So it's been a long time...SORRY :)

Hello everyone!
So it's been a really really long time!
News:
A team from California is here right now (9 people)
The team is AMAZING! They've been troopers at staying awake during training. They've also been taking what they've learned and speaking to nationals about spiritual things. What a true blessing! We start ESL class on Monday. We will be working in 4 places all week. It's gonna be great! I can't wait to see what the Father does.
Two days after the team leaves I leave too. I'll be moving to England. Yessssss! That's right, I'm moving for a few months. I'll be re-locating to England for two months. Then I'll come back to South Asia for two months....then my job is finished :/
It's so weird to think about......I've lived in South Asia for 17 months.....and it's coming to a close. It's hard to think about. Saying goodbye to my Indian village mommy for two months was hard enough....but having to say goodbye to her for a year or two.......I'll be leaning on the Lord to help me through that. Goodbyes are always different but these goodbyes might break my heart into pieces. Mommy cried over me, then I cried. Papa was sweet....his words to help fix it. "It's okay....she will call us....Yes she will call us from England!"
Darn right Papa, I will call! My sister Gita was there too, she'll be getting phone calls too! I'm going to miss her so much, my nieces too. Good thing I've been making so wonderful memories with them all.
I've been learning how to do Henna. My nieces where the first to let me try on them. My roomie let me try today. It's been great. Each henna design has a story that goes with it. A story that tells the listener about the Lord. It's a wonderfully creative way to tell people about HOPE. So far each hand gets better and better. I hope to get REALLY good at it so I can start having Henna parties. There is a chance I'll be doing henna parties in England with South Asians there. I can't wait. There are so many cool things waiting to be done in England. Please be kneeling for that right now. The possibilities of what the Lord will do there are limitless. Be kneeling that he shows them to his people and that we would follow faithfully and do.

So since January.....my teammates have both gone off to two different countries and come back. Stac/roomie went to Nepal. She had an amazing time, she got to test our ESL stuff there and help form relationships with Nepali people. Kristin went to B-dsh. She had an amazing time as well. She tested a lot of different ESL sets. February was spent getting ready for Stacey and Kristin to go. We worked really hard on our story set for the ESL. If we're going to be professionally published by October we have to get things just right. In March Stacey and I got to play Holi with our Indian friend Manisha. It was a blast!!!! It was amazing to get to play with people our age and throw color on everyone and anyone. It was a true Indian Holi experience.
After Holi Stacey and I went off to Bollywood for a long weekend. Our sweet dear friend Martha lives there. She used to live here in the big-D for a few months. When she lived here all three of us became good friends. It was sad to see her move away but we knew the Father had amazing things in store for her in her new city. Would you know it....He DID! We got to go around with her, she the work she's doing there. Meet some nationals that are really special to her. We also got to meet up with some nationals that are special to me! My 4 sisters live in Mumbai. So we met up with them and my little niece Anya. It was a really cool day. My sisters are so fun! There are 6 of them and I've got to visit with 5 of them, the 6th lives in Spain. I'll be seeing her in October when my term is finished. I'm going to go visit her and my little nephew.
My Byaa also has had his engagement canceled since the last update. This may not sound like a happy thing but it is! There was a little bit of a Jacob-Rachel-Leah thing going on. He was in love with the younger sister and wanted to get married to her. However it might have been Indian customs or Fathers doing what they thought was best. it turned out Byaa got had his engagement set for the older sister. The older sister was over the moon about it but Byaa and the girl he loves was not. it was causing problems within her family and Byaa's. He was worried but didn't know what to do. He knew he needed to respect his family....well his mom and dad. So he moved forward with the engagement and tried to be happy and learn to love the girl.
It didn't work.
Byaa called many times to ask me (his sister) for advice. There wasn't much I felt I could tell him to do. Being from a different culture I know there is a part of India I will never understand fully and so giving advice could cause bigger problems for Byaa and in the family. What I could give him advice on was continuing to pray to his faithful Father God. He had stopped praying to God because God had not done anything to help him yet. So we talked about that. Abraham waited almost three decades for the promised son he was to have.....God acts on his timing not ours. Who are we to demand things of the Father. So i reminded him to wait.....and never stop praying EVER. That's how we have a relationship with God. That's what makes our God different from any other god. He listens to us, has a personal relationship with us and acts our of love for us. If you cut off that relationship because things are not going the way you want then why follow him. This special and amazing God we serve is not a magic genie who gives us only what we want....he is not Santa clause. He is the Lord most high. His ways are much higher that our ways and he desires us to be faithful to him.

