Bill Hutchison's YWAM Blog

Are You Doing What God Wants You To Do?

Sun, 04 May 2008 23:07:03 +0000

Although the video is produced for an Internet Marketing audience, it certainly fits in with asking the questions, "What does God want me to do?".

If I were to write down the three things I'm most passionate about would be:

Family
Getting others involved in Christian Missions
Communicating what God is doing in the Nations

What am I doing about pursuing those passions?

Not enough, but trying to find the balance between quality family time and getting things done
With the marketing that I do at Reef to Outback I feel this is t(more)

Update on our YWAM Outreach to Thailand

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:09:59 +0000

In my last article, Children at Risk Video - Lost in the Crowd, I had mentioned that Reef to Outback had a team in Thailand right now outreaching to Thai Prostitutes. They just sent an outreach update, and here are a few snippets from it:

"Last Thursday we went and visited a ministry called "Night Light". Night Light is a Jewelry Company that sells Jewelry all over the world. Located in Nana, one of the major red light districts in the heart of Bangkok, it is a very literal light in the darkness. Night Light is a very young ministry, but you wouldn't be able to tell that by the 70+ women they had working for them making jewelry. Each of these 70 women used to be employed in the Sex Trade and have now left COMPLETELY making a living making jewelry for Night Light. The global sales of this jewelry pays the women's salary

...

Jess, J(more)

Children at Risk Video - Lost in the Crowd

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 02:27:00 +0000

If this doesn't move you to desire change in our world, then I really don't know what will...

God has been highlighting more and more issues of injustice like what is presented in the video to YWAM. We have an outreach team in Thailand right now working with an outreach to Thai prostitutes. We also have an outreach team in Cape York, Australia, where horrible crimes against children and women have been happening.

Voice for the Voiceless is one ministry that is focusing on issues of injustice to (more)

Voice for the Voiceless Australia Web Site

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 00:16:31 +0000

The last two weeks I've been working like crazy to get a new web-site for Voice for the Voiceless up and running. I had a week to set-up the site and get it running before a radio advertising campaign was launched.

You can check out the results of my work at www.voiceforthevoiceless.com.au.

Voice for the Voiceless raises awareness of Gender Based Injustice issues. Awareness is raised though a 30-day prayer guide and though Voice in the Dark Concerts. Both of which you can find out more about on the site.

One of the coolest features of the site, I think, is the embedded live video stream for the concert that will be running tomorrow (Saturday) night. We have also embedded recordings of some of the stories from the

My Australian Citizenship Has Been Approved

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:42:06 +0000

I got a letter a few days ago stating that my Australian Citizenship Application has been approved.

After passing my Australian Citizenship test last month it only took about a month for my citizenship application to be approved.

My Australian Citizenship won't be final until I have completed my citizenship oath. That probably won't happen until after the local council election later this month as the citizenship ceremonies are organised by the local council.

Technorati Tags: australian citizenship

Only $900 More Needed for a New Laptop

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:27:11 +0000

So far we have raised about $1300 of the $2200 needed for a new laptop. We only need another $900 for a new laptop to replace the one that died back in November.

Part of being in YWAM means that we need to raise all our own finances for any tools that we use (like the laptop), as well as our everyday living. You can check out the original article about us raising the money on our YWAM ministry site.

My New Favourite County Music Blog

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:44:00 +0000

I've been spending the last few days slowly looking through a new Country Music Blog that I came across. The web-site isn't new, but it's new to me.

The site is very well laid out, easy to navigate, and has a lot of great song reviews. Most of the country music song reviews include a link to where you can listen to the song (although some links don't work from Australia, bummer).

For a good sample of a country music single review check out the review of George Strait - "I Saw God Today".

My Latest Book Review - The Golden Buddha - The Oregon Files

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 02:26:00 +0000

I got the book "The Golden Buddha - The Oregon Files" by Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo for my birthday this year.

It was a good book that I managed to read in under a week, which with the busyness of our life right now is pretty quick.

On one of my other web-sites, Blog About Books, you can read the full review of Golden Buddha - The Oregon Files by Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo.

Technorati Tags:

Raising $2200 for a New Laptop

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 01:33:05 +0000

After my last laptop died in November last year I have been borrowing a 5-year old laptop from work. I've come to the point now where I am needing to purchase a new laptop.

I'm probably looking at a Dell 14" laptop worth about $2200. I like the Dell Vostro range of laptops, but I am also looking at the Dell Inspiron models. Dell has provided us with fantastic service here in Townsville and that is definitely something that I value, especially in a laptop.

Being a full time volunteer means that I need to provide all my own tools to do my job in YWAM. As the IT guy here at Reef to Outback the laptop is a very important part of that job.

You can read more about us raising the money for the new computer on our Reef to Outback Ministry Page - Time for a New Laptop.

Update: We have raised about $1300 so far for the laptop. Check out the updated post at

I Passed my Australian Citizenship Test!

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 04:13:22 +0000

This morning I went for my Australian Citizenship Interview and Test.

The interview wasn't anything more than taking my photo and scanning my documents. I was told to budget 30-minutes for the interview, but it probably only took about 5-minutes.

I was escorted to the back room of the Australian Centrelink office where they had a room set-up with two computers for the citizenship test. They set me up on the computer where I had to answer 20 multiple-choice questions in a 45-minute time frame.

The topics covered by the Australian Citizenship Test were:

A story of Australia (Australian History)
Australian Values
Governing the Country (Australian Government)
Our Land, Our Nation
Responsibilities and Privileges of Australian Citizenship

The three questions in the Responsibilities and Privileges of Australian Citizenship were mandatory questions, so I had to get those three correct. The pass mark for the test wa(more)

YWAM Shuts Down for ... The Super Bowl!

