Christmas in Michigan!

The Christmas lights in downtown Rochester! 

We are in Rochester Hills, Michigan for the week visiting Shaun's family for Christmas! The trip is a HUGE blessing for us both! Up until a couple of weeks ago we thought that we would only be able to afford to send Shaun home for Christmas, which meant we would be separated for the holidays! But God is SO faithful, and we were able to find vouchers to cover most of my (Jessica's) flight expenses!

We celebrated Christmas with the family on Tuesday and Wednesday because Shaun's brothers are going to be with their in-laws for Christmas weekend. It has been amazing meeting our new niece Siri Grace, and catching up with loved ones.

Thank you to all of our supporters who have made time to spend with us this week! We are so grateful for the meals and coffee dates together, and we are deeply encouraged by your love! We head back to Los Angeles on Tuesday to prepare to leave for Chile on Sunday! The outreach is coming so soon!

Please be praying for us as we trust the Lord to provide the last bit of finances for our outreach team! Also please pray for grace as we pack and finalize all of the details for the trip. We need Jesus!

God bless you & have a very Merry Christmas!

The huge gingerbread house in the Royal Park Hotel! We visit it every year!
The Royal Park Hotel is where we spent our first night of marriage. :) A very special place! 

Dear friends,

Our very close friend, Karl Tagorda, passed away last Thursday morning, December 1st, 2011. He was 19 years old.

He's a guy who met Christ through the skatepark ministry who got connected with the church and then did DTS here at YWAM-LA, going on outreach to Haiti.

Jessica and I were like a spiritual mother and father to him. He loved Jesus so much and he had such a deep love and compassion for people, especially his friends. 

He was living with his mom and dad, going to school, and working with his dad. 

Late Wednesday night two of his friends picked him up from his parents house with a balloon full of freon gas from an air conditioning unit. Looking for the thrill of a 15 second high, they each inhaled from the balloon. When Karl inhaled it he began to seizure and died within minutes. He died at approximately 3:00am, Thursday morning. 

Please join us in prayer, first and foremost for his family. Pray also for his friends, Karl was friends with EVERYBODY in Sunland-Tujunga. 

Pray that in the midst of this tragedy the Lord will continue to be lifted high and that people will come out of the darkness of and into the light, the hope of salvation in Jesus Christ.

I am overwhelmed by the Lord's goodness; His long-suffering and unfailing love, His tender mercies and compassion, His amazing grace and majesty, and His perfect faithfulness. He is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Praise be to our God, He is worthy of the praises of His people.

Karl's viewing Friday (today) and his funeral is Saturday and on Sunday Chapel of the Hills is having a special memorial service

Thank you for your prayers.

God bless you,

Shaun and Jessica

 

Hello Friends,

We Leave for Chile December 31st!

Our team's vision is to use sports (skate, surf, sport, dance) to share Jesus with the youth of Pichilemu and La Serena, Chile.

This is also the vision of the long term missionaries who we are serving with, Mitch Anderson in Pichilemu (www.jucumpichilemu.cl/) and Greg Haugh in La Serena (http://fuegourbano.org/)
Our strategy for our short term team to make a long term impact is by serving these long-standing ministries who are reaching their communities for Christ through sports.

Chile is 85% Roman Catholic. Sports and Godliness are incompatible. Skateboarding, surfing, dancing, sports, having long hair or piercings etc. are viewed as contradictory to following God. This causes a major disconnect between the youth and the Church, with the youth eventually pushing God aside altogether. The Chilean youth desperately need relationships with passionate young people who can model a living relationship with Christ, invite them into a saving relationship with God through Christ, and plug them in with ministries that will disciple them! Our team is a great fit for this task!

Another way we want to bless their ministry is by bringing 14 checked bags (up to 50 lbs each) of skateboard decks and gear and sports gear to donate for these ministries.

Jessica, Dorothea, and I are so excited to lead this team of 11 DTS students on this Chile outreach for 2 and half months.

We so appreciate your prayers and support!

God bless you,

Shaun and Jessica Hover


If you feel led to give toward this outreach, our team still needs a few thousand dollars and would be so grateful!
For your fast and secure online tax-exempt donations go to:
https.//www.meigiving.com/ywamla.php under Giving Type select "special gift for project": and put: B8000 YWAM LA Chile Outreach

Fashion Week LA! PART 2 - The Models

"Please come back and do more shows. Before you walked into the room everything was so stressful, everything was tense, but then as soon as you walked in there was immediate peace. It felt like everything was going to be okay." -a model to us after the show.

