more team unity.
-Divine appointments
-Safe travels back to California

Thank you all so much for all of your prayers. We really appreciate it!
God bless,
-Tyler Dean

5.18.09

2009-05-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Hey!!
So the power went off as I was almost finished typing this...It´s always fun when it does that (quite often). Let´s start over....
This past week, we´ve gone to a city named Masaya (20 minutes from Ticuantepe) quite a bit. We´ve been working with a organization called Youth With Hope. They work with the street kids who sniff glue to get their highs to cure their starvation. They give the street kids an opportunity to live at the house where they can have food, a bed and people who love them. There are currently 8 kids who live in the house and 14 still out on the streets. Their ages range from 10 years old to 18 years old with a couple in their mid to upper 20´s.
This afternoon, we hung out with 3 of the glue boys. We were able to go to the abandon building where they sleep at night and pray in their with them. Two of them also took us to their families houses and wanted us to meet their families and pray with them. It was really cool to get to know them more and to see God working in each and everyone of their lives.
This morning, we went around and talked to different people, asking them if they knew the Lord, if they needed prayer, etc. It was amazing...We talked to quite a few people and could definitely tell the Lord was guiding us to the exact people He wanted us to speak with. We were able to talk to this one man for nearly 30 minutes and prayed for him multiple times. While we were talking to him, there was a man standing behind him the whole time waiting for us to finish so he could talk to us. When we talked to him, he told us we needed to go to his house to pray for his wife who has breast cancer, so we did. She has been sick for quite a while and has had Chemotherepy once. She´s missed her other chemo appointments because they can´t afford it. It was very good to talk and pray with her. She was an encouragement to all of us!
Earlier this week, we´ve been working here in Ticuantepe, doing evangelism. We´ve been passing out Bibles to families here, giving clothes to the kids, playing with the kids and sharing the gospel with them. God has definitely blessed our time here in Tiuantepe and we can see Him working with the people here!
At 6:00 AM on Wednesday morning, we´re hopping on a bus down south to San Juan Del Sur area...a town in the south part of Nicaragua. we´ll be there the last couple weeks of outreach.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. Here are a couple prayer requests:
-Team health
-Safety with traveling
-God to guide our last couple weeks here in Nicaragua
Blessings,
-Tyler Dean

5.4.09

2009-05-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!
Sorry it’s taken quite a while to write…There is no internet where we’re staying, so I have to find internet café’s. We’ve been keeping busy here in Ticuantepe! Brandon, Kirsten & Cat (YWAM Pismo Staff) are here until Saturday, May, 9. It’s a blessing to have them here and having them work with us.
Since arriving here in Ticuantepe on the 28th of April, we’ve been doing a lot of evangelism. Everyone has been very open to speak with us, which is really nice. We’ve been able to pray for various different families. On Friday, we went out to talk and pray with families, but it’s hard when we cannot speak Spanish. So Brandon & Andrew felt like God was telling them to pray for a translator…so they prayed for roughly 30 minutes, while asking different people on the street. A lady came up to them who they had talked to about 20 minutes before and she told them to follow her. The lady led them to a young lady named Valeska, who spoke excellent English, who is a Christian and was willing to translate. So she came with us and we were able to talk with families a lot more effectively and pray for people as well! Friday evening, we took Valeska to dinner with our group and she said she is willing to translate whenever we need her since she only goes to high school on Wednesday afternoons! What a blessing! She’s been helping us translate everyday now.
This afternoon, Lisa, Valeska, Cat & myself were walking around, looking for people to talk to. We ran into this older lady (Named Santos) who was starving and asking for food. After exchanging names with her, we took her to a restaurant we usually eat lunch at. We were able to share with Santos what God is doing in our lives and also how much God loves her and how He wants to be her friend! After lunch and talking, we asked her if she had any prayer requests. She said she wanted her brother (Who lives with her) to stop being an alcoholic and to stop being abusive to her and her kids. She also told us her neck was very sore. After we prayed for her, she was teary eyed and was in semi shock and she said that God completely healed her neck and she no longer has any pain in her neck! Praise the Lord!
Tomorrow, I’m going to Diriamba, to the YWAM Base to pick up Bibles so we can give them to different families around Ticuantepe. The YWAM Base has a goal to put a Bible in every home in Nicaragua. They’ve completed Diriamba and areas around Diriamba. Santos, the lady we talked to this afternoon, lives in Jinotepe, which is only 5 minutes from Diriamba. I’m going to stop by her house and give her a Bible and meet her family and pray with everyone again. It’s so exciting to see the Lord at work!
On Wednesday, we’ll be going to Managua to the Immigration Center to get our passports stamped for 30 more days. Please pray for favor for us as I’m not positive of how difficult this is.
During the day on Thursday, we’ll be going up to the northwest side of Managua to the largest garbage dump in the Western Hemisphere called, “La Chureca”, where we’ll be working with a school inside of the dump. People live off of the trash and make homes out of the garbage. On Thursday night, we’ve been invited to speak at a church that we went to last Sunday. Pray the Lord speaks through us and that we can make an impact on peoples’ lives. We’ll also be going to La Chureca again on Friday.
I hope this gets you up to date on what is going on with our team here in Nicaragua! Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We definitely need them and definitely feel the prayers being answered! Thank you!
God bless,
-TD

