UPDATE LETTER 2/10

Greetings once again from the Botkin family, we hope that February has been a safe and fruitful month for you. Temperatures are unseasonably rising as we have experienced a great deal of sunlight in January and February, in contrast to much of the rest of the States as snow is falling right now on the east coast. There are pink and white blossoms appearing on some of the previously slumbering trees around Port Townsend and even some rhododendron bushes beginning to flower. The Olympics in Vancouver, BC are about wrapped up and with them the Discipleship Training School here at YWAM Discovery Bay. The team arrived last Wednesday pretty wiped out but full of exciting stories and experiences from their travels in Asia. All are safe and have deeply grown in their walk with the Lord as they watched Him move powerfully both in and through them. It was a joyful time Saturday as many friends and relatives packed into the chapel classroom to celebrate the graduation and commission of the students and many tears were shed as we listened to their stories and testimonies of how God met them on farms, in schools, orphanages, and leper villages. I must admit that as I watched the slide shows and video, I wished we had been able to go with them, but our outreach is yet to come. It was bittersweet seeing all of our fellow students and friends again after these months apart and then having to let them go again into whatever future God has prepared for them. But, we take consolation knowing that He’s good and will continue the work that He has already begun in and through them and that we will see them again soon whether here or there or in “the air”, as they say.
We continue to abide here in Discovery Bay as we wait for word from the YWAM base in Townsville as to whether our visa has been approved. In the meantime we’re busy homeschooling the kids and transporting them between gymnastic and swim practices. Aubry’s getting more and more limber and can almost do the splits sideways and front and back…Ouch! Also, Ryan, Aubry, and Sean are all getting really comfortable in the water and progressing well through their class levels, a really good thing considering how much water is around Townsville. We’re helping out here at the base as well and are navigating our way through the process of filling out the piles of government travel paperwork and visiting churches to share the vision and grow support. God has been speaking to us more clearly through His word as to what we shall be doing in Australia and encouraging us in this waiting period. We have also been blessed with many visitors. We’ve enjoyed time with family as Cameron’s brother and sister-in-law and two boys visited. Also, Cameron’s Mom, Lois and step-Dad, Ron have visited on a few occasions and just this last weekend we joyously celebrating Sean’s 5th birthday with many friends and family. It seems clear that this waiting period is, in many ways, an opportunity to rest and connect with loved ones from here in the States since when we move those visits will be much more infrequent.
All in all, we are doing quite well and are very optimistic that God is going to continue to open doors for us to travel down under soon. Our most recent departure date has been the first week in April, but with the visa process going as slow as it seems to be it may be a few weeks longer. We would ask that you would continue to pray for us, for Townsville, and for Australia as a nation, especially the youth. God is at work and through your prayers and support I’m certain great things are going to continue to happen in and through us.

Pastor Jeremy and Family

Prayer Requests:

 Provision for our trip to Townsville; airfare, missionary health insurance, visa fees, etc.
 Government acceptance of our visa agreement
 God’s will and direction with the house in Forks. It continues to be listed for sale and has been shown multiple times but no leads as of yet.
 Homeschooling help in Townsville
 Wisdom and diligence in preparing to move

BOTKIN FAMILY UPDATE 1/28/10

Season’s greetings from the Botkin family and may your 2010 be a very blessed one!

It was a bittersweet, brisk day when we tearfully embraced our YWAM friends and said, “Goodbye” or more appropriately, “See you later!” The holidays were upon us and with them, the end of the Lecture Portion of the Discipleship Training School. Many of the students were prepared to go overseas for the second half of the school but our family is making plans to go Down Under. We’ve submitted our application and have been accepted for an intern staff position at YWAM “Reef to Outback” in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It is a fairly large base located on the coast right in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef. They serve the city through a youth outreach called “Youth Street”, and reach out to the Aboriginal population through a program called “Proper Way Productions”. They offer classes in worship, inductive Bible study, and Discipleship Training Schools at various times throughout the year. Also, the base operates a large power boat that brings students and others on outreach and mercy missions to Papua New Guinea and to various Australian ports. As our family transitions over to Australia we will get settled and oriented with the organization, staff, and city; and then jump right in to the ministries that the Lord will direct us to serve in. Our initial commitment is for one year beginning in April during which time we will be completing our remaining DTS outreach requirements and contributing to the ministry. What happens after that, we’ll have to wait and see. Needless to say, we are very excited and can’t wait to get there and get to work. In the meantime we will continue to sort through our belongings, organize and finalize paperwork, and live at the YWAM base in Discovery Bay as caretakers until the DTS team returns, we’ll then get ready to go in late March or early April.