"Nobody in this industry cares about anyone else. They are all out to get things for themselves and become successful. Nobody cares about anyone... Except you. You are different. There is this sweet spirit about you..." -a model to me while talking backstage

The models have stolen my heart. Really. I feel overwhelmed with love for them. Their lives are so precious, yet many of them don't even know.

Each show we worked we were able to invite our models to be a part of Models For Christ (MFC). MFC is a family of fashion professionals in NYC, LA and Miami that is designed to be a family of support and encouragement for fashion professionals. Many of them appeared quite interested in getting involved. One male model we met said that he was really struggling to make friends in LA, and he was feeling the pressure of constantly having to change his appearance to please the agency he was working for. He was a young caucasian guy from Oregon, who had dyed his hair and tanned his skin because he needed to be able to work as a Latin American model. This young guy was so grateful that we cared about him that he stayed with our group most of the night, just so he could finally have the joy of being with friends. It was great. He assured us he would come to MFC because he was desperate for interaction with people who would really love him.

One night after the shows we were about to leave the parking lot when a model in her car asked if we would want to go eat with her and her friend, so we invited them to hop in our big YWAM van and we went to a restaurant together. It turns out that they were Christians too and the model had even done a YWAM program in Nashville. We were able to pray with them and encourage her friend who was struggling because of rejection he experienced with other Christians. I actually ran into the model yesterday on the street in Huntington Beach, she recognized me and invited us to attend a party with her next weekend. God is so fun.

I met a model backstage who was here working because she was a contestant on Russia's Next Top Model. She had never been in America and was only going to be here for the one day, so it was fun to be the first American to really welcome her. I invited her to MFC and was able to give some input on a decision she was making in her modeling career. She was a sweetheart and it was obvious that our time together really meant something to her.

The last model I dressed was difficult because she appeared completely uninterested in relating to me at all. I was even a bit confused as to why God would have me working with her, because I had prayed so much I was sure that God would put me with someone who had been fully prepared in her heart to receive some loving! But no, I was with a model who didn't want me there! Haha but actually that wasn't true. After about twenty minutes of me helping to hold her gown and attempting to converse with her, she finally turned around and said, "I'm sorry this is my first show and I am really nervous." After that we were finally friends! (I am laughing as I write this because it really was an exciting moment for me) After that my sweet new friend allowed me to speak with her and take care of her, because it turned out she was sick too. At one point I asked if I could pray for her and she quickly grabbed my hand and bowed her head so that we could pray. It was amazing! When I finished praying I opened my eyes to see another of my YWAM girls praying for her model. After the show my model ran to me to hug me, thank me, take photos with me, and ask me if I thought she did well. It was a total turnaround from the beginning of the show.

One model had to carry a dress that weighed 45 pounds and she was literally bending because of the weight of it. In her desperation she let three of us pray for her to have strength to carry the dress.

My last night I was SO blessed because one of the models that arrived was actually one of my close friends from Models For Christ. We didn't know we would both be there, and it had been a while since we spent time together, so it was a HUGE gift to sit and talk with her before the show. She had actually been going through a uniquely difficult situation that I was able to speak into, so the timing was really perfect.

God so adores these models. He is completely passionate about pursuing their hearts and revealing His love to them. It is always an honor to be a part of that process.

Updates from LA's Fashion Week! PART 1- FAVOR

Backstage again, under-qualified again, fearful but faithful... again. God is too good.

Another Fashion Week outreach, only this time it was here in Los Angeles instead of New York. The opportunity came unexpectedly, and our decision to volunteer happened quickly. Before we had much time to think, 16 of us young YWAM missionaries piled into vans and headed to downtown LA. We were hired to dress the models, simply because of my one week of experience dressing models in New York City this past September. We were all honored and excited to serve, recognizing that this was a rare opportunity to reach a group of people that may not otherwise be reached by the love of Christ.

One of the most amazing testimonies of the week was simply the great favor we received from our supervisors. In the beginning of the week they were stressed and slightly guarded, yelling directions and bluntly advising us not to steal or leave early. (Not that any of this was wrong, they were bearing a large amount of responsibility in making sure the whole week went as it should.) But by the end of the first night my YWAM girls had done such an excellent job dressing the models that our supervisors were praising our work and insisting that we return the next day to do it all again.

