Today the Kistler Trio embark on another super rad journey! We’ll loading up our Urban Missions training School community of 22, heading down to New Orleans to start a seven week field training phase of the Urban DTS that we are leading. The Trip will Intel nights on the street doing mercy ministry and evangelism. Hard physical labor during the day doing service projects for local ministries. There will be a handful of church type services and more structured evangelical productions too. This trip will take us through a few states and a few international borders. Please pray for wisdom safty and God grace on this trip. We are honored to partner with you all, being and training people to share Jesus on the streets.

Where we are headed!

1 wk New Orleans, LA

1wk Houston, TX

3wks Madrid Spain

2wks London England

1wk Chicago

… Then back home to Tejas for some much needed rest, and prep for the next ministry feet!

The Urban Disciplship Training School is doing great. We are in the 5th week of lecture. This week we have a awesome speaker from Tyler Texas. She is speaking about Relationships. I think it is so great hearing and gaining understanding on Gods view about friendship, business, boy/girl, and romatic relationships. This week is always full of self revelation. Our students experience the goodness and kindness of God as they walk through forgiveness for relationships that have hurt them, and repentence for relationships they havent walked out so well. Gods Holy scripture truly restores our mind!

Wyatt, Katrina and I are doing well. We have finally gotten “settled” into the city. We are both (Katrina & I) very busy. We both carry a lot of the day to day logestic and pastoral responsibilities of the training school. Wyatt has a hour of day care with one of our students. Her name is Aubery, shes from a family of seven in Michigan. Our little dude absolutly loves her!! They spend time down the street at the park, where Wyatt is the star kid with all the neighborhood hispanic girls. They all love how happy and playful he is. It seems like Wyatt is a great little evangelist… At the store, walking down the street, and inside restraunts people stop us to talk about him and laugh. Which always gives us a opperitunity to visit and make new relationships. Katrina and I are so grateful for the joy Wyatt brings!

I hope to become more consistent with the updates! Thank you for your faithful prayers and financial partnership!

The Kistlers!

Katrina and I are deeply grateful to be part of the third Youth With A Mission Tyler’s Urban Discipleship Training School. This year we are running the UDTS in Rogers Park Chicago. Rogers Park is a gateway imagrant neighborhood in northern Chicago. The population of Chicago proper (within City limits) is about three million. Within those three million people there are over 200 ethnicity, this is nearly “all the world” in one city. Now in Rogers Park, and surrounding neighborhoods within a five mile radius of our apartment building there are over 150 of those 200+ ethnicity! This is amazing, it creates a perfect enviroment to run a urban missions  training school!!

Last sunday on the 25th of September we had 12 UDTS students, and five student staff arrive. These young passionate youth are excited about seeing the gospel of Jesus Christ spread through Chicago, and other cities in the United States. This week is the first formal week of teaching. The topic is The Fear of The Lord. We are exicted to explore the character and nature of God. Then get the chance to spread that into those living around us.

Thank you For praying and financially partnering with us!

Rodger 

My patient wife had waited six years before she finally got the chance to live in her favorite city in the United States. The reason we moved to New Orleans was to pioneer a new kind of missions training school with YWAM. God has been stirring in our hearts over the past eight years a passion for the people inside of urban environments. So we partnered with urban guru Brad Stanley. Brad has been ministering with YWAM in Chicago for the past 28 years. Often times when we think of “urban missions” we tend to focus on the poor African American  kid with a needle in his arm and a shaky family life. While this is a true face of missions inside the city there’s another angle we often forget. The immigrant and the refugee; the faces that add diversity to the city. Which we are thankful for as two major fans of Thai food! In Chicago alone, over 176 immigrants move to the city each day. Out of that 176 more then 80 of them are from “unreached” or least evangelized nations. These are nations were U.S. Passports have trouble going or places that often times restrict and persecute Christians. Just within five miles of our YWAM campus in Chicago there are over 300k people. One out of three are foreign born, this means they weren’t born in the United States. This is diversity like we have never seen before, also a population migration greater then anything in history. With all of this information I’ve come to the understanding that urbanization offers an opportunity for evangelism like we have never seen before. I’m submitting to you that if we has the church in North America can see urbanization as gift to the church; then we will be able to reach hard to access nations and minister cross culturally daily.

Katrina, Brad, and I have now completed two successful UDTS’s over the past year. New Orleans was a perfect testing and developing location. Plus, the warm, relational culture of New Orleans created an open, but still challenging place to teach and learn evangelism. We saw God mend broken hearts, rescue youth from homelessness and drug abuse, we also saw God’s super natural healing ability heal people right in the middle of the French Quarter. I lead two eight week UDTS outreaches this past year. The first was to the Seven major cities of the United States. We ministered in Houston, Dallas, D.C., New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, and LA. The second outreach we took the UDTS to Madrid and Barcelona Spain. It has been so encouraging and faith building seeing God move in young adults and overflowing into major urban cities.

This past week Katrina and I were able to purchase a 2004 Toyota Sequoia. This is a huge blessing, for our family and our ministry! We are super excited about having the ability to transport eight people, and pull a trailer loaded with ministry supplies!! Thank you to each one of you who sacrificially gave, and faithfully prayed for us through the past two months of fundraising!!

This past year has been absolutely mind blowing! Katrina and I have been pioneering a new missions training school focused on cities. We have run two semesters of the Urban Discipleship Training School (UDTS) this past year in New Orleans. I actually just returned from Spain, where I was leading the two-month field training phase of the second UDTS. While in Spain we were able to engage in fruitful ministry to immigrants and Muslims.

I am writing you today to share with you a need. Currently, Katrina and I are driving a small Saturn station wagon. We are very grateful for the blessing it’s been, but we have outgrown it. Since we had our son, Wyatt (8/29/10), we have gained a bit more luggage. Also, while pioneering the UDTS it has been crucial for us to use our own car as a ministry vehicle. This requires us to transport three to five young adults around the city for ministry and lecture assignments. Our current car barely holds one additional student if all three of us Kistlers are going along. We also take frequent long trips that require us to transport larger amounts of luggage. Right now we are riding very cramped. Last year we drove over 45,000 miles in our little wagon. The long, cramped trips and heavy loads are starting to take a toll on our car. So we are believing God and stepping out in faith for a more suitable vehicle for our family and ministry.

As of March 1st Katrina and I are starting to raise the funds needed to purchase a new vehicle. We have been researching and learning about different styles and functions of vehicles that fit our need. We are in need of something that holds eight people, can pull a trailer, and has a drive train that can handle the load. We felt it would be wise to invest into a fullsize SUV. We also feel it is important for us to buy something used, but with a lot of reliable life left in it, like a Chevy Tahoe with under 100,000 miles.

We are in need of individuals who feel led to partner with us to raise $15,000. for a pre-owned Chevrolet Tahoe or similar. Would you prayerfully consider investing into our family and ministry? We are needing gifts of all sizes.

Youth With A Mission is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so all your gifts are eligible for a tax-deductible receipt. If you would like a tax receipt, please write your check to YWAM. DON’T put our names on it anywhere, but please attach a small note with your gift designating it to Rodger Kistler. We are believing to purchase a vehicle by May. Please feel free to contact us any time.

Thank you,
Rodger, Katrina, & Wyatt

You can reach us at (903) 258-0078 or, rodger.kistler@ywamtyler.org if you have any questions.

PAYPAL: rider4thekross@yahoo.com

Please mail your gifts to:
Rodger Kistler
P.O. Box 3000
Lindale, TX 75771

**If you would like to host a small group or meeting at your church or home. We would love to schedule with you, and come share about the ministry we are doing. Thank you – RK