Our Christmas season was wonderful as the Lord provided plane fare for us to visit relatives and friends in San Diego. It was nice to get out of the cold and as Cameron said, “Enjoy sun that has some heat!” It was great to go to a couple of new churches, Calvary Chapel Alpine and East Valley Christian Fellowship with family and to share God’s vision for us at Calvary Chapel Point Loma. We were humbled and left speechless with the many surprise gifts which God provided by friends, family, and our extended church families. Connecting and Reconnecting with all of these loving people was such an encouragement and reminder of the reality of our membership in the global family of God. It was tough to get back on the airplane but great things are on the horizon.

Just want to say in closing, “Thank You!” to all who have been and are behind us through prayer and financial giving. We very literally, could not have made it this far without you and are looking forward to the future with great excitement. Please continue in your support and if the Lord leads, commit to support us on a monthly basis. Currently, we have been blessed with about 1/3 the amount that we need to live on per month in Australia and are hopeful that very soon we will have the rest. Every little bit helps and though you may not be able to come over to serve with us side by side, you can through your generosity. May the Lord richly bless you!

Pastor Jeremy
All contributions can be sent to:

YWAM Discovery Bay
Attn: Botkin Family Support
PO Box 989
Port Hadlock, WA. 98339

Checks should made out to YWAM Discovery Bay with nothing in the memo...As long as our name in on the envelope it will get to us...
YWAM DB is a Non Profit and all contributions are tax deductible.
Thanks!

Answered Prayer:
 God has clearly shown that we are to go to Townsville
 God continues to provide for our every need
 Though the our home hasn’t been sold yet, it is being rented!

Prayer Requests:
 God’s will and direction with the house in Forks
 Provision for our trip to Townsville
 For the Lord’s protection and blessing on our DTS Team overseas
 Homeschooling help in Townsville
 Wisdom in preparing to move a family of six overseas

BOTKIN FAMILY UPDATE 11/17/09

It definitely feels like winter is just around the corner here in Discovery Bay. The mountains are constantly shrouded by precipitous clouds and the persistent wind has blown the leaves almost completely from the trees. The lecture series portion of the Discipleship Training School (DTS) is flying by and the outreach portion is looming ahead. We’ve been busy listening to teachers and working around the campus, raking leaves and picking up windfall. The temperature is gradually dropping and we’re keeping our small wood stove stuffed with fuel. With only a bout of stomach flu and an odd cold here and there, our family is healthy, active, and doing great.
It’s been about a week since we rose early to attend a Sunday service at the Emmanuel Bible Church (EBC) in North Seattle, where we began our week-long urban outreach. The service was great, lively Spirit filled worship and solid Bible teaching on the centrality of the gospel in everything, and the fellowship was full of love and holy calories as we enjoyed a wonderful potluck lunch together. We settled in at EBC with all of our bedding and clothes since this would be our home-base for the entirety of the week. It was a trip full of ministry and busy-ness, with many expeditions downtown to represent Christ to the city. Our time was spent serving the Lord in various ways; in street evangelism across the street from Westmont Center, me with guitar in hand, Cameron and a fellow student singing worship songs and the kids floating around with other students looking for open doors of ministry. Having Aubry and Ryan with us was amazing! Watching them work with the team and minister to the city’s inhabitants was truly precious. We worked side by side handing out food at Northwest Harvest Food Bank and served homeless men at the Bread of Life Mission. We also prayerfully walked the often hilly streets becoming familiar with the city and looking for any open door of ministry, sharing food and hot chocolate with homeless, praying with and encouraging them. When we were back at EBC we stayed busy with various chores and service projects and enjoyed our time with Pastor Darren Larson who taught extensively on the word of God, its origin, importance, interpretation, and much more. It would have been great to have him teach us for another week but our time in the city quickly came to end and we soon were back in the van heading home, exhausted in many ways but also enlightened and our hearts enlarged. It was tough leaving Sean and Kay with their grandparents but they had a ball together and we were blessed to have a little more mobility and freedom as a smaller troop.
We got the news upon our return that the sale of our home fell through and so we are currently praying and awaiting further instructions from the Lord as far as what to do next.
The kids are continuing in their home schooling endeavors, Ryan has really enjoyed writing creative and exciting stories while Aubry is beginning to excel in her reading skills and is taking horse riding lessons at a neighboring ranch. Sean is as active as ever and trying to literally follow in his older siblings’ footsteps. Kay is talking up a storm and all have adjusted to their new surroundings and friends and are happily flourishing.
We’ve been blessed to make Calvary Chapel Sequim our home church while we’re in the area and have enjoyed our time with the Bailey Family; we also, look forward to visiting some other churches over the next few weeks to share the vision for Australia. Speaking of Australia, we’ve received some info that looks to be an answer to prayer! We’ve been praying about where in the country we would be completing the outreach portion of the DTS and it looks like the YWAM base in Townsville, Queensland will be hosting us. Our director is in contact with them and doors seem to be opening up…exciting stuff!