When we came back the next day everything went even better than it did the day before. There were two groups of us sitting on either sides of the room backstage. One side was packed with students from FIDM, (The Fashion Institute here in LA), then we were sitting on the other side of the room.. our anxious group of untrained missionaries. Each time the stylist would come grab a student from FIDM to dress, our supervisor would step in and say, "NO, those are NOT our dressers, (then she would point to us) THESE are our dressers!" Then one-by-one our girls went and greeted the model that they would be dressing for the night. After the show was over we praised God because literally NOTHING went wrong. They were brilliant! Everybody involved appeared pleased with how the show happened! At the end of the evening one of my girls took a bold step of faith and asked if she could pray for our head supervisor, then after what felt like an eternity of a pause, she responded, “Yes! But first let me grab my friends!” So within minutes our entire group circled around our bosses and my friend Dorothea prayed a beautiful prayer over them. Afterwards one of them was crying, Dorothea encouraged her by reminding her of God’s love for her as His daughter. She received the encouragement wholeheartedly and told us that she was a Christian too.

The following night we were unable to go but when we arrived on Friday our bosses were all too excited to see us. They filled us in right away that things had been stolen the night we weren’t there, they actually said, “We really felt it when you weren’t here last night!” I even overheard one supervisor telling another woman, “You don’t need to worry about these girls stealing anything, they are Christians, they wouldn’t do that.” This final night of working happened to be the most intense. It was couture night, so it was the biggest show and had the most fragile, elaborate dresses. They told us before we arrived that they probably weren't going to have anyone but me do the dressing because they needed "the best". So instead of choosing us they were going to choose the trained students from the Fashion Institute to do the dressing. However, things changed, and when we showed up they decided that we were "the best", and that my inexperienced girls were going to be dressing the show- instead of the fashion institute students! So we called our friends back at the YWAM campus and got as many people praying for us as possible. Then we gathered in a back room and prayed intensely that God would move in us and through us. We also asked Him to lift the nervousness and replace it with courage! He did!

The show went incredibly well (I will share details in the next post!) that afterwards I was approached by the designer's assistant, (who was originally a very intimidating woman with a Satanic tattoo on her neck), she said, "We were asked to do this show again so that it could be put on television, and I would like you and your girls to come back and dress our models again because they did such an amazing job." So amazing!

Our supervisors were deeply grateful for our presence there. Acknowledging the peace, joy, and positivity that happened when we arrived. There was real trust and safety that happened because they could feel God in us. It was completely beautiful. They have already asked us to return in February for their next season of shows!

Update from Shaun- September 2011

DTS (Discipleship Training School)

We currently have 50 students from all over the world to starting their 6 month Jesus journey called DTS (Discipleship Training School). It starts tomorrow!

Jessica and I are are not directing the entire program this time.

In this school we will be working much more directly with the students in discipleship and mentoring. Part of Jess’ and my role is also to help provide pastoral care for our fellow staff.

We are also overseeing six local ministry tracks that the DTS students will be joining with in their school, including the two ministries that we are personally leading; the Skate track and the Create track.

We will also be planning and leading a three month overseas outreach at the end of the year!

Did you know that there are YWAM DTS’s running in 125 nations and in 95 languages?

Brief update from this summer:

Colorado
-We spent two weeks in Colorado Springs (where Jess is from) to spend time with friends and family

-I spoke on The Great Commission at a skate church in Denver, Worked with a skate church in Colorado Springs and judged a skateboarding competition with Victory Outreach

-We taught in a cell group of about 30 college aged people on Commitment and Intimacy in Relationships.


Infusion
-Infusion is a summer program at YWAM LA. It’s basically a two week DTS. Jessica and I taught on Relationships and Purity and I also taught on The Great Commission. It’s amazing to see how much growth and transformation God can work in a person in just two weeks! A couple of my skatepark disciples did the program and they have never been the same since(in a good way)!

-I had the honor of baptizing 15 of these wonderful young people who were changed by God in Infusion. This includes two dudes from the skatepark!


GROW
-Jessica and I spoke on a Friday and Saturday at the GROW youth conference at Valley Park Church in the San Fernando Valley. On the fist night I spoke about Purpose and the second day we spoke about Missions.


YWAM University of the Nations Conference
-YWAM LA invited eight staff to a major YWAM conference in Kona, Hawaii.

They covered our conference fees and I got my flight with frequent flyer miles, so the whole trip was totally covered! It was so good to connect with and learn from YWAM leaders from all over the globe, including Loren Cunningham, the man who founded YWAM 50 years ago! (this is what I was doing while Jess was in New York...not a bad deal eh?).


I'M PUTTING TOGETHER A SHORT VIDEO FROM MY EAST ASIA SKATE OUTREACH. YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS IT!

I cannot post it on the internet for security purposes but I want to send all of you a DVD. If you have never given us your mailing address, please send it to me so that I can send you this video when it is complete.


Praise the Lord! Thank you so much for your partnership with us! Let us know how we can be praying for you.


God bless you,

Shaun Hover

Fashion Week Outreach NYC- More short stories.

