From Trang to the Nations: God’s Ripple Effect | June-August 2025 Newsletter

Erik Gonzalez
Aug 30, 2025
8 min read

THE VISION THAT CONTINUES TODAY

Waves to the Nations

In 1956, a young Loren Cunningham saw waves of young people crashing onto the shores of every continent. He didn’t yet know it, but that vision would become Youth With A Mission (YWAM)—a global missions movement opening the way for young people to carry the gospel to those who’ve never heard.

“I saw waves of young people… going into every continent, sharing the gospel in every nation.” — Loren Cunningham, Is That Really You, God?

Why DTS?

Revelation 7:9 shows the end in sight: every nation, tribe, people, and language before the Lamb. Until that day comes, we commit to mobilizing, discipling, and sending believers into the nations. The Discipleship Training School (DTS) is a catalytic journey with these aims: knowing God and making Him known—learning to hear His voice, obey His Word, and live like Jesus in a missional community. It ignites passion for the nations and equips believers for bold witness among the poor in spirit.

“After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages…” -Revelation 7:9 NRSV

HISTORIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN SOUTHERN THAILAND

A First in the South

Thailand is home to nearly 70 million people, yet Christians remain a small minority—well under 2% nationally, and in parts of the south, the Christian presence is a fraction of one percent. It’s within this context that God has birthed something historic: the first-ever DTS in Trang, Thailand.

This season is the epitome of everything we’ve been working toward. It is the result of three years of diligent work and prayer to see Southern Thais mobilized, discipled, and sent to the places on the map still marked ‘unreached.’

“Most Christian witness in Thailand has been concentrated in the north; the south remains one of the least-reached regions in Southeast Asia.” — Adventist Frontier Missions

Students God Has Sent

Our students come from Thailand, the U.S., and Europe. Each student is coming to deepen their walk with the Lord. Like Moses on Sinai, they’re ascending the mountain to meet with the Living God—and they won’t come down the same. This is our biggest prayer for the students. That this wouldn’t simply be just another bible course, but a season of transformation that leads them forward to what God has next.

What’s unique in YWAM Trang’s DTS? We begin with a focused two-month Prep Course that grounds students spiritually and practically so they can get the most from DTS and be even more effective in the nations.

Our Roles

I (Erik) am being trained toward DTS leadership—overseeing the school, coordinating speakers, discipling staff and students, and leading outreach teams. For now, Makayla and I serve as DTS staff: discipling students one-on-one, helping teach, and guiding the flow of the school. We also help with the smaller details, such as providing snacks for students, overseeing meals, and serving as the leaders of the Communications Team. On outreach, we’ll lead on the ground—intercession, evangelism, and acts of compassion, totaling at least 50 hours of service per week.

OUTREACH & HOW YOU HELP

Where We’re Going

Disclaimer: Please do not share this information.

This November, our family (with Hudson!) will travel with our team to an unreached nation for two months of ministry. For security reasons, we can’t share the location, but this we can say: we’re going where the name of Jesus is rarely heard.

How You Can Help Right Now

Pray — for deep encounters with God in the Lecture Phase; incredible fruit during Outreach; protection, unity, and wisdom.
Give — We will be raising funds for the 2 months we will lead outreach! (Click HERE to give.)
Share — forward this to a friend who carries a heart for the unreached.

From our hearts—thank you. Your prayers and financial support are the unseen foundation beneath our feet. Because of you and the good grace of God, the waves of the gospel are not only reaching Southern Thailand but are pushing farther, farther still, into places yet untouched.

Blessings,

— The Gonzalez Family

Prayer Requests

🙏 Thank you for praying for us! <3

DTS & DTS Students – Pray that this DTS season will be a successful one for all the students.
Discipling Thai Relationships – Ask the Lord for wisdom and discernment as we invest deeper in our local friendships.
Family & Friends Back Home – Pray for encouragement, provision, and continued connection with those who support and love us.
Our Marriage – Pray that our relationship with each other and with God would deepen in intimacy, strength, and joy.
Personal Spiritual Growth – Pray for continued growth in humility, maturity, discipline, and Christlikeness.
Erik’s Leadership Roles – Ask for wisdom and good stewardship as Erik is now a Base Elder, leads the communications ministry, and trains for future DTS leadership.
Spiritual Awakening in Thailand – Pray that many would turn to Jesus. Lift up the city of Trang, specifically, for Gospel transformation.
Parenting Hudson – Pray for grace, wisdom, and patience as we raise Hudson in a way that honors God.
Missional Communities & Local Favor – Pray for deeper relationships, Gospel opportunities, and favor in our neighborhood.
Team Unity – Ask God to strengthen our team with humility, love, and shared vision.
Spiritual Warfare – Pray against strongholds such as apathy, miscommunication, sexual perversion, and loneliness. Pray for protection and breakthrough.

