Winter 2013

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM TURNER VALLEY!

We pray that 2013 will be a year of rich blessing for you, and that you would feel Gods presence with you through each day of the year. We pray this for ourselves as well, as we rely on the Lord to provide us with all we need to pour into the lives of our students, and the ministry He has given us.
Weve completed the rst three months of the School of Biblical Studies; Helen taught 1 Thessalonians and James, Michael taught 1 Corinthians, Colossians and 2 Timothy; and were looking forward to nishing up our study of the New Testament and beginning to look at the Old Testament with our students. Weve been grading, prepping to teach, getting to know our students, and have been involved with different areas of the day-to-day needs of the SBS program - weve hardly had a moment to consider all God has been doing in us and through us over the past three Helen & Michael Packard months. In addition to our busyness here, Helen had the opportunity to throw a baby are missionaries with the School of Biblical Studies at shower for her sister in mid-November, and then we welcomed our new niece, YWAM Turner Valley. McKenna Beryl Grace, into the world only two weeks later - weve been traveling back and forth to Edmonton a great deal, amidst all that is going on in Turner Valley! The Christmas break was a great chance for us to catch our breath and connect with friends and family, and to take moments of rest. The rst three months of SBS are the busiest of the school for staff, so we are looking forward to getting into a more maintainable rhythm as we begin the Winter quarter. By the time you get this newsletter, Helen will have taught 1 John (the rst class back after the break!); she will also teach Ezra/Nehemiah in March. Michael will be teaching Old Testament overview in late January, and Deuteronomy in February. As we continue to settle into YWAM TV, we hope to more deeply connect with our students and help them transition into studying the Old Testament. This is an exciting time; many students will have never read the Old Testament, and we are anticipating that they will be blown away by Gods Word, as they discover that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament! His character and nature is always the same.
. Left: Michael teaching 1 Corinthians. Right: Helen teaching 1 Thessalonians. To read reections on our lectures, go to www.packardsprogress.wordpress.com
A special thank-you to all those who supported us throughout 2012! We are so blessed by your generosity and in knowing you believe in our ministry! I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the rst day until now (Philippians 1:3-5).

Packards Progress www.packardsprogress.wordpress.com

winter 2013

The Shan People, Our Target People Group

In our last newsletter, we introduced you to YWAM Turner Valley. As a base, we are focused on sending outreach teams to the Shan people, located in Myanmar, Thailand and China. We recently sent our DTS (Discipleship Training School) to SE Asia to minister among the Shan people for two months, and as a base, we look forward to this summer, when we plan to go to SE Asia to work with the Shan (details to come as plans come together!). Because of our focus on the Shan, and our upcoming outreach, wed like to share some information about this people group. There are at least 6 million Shan who live throughout SE Asia; their beliefsystem is a mixture of animism and Buddhism. Only 0.04% of the Shan are Christians. Currently, many of the Shan are refugees with no rights. The Shan are an ethnic minority and as such, struggle with poverty, illiteracy, and human rights abuses. The Shan Project, a ministry of YWAM Thailand, serves the needs of the Shan through partnering with Shan communities to bring the good news of the gospel. This ministry includes an Inductive Bible school project which equips Shan believers to study the Word of God and teach others how to study. God is moving amongst the Shan people; please pray that this people would come to know Jesus as their Savior. Please also be in prayer for us at YWAM Turner Valley as we plan our outreach to SE Asia. Please also pray for our DTS team as they will be on outreach in SE Asia until February. * (Photo from www.shanproject.org).

We would be so thankful if you would consider praying for us! Here are a few things to pray for: 1. Our students. Pray our students will continue to be hungry for Gods Word, and committed to studying. Our students are quite a social group; pray they will prioritize studying and that their hearts would be open to all God wants to teach them. 2. Teaching and grading. Please pray we will be dedicated to studying and listening to the Holy Spirit as we prepare to teach. Please also pray for us as we enter the Old Testament. The books are bigger, so the grading will be more intense! We want to bless our students through grading their work. 3. Rest. The rst three months of SBS was incredibly busy. Please pray we will have moments of lifegiving rest in the upcoming months. 4. Upcoming outreach. We are excited to be going on outreach this summer! Please pray for YWAM Turner Valley as we plan our outreach to the Shan people of SE Asia. 5. Finances. Please pray that God will continue to provide for us, and that we would trust Him to fulll all our needs.

Our Winter Calendar

January 7 - Helen taught 1 John January 28 - Michael teaches Old Testament Overview February 22 & 25 - Michael teaches Deuteronomy March 26-27 - Helen teaches Ezra + Nehemiah March 30 - April 7 - Spring Break Please keep us in your prayers as we teach this quarter!

Financial Contributions (for Canadians)

1) All cheques should be made payable to YWAM or Youth With A Mission (BC) Society - do not write our names on the cheque itself. We have provided an addressed envelope for your convenience. 2) Enclose a separate note in the envelope designating support for Michael & Helen Packard. 3) Send cheque + separate note to: YWAM Project Funding Ofce PO Box 57100 RPO East Hastings Vancouver BC V5K 5G6 4) Contact us! Wed love to know that youre supporting us, whether it is through prayer, nances, or both! If youd like for us to help you arrange pre-authorized payments, email us at packardsprogress@gmail.com for more details . Thank you for praying for us and supporting us as we continue to partner with God in His plan,

Equipping our generation with a world-changing knowledge of the Bible.

Packards Progress www.packardsprogress.wordpress.com