Backstage I was able to tell dressers about Christ and encourage their lives. It even got to a point where I was telling one dresser about Jesus and then another came up to me and asked "Will you tell me how you became a Christian?" I got to help them, love them, remind them of their value, comfort hurting hearts, and laugh with them when things got too stressful. It was amazing to see God use seemingly simple interactions to deeply impact lives. .

The models are young, far from home, and exhausted- we were able to pray for them, encourage them, and lavish love on them. One girl said she had been modeling for years and can remember only 4 dressers that cared about her in all of those years, my friend Jen was one of them. One model said she hated New York because no one was kind to her, except me. A male model was speechless when he realized that one of our girls was genuinely listening to him. He was shocked, he said that he is very alone and no one ever listens to him. My friend was able to spend time listening to him as he shared about his lifestyle that was made up primarily of drinking and modeling. He opened up about his dream of having a home one day. By the end of the show he thanked her from his heart for taking the time to treat him so kindly. It meant the world to him.

I was staying in the same building that P. Diddy lives in, so after praying for him for a few days I decided to buy him a Halmark card, write an encouraging note in it, and drop it off at his office across the street. I was assured that he would get it.

I met many people in the lobby that I was able to pray for and encourage with the love of Christ. At one point we were in line standing behind a woman that had met me in the morning, she didn't realize we were behind her, but she was excitedly saying, "There are Christian models here! They are praying for me!" Overall everyone we met was really open to share about their lives and their desire to see God work in them. One of my friends from our team, Kayla Sanders, led a girl to the Lord after spending the day praying for her, sharing with her, encouraging her, and reminding her of God's love. Such an awesome story!

One gorgeous woman was next to me in line. She was from Mexico and her classy husband was clearly a man of power. I can't remember who he worked for but it was apparent that he was wealthy and extremely successful. At one point he had stepped away from the line and I asked the woman how I could be praying for her. We had been talking already and she knew I was Christian so it was the perfect time to ask. She was both surprised and incredibly grateful. After remaining quiet for a bit she began to get tears in her eyes, she said that her husband works all the time and she was wondering if I would pray that her marriage would work out.

I met Tyson Beckford and told him I'd be praying for him. I attempted to meet Justin Bieber and Usher as well, but there were too many screaming girls in the way for that to happen, so I just prayed for them.

Fashion Week Outreach NYC

Karolina.

Every week we pray for people in the industry. I have their photos and their names printed out in a little packet and every Friday my friends and I pray.

Karolina is one of the models we pray for. The beautiful 27 year old Victoria's Secret model has been covered in prayer since my last Fashion Week outreach in February.

Jen and I were preparing to dress for Chado Ralph Rucci but we were quickly hustled into another show that was about to begin and still had lots of models who hadn't been changed yet. As soon as I walked in I saw Karolina's name on the board of models and knew God was going to do something awesome. Sure enough, a few minutes later, I was helping to put a gown on Karolina herself! I was praying that the crowd of people around her would leave so that we could talk. Within a moment the crowd dissolved and it was just Karolina and me.

I touched her arm, "Excuse me, Karolina?"
She was texting on her cell phone but she leaned towards me to show that she was listening.
"My name is Jessica and I have been praying for you by name and by photograph every week since February."
At this point she was shocked, she stopped texting and looked at me in wonder, sweetly she asked "Are you sure you have the right girl?"
"I am completely sure."
Still in wonder, "Why are you praying for me?"
Excitedly I told her, "Because I am struck by how much God loves you and I know He wants you to know that. I will keep praying for you."
By now she was looking forward as if to take it in, then she asked, "So... you... are praying for me.. so that I.. can share that with people?"
I was smiling now, "Yes, that's exactly it!"
She stuck out her hand toward me, "I'm Karolina"
"I'm Jessica"

Within minutes I was shuffled out of the room and back into the original show I was supposed to dress for, as I was leaving the room she shouted, "Goodbye Jessica!"

Fashion Week Outreach NYC

"A truly beautiful woman is one with a heart that is fully alive."

Favor. the Reem Acra show.
We were backstage every day. Chosen for our "training and experience". Aside from being a 23 year old girl who dresses myself everyday, I had neither training nor experience. The others who were dressing the models backstage were students who completed a course on dressing at a Fashion Institute, but my friends and I were only there because God opened a door.

The amount of favor that we had from the designers, dressing supervisors, style team and models was nothing short of miraculous. During one show my friend Jen and I walked in after praying for God to use us. We appeared confident, though inside we were extra nervous because we were both very new to this. Upon arrival the dressing supervisor that we had been working with excitedly told the other supervisor, "These are my favorites, put them with the fastest changes." Jen and I knew this was a promotion, but it also required more of God's grace because we were dealing with magnificently elaborate gowns. Being with the fastest changes meant that we would have about one minute to change our model out of her first dress and shoes and into her next outfit while making sure nothing was torn, wrinkled, broken, or improperly tucked in.

