Hello friends!

I have just returned from Israel and Palestine this past week and was grateful that I came home to Memorial weekend so I could have an extra day to rest. I trust you all enjoyed yours. Our team had a great experience despite it not turning out quite like we thought. We had been planning to work in some Palestinian refugee camps but were not allowed to once we arrived. Instead, we were able to bless a orphanage for mentally disabled children for a day by playing games, singing fun songs and telling Bible stories. We also spent several days painting homes with a church planting team for some Muslims families in the West Bank. It was a great time to meet a need for them and they invited the team to come back again but not to work but to talk and build relationship. Simply helping someone softens the hardest of hearts and opens the door for Jesus to come in. I'm excited for what fruit will come out of God's work with the church-planting team and I'll pass on any updates I receive.

We also were able to do some maintenance work for another ministry in the West Bank that shelters battered, raped, and divorced women. In Muslim and Arab culture, these outcast women have done something to deserve the treatment they have received and are considered people with mental disablities. As a result, many are sent to mental hospitals and forgotten about. Obviously, this presents a great opportunity for the local church to minister and bring the love of Jesus to these hurting people. This home provides not only a refuge but also training in handiworks and crafts so that the women can earn money and provide an avenue for them to contribute to society.

I've been asked by many what the biggest thing I enjoyed/learned about being in the Holy Land and I have to say that by seeing a land composed of two very different cultures and religions (Judiasm and Islam) and the seemingly never-ending conflict they are locked in, that I've realized the precious gift that I have and that gift is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the answer for any and every problem including the conflict in the Middle East. The interesting thing is that these 2 peoples are surrounded by memorials of Jesus but yet ignore His greatest commandment: to love God and love others. As a Christian, I have the peace that passes all understanding and I can't ignore my responsibility to bring it to those who desperately need it.

I'm now back in Orlando for the next couple months and am preparing to take a team to Morocco at the end of August. I also will be busy with preperations for our new campus. We still need $520,000 by tomorrow to close on the land and are praying for God's provision. Please keep us in your prayers the next 48 hours!!

I hope you all have a great start to summer and are blessed by our great God!

January Update

I hope the new year has been more refreshing then stressful for you so far and you are enjoying life admist all its difficulties. I've been learning a lot about faith amongst uncertain times since the beginning of the year but God has never failed me yet and I'm excited for what He has in store for His children this year.

For those of you wondering, I am still home and hope to be heading back to Orlando sometime before March 1st. I am going to a wedding reception in Florida for my newlymarried friend Aaron Fischer the first week of February, which I'm excited for, but I will be returning to MN. Of course, plans can change at any moment! I appreciate your prayers for God's provision for my work with YWAM and that I can be fully equipped for what He has asked me to do.

Obviously, many of you have been following the crisis in Haiti and have been praying for God to move in that situation. YWAM has been sending many aid teams there so please pray for safety and wisdom for them. YWAM Orlando is sending a team there and we currently have a DTS outreach in the Dominican Republic so I have many friends who in need of spiritual and physical protection. In the midst of all the tragedy there have also been some amazing stories of God's intervention. I've heard of some YWAMers who were involved with rescuing a person who had been trapped for 10 days. Our God truly is amazing!

Thanks again for you prayers and until next time, may you encounter God like never before!

I'm Still Alive...

Hello everyone!

It has been a long time since you've heard from me so I thought I would update you. Not very much is new. I'm home in Alexandria doing some part-time PCA work and raising support to return to staffing in Orlando. I will be home for a few more months as I plan to be back in Orlando in January, but the time is already flying by. I've been making lots of phone calls and meeting with lots of people as well. It has been frustrating at times but has also proved to be very rewarding as I'm building relationships with people and learning how the Lord wants me to present myself to others. Thanks for your prayers and a big thank you to those that have met with me and listened to my stories. If you haven't heard from me yet and you want to, drop me an email or call me be cause I would love to see you. Thats all for now!

Be blessed!

Festival Tour Pictures

If your interested in checking out some pictures from the EpicQuest Festival Tour, here is the link:
YWAM Orlando Festival Tour

August Update

Hey folks!