►ANSWERED PRAYER!
 Thanks to the hard work and generosity of our church friends and family our house has been prepped to be sold or rented as the case may be…Thank You again CCF!
 The Abbate Family is all moved and getting settled in in their new rental.
 Our kids are growing in their individual relationships with the Lord, it was especially evident in Seattle.
 We’ve completed the after-school program and the hosting church has successfully taken it over. I look forward to hearing how things are going as we close out the year.

►CURRENT PRAYER REQUESTS:
 God’s will and direction with the house in Forks
 Provision for the outreach portion of the DTS
 Vision for the next step after the DTS
 More ministry opportunities in Port Townsend

BOTKIN FAMILY UPDATE 10/09

We are settling in here at Discovery Bay and have really enjoyed our transition into our new lifestyle and environment. It certainly hasn’t been easy saying goodbye to everyone and everything that has made up our lives over the last seven years, but it feels good to be in the center of God’s will and we are excited for what’s ahead.
Having entered into the world of Youth With A Mission (YWAM), we are being stretched in many different ways, some of which are a bit uncomfortable and some very needful. Today the tragic scourge of human trafficking, for example was revealed to us as our hearts were broken and our prayers engaged. Living in the comfort of rural USA is really wonderful, but it can also tend to divert your attention from the struggles and tragedies that are occurring around the world everyday. Creating an awareness of these issues is one of the many aims of the Discipleship Training School (DTS) that we are involved in. “Knowing God and making Him known” is the slogan of YWAM and each of the instructors and staff have been leading us down that path with inspiring, interesting, practical, and sometimes provocative insights. They keep us very busy with journaling, note taking, book reports, various meetings, meals, service projects, and outreaches.
The outreaches are particularly exciting! On Wednesdays we get to take part in an after school program for elementary school children at a local church. It is always a challenge and a real blessing to introduce them to Jesus or encourage them in their already established relationship with Him. Also, it is our goal to instill in them biblical character traits like love, honor, and service, which will help them to grow into mature Christian adults. Ryan and Aubry both participate in leading parts of the outreach as well. We have also been actively visiting Port Townsend to develop relationships with the locals and to become familiar with the city to prayerfully see where God might open doors of ministry.
Our children are adjusting well to life here also and are enjoying their home-school group that meets on Wednesdays just down the street from the base. We have had many family visitors since we began the school so we have all been blessed with the familiar faces and fellowship. There are a few children of staff and students here at the DTS who our kids are enjoying hanging out with and some of the speakers even show up with their children, too. The kids love the grounds, the beach, and the food and we are very appreciative that the staff are all readily pitching in to help watch them while we’re in class. All four are taking part in work duties and worship times, and sometimes the older two opt to stay in with us to hear special speakers share, especially the missionaries that periodically stop by on their way through the country.
As far as our future plans go, we are praying and waiting on the Lord to direct us specifically where we should go for the two month Outreach phase of our DTS and then on from there. We feel strongly that He’s leading us to Australia, but are waiting on Him to set things up in the area that He wants. Meanwhile, we are preparing to finish the packing and moving process from our home in Forks and the remaining transitional steps from the church in Forks as Pastor Nathan receives the pulpit.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support, we are literally sustained by them. God is wonderfully blessing us and we feel incredibly privileged to be here.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
Getting the House packed and cleaned for the closing sale date of Oct. 30.
The Abbate’s move on the 22nd into their new rental.
The remaining transitional steps at CCForks.
The Lord’s will for our Outreach phase of the DTS and whatever’s next.
Our children’s spiritual growth and well-being.
The kids of the after school program.
Fruit from our outreaches in PT.
God’s provision and His will to be known for the lives of the other DTS students and staff.