A great week!

Hellllloooo everyone!!!!! So this past week was pretty crazy cool!

The week started with little sister running up to me and saying, "DEDE! DEDE!" It was a nice welcome home! On Friday I saw my teammates and then they came home with my Mommi and me. It was really fun, we got to dance with people for a wedding. All Bollywood style it was really funny. My friend S was kind of showing us how to dance. It was sooo fun!!!! They music was just a guy playing a big drum and hitting it with this crazy looking stick. It was pretty fun stuff, I wish you all could have been there to see it.

My neighbors have Mario Brothers!!!! : ) it's pretty cool we get to hang out and I practice my language with them, they practice their English, and we play Mario. It's great relationship building. It's pretty funny the things people don't have and the things they do (the things that supprise me are the TV's, video games, & Olay face cream). This week I learned how to sew beeds onto my dupata (scarf like thing that signifies a woman's virtue) my Papa said I could earn lots of money in this country. So now my dupata is all blinged out, it's pretty great!

I also was able to venture off to the market with my friend and her auntie. It was great, we went to the hair stylist (which was pretty sketchy looking). Auntie got her eyebrows done (by way of sewing string) it was pretty cool to see. She only payed like $00.12 cents it was pretty neat. Then my friend got her hair cut, they cut off what looked like a centemeter and she paid like $5. Then we went bangle shopping it was neat I got pink and white ones. I got to visit with my two littl name sake puppies. Puja the bunny died last week it was sad.

Elyon's Mom, Dad and little brother came to visit. They live really far away so it was great to see them and meet Elyon's mom and dad. It turns out Elyon's name is Greek for (God came down.....or something). Her dad went to seminary it was great to try and talk to him (try is the word........ language is rough man!). Aside from the fun family visit Elyon went home with her mom and dad. I was really sad, she was my little side-kick. We did tons of stuff together, we listened to my i-pod, play with my recorder, helped me learn the names of animals, and the body. We also would skip down the street and play hand clapping games, she's a pretty cool chica. So needless to say I was really sad to see her go but I'm going to go visit her with Mommi and Byaa next month.

It was a good week, a few weeks ago the highlight was watching squirrels eat cow poop.

I also got to tell my friend what I learned about in church that was cool. So we talked about the woman anointing JC's feet and the parable of the talents. It was sooo cool! Please be kneeling for S, she's a great friend and I love getting to know her. Please kneel that the Lord would be tugging at her heart and that I would be his tool.

Next week is my last week doing the homestay, I'm really going to miss my family! I have come to really enjoy being with them and miss them on my days out. Please be kneeling for a great final week in. Once I finish the homestay I'll be in my apartment solo 5 out of 7 days which is coool but could be lonely. Please be kneeling for the Lord to be setting up frienships with people that will live near my flat. Also kneel for S and our freinship to continue even when I'm not there are much.

K love ya'll Sarah

To View Pictures!

Hey everyone I added pictures and here's the link to get to them
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025650&l=54263&id=79801779
If you click on the pictures you can view them one by one and with comments/notes about what's going on in each picture. Also if you see the small picture and put your mouse on top of the picture the little comment will show.
: ) hope you love them! Sarah

A few Days Shy of the 1st Month!!!!

Hey Everyone! Greetings from South Asia!
So the time has flown by! The fist two weeks in my homestay have been AMAZING! I know that was something I've had all of you praying for, so thank you, thank you, thank you! My Family in the village are so amazing! They are followers of the Way and really love out Father. There have been some funny things that have taken place in the two weeks.
First I was a little sick when Imoved out there with some stomach issues sooo I decided I would skip dinner. My papa (dad in the homestay) was a little worried but I told him going to sleep would probably help. I really didn't want to go into what was wrong because it would have been really embarrassing and the language barrier was an issue. So as I was in bed trying to get some sleep and then my little sister (Ellyon) comes in. She is so cute, she doesn't speak much Enlgish but she just crawled up onto the bed and sat next to me and started praying over me. When she prays it's the cutest and most amazing thing to hear. She really know how to talk to the Father and with her whole heart and she's only 6!
So she came in and them Papa and brother came into the room with the pastor, then they all decided to pray for me. I told them it was just a stomach thing and wasnt such a big deal. But once again that didn't translate and prayer is prayer right! Take what you can get. It was just really funny to not be feeling that well and just want to get away and then you have just about the entier family in your room.
As the week went on I started to feel more and more at home. One afternoon I decided I would go take a nap downs stairs in my room but Mommi (Mommy) said I could not go down stairs because I would be alone and that might not be good (this is all what I picked up through the little amount of language I knew and gestures. So she said I could stay in the main room/really only room of the house and take a nap. In her bed/cot with her and little sister. It was funny but a good ice breaker at the same time. I knew the home stay would be an adventure and would get me more out of my box. I am a person who usually needs a fair amount of personal space but since being here you take what you can get. In all reality things that I used to really care about back in the States are starting to fade-away ( i.e. Peronsonal space, food likes and dislikes, germ-aphobia, and the need for a shower/splash bath everyday. Now it has come to where a great highlight is the days I get to bathe!!!! You see I don't want my family to think I'm more high-maintenance than what is absolutely necessary : )
My language tutor is amazing! I just love her! She is a sweet sister in the Way and a true encourager, I think she's going to be a good friend to have. She has been teaching me all the basics. First I learned the basics: greetings, how to buy fruit, how to get an auto rickshaw, counting, fruit names and veggie names, family member's names, and I learned two stories! : ) the first story is when JC calms the storm and the second is the plan of salvation.
I've had the chance to tell my whole family JC calms the storm story and they've helped me with pronunciation. I then went out and told the kids that live on my block (I used pictures too so that if I did say a word wrong they would get the basic idea).
I had a chance to share the Plan with someone. There was a group of us there and a national follower who really explained everything to the man much more in full. And he came to JC!!!!
It was totally amazing! Be praying for him as he does not live near any other followers that he knows of.

