Some years ago, we made a well-meaning, bad decision. Some of us in YWAM leadership began to get a little anxious about all the YWAM staff people who were getting older and had no retirement plan. People with professional financial expertise talked to us about the importance of making provision for our later years and the logic of it was compelling. So, we set about trying to organize a world-wide fund pension fund that YWAMers could pay into on a regular basis. We worked on that project for some years and we just couldn’t make it viable. We finally had to give up.

Looking back on that, the error seems obvious. I now understand that God has a different plan for everyone. As YWAMers are getting older (just like every other person on the planet) God is showing his fatherly care in very tailor-made ways. I so enjoy hearing these stories of God’s extravagant care for us and every one of them illustrates again that if we “seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, then all these things shall be added to” us.
Peter and Donna Jordan have one of those great stories and they kindly summarized it for me. If you have one, drop me a line!
Peter and Donna’s story:
” A year ago we owned a four year old car and some furniture with a bit of RSP in the bank; we had been living in a beat up old trailer (with a million dollar view) on the most beautiful rented property for six years, expecting to build a modest facility for YWAM Associates. We had no desire to personally own real estate again. Back in the 80s, seven years after we had sold our Montreal home and had given away all that we had, someone said to us, ‘I love your stories of God’s provision, but what are you going to do in your old age?’ The Holy Spirit responded, ‘If God can take care of six of us for seven years He can take care of two of us in our old age.’ And He is doing just that! Matthew 6:25-34 is so real to us. (Anyway, how old is old?)

A year ago, as we prepared to move out, feeling as though we might have missed God because our vision of a home for the ministry in BC wasn’t happening, we looked ahead with growing confidence, even though we didn’t have the wherewithal to do what God seemed to be showing us.

A year and a bit ago, the Lord had started directing us to leave Deroche, BC and move to Medicine Hat, Alberta. It was a big surprise but He confirmed it through over a dozen people who listen to God. Surprisingly we believed the Lord was saying to buy a condominium and we figured we could just about make a down payment plus monthly mortgage payments with our Canada & Old Age (!) pensions.

Before we actually signed for the mortgage, through people’s love, prayers, generosity and obedience to God, the condominium that the Lord showed us we were to purchase, had been completely paid for! When we moved in last July there was no mortgage. And the money that we had set aside for the YWAM ministry building went to buy another condominium for an office and staff housing. And there is enough left over that we will soon begin building a YWAM Associates Cabin of Peace at Eagle’s Nest Ranch nearby… a retreat that will be crafted in excellence, where leaders can recharge in a quiet and pleasant place. A place that we had felt God directing us to build in BC that didn’t happen now seems to be going ahead with speed.

the icing on the Miracle Year’s cake has been the engagement (to a never-married Aussie YWAMer aged 45) of our oldest daughter Laurie who is 44 and has never had a boyfriend. Their courting is and has been quite incredibly
mature and they will be married here Dec 9th.”