4.26.09

2009-04-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we went to the hospital in Jinotepe, where we prayed for people who were sick. We asked the Lord where we should go and he lead us to a lady who had a kidney stone. She didn't know how long she would have to be in the hospital, but it didn't look like she'd be out anytime soon and she didn't look very healthy at all. It turned out that her husband was a pastor at a church in Jinotepe! We were able to pray for healing for her. After we prayed for her, we went into a different room with roughly 10 other people laying on cots with various different health issues. We were able to pray for nearly everyone in the room!
On Friday afternoon, we decided to go back to the same hospital to check up on the people and pray for them once again. Right when we walked into the hospital, we saw the first lady we talked to on Thursday who had kidney stones. She was leaving the hospital because she was completely better!! She definitely had the joy of the Lord in her and was so happy because she was healed! Praise the Lord!!! Yesterday, we had a day off, which was spent at La Boquita (A beach 30 minutes from Diriamba). It was nice to relax and play in the warm pacific ocean! On Saturday evening, we went to a lady's house in the Barrio to have dinner...The most amazing dinner I've had in Nicaragua! Tomorrow is our last day here at the YWAM Base. On Tuesday, we're off to Ticuantepe where we'll spend the next 3 weeks of outreach. On Tuesday evening, Brandon, Kirsten & Cat (YWAM Pismo Beach Staff), are flying into Managua to join us for two weeks! Pray for safe travels for us to Ticuantepe and Brandon, Kirsten & Cat's flights.
Thank you!
-TD

4.22.09-Nicaragua isn't cold by any means!

2009-04-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,
It's almost my bedtime (It's 7:38) here so I'm going to keep it short...The heat wears you out.
This afternoon, we went around the barrio and passed out the last of the 100 lbs. of beans we bought for the families. We gave 5 different families 20 lbs. of beans which should last up to two weeks if used everyday. It was really fun to check up on the families we've been praying for and to be able to pray for them once again. You can definitely see the Lord working in these peoples hearts!!
We only have 5 full days left here at the YWAM Base in Diriamba. The next stop is Ticuantepe, which is a little larger city. We'll be working with street kids, at an orphanage which takes in young teens who sniff glue to cure their starvation and we'll also be going to the largest garbage dumb in the western hemisphere where people live off the garbage.
Well, it's about that time...
Goodnight!!
-Ty

4.19.09-More beans and rice....

2009-04-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,
Last night (Saturday), we had the opportunity to share our testimonies at a church in Diriamba. It's fun to see Andrew & Lisa getting more and more confident in public speaking and sharing the gospel.
We'll be going up to Managua in the afternoons on Monday, Wednesday & Friday this week to do evangelism at a university, partnering with Campus Crusade for Christ. In the mornings, we're going to be working with the elementary school the YWAM base runs. We were also able to buy 100 lbs. of beans to hand out to different families around the barrio to bless them so we'll be doing that on Tuesday & Thursday.
Sorry I haven't gotten any pictures posted on here yet. I haven't had a chance to upload them to my computer...Hoping to put some on later today.
Blessings,

