Shelley Petrunia
Shelley Petrunia
August 21, 2018
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NEWS!
Courtney and I are looking for a cheap apartment/studio to have our own space for this last year in YWAM. We have been married now a year and have spent the entire time in community living. We have shared a small house with up to 14 people for months. While we currently have a decent bedroom with our own bathroom, we are needing to give up our room for a room half the size without a bathroom. Also with the upcoming October DTS, we would have 14 people again in this house. It's a huge sacrifice that we have already made. At this point we feel it would be very healthy for us to have our own personal space to develop our marriage and have time away from other students and staff, which would allow us to emotionally give out more to people while working in YWAM.
This means we are needing at least $250/month more in financial support as well as any donations for cheap, basic furniture. We are hoping to have this by mid-September. We realize this is a huge step in faith, but we feel strongly this is necessary for our marriage and emotional health. We would as that you would simply pray and consider supporting us with any amount and we believe your support is an important part in supporting the Great Commission of Jesus as a whole. Thank you!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
UPCOMING ROLES IN YWAM
We have one more year left in our commitment with YWAM. We have another 6-month Discipleship Training School (DTS) that I will be leading along with Courtney as part of our leadership team. This will be from January-July. As of now I will be planning for the DTS and praying for vision and guidance for the school. This involves essentially setting up the entire school: creating weekly/daily schedules for students, planning lecture topics and organizing speakers for each week of DTS, booking flights for speakers, planning for the Outreach phase, and much more.

We will be running DTSs a little different then previously. Rather than running separate themed DTSs, we will now be running 1 DTS with multiple "streams" within. The steams we are running are Worship, Surfing, Skate, Adventure, and Pathfinders. Students will register with their preferred stream and will do all parts of the DTS together except for slotted "Stream" times in their schedule where they would Worship-practice/Surf/Skate/Etc. I will be leading the DTS as a whole and have other staff lead those "stream" times. I am pioneering "Pathfinders" as a new stream pursuing the theme of "Purpose & Callings" This means I will be planning weekly times where we will have Bible studies, casual conversations, personality and gifts tests, and ministry times with the end goal of equipping the students more in their unique callings and gifting as well as simply teaching them how to journey with God in finding Vision for their lives.

Courtney and I will also be serving the base in other areas. I will be helping in general maintenance and up-keeping our properties and Courtney will be working with our Administration and Accounts teams, which deals with recruiting, inquiries, DTS applications, etc. 

We also do weekly evangelism ministries twice a week in the city of Surfers Paradise, a unique opportunity to reach people from all over the world that gather here in one of the most tourist cities in the world.
UPDATE
Courtney and I have spent the past year fully involved with our last January DTS. From spending months prior planning and training for the DTS, to leading the DTS and basically living and journeying with these students as they are taught and discipled in missions and their relationships with God. I have been involved in DTS leadership teams but this was my first time leading the school. Which involved leading the DTS as a whole, leading students, and leading and mentoring the staff members within the leadership team.

Papua New Guinea
Courtney and I led the DTS on a missions trip to Papua New Guinea for 4 weeks as well as 2 weeks in "Outback" Australia in Aboriginal communities, a huge focus of our base. Papua New Guinea was an incredible time which can't be put into words. It was such a different and eye-opening culture. We went there to bless but felt more blessed by them. They are focused first on relationships before anything else. They are more servant-hearted and hospitable than any people I have ever seen, hands down. They are incredibly open to the Gospel and we had so many opportunities to Preach the gospel, teach, run mini-discipleship programs, and serve the community.

See our Outreach Video here
Prayer Requests
  • We firmly believe God has called us here and has plans for people to partner with us financially and through prayer. We would ask only that you would pray and ask God whether He would like you to support us. (donation information is below)
  • A cheap & affordable apartment/studio
  • Clear Guidance from God throughout the DTS we are leading
  • Continued growth in our Marriage and relationship (balancing working together and marriage)
Finances
Courtney and I are currently working 50+ hours a week with YWAM Gold Coast. On top of that we are blessed to have a part time job we do on weekends for a little extra cash. Through supporters and our side job we are just a little shy of what we need to be able to afford our own place. We are currently living with anywhere between 8-14 people (depending on the season) in one house! Thank you Jesus for a roof over our heads; but a little privacy would be great! Hah. We are needing another $250/month to upgrade to our own apartment. 

If you would like more information on our budget and details of financial needs, please feel free to ask!

Donation Options:
  • Automatic bank withdrawals- Click Here It's quick, easy, and tax deductable! (Use code: KJ24)
  • One-time donations (GoFundMe)- Click Here
  • Bank Transfer (request for info) [email protected]
Groups At Pacific
Missional Groups