I would love to tell all of you about playing badminton. One night my Byaa (brother) had just come home from playing badminton with some friends I really wanted to play. I've noticed in this culture girls don't really play many sports but I've been itching to get more active. So I told him I played tennis in the states and has play badminton a few times and would love to play sometime. Byaa decided that we would just go play right then in front of the house it was so fun. The all the kids started coming out of their houses and watching and then playing too. The best was this little guy name Raj (his name means King in Hindi). Raj is paralized from the waist down and drags his leggs behind him but I thought I would really love to see him hit. From dragging himself around all day he must have some strong arms and great hand eye coordination so he played. He was stinking amazing! He has the most amazing smile! It was such a joy to play with him and see the other kids play with him too.

This past week I signed a lease on a great flat. I will be sharing with another girl. It's on the second floor of a three floor house. Each floor of the house is like it's own apartment. I will post pictures once we get it clean and move in. The landlord is sooo sweet. He's just so adorable, he's in his 80's. We were told to call him daddy-g (g is a sign of honor and respect at the end of a name). When we were there to sign the lease their entier family came over. Two daughters, a son-in-law, and a granddaughter. It has big trees around it that amazing bird live in, Daddy-G feeds them on the first floor so they hang around the flat a lot. They bring a peaceful feeling to the place.

Well my mind is feeling a little scrambled so I probably should head out. Thanks again everyone I hope you love the pictures!

10 days in

Hey Everyone!

The first week in country has been amazing! I've been getting introduced to my new home and have had a blast checking it all out. I've made some pretty cool freindships already and have had a chance to Story from The Book yesterday. My teammates and I went to a school in the East section of out Mega-city. The East section is very poor and a lot of people have relocated there because the government destroyed their houses for being on goverment property. The Non-Government Organization that introduced us to the school is really amazing. They have a community outreach that works with women in the community and children. It's really amazing! We're not sure if we'll be teaming up with them to work long term yet......we should know pretty soon. Please be kneeling for my team's leadership in who/where we should work.

Since arriving in South Asia I've been in a 10 day South Asia cultural training with 14 other people that are new to South Asia as well. It's been pretty cool stuff. We finish up training tomorrow. On Wednesday I move into my home stay. They will know no/little English. The Home Stay is three weeks long and should be an adeventure. My boss has described it with exciting terms like Rustic. In other words it will be like camping! Please pray for my while I adjust. I haven't been sick yet but it's needed to get used to the new bacteria.

Love you all lots, Sarah

I Made it!

Hey everyone!
I arrived in South Asia and love it! I've been here now three days. This has been my first chance to get online. Lets just say jet lag has been running its course, ha. Yesterday I went to bed at 5pm and got up around 7 am, it was wonderful. I've been shopping and got some fun cultural clothes. I've made some cool national freinds that I hope to get together with for coffee in the next few days. The food is amazing! I love it! The weather has been really mild in the 60's and up. Please be kneeling for me as I seek out language tutors and for me to be intentional and follow Dad in who He's calling me to build relationships with. You guys are such a blessings, thank you for kneeling and encouraging me. Please kneel for the people of South Asia!
Love lots, Sarah