Future OTM Teams – Pray that their hearts would be awakened to God's global purpose and that they would step into His calling with boldness.

Life/Ministry Updates

Commitment to Stay Seven More Years

As I’ve been reflecting on the lives of men and women in Scripture, one thing strikes me deeply: when God called them, they gave themselves fully. Their “yes” was not half-hearted—it was a lifelong surrender.

For Makayla and me, the Lord hasn’t shown us what the rest of our lives will hold, but He has spoken clearly for this next season: commit to Thailand. We came here ready to give 5 years. Now, we believe He's asking us to add five more—10 years in all.

To be honest, it’s not easy. We miss the simple joys of life back home. We long for the moments with family that we don’t get to share. But we’re reminded of Jesus, how He left the glory of heaven to walk among the lost and broken. If He gave everything, then how could we hold back our lives? This is our joy: to spend our one short life on what matters most…His Kingdom.

Base Eldership Role

Recently, I stepped into a new role on our staff team: serving on the Base Eldership Team. Alongside my usual responsibilities, I now have the privilege of helping to uphold the core of who we are as a Base: our Mission Statement, Mission Methods, Values, and Kingdom of God Culture Essentials (click here to read more). These are what make us uniquely YWAM Trang and are the specific ways God has led our team to operate in ministry and life.

So what does this mean practically? Simply put: to be a spiritual pillar for our team—to guard, protect, and nurture the call of God among us so that together, we stay faithful to His vision.

God’s Provision for a Ministry Vehicle

We did it! The truck is finally here. We were raising $20,000 for a ministry vehicle for YWAM Trang, and through everyone’s extreme generosity, we were able to purchase the truck. Now it is being sent off to be turned into a Songtow. This is a common form of transportation in bigger cities in Thailand, where the bed of a truck is turned into benches with a roof over the top. Unfortunately, public transportation is extremely limited in our small town, hence the need for a ministry vehicle. Once the truck is made into a Songtow, we’ll be able to take 16 people at once to any given ministry location!

3-year Rally

Another year has gone by for YWAM Trang! It was an exciting rally celebrating God’s faithfulness in keeping us here thus far. As you may know, somewhere around 80% of missionaries leave before two years on the mission field (they leave having initially planned to serve much longer). So it is by God’s grace that all but one of us have left the field. We have definitely beaten the odds and praise God for his grace in keeping us thus far.

Local Friendships

As always, little Hud is helping us get closer to our neighbors and build local friendships. In this picture, Hudson is showing off his new sunglasses to Uncle Ampone. We recently got new neighbors as well, who have a 9-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl. Hudson plays with them every day. We’re still gaining trust with their parents, but so far, the family seems very kind and warm. In fact, the mom actually knows of YWAM because she is the director of a local school in Trang, where our staff have taught English twice at her school already! Isn’t God good to be setting up connections like this for us?

Raising Support for 2-Month Outreach

Disclaimer: Please do not share this information.

This November, our family (with Hudson!) will travel with our team to an unreached nation for the two months of the Outreach phase. On outreach, we’ll lead on the ground—intercession, evangelism, and acts of compassion, totaling at least 50 hours of service per week. For security reasons, we can’t share the location, but this we can say: we’re going where the name of Jesus is rarely heard.

We're raising funds for the 2 months we will lead outreach. We need your help. If you'd like to give, click HERE. Thank you for your generosity.

Cost Breakdown:

Flights: $1,250

Visas: $375

Housing: $696

Food: $500

SIM: $62

Local transport: $150

Insurance: $200

Misc: $300

= $3,533

3 Year Wedding Anniversary

Back in June, we celebrated our third wedding anniversary! It’s been amazing to look back on the last few years and see God’s faithfulness in our marriage: from leading us to Thailand to gifting us with Hudson! Thank you to everyone who has supported our story along the way. We are so grateful to God for the many godly examples of marriages in our lives and the way that many of you pour into our marriage.

Special Message for Our Friends and Family

Hello friends and family! We love you guys so much and hope you all received our thank-you cards. We're grateful to God for you all and for taking the time to read our newsletter this month. Thank you for your support of the work in Trang, which God has given us. If you feel led to give toward the outreach that Erik and I will be leading in December-January, please follow this LINK to give. The cost for outreach will be ~$3,500. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers. If you would like to know more information about the outreach, the location, or just have questions, please message or email us privately. We just can’t share the location in this newsletter due to security reasons. Also, WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption and will be a great way for us to stay in touch, if you have the app, please add us. <3

The Gonzalez Family

Email: erik@ywamtrang.org

WhatsApp: Erik +66 098 226 6648

WhatsApp: Makayla +66 092 251 8509

Monthly Financial Update

Recurring support: $2342.55

Monthly costs: $2,300

One-time donations: $720.72

Have any questions?

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