YWAM: A Resource for the Mission Minded

When we receive a Youth with a Mission catalog in the mail, I want to staple the whole thing to my reading list. This is one of those things I found on my homeschooling journey. They are not just for homeschoolers, but you will find them at some homeschool conferences. Many curriculums use their Christian Heroes: Then and Now. They make wonderful read alouds. They whole catalog is a wonderful resource for the mission minded family.

For 5 and up they have illustrated rhyming Heroes for Young Readers, which we have been working our way through and have really enjoyed. We have used the activity books, which I would highly recommend using with the books. They have various fun activities to reinforce the lesson learned by that hero. For every hero you construct a remembrance craft to put in a shoe box to remind you of the Godly character that person lived in their life. The books are long for a bouncy child, so either brake it up or give them the coloring page to color while they listen to the story.

It is very important to read the story first, as the reality the missionaries faced is included. So when Nate Saint or Jim Elliot get speared, you may what to be ready to deal with that, especially if you have a deep thinker and/or a sensitive child. When I have used this books with a group of children, I just skip those parts. My children are sensitive, deep thinkers types, but I have left the stories intact for them, and it has been fine. There is always the balance of exposing them to the reality of life, while maintaining their childhood innocence, only the parent can make that call. Since some of my children have experience the fragility of life that thankfully had a positive outcome, I feel that in some ways it has equip them a little better to stomach "life." Since we do not know what our future holds, it is a good idea to not to keep "life" too distant from your child. This will help them in their future trials. Of course, you do not want to terrorize a child either.

There are some great books for adults also, from missionary biographies to missions in your own life. They also carry fiction, Spanish, American heroes , readers, bible studies, curriculum, parenting and homeschooling books as well. Oh, I just want one of everything. Great stuff, hope you find it helpful. Please comment if you have used YWAM before.

FYI the website is found both by .com and .org