HeyEveryone! So these last few weeks I have done A LOT of driving. The drive from Virginia to Alabama was pretty cool. I actually found out why the Misty Mountains were called the Misty Mountains. I think they should change the name to REALLY winding road, ZERO VIZABILITY, and scary mountain to attempt to stay on. It was really an adventure. Growing up in Northern California I thought I knew all about thick fog, lol.
A funny thing I saw while driving was a brown SUV dressed up like a reindeer that even had a red nose, I thought Buddy the Elf from Elf would have liked it. When I was driving in North-Western Oklahoma I saw a very peculiar sign on the side of the road. Hitch Hickers Might may be Escaping inmates, it was a true highlight.
The next day while leade North Western Oklahoma an entier flock of small birds flew inot the side of my car. There was nothing I could do but watch puffs of feathers fly off my cars one by one, it was really sad. TumbleWeeds blow like crazy on the windy roads. They come in all sizes, each time one would come rolling towards my car at high speeds I would brace for their impact. Each tumble weed hitting my car would turn out to be nothing, it was really funny after like the 20th hit.
The adventure continued while driving into Flagstaff there were spots of snow on the ground. I thought it was pretty then I got closer to Flagstaff and flakes turned into what looked like a whiteout effect. As I got to Flagstaff it changed into a winter storm. Getting out was a little challenging but let me tell you, the Father was with me as we drove on in the adventure. Feeling totally isolated yet held in His hands was a little taste of what living overseas might be like and the kind of trust I will continue to give Him.
The driving hasn't stop since arriving to Half Moon Bay. Visiting family in Santa Barbara, and experiencing Disneyland with my littlest cousin..... really a blessing. There's a ride in Fantasy Land made to be like themovie Peter Pan. As Nathaniel (littlest cousin), Teal (cousin) and I flew over London in a pirate ship and followed the 2nd star from the right to Neverland there were hundreds of lights "stars". It reminded me that the Father knows every star by name, it was such a bleesing to talk with Nate about the Fathers love for him.
While In Southern California i visited Vista and Oak Hills(a group of brothers and sisters in C that i worked wih a year 1/2 ago. It was a rich blessing to have fellowship with them.


Stay tuned, one week from today I'll take off for South Asia :)

December/January Knee Bending

Hey there everyone! Happy holidays! I hope all of you had an amazing Christmas. It’s such a wonderful time of year to think about what Emmanuel means, “G with us”. While standing there thinking of all the people that haven’t been told about the One who came to the earth to bring us back to Him.

Thank you for all your words to the Father, these past few weeks have been very busy for me. The sessions/classes all went well, I feel like I’ve learned more than is possible in such a short amount of time. I feel better equipped for the task and can not wait to arrive in South Asia. After the commissioning I had a wonderful amount of time to decompress and unwind. The drive from the East Coast to the West Coast was amazing, there were a lot of stops to see family and friends. I made it home on the 23rd and enjoyed a great dinner with my siblings and my parents. I leave for South Asia on January 12th yayyy. It’s pretty exciting and I really can’t wait to start building relationships and just get over there.

Here are some ways you can be kneeling for me:
-A great visit with my family and a good departure
-For me to be a diligent language learner and to pick it up as quick as possible
-to build amazing relationships with nationals
-that the language intensive home stay I’ll be doing goes good and there’s abundant sowing taking place

Well I hope everyone has a great New Years, I look forward to hearing from each of you when you get a chance.
Thank you so much each and everyone of you who is kneeling for me, it is the foundation of everything the Father will be using me for there.
In C, Sarah

Greetings from the East Coast!

Friends and Family I am so excited to have you partnering with me and my people (of South Asia) in knee bending. This is the first of many updates you will be receiving over the next two years as I live in South Asia. If by some chance you have received this e-mail and do not wish to get updates please let me know it will be no problem to remove a name.

I know it has been a while since I have had a chance to visit with some of you and I am sorry for that. I hope these e-mails will feel like we are sitting across from one another sharing about what our lives have been like and what’s been going on. I have spent the last three weeks on the East Coast at training for my job. I have been taking classes in ESL (English as a Second Language) and classes on being prepared for the task. There have been some amazing sessions about what to expect while living overseas, relationship building advise and some very sweet friendships have started. I know these next 6 weeks will fly by but there’s a lot of ground to be covered in there. Please be kneeling that I would be well rested and alert while in classes, that I would retain all the information needed and would take advantage of every learning opportunity. My family has been good with this direction I am following but please be lifting them up in this time also. It’s not always easy and there are still some rough patches with where I’m going and how they’re doing with it.
Some other things to be seeking Dad about are the people group I will be working with that their heart would be prepared for Truth. Dad has been in that country long before any of us even existed and he will be there long after us but please be kneeling for South Asia. Please be kneeling for the fellow national brothers and sisters living there under persecution that they would find the strength through the Pneuma to stand; also please kneel for fellow brothers and sisters from the states that are over there that they would be lead by Pneuma everyday in their various jobs of service to Dad.

Thank you and bless you all.
Love, Sarah

Here are some notes from my brain:
Verses: Mark 1.18, Psalm 143. They’ve been really encouraging and humbling in this time of preparation.
Songs: “Awaken” by Natalie Grant and “From The Inside Out” by HIllsong United