Mon, 04 Feb 2008 02:15:09 +0000
This morning work is at a standstill in some ministry areas of Reef to Outback so that some of the staff can watch the Super Bowl.

I guess this is one of the things that we have to deal with given that Reef to Outback is a YWAM base staffed mostly by young Americans.

Some people say that the Australian's worship their sport (there are even test questions about it on the Australian Citizenship test). But some of our YWAM staff get truly fanatical when it comes to American Gridiron (it's only called football in the US or Canada, most people around the world call it gridiron)...(more)

Townsville Citizen of the Year - Video

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 01:55:00 +0000
I already wrote the story about Ken Mulligan receiving the Townsville City Council's Citizen of the Year.

Well, here's the video of it, plus a fantastic endorsement for Reef to Outback from Tony Mooney, Townsville's mayor.

Technorati Tags: ken mulligan, townsville,

Caleb Starts School Tomorrow

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:04:00 +0000
It's crazy to think that Caleb will be starting school tomorrow! I can't believe how quickly he's grown up!

Caleb will be heading into prep, which is the equivalent of North American Kindergarten. It's five full days of school per week, 8:30 - 2:45, which is a pretty long day for him, especially considering that most days he still has a two hour nap in the afternoon.

Yesterday Caleb did the assessments that all the kids in his class need to do. Tamara took him, and apparently Caleb was ahead for his "number recognition". He picked out the number 280, which is apparently pretty good for a 5-year old. Tamara and I reckon that he learned that high of a number from watching the cricket...

Ken Mulligan - Townsville Citizen of the Year

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:43:53 +0000
Ken Mulligan is the director of Youth With A Mission - Reef to Outback here in Townsville.

During the Australia Day celebrations here in Townsville Ken was named the Townsville City Council's Citizen of the Year, which is a pretty exciting honour.

You can read the article on the Townsville Bulletin Web-site - Man with a mission. There should also be an article up soon on the Reef to Outback News, but right now it hasn't got posted yet...

Technorati Tags: ken mulligan, townsville, (more)

Sample Australian Citizenship Tests

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 06:28:00 +0000
On February 5th I will be sitting for my Australian Citizenship Test (your prayers would be appreciated). I've been reading the preparation booklet that they sent me "Becoming an Australian Citizen" and thought that I would be ready to sit some sample Australian Citizenship Tests.

There are quite a few different sample citizenship tests available on-line, so I sat the ones below. Next to the link to the test I have put my score:
Official Australian Government Sample Test (100%)
(more)

How I'm Increasing my Productivity Today

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 01:48:55 +0000
Today I am unsubscribing to most of the e-mail newsletters that I have signed up for.

Most of the e-mail newsletters related to Internet Marketing all push the same sales stuff on me, over and over again, and very few that I have been subscribed to actually provide valuable content. I figure that if I only stay subscribed to one or two of them, I should get all the important stuff come through anyway.

The newsletters that I am subscribed to for CNet and other on-line publications are great, and full of original and valuable content, but most the content I can get in an RSS feed, so I don't think that I will be missing anything.

Most mornings now I log in and see over 30 e-mails in the box! How the heck did I ever let that happen?

Time to simplify things... It's time to start reading less, and writing more.

Next step, reducing the number of RSS feeds I subscribe to.

A Day at the Townsville Museum - My Birthday

Sat, 19 Jan 2008 03:33:05 +0000
We celebrated my 31st birthday last weekend as a family. It was a fun and low key day for us...
Started with waffles and fresh orange juice for breakfast
Headed over to the Museum of Tropical Queensland for some free family fun (the museum is free for locals, which is great)
Had a terrific lunch with Tamara at Benny's Hot Walk Cafe
Enjoyed a McCafe coffee with Tamara
Drove around the "Townsville Town Common Conservation Park"
Had a "Doughnut(more)

The Kids Perform at our YWAM Christmas Party

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 07:24:07 +0000
The Reef to Outback kid's performed at our YWAM Christmas Party that we had on Christmas Day.

That's Caleb front and centre in the blue shirt and you can see Jessica on the left side of the video every once in a while in her little Christmas dress.

This was also a sort of last hurrah for Caleb and the Dutton kids, Emily and Michael. Emily and Michael, along with their parents Andrew and Faith and little Elijah, are leaving to YWAM Kona on the 30th. I would add the Dutton's leaving to my reasons for why "YWAM Sucks".

My Family Cracks Me Up

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:01:00 +0000
My family decided to send us a Christmas Song and video this year. They are in Calgary, Canada and I since they put it on YouTube thought that I would share it with everyone...

The people in the video are my Mom, Dad, sisters Jenny and Shannon and my Grandma:

They really make us laugh, and thanks to them for the Christmas song...

Are Outreach Fees more Spiritual than a Computer?

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:46:00 +0000
Ever since my computer died about a month ago I have been thinking a lot about how people perceive the "spiritual value" in what we do and the tools we use.

It seems that in YWAM people are always trying to raise money for airfares or outreach fees (we just had an offering time for the Introduction to Primary Health Care School's Outreach fees last week). Since we are all volunteers it is a necessity to raise the money, but there seems to be a stronger emphasis put on things that are perceived to be more closely related to "reaching the lost", rather than the tools that are needed for the "background / administrative" work.

Appeals for outreach fees, airfares and school fees are regular occurrences at our YWAM base. I don't think that I can ever remember an offering taken up for tools like software, a camera, a computer, a drill or any other tool that is needed to communicate what we do o(more)