After we received our "promotion" the designer came in and we talked with her and encouraged her while photographers took lots of pictures of her. It was obvious she appreciated us and trusted us because she handed off her puppy (who was basically her only child) to Jen and told her to look after it. That part was hilarious because our supervisors didn't want Jen touching the gowns while she was holding a dog, but everyone was too afraid of upsetting the designer to force Jen to put the dog down. So we all just stood awkwardly for about ten minutes while Jen loved on the puppy.

Eventually the models came in and we were thrilled to see that two of them were girls we had worked with before. These girls were so precious and really loved us, which is unusual because typically the models don't relate very much with their dressers. My model was stressed because she was having visa issues and was scheduled to work in London, but was not able to get into the country. That opened the door for me to share stories about how God has come through for me- I even shared a specific story of how He provided a visa for my sister to go to India just 3 hours before our flight was scheduled to leave. My sweet model listened intently and concluded, "I need to pray!"

Jen's model became very vulnerable as well and asked if Jen would pray for her skin, because she had an infection on her face due to a makeup artist using an unclean brush while applying her foundation. Jen was able to really encourage her heart.

The other model that Jen had worked with before learned that she was too big for her dress and they would have to cut it so she could get into it, and then sew it onto her. That could have been devastating for the model but instead she was comforted by Jen standing next to her reminding her that everything was okay and she was doing great. It was exactly what she needed.

After the show we were given special thanks from the supervisors, designers, models, and stylists for making their experience more pleasant. (again this is unusual because we are just dressers..) We were so grateful for the evidence that our presence there really made an impact.

Day 1 of Fashion Week Outreach

The day began with Emma and I waking up and venturing to New York City to meet the others at the American Bible Society. I thought that today I would be trained to dress the models and that I would begin working backstage at the shows tomorrow. I was quite wrong.

The other girls came into ABS and informed me that they needed more dressers at a show that was about to begin, so my training happened through doing. After prayer and Starbucks we headed over to Lincoln Center to work the show. I was ready for God to move.

My first miracle was the fact that the girl I was dressing with happened to be sweet, and SO gracious to teach me everything I needed to know. She even let me talk to her about the Lord and pray with her before we began.

Then an older, well-dressed couple came over and began swooning over the clothes we were about to adorn the models with. The woman was probably in her 60's but looked much younger. She was so elegant. When I told her she looked beautiful she opened up about how nervous she was to be there. She was married to the chairman of the company that was putting on the fashion show. We are from the same city so we talked quite awhile about life & I was a real encouragement to her. She was excited I was a missionary and actually thrilled that my purpose at Fashion Week was to reach out to the models. Her husband came over and he was loving it too.

I connected with several models and was able to love on them extra. They are so young and vulnerable, and though they appeared uninterested at first, they were deeply receptive of love. They even asked me after how I thought they did and one girl came back to kiss my cheek and thank me for praying for her. I shared my testimony of being healed of an eating disorder to one of them and she listened to all of it, clearly comforted to hear of God's power.

There was another dresser from Ireland that was terribly stressed because the gown she was working with was a nightmare. Pieces were falling off and it had to be sown onto the model. She also had many people directing her, all saying completely different things and insisting she do it that way. Throughout the experience I was able to help her and invite her to come spend time with us at ABS. I am hoping to see her again.

As I left the show I connected with a make-up artist who was also incredibly encouraged by God's love and thankful that I would talk with her.

Finally, my FAVORITE STORY- I had seen this gorgeous Malaysian model that I recognized from when I was here in February. Back in February I had snuck backstage a few times in an effort to speak with the models, and she was one that I encountered! During the brief interaction with her I had told her I would be praying for her and that I was a missionary, having just returned from Thailand. She was a sweetheart but our time together was so short, today when I saw her again I felt pretty confident she would not remember me. But as I asked her this afternoon where she was from she said, "You are Jessica, the one who was praying for me right?" Ahhh!! She remembered me! Then after her show I found out she went over to the American Bible Society and connected with Leah, the leader of Models For Christ NYC!

"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." -1 Corinthians 15:19

I am connecting beautifully with the other people here to minister. They are so faithful, their love for God is overwhelming. It reminds me how important it is that I waste my life for Christ. Nothing else matters. Not my appearance, not money, not success, not my size, not my reputation... it's meaningless... the only thing that is truly worth living for is the one who counted me worthy of dying for. That is what I am doing here, I am wasting my life. I didn't go to college. I got married too young. I don't have a big house. I don't get paid. There is not a lot the world can look at me and say is successful (by the world's definition of "success"), I would be a good example of someone who is wasting her young years. Especially if I died and foud out Jesus was not real to begin with. Then I would be a real waste!