Well as it turned out Byaas fiance had some bad habits and our sister decided Byaa should not marry her. Papa, Mommy, Older Byaa, and my sisters agreed and the Engagement was ended.
Byaa is much happier and very thankful. Isn't it amazing! Please pray for Byaa, his ex-fiance and both families.
Well so much more has gone on here but I'll have to chat about that another time....my time is up.
Blessings!

IT'S 2010! WOW~

Hey everyone...or who ever reads these blog posts :)
So the new year has come! This holiday season flew by SO FAST! I'm sure it did for some of you as well. I spent Christmas in a different state near the border of Burma. It was really amazing and totally different but also in some ways the same.
The people of Mizoram are 98% Christian! Crazy RIGHT! More like amazing! A hundred years ago or so two m's from America (or England I'm not sure) came to the state and brought the word of Life. As a whole the massive tribe decided this was true and they would from then on leave their animistic beliefs (worship of ancestors and fear of the spirit world) behind them.

Well now it's been a few generations and as a whole the state knows about Christ. Now just like America and many Western countries that doesn't necessarily mean they have a relationship with Christ....the term nominal ism comes to mind. The culture there was not like India at ALL! They are so much more peaceful and generally happy people. They speak a different language too! But India had over 100 or so different spoken languages so that's not too much of a shock. The language spoken in Mizoram is Mizo. Before the M's came to their state they didn't have a script or education. They were hunter gatherer people. They live in quite possibly one of the most beautiful places I have EVER seen. The people look so different from most Indians too. They look Thai or Vietnamese. They also eat BEEF! :) YES that's right they eat cows! Healthy cows that are fed grain and grass! Here in my city they don't eat cows and cows wonder down the street and people leave food out for them but the cows also eat garbage (just like the street dogs). It's pretty gross here to see cows but cows there.....look so healthy! It reminded me of the cattle in Oklahoma and Texas.
Any how back to the trip. I spent Christmas with my friend Mai and her family. It was such a great trip. Getting to know a different side of this country was really great. They're way of life is very western but still South Asian. Christmas was a lot similar to America except everything was said, read and sung in Mizo. It gave me a lot of time to look around and pray for the people I was seeing when I had no idea what exactly they were saying. During Christmas service though it wasn't too hard to imagine what was being said and some of their Christmas songs are just like ares but different words. It was really neat. I was blessed to get to invest in and encourage my dear friend Mai. I was worried about her possibly wavering in her faith once she moved back to a mostly nominal society. Well I guess worried is not the right word but I was praying for her a lot for strength and many great personal encounters with her Savior.
Once we had time to chat and get beyond the surface level of our girl instincts ( to SHOP, SHOP, SHOP and chit-chat) we had some really great times of encouraging each other. From meeting some of her old high school friends it was so clear that our worlds really are not that different in our hometowns. Even though she lives in a big city everyone knows everyone else. Their sense of community reminded me a lot of Half Moon Bay in some ways. Her friends are not really followers of Christ (they have grown up in a Christian culture but that's about as deep as they possibly go) so that leaves her a little alienated when she's not with her family. It was really neat to be able to relate to that and really know a lot of how she possibly feels. The plus side is she's been hanging out with some people that really do love Christ and serve him each day. It reminded me of iron sharpening iron from Proverbs.
Please continue to lift up Mai as she helps her mom who is sick but they dont know with what. He mom's illness was the reason Mai moved back. Please be lifting up her mom she's a really sweet and amazing woman! Also be praying for her sister. Her sister and I became good friends too. I can't wait for them to come visit their aunt in my city so we can hang out and encourage one another. Her dad was a fun dude too. Her dad, sister and I went on a hike with him in the mountains so I could take in the fresh Mizo air and see an actually blue sky. IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL! God's creation just puts me in a state of awe some times!
Well there are tons and tons of stories from Mizoram but so much has gone on lately that I need to move to the next topic :)