4.15.09

2009-04-15T17:26:00.001-07:00

Hey all,
I just finished building a base for a water tank on the YWAM base. Whew! It's hard work when it's 95 degrees!
Yesterday morning and this morning, we went to a school on the other side of Diriamba to visit and share the gospel. Yesterday, we gave them a necklace & beads with a Bible verse on them and explained about the cross and explained what the Lord had been doing in our life(s). Today when we went, we shared the gospel and were able to lead nearly 15 kids to the Lord, which was amazing to see. Keep praying for the kids for Godly influences in their lives. Tomorrow morning, we're going again and making bracelets with them with different colors, which represent different characteristics of God. It's really cool to see the Lord working in these young children. It surprised me that it was so open to share the gospel in even public schools-Praise the Lord!
Yesterday and today in the afternoon, we went around the Barrio and prayed for different families with sicknesses or very difficult times. Most of the houses are made of different scraps of bamboo, aluminum and anything else they can find. Most of the house floors are just dirt. During rainy season (May-October), the house is extremely muddy which makes the kids sick very often.
One lady we prayed for yesterday was 72 years old (She thinks) and the right side of her body couldn't really move so we're guessing she suffered a stroke. She was a very, very sweet lady and it was amazing to be able to pray for her and her family. Another mother we prayed for today lost her husband. He was shot while trying to steal from a store. Her three kids go to the school that the YWAM base runs.
Tomorrow, we'll be going back to the barrio to pray for families again and we're also hoping to buy rice & beans at the market to give to different families around the barrio.
Be praying for breakthrough in the barrio. There is extreme poverty in the barrio, thiefs, prostitutes, a lot of abuse in the homes & also a lot of alcoholism. Be praying that we can be a light amongst all the darkness and that we can be the hands & feet of Jesus Christ.
Thank you all for your prayers. They DO help!
Adios,
-Tyler

4.13.09

2009-04-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hola chavalos!
Esta semana ha sido bien tuanis! This week has been really cool thus far.
On Saturday evening, Andrew & Lisa spoke at a church. They shared their testimonies and it went really well! On Easter Sunday, we had a service here at the YWAM base in Diriamba. It was really fun to experience Easter in a different culture. This (Monday) morning, we worked in the school that YWAM runs, which was really fun to be able to work with the kiddo's!! In the afternoon, we went to a university in Managua, Nicaragua, which is the capital city. We partnered with Campus Crusade for Christ and did evangelism around the campus.
Here are some prayer requests from our team: healing of sickness (colds that Lisa & Andrew have), that we can learn Spanish quickly & wisdom.
That's all for now. Thank you all.
Blessings,
-TD

4.10.09

2009-04-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

Hola,
Como estas?! Today started off with a nice n' refreshing bucket shower! Mid-day, we went to a hospital to visit a young man that lives in the barrio (neighborhood) who broke his leg in 2 spots. He was extremely excited to see Don (The base founder here at YWAM Nicaragua) and us. He nearly jumped out of bed with his huge cast on. The doctor cleared him to go so we took him home to the barrio. He had been in the hospital for roughly one week. The hospitals in Nicaragua aren't too quick. One man had been in there for 8 days with a compound fracture (bone sticking out of his ankle) and hadn't been operated on. Very painful, very sad.
After lunch, we prayer walked around the barrio, to the market and downtown. By the time we arrived back at the base, it was time for the children's ministry they have every Friday at 3:30. Tons of kids from the barrio come to watch a drama we preform. After the drama, we split the kids into different groups and we discussed the drama. After the discussions, we provided them snacks and then all played games!
Towards dinner time, all the kids from the barrio came to the base and wanted myself and a couple other guys from the base to join them in a baseball game. It was fun to feel like a kid again with them! :) We were able to pray with all the kids before and after we played the game. Another game is scheduled for tomorrow! :)
Well, my bedtime is pretty early over here. It's 7:15 right now, so I better get on my way to sleep. I hope you all are doing well.
Take care,
-Tyler Dean

April 9, 2009-First complete day in Diriamba, Nicaragua

2009-04-09T11:04:00.000-07:00

4.09.2009
Hey friends!
We arrived last night around 10:00 to YWAM Nicaragua. It's located in a smaller town, south of the capital city, Managua, called Diriamba-Between 15,000-20,000 people. The base here is beautiful. There are two schools going on right now. One DTS with 15 students and another School of the Bible, which has 5 students. There are 28 people on staff as well.
We're excited to start diving into ministry here! This afternoon, we'll be walking around the barrio (neighborhood) outside of the base, which is the poorest barrio in Diriamba and also heading into the city of Diriamba to get to know the city.
I want to thank you all for your prayers & support. We really appreciate it!