But that is how I want it. I want to get to the end of my life and have wasted it in completely on Jesus, wasting all I am on Him, and others, and you. And ultimately in all of that.. I trust that in losing my life for His sake, I will find it.

Shaun is in Hawaii for a University of the Nations Conference and Jessica leaves Wednesday morning for her Fashion Week outreach in New York City!! Please continue praying for us! Already God has provided flights. housing, and an incredible opportunity for Jess to be backstage dressing models for the runway shows! We are believing God to use her powerfully to bring healing, freedom, and hope to many lives in the Fashion Industry. Please pray for her and the rest of the people involved in the outreach!!

FALL FASHION WEEK OUTREACH~ NYC

Adam is 24 years old, is 6'3 and weighs 110lbs. If he allows himself to go above 110lbs he will lose his job working as a high fashion male model, and will owe his agency two hundred thousand dollars. Under the agency's instruction, Adam also receives botox injections in order to maintain his youthful appearance. Though his attitude is positive, his body is frail, and his heart aches quietly. Over a cup of coffee in a New York City Starbucks, Adam shared with a friend and I about the dangerous reality of being a professional model. He had just come off of the catwalk a few hours prior and was offering us both a world of perspective that we could have never imagined.


In September I am going to New York City for my second Fashion Week outreach with Models For Christ. (My first outreach was in February) Fashion Week is held twice a year and is a time for designers to showcase their latest collections. The event is very entertaining- Models grace the runway accompanied by loud music, while an overwhelming number of photographers, journalists, buyers, celebrities, and socialites sit in the stands excited to witness the upcoming fashion trends. Our vision for the week is to be examples of Christ to those working in the fashion industry. There will be people working with us from YWAM bases like Kona, and YWAM New York City; along with people from International House of Prayer; and then members of MFC will organize and facilitate the outreach. American Bible Society is graciously allowing us to use their facility, which is very near Lincoln Center, where Fashion Week is being held. There we will offer a place for food, rest and prayer for the professionals working in the show. Along with that, we will venture into the shows and make relationships that way and we plan to have a few people backstage dressing the models during the fashion shows.

I am currently raising funds for the trip to cover the costs of flights, housing, transportation, and food. I would be so grateful if you would consider contributing to this outreach! If you are interested please contact me. The information is on our "Contact Us" page on the top right hand side of this page.

Please be praying for God to prepare the hearts of the Fashion professionals. We am so excited to see Him move in people's lives! Thank you again for your generous support of our lives and our ministries!

another Asia story!

Hi friends,

I keep these stories short because I really want you to read them, remember them, be encouraged by them, and share them with others!

Seven of us are in a city with a million people for eight hours in a place where sharing the Good News is not allowed. Can we really reach out? Can we really have an impact here?

We spent one day in Bai Se on the way back from KM to NN. Out of the million people who live there, 20 of them are skaters and we spent the day with almost all of them. They were super excited because we were the first skate team to come through their city!
After a full day of skating with all the guys, we all sat Down to a big dinner together. At the dinner table, Jesse was able to share with all of them full-on about Jesus and even pray with them!

We serve such a creative God. Because of our skateboards we were able to connect with that whole group of youth and reach a certain depth with them that would normally take months to achieve.

Funny thing; we ended up on the cover story of the newspaper the following day, with a big picture of Jesse doing this crazy trick down some stairs with over a hundred people gathered in the streets watching.

The best part about that one day trip is that our friends who are in the country long term are only a three hour train ride from Bai Se, which means they can take little trips up there regularly to check in and keep pouring into the guys there.

Glory to Him!

Be looking forward to a couple more stories from the other cities we spent time in.

Thank you and God bless,

Shaun

July 17th-31st Infusion at YWAM LA!!

For the next two weeks YWAM LA is hosting young people from ages 13-25 for a discipleship program called Infusion! I think there are around 40 students who arrived today and the energy on the campus is extra high! Shaun and I will not be on staff for Infusion but we are involved- he is leading the Skate Track and I am leading Create track, plus we are also going to be drivers for the group, so we get to participate in many of their outings. One of the events I am most excited for is driving to Las Vegas for a night of ministry and evangelism on the strip! Shaun and I (but mostly Shaun!) will be able to do a morning of teaching as well- sharing with the students about "Relationships and Purity". Please pray for the young people to have their lives overwhelmed by the love and power of Christ!! I am expecting this to be a new beginning for many of them as they discover the heart of God and His plans for their lives!