Once I returned from Mizoram I had a half a day to sleep and then got right back on the work horse. We've had A TON of meetings lately. With the New Year coming and the budget crisis and new goals needing to be set my team has been crazy busy. Oh....I guess crisis isn't the right word....I mean there's a little stress over it but all the people I've talked to heard from are actually pretty peaceful about it and know the Lord's hand with continue to bless the work going on here and a little cash flow issue isn't going to hold our Lord back AT ALL.
So in between meetings I've been traveling a lot this month. I've been to my friend Bhavna's village a few hours away. It was really fun. Her sister just had a baby, I became friends with her family a few days before her sisters wedding. Her sister got married almost a year ago when I was still living in a little village outside the mega city. Well since meeting her family they've been a main aspect of my personal ministry. So when her sister had the baby she was taken MANY hours away to a TRUE village. Where I stayed was more like a urban slum that is slightly rural but not really. A true village is rural as rural gets and India at one of it's bests. So I spent a day with Bhavna's siblings and herself in a different state.
On the 1st my Byaa (brother) from the village got engaged. His name is Aakosh. So with 12 other people we crammed into a 9 seater car and drove 10 hours into who knows where. We were going to Byaa's fiance's family's house for the official engagement. It was so amazing to see a Christian engagement and for it be my Byaa's. He's really just as special to me as my brothers in America, the only difference is he's really kind to me :) He's really been a great friend to have here, you see in this culture girls and guys ARE NOT FRIENDS because it's not appropriate. So since he's been my brother it's acceptable.

His friendship reminds me of how my cousin Andre and I are friends. You see since coming here my cousin has become engaged and will be married this summer and I wont be able to attend because of visa stuff, money stuff and vacation time. So being here for Byaa's is in a way like being at my cousin's. It makes not being there to see Andre marry his Heidi a little easier.
Well you may wonder why an engagement is such a big deal but in South Asia you're just as good as married once the engagement service takes place. Rings are exchanged, prayers of blessings are given, and they couple is officially allowed to talk to one another leading up to the wedding.
(This is only one way engagements happen here there are tons of different ways people go about it here but most of the ways it's done is way different than America). It's a very special moment for both families to be involved in.
So going to meet Sumon (Byaa's fiance was nice) she's a great woman of God that will love Byaa and they'll serve God together. Please be praying for them as there are some less than ideal issues surrounding their engagement. It's an arranged marriage and a complication or two has been around for a few months. Please pray for there two young believers as they seek to be married and bring two families to be one.

Christmas is so soon!!!! The Christmas season started with a boom....there was a big Thanksgiving party with a ton of Ex-Pats it was a blast. Well now the weeks have been going by so fast Christmas will be here in less than two weeks :)
Please kneel for the Christmas parties we've been having here with our South Asian friends. I've had a number of wonderful opportunities to tell people about the REAL reason for Christmas. All the with birth of the baby King that was promised thousands of years before. Please continue to lift up the work here in South Asia. Please ask the Father to open the ears and hearts of the people who will hear about Chr1st this winter season.

Other things that would be great to have lifted up to the Father:
Budget issues and the stretched finances for my company in the coming year
Lottie Moon Chr1stmas Offering :)
My trip to the North East of my country for Chr1stmas with my national friend
Visa issues in my South Asia country. (There's a new Visa policy that is causing a lot of stress. Many things are being canceled or changed for this. Please ask the Father to show himself mightily to all of us in this situation)
K it's late and I have some meetings tomorrow that I need to be up EARLY for.
Loves and hugs!
Sar

:)

Hey everyone! Just wanted to see who's reading this. Please post a note.

So today was a computer work day. It went well and was pretty darn cool. The day was spent looking through Proverbs and 1st and 2nd Samuel. It was pretty cool trying to tie a Proverb to stories in David and Saul's life. The whole day reading scripture was so relaxing and exciting. There were so many things that made more sense when read in one sitting.

Today I came away with: David's true respect for God's anointed one! Even when Saul was being horrible to David and acting crazy David still did not harm him because he was God's anointed one. Then I thought what my sins did to the True Anointed One, and how the sins I continue each day hurt him. I aim to be more like David.

Prayers needed

So I was headed out this morning to meet with a friend and see some of the city but before jumping in the shower I checked my e-mail. When I opened my e-mail I found a link to a Santa Maria California news site, at the site I saw a picture of my cousin's husband and went on to read that he had died. It's not the sort of information I would ever hope to get over the internet but as my mother told me the situation permitted it since she lost my number along with everyone else's.

He was a California Highway Patrol officer in Santa Barbara and lived just up the mountain from SB. My cousin has been married about 5 years now but dated Jerrod for many years, they have a daughter (Julia) who is 4. I have a lot of memories of Jerrod being this cool dude who was dating Tricia and was really helpful to my grandmother around the house. He was a really sweet guy with a great sens of humor and a good laugh. If you remember a few months back my grandmother suddenly passed away. My grandmother raised my cousin and was a major part of her life, they were just coping with that loss as best they could. I've just talked with Tricia her and Julia are doing as best they can but please pray, pray hard for them. They are trying to get through it right now.

I'm not sure how other people and their cousins are but to me they are just about as close as siblings. There were six on my dad's side that lived down the street from us and then two on my mother's side in Santa Barbara. My mom, her mom and sister's were close and Tricia is like a daughter to my mother and her other aunt. Please be kneeling for my Aunt Eileen and my mom as they aid Tricia in any way they can.

I know the Lord will bring glory to himself in all situations, but not everyone believes that. Please ask the Lord to show himself mightily and to be seen clearly through those that follow Christ and interact with Tricia and Julia.

While I was reading last night I came across this verse.......it's really cool and for some reason just touches mu heart.

"From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed.

From prophets to priests, they are all frauds.

They offer superficial treatments for my people's mortal wound.

They give assurance of peace when there is no peace.

Are they ashamed....they dont even know how to blush."

Jeremuah 6.13-15

I love this because during this time God's children were really bad at following him....ALL of them even the spiritual leaders of the country. There's a lot about these verses that remind me of India and my heart just breaks for this place. Please pray for this country, pray that many would have the assurance of God's peace that heals mortal wounds to give life everlasting.

Making Cookies at 4:30 AM

GOOD Morning! Since I returned from America my sleep schedule is all messed up. I also have been sick and slept some really odd hours to help that go away. Well the sickness and the sleeping problems aren't going away. Yesterday and the day before I woke up at 4:30 am, it was cool I had some things I could do while I wasn't sleeping. Last night I went to bed at 5:30pm and woke up at 9pm so then I couldn't go to sleep alllllllll night. So I spent the night doing random things to keep occupied.....sleep was not one of those things. Finally after thinking about food and how I need to try and cook more or bake more I decided to do something about it. So at 4 am I got out of my bed and went to the kitchen to see what I could make. I thought about chicken and mashed potatoes but we didn't have any potatoes and I wasn't in the mood to eat. Since I didn't want a meal I came to the conclusion that making cookies would be a good idea......ha.
So as I got the mix out, added the egg and butter I started baking. The first two batches were pretty good, but not amazing. Earlier in the night I was talking with a friend that lives over here and she was telling me the secret to making good cookies is to make them with love. At first I thought she was joking with me but she was serious. I thought I would try it her way and make cookies with all the love I have in my little exhausted heart at 4:30 in the morning.
I said earlier the first two batches were okay, not amazing but okay......well then came the third batch. I did the usual measured out the blobs of dough and put them on the metal sheet. After placing the cookies in the little convection oven thing I went into my room to continue reading my bible and studying about the book of Jeremiah. I was waiting for the "ding" that let me know the cookies were done (just like I had done with the two batches prior). When the "ding" went off I went to get out the cookies.......
Here is the scene........
I put down my little bible and study book about Daniel, step off the bed and put my house shoes on. As I leave my room and head to the kitchen I am really excited about the cookies, I was thinking about how I could surprise my roommate when she got back from her vacation in two days with some cookies. As I enter the kitchen there is a strange billowing of smoke coming from the oven. My first thought was, "YIKES! I think my oven is malfunctioning! MONSTER!!!!! The cookies! The amazing chocolate chips I brought from America (you can't but Chocolate chips here you have to bring them in a suitcase). OH MAN! WOW! The smoke is really coming out!"
So I run over and open the oven and take out the pan. The cookies are CHARRED! I start trying to think what could have happened I know I am not the best in the kitchen but wow this was BAD. My first though, power surge.......the power must have done something wrong and my oven has to be messed up. It's a possibility because the wall socket it plugs into is problematic and electricity is always a little strange around here. After more thought I came to the conclusion that the butter and the egg might not have mixed in as well as I thought they did.
While all this is going on in my head tons of black smoke is leaving my open kitchen window and going into the people upstairs bedroom window. (there is this big 7x7 open window space in the middle of my apartment. It is in the middle of all three apartment floors.....it's the same opening and the people upstairs have their window open) I bet that was a really nice smell to wake up to, REALLY BURNT COOKIES.

I came to the conclusion I should not be allowed to cook in the kitchen, or more practically I should always stay right next to what ever it is that I am making.

One Year in......One Year to Go!

Hey Everyone!
It's been a really long time. Things here have been really great.....very busy as well.
Since starting our three nights a week English class it has been crazy busy!!! Classes started and we had to rush getting each story and lesson done. It was a 12 week set and right now we have two weeks until we finish. It's been amazing working in the neighborhood we already kind of knew.
Besides doing the three day a week ESL class Stacey and I do a once a week class in a different slum. It's been really neat to see the differences between the two. Stacey and I have also been doing a weekly training with two national believers on how to enrich their ministry and a new tool of telling people about Jesus. Our boss has also started a weekly session with my team and some other people on how to use more stories and see the set she and her husband worked on for the last 4 years.
Besides work I've been busy with a trip to America. The trip was for my best friend's wedding. It was really nice to be back in the states and see her wedding. My parents came to Fort Worth to meet up with me a few days before the wedding. We had fun going around Dallas and Fort Worth....I had a great time going to Wal-Mart, the mall, and eating American food.
After the wedding I went to Oklahoma for two days to speak at some churches and visit with friends.
Being back in South Asia has been really nice, things have been really busy. There are some new people that just arrived and it was my Birthday. Yayyy for being 24...I guess. I know 24 isn't that old but it just seems strange. When I was younger I had big dreams on where I would be and what I would be doing. I don't think I ever really saw my life taking the path it has taken. It's really amazing to see how God can really change a person and change what they can do. Three years ago I was able to go on my first trip overseas. They trip was in Thailand and Laos, I fell in love with both countries and the Southeast Asian people. That's where I first knew I wanted to live overseas one day and be apart of something bigger than me or my dreams. Living in South Asia is a lot different than Southeast Asia and America at that but I love it. "Just follow the Lord, he wont lead you wrong." That's what my great aunt Sis said when I told her I was thinking of doing m-work outside of the states. It's so true, I would have never chosen this place or path for me but it's so totally fitting. I love that each day is an adventure and I love the friendships I have with these people. Some days this country drives me crazy but it's okay.....some days America drives people crazy too I guess. I have no idea where the Lord is taking me next but that's okay. I have no idea where I'll be after next October or what I'll be doing and right now I'm okay with that. I trust the one I am following and will go where I am told and reap the blessings and continue to grow in the Lord.

Bad Day

Hey everyone! So I was talking with my roommate the other day. We both realized that usually when we write we write about the good days or the amazing stuff but never about the hard stuff or the stinky days. Well today has been a hard day! Nothing really big has happened that made it a hard or bad day. Usually it is a lot of little things that to a bad day, or sometimes just waking up in a bad mood. Today was not only a bad mood day but auto drivers drove me nuts. I realize that when you read this most of you will have been having a good day and will think well she just needs to gt over it or deal with it. I just wanted you guys to know that its days like today i really need your prayers and encouragement. Its days like today that make living here hard....when nothing in particular is going wrong. I love all of you and know you are behind me and lifting me up. I love this place, it's home but today I just wanted to be honest with you guys about the low points too.
Love, Sarah

Back!

Hey everyone! So I'm back in South Asia. After meetings and a training in Thailand I was ready to go on vacation. I went to Australia for a few days to visit some old friends and had a totally amazing time. There were meetings about changes taking place in the company and some about encouraging each other. The best times however were spent out side of meetings talking with friends that live in different places and hearing their advice on serving the Lord. It was really helpful and encouraging, sometimes the struggles or fears that occur here are only best worked through by receiving godly advise from brothers and sister that have been there before and can speak truth over you.
After the meetings finished I left to go to a training, the training was helpful but it mostly a lot of oral reciting............however I had a really bad cold and couldn't really talk. It was interesting when I had to give presentation and a song, a lot of squeaks came out and some sounds that resemble a goose. Everyone was rolling with laughter all I could do was smile, it was hard not having a voice (anyone who knows me knows I'm not shy and usually I am a pretty talkative person). In the evenings I had a blast riding around on a motorbike with my teammate. It was so nice to be in control of the vehicle and not have to bargain for a price on where to go. It was so nice being back in Thailand....I have loved going there over the years. However this trip was different from the others, my first time in Thailand and Laos I never wanted to leave. I knew my heart would leave a piece of it when my time came to head back to the states. My second time in Thailand it was nice to be back and see the country I first feel in love with overseas. However being back this time it felt like a stranger compared to India.....and India still feels like person I don't know well enough either. It's pretty amazing how the Lord has truly grown my heart for a country I only went to because he led me there, when I first was looking to move overseas I had a desire to move to Wales but the Lord had a way of knowing was needed somewhere else. I could never have known before hand the lives I would be welcomed into and possibly have the chance to change forever through sharing with them the hope within my soul. The hope of glory that is in Jesus Christ.
After coming back to my apartment it just feels like home. Being in Thailand helped make this country feel more like home. Leaving Thailand for my vacation was amazing. The people I visited in Australia were two amazing friends! The first was a camp counselor when I was in high school. She was really encouraging and the example of godly woman to a group of silly high school kids in America. The second was the sister of my camp counselor. We worked on a team together in America serving in a low income area in southern California (we helped to put on a sports Vacation Bible School and also worked on outreach). While working together she and I became amazing friends. When the summer was over and she left to go back to Australia I promised her I would visit and almost 4 years later got to follow through. Praise the Lord for cheap airline tickets and for vacation days!

VACATION

Vacation here I come! So tomorrow I leave for Thailand for yearly meetings and trainings. I cant wait! I love Thailand it was the first country the Lord lead me to and the people there are a lot different from the people here so it will be a nice change for the 2 weeks. After my meetings I head to Malaysia for a 15 hour layover then off to Australia. I cant wait! The Lord's blessings and rest while I am with friends and mentors will be amazing.

Love you all and hope this finds you well.

LUKE 18:1-8 ITS AMAZING

Hello JULY!

Hello July!

July has been a great month! There has been a lot of great work going on here but also a break at time too! It's been really nice!

So I will attach the Pr@yer update so those of you who might not get it can see and if you already have seen it can continue to kneel :)

but before I do that......

keeping in the blog fashion i guess i should give a quick update that doesnt make it into my e-mails. Things here are great! Today I had a really good language lesson with my helper and look forward to going to teach ESL tonight in a slum neighborhood my teammate and I have started working in. Oh and a prasie! I was going to have a boss change take place but the Lord has been really cool and the higher ups have allowed the boss of my team to stay the same :)

Hello!

So these last few months have been very busy! I know it has been a while since I last wrote. There has been some amazing stuff taking place here so here is few things that the Lord has been doing here J


1. A team of four amazing godly women from Liberty University came to work with my team on our “Teach to Reach Team”. Teaching to reach is teaching ESL and bible stories along with ESL. The girls were here for two weeks. Two of the girls stayed at my roommate and I’s flat and the other two at our teammate’s flat. In the morning they taught Vacation Bible School to immigrant children from Nepal in a low income neighbor hood. The girls were amazing! The place where the VBS was held was at a new planted fellowship that meets in a basement. The first day we arrived there were power cuts so we taught the VBS in the dark and by candle light. The girls were great and even with the CRAZY heat in the basement, no lights and no fans it went amazing. The week of VBS was really fruitful and helped to get the fellowship known in the neighborhood. In the evenings the girls taught ESL, ESL was great we had a few parents of the children come and a lot of young adults.
One amazing story from that week is about a young woman. She is from the highest caste here, and is Hindu yet she just felt drawn to the fellowship and to come hang out and learn more about who Christ is. She has faced opposition in her family because her father is a religious leader of some sort in their area and her hanging around believers brings disgrace to her family. Even through the opposition she still came and even helped to serve food at meal time (since she is from the Brahman caste we were told that serving food to us she was defiling herself). This young woman needs a lot of prayers! Please pray for her to learn more as she reads the bible and learns about the person of Christ. It seems that sometimes it is easy for a Hindu to just add Jesus to the many gods they already worship. Please pray for the Lord to show himself greatly to this young woman.
Please be praying for the new fellowship that’s just been started, pray for it’s leadership and the members. Please also pray for the children and the young adults in the neighborhood that came to VBS and ESL that the truths they learned would be upon their hearts and would tug at them.

2. A new neighborhood! My roommate and I have been working together in a neighborhood for a month or two now. There has been mixed responses, some people have been coming out of the wood works in some areas to come a learn while another part it was not well received. Both of these responses is all a part of the work here but with the type of work I am doing there is a fair amount of integrity involved in teaching ESL through stories. We want people to know we are teaching practical English but bible stories too, we don’t want to hide the fact that we are using stories to help teach. Please be praying for our national partner in that neighborhood. He is a great man of the Lord, please pray for our work with him to continue to be fruitful and glorify the Lord. However sometimes it seems like he is mainly wanting people to come to his church and that is his main goal…..so it’s almost like my team and the pastor are working towards different goals. Our goal is to get into the neighborhood form relationships teach the word of