Olabe – live and serve abroad

Until recently, Olabe was a 450 year old abandoned farm on the wild Basque coast. New owners Joseba and Joanna Attard have a clear vision to breathe new life into these ancient stones, converting Olabe and the surrounding land into a vibrant cultural hub – a place to be used for conferences, retreats, camps, courses, rural skills workshops, glamping, creative events and community activities.

Olabe is looking for financial investors to finish the project and support the mission in creating a place where people can “disconnect to reconnect” through using the farm to reconnect with nature and the Creator.

For more information: Contact us here 

Follow on Facebook and Instagram as olabeproject

Please consider contributing to the Olabe restoration project – click here.

Ukraine Assistance

We are in the long process of helping 8 Ukrainian women and their children resettle in Washington State.

Your donation will help them with housing, food, clothing, transportation and education. 

Click here make DONATION for Ukraine Assistance

To send a check to JOY Ministries
PO BOX 3410
Silverdale WA 98383

Making Disciples of All Nations

Jesus spent time building a relationship with people. This is a core value of what we do: relationships. To that end, we train the American families about the different culture and how to make a stranger a family member. The cross-cultural relationship begins before they even arrive to the US and will last a life time.

Jesus invited people to be his disciples, a more modern word apprentices, by first asking them to “come and see”. They were considered seekers. Jesus spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, answered their questions and allowed them to interact with other followers of Jesus.  It was a time where they saw his life, the fruit of his teachings and experienced his presence.

Jesus challenged the seekers to “follow me”. He wanted them to identify with him; to believe in who he was and obey all he was teaching. Jesus wanted the seekers to trust him to show them how to be like him – humble, loving, joyful, a peacemaker, just, merciful and participate as a citizen under the reign of the Creator God while in this world. The apprentice would enter into a transformation process we call spiritual formation.

Spiritual formation is not just a Christian thing. Spiritual formation is a human thing. It is what it means to become a person. Our society feeds and shapes our way of thinking and behaving through advertising, laws, social media, peer pressure, family, etc. and thus one embraces certain truths and practices that are forming them into the person they are today.

By discarding the old habits and way of thinking to put on a new habits and way of thinking like Jesus. We enter of journey that leads to life. This process happens when one cultivates a with-ness to Jesus as a baseline of one’s entire life.

A follower of Jesus not only learns to be with Jesus, becomes like Jesus, they do what Jesus did. As they are following Jesus they “fish for men”; they invite others to “come and see” and provide the opportunity for others to enter into the journey of following and being with Jesus. They mature in wisdom, for their love of God and their neighbor.

They begin to understand what it means to be ambassadors of Christ; to obey Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples…of all nations…”. Like Jesus they invite others to “come and see” and challenge them to be an apprentice following the Way of Jesus.

HOSTING: Building relationships is KEY

When staying in the States the foreign adults or students find it very interesting that the American family, with whom they are staying, receives no money to have them live with them.  The host family enjoys having their guests be part of their lives, learning about each other’s culture and family. This is a core value of what we do: relationships. To that end, we train the American families about the foreign culture and how to make a stranger a family member.

The cross-cultural relationship begins before the student or individual comes to the States via letters, social media or other online exchanges. We have hosted international students and individuals for over twenty years so we understand how critical it is for them to feel confident they will be safe, well cared for and loved.

By listening to each person’s story we gain a greater understanding of their world and allows us to introduce them to God’s story and how they are a part of it. We believe that providing opportunities for an individual to read, discuss and interact with the Bible enables God to work in their heart and mind making it real in their cultural context.

The participants are encouraged to put into practice truths and principles discovered while interacting with God’s word. In doing so, it allows God’s Spirit to change their heart, mind, will and behavior demonstrating to them his presence and where they fit in God’s story.

Our desire is for people to develop a trust in God’s word and a faith to follow Jesus with a grateful and obedient heart. We want them to share their story and help friends in their social network and family discover what it means to trust the God of the Bible and follow Jesus.

Contact us if you wish to host a student, participate or support a family.