Also be sure to check out Project Love Apparel! Mention YWAM LA Create when you order and a portion of the proceeds will go to supporting our ministry!!
www.projectyourlove.com

Home Again!!

Hello friends!

We have arrived home to Los Angeles safely and healthily, though we are jet lagged. The trip was absolutely amazing! All of us are completely blown away by His faithfulness and we can't believe how much He did in just 25 days! To see that He can use a short term team to make a long term impact is so encouraging.

We have so many stories to share. I'll start with one...

Pirate owns the skate shop in the town we were in, and has become close friends with our long term friends who are doing the work out there. Pirate has heard about Jesus from their mouths and has seen Jesus in their lives. He was so intrigued by Jesus that he has been attending their Bible study for the last two months.

Pirate came on a three day skate trip with us to a city near the border as soon as we arrived. He saw the same Spirit in us that he saw in our friends and he decided to commit his life to Jesus!

On Sunday we took a 3 hour bus at 7am to a lake where Pirate, two other skaters, and a girl all got baptized!

Please pray for these new brothers and sisters as our friends and the HS continue teaching them to be more like Him.

Thank you for making this trip possible,

Shaun

Update From Shaun

Greetings friends!

Something amazing is happening here, Skaters are hearing the good news, believing in Jesus and becoming brothers!

Over the last few years I've discovered that Jesus hangs out in some strange places. I've found Jesus working in skateparks, allies, bars, garbage dumps, dinner tables, bus stops, bonfires, Taco Bells, Starbucks, liquor stores, Thai villages, Indian slums, Muslim villages, and Hindu temples, to name a few places.

The other night we found another one of Jesus’ hang out spots; under a musty bridge in the middle of the main city we're staying in. This bridge/tunnel is the spot where the local skaters go when it's raining. After a long, fun skate session with them we got to talking. Still dripping with sweat, JP translated as we began to share the story of Jesus. They were all very interested and engaged as this was the first time they had heard the Jesus story.

Two guys in particular were very moved. As if a light switch turned on inside of them (and it wasn't the flickering florescent light we were sitting under), they said "We believe! We believe!"

Right there under the bridge at 1:30 AM we had a time of prayer with all of them. For most, if not all, this was the first time they had ever prayed. And those two guys actually prayed out loud and addressed Jesus as Lord for the first time.

After that, we all went out for some sort of doughnut and milk thing and called it a night.

Those two guys are super excited to begin going to the Bible study every week at our friends house, along with the other skaters who have met Jesus though their efforts.

We have so many more stories to share with you, especially from our time in KunMing, the city I spent three weeks in three years ago. But we'll leave you with that one story for now.

We are witnesses of your prayers being answered. Please continue praying for us and for the ones we're reaching out to.

Thank you for your support, Bless you!!

Shaun

Asia Update

Shaun contacted me on Sunday for the first time since he left! I was so excited that when I received the text message from him I cried instantly. That would have been alright if I were alone in my home, but instead I was alone in a store- the poor women shopping next to me must have thought I was crazy! Shaun gave me a great update!

He said they are having all kinds of awesome God appointments, they met 2 kids under a bridge one night after skating and they wanted to receive Christ and get plugged into a Bible study! Shaun and the guys were able to encourage hundreds of believers from 26 churches. This week they are going back to the place where Shaun went almost 3 years ago for his DTS outreach. As of today he had already reconnected the main guy he skated with back then!

Here are 2 photos he has taken:

Please keep praying for them!! Thank you so much!

Specific Prayer Request For Aaron Vermeer

Hello again! I just spoke with Aaron's fiance Synnove, in Norway, and she shared that Aaron has a prayer request. He currently only has a one-way ticket into Asia and does not have the funds to leave the country. The plan is that they will raise the money for Aaron to buy a ticket from Asia to Norway, so that he can be with his fiance's family, then he will go home to Canada, and finally back to Los Angeles. Aaron is an incredible story of God's redemptive power, and we have seen God come through for him over and over, so we are not worried. But please pray for him and Nova to have supernatural favor in the area of finances! We are excited to see the faithfulness of God once again!!

Aaron on outreach in South Africa

A Glimpse of What a YWAM Outreach Looks Like

This is the team video from my sister Meredith's outreach that she co-led alongside Mike Fernandez. Mike made this excellent video! The South Africa team is one of the 4 outreaches that was sent out from the last Discipleship Training School that Shaun and I led. 