I want to update you on my recent trip with our Epic Quest U.S. Festival Tour and also share a funny story. To explain the tour, it is a opportunity for high school kids to experience YWAM Orlando by receiving teaching and training to use dance, drama, and testimonies to evangelize and get people interested in missions. It's a great way to share with people about what God is doing around the world and also share the good news of why Jesus died for us.

I was asked to be the driver and sound man for the first part of the trip (no, I didn't dance) and we traveled to Richmond,Virginia, New Haven, Connecticut, and Easton, Maryland. We had opportunities to work with inner-city elementary kids in Richmond, perform at Foursquare, Vineyard and Episcopal churches, and entertain kids at an bible camp in Easton. The dramas and testimonies that the team shared were very powerful and touched many, including myself. Even though I'm involved in missions full time, it was great to be reminded of what darkness Jesus has taken me out of and the great blessings he has given to me.

It was also a great time of pouring into the team and helping them understand God's character and seeing freedom come into areas of their lives. We were also very blessed by our hosts in each place but in Easton, Maryland, a blessing almost became a problem. During one of our free times, some of the students (one of them being the son of Michael Berg, my boss and director of YWAM Orlando) asked to go sailing in the Chesapeake Bay (sounds bigger than it is) using our hosts' small boat. They had gone several times before and promised they wouldn't go far and would be back soon. About a 1/2 hour later, they had not returned and we went down to the water to see if we could locate them.

Sure enough, the wind had taken them quite a distance in a very short time and they were now struggling to sail back against the wind to get home. We could see them and knew that it would simply take them a long time to get back, but it was quickly getting dark. We decided to call Tom (our host) so he could take out the big boat and tow our kids home. Before he arrived, our students were in shouting distance from the shore and we called Tom back to inform him that the students were nearly back and he no longer needed to come.

The kids returned safe and sound and we headed inside for some pie (yes, I bake) and ice cream. All of a sudden, our contact with the church frantically showed up with her husband and started asking "Are the kids safe? We heard they were lost at sea and the Coast Guard is on the way!" I wish you could have seen the student's jaws drop and the blood drain from their faces in embarrasment. It was quite the funny moment.embarrassment, the Coast Guard was quickly notified and the story has a happy ending.

Please keep the team in your prayers as they are still on the road. I left them in Baltimore as I was needed back in Orlando and they traveled on to New Hampshire, Buffalo, New York, and will finish in Michigan. This leg of the tour will be spent performing at Christian music festivals as well as sharing with some local churches. If you are interested on keeping up with them, you can check out their online blog. They have already endured through some leaky tents, bad food, and flat tires, but they are also enjoying the opportunity to share and pray for the people they are meeting.

I'm now in Orlando until the end of August, finishing up my leadership school and will be traveling back to MN the first week of September so if you have some time and would like to see me, let me know and I will make it happen. Thanks for your prayers and support and spending some of your time reading this. Love you all!

To Him be the glory,

SAM BLOMMEL

Love146.org

Hey guys! Check out Love146 as they work toward the abolition of child sex slavery and exploitation through Prevention and Aftercare. I got to visit their office in Connecticut recently and help them out. They are great people with a great heart for a great need.

New News

Hey everyone,

So it's now day 3 of an unexpected trip for me and I haven't had the time to update you about it yet. YWAM Orlando has sent out an Epic Quest dance/drama team to tour some of the music festivals happening on the east coast for the next 4 weeks. They will sharing the gospel through dramas and dances explaining what Jesus has done for us and also working with some churches and non-profit organizations along the way. They were in need of a driver for the first 10 days and that is how I've gotten involved with this trip.
We are in Richmond, VA today and will be leaving for Connecticut early tomorrow morning. After that we will heading down to Washington D.C. and then I will return to Orlando as the rest of the team heads back up north to New Hampshire, Buffalo NY, and over into Michigan with a new driver.
Please pray for travel safety and for those who see the performances will have open hearts to receive what God is speaking. We have already seen some fruit as one man told us he has rededicated his life to Jesus because of being touched by our message. It is amazing to see people touched by unique methods!

Thank you for your prayers and God bless the end of your summer!

SAM BLOMMEL