Blessings,
-Tyler Dean

8 Days & Counting....

2009-03-31T10:46:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, our school is packing up to go camping until Saturday afternoon where we'll do outreach prep. This includes: Working on sermons, skits/street dramas, practicing the language and going over all of the outreach details!
I've been keeping extremely busy, finalizing all the details with our contacts in Nicaragua. We fly out next Wednesday, April 8. I'm extremely excited to go and serve the Lord in Nicaragua!
While in Nicaragua, we'll be working a lot with street kids, at orphanages, doing street evangelism, preaching at local churches and more. We're hoping to bring children's clothing and vitamins to give to the kids.
I'm praying that the two students I'm leading will see first hand God's love for his children and the nations! I'm also praying that my students will become more confident in sharing the Gospel and in turn, making it apart of their everyday lifestyle.
As of last Friday, I needed roughly $2,600 for the Nicaragua Outreach. Since then, the Lord has provided ALL of my outreach money. Praise the Lord!
I want to thank all of you for your support, financially and in prayer! Without you folks, I couldn't do what I do, so thank you! I truly appreciate it!
Blessings,
-Tyler

3 weeks until departure!!!!

2009-03-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,
So, in exactly three weeks (April 8th), I'll be flying to Nicaragua for two months! I'm still preparing for the outreach and support raising for it! I need roughly $2,600 in these next three weeks and I'm excited to see how the Lord is going to provide it! Thank you for all your prayers! I really appreciate them! Here are some specific prayer requests: guidance, wisdom, finances and a more intimate relationship with God and anything else you'd like to add! Once again, thank you for all your support!
-Tyler Dean
tylerdean32 @ hotmail.com

Outreach to Nicaragua

2009-03-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

Dear friends and family!

As you know, I’m on staff with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Pismo Beach & Central Coast, in California, as a full-time Christian missionary! The past two months, I’ve been staffing our Discipleship Training School (DTS), which has seven students from all different countries. Some of the students are from Norway, South Africa, Canada and the United States! The past two months, I’ve had the privilege to work with these students, disciple them and watch them grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ!

A part of the Discipleship Training School (DTS), you go on a two month outreach. Our 2009 DTS is splitting up into two teams, with one team going to Nicaragua and the other to India. I will be leading two students to Nicaragua, which I’m thrilled about! I’ve been extremely busy putting the trip together and working out all the details of the trip. We will be gone from early April to early June! Some of the ministries we’ll be working with include: orphanages, working with street kids, teaching English in the schools, street evangelism, construction and much more!

First off, I would like to ask you to partner with me in prayer! I will definitely need all the prayer support I can get! Some specific prayer requests are: Guidance on leading the students overseas, wisdom, grace and unity. I would also like to ask you to pray about partnering with me financially for the outreach. It will cost approximately $2,560 for me to go to Nicaragua for the two months. Some of the major costs of outreach are: airfare, food & housing and transportation inside the country. Any amount will greatly help me out and will be a huge blessing to me!

If you’d like to partner with me financially, you can make checks payable to YWAM. Please do not put my name anywhere on the check if you wish to receive a tax deductible receipt. When mailing the check (Mail to address below), just put a sticky note on the check saying: Tyler Dean’s Nicaragua Outreach Trip.

I want to say thank you for all of your support and encouragement! I am going to do my best to keep you up to date while I’m overseas. If I have internet access in Nicaragua, you’ll be able to check me out on this blog! Once again, thank you for all your help and encouragement!

Be blessed,

Tyler Dean
791 Price St. #119
Pismo Beach, CA. 93449

Website: tylerdean.blogspot.com

Amazing Videos!

2009-02-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

Hey friends!
If you want to see some amazing videos, you should check out these two!

Indescribable
&
How Great is our God

**They're both by Louie Giglio and are simply amazing! You can order them on Amazon! Totally recommend it!
:)

Santa Barbara Trip

2009-02-03T22:24:00.001-08:00

Two weekends ago, I was able to take 3 "groms" to Santa Barabara, California, for a fun-filled weekend! I've been waiting a year to take these groms on a trip, hoping to pour into their lives and disciple them and it finally happened! We went down, planning on crashing at a campsite for Friday & Saturday nights...but...since there was a Surf Comp., there were absolutely NO camping spots...! So, we had to settle for a hotel! :) Saturday evening really stood out to me. While we were hanging out in the room, we had a Bible study, where we looked at the life of Samson. All 3 of them really got into it. It was really cool to be able to pour into the groms' lives and disciple them! Praise Him!!!
** Just to let you know...In California, young kids, roughly ages 12-15 are called "groms"! :)

How do I use this...?

2009-02-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,
So...I'm new at this whole "Blogging" thing...bare with me! :)
I'll try to get some info up sometime soon!
Blessings,
-Tyler