Thursday June 23

Shaun is officially in Southeast Asia for his skateboarding outreach. Please pray for him and the other 4 guys on the team!
- For protection
- Open hearts for the skaters they are working with
- Favor upon the new skate company that our friends have started in Asia- that it would attract lots of skaters and provide a way for relationships to be built and discipleship to take place
- Protection on their bodies against sickness & injury
- Divine appointments to be set-up with people in Asia that the men can share the gospel with
- that God would work miraculously in them & through them
- the ability to communicate with their loved ones back home

- Specifics for each skater:
Shaun~ that he would finish his last school paper and email it home on time, for his family in Michigan, for future skateboard ministry endeavors and for his lovely wife as she misses him like crazy  :)

Jesse~ MY SOON-TO-BE BROTHER IN LAW (From Michigan) for his family, his fiance (my sister) Meredith as they plan their wedding & future, his upcoming job as youth pastor at Chapel of the Hills in Sunland, CA

David~ (From Canada) for his family back home and for future plans, also he just came directly from serving in Haiti so that he would be able to rest and have strength to keep sharing Christ's love

haha on my search for photos of David I came across these of him and Brenden.. the first is them in Morocco the second.. i'm not so sure

David and Brenden are on the left looking a bit more normal

Brenden~ (From Australia) for his family, future, and sweet girlfriend Megan who is in Missouri

Megan is on the left, Brenden is in the middle, and our precious sister Marie is on the right, I couldn't find a picture of just Brenden and Meg!

Aaron~ (From Canada) for his precious fiance Nova in Norway & for their relationship as they are planning their life together, for his family, and for his future in missions

Thank you for praying!!

YWAM Los Angeles

11141 Osborne Street, Lake View Terrace, CA 91342
www.ywamla.org
www.transformationsdts.org

The men in Los Angeles International Airport waiting for their flight to Asia

Shaun, Aaron, Jesse, David and Brenden head to Asia today!

God's provision for the trip!! From Untitled skate company!!
www.untitledskate.com 

From Shaun to our Support Team

Friends,

I want to give you an update on the Southeast Asia skate outreach. 

WE LEAVE ON MONDAY!! We will be returning 25 days later, July 14th.

David arrived to LA safely from Haiti, after serving for 3 and half months. He is getting rested up, debriefed, & ready to roll to Asia!

Aaron is wrapping up his School of Ministry Development (a 3 month leadership training program here at YWAM LA) and he is stoked for the outreach!

After spending 4 months doing skate ministry in Mexico, Brenden is in his hometown in Australia and he has his plane tickets and visa for Asia ready to go! He'll be arriving to the same city at the same time as us.

Jesse is excited and ready for Asia. He is also excited about his new fiancee, Meredith (my sister in law; Jessica's younger sister)! He is also in the process of stepping into the position of being the full-time youth pastor at Chapel of the Hills church, which is the church that all the skatepark kids have gotten plugged into!

With a team of guys who skate and are passionate about sharing Jesus, I am thrilled to lead this crew in reaching out to skaters in Asia by coming alongside the long-term workers who have committed their lives to seeing the gospel impact skaters in that nation.

Untitled Skateboards donated 15 skateboards plus all kinds of t-shirts, videos, stickers etc. Praise God! www.untitledskate.com

Please join us in prayer as we still need more funds before we leave on Monday. Just email me or call/text me if you would like more info about our financial needs. 

God bless you!

Shaun Hover

Youth With A Mission, Los Angeles

First Hover Blog Post!

It's a little after midnight and I am hoping to get this blog running in less than an hour! It is certainly a work in progress, but I hope that in creating this blog we will be better able to serve our loved ones by allowing you to be better connected with our ministries. So what is the latest? Well Shaun is in the living room with Jesse Ruggles packing to leave for Asia. I will be driving them to the airport in less than 10 hours! The team of 5 skaters will be doing skateboard outreach in southeast Asia for the next 25 days! Please pray for them! Also pray for me, Jessica, I will be holding down the fort here in L.A. 

Oh! Another update~ today I was able to photograph for Project Love, my most favorite clothing line, and it was SO amazing! Check out their website at www.projectyourlove.com! 

yours truly (Jess!) modeling a super cute tee from Project Love 

Shaun skateboarding while on outreach in India- a glimpse of what will be happening in the next 25 days!!

Shaun and Jessica Hover in Los Angeles, California

Welcome to our website! We are so excited that you are here! 

We hope that this is a place where you- our family, friends, and supporters- can be involved in our lives and our ministry! We are so grateful that you are a part of our lives and we are thankful for your prayers and contributions to our work. May you be encouraged as you see how God is using us and working through your generosity to impact the lives of others. We love you!  

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." 2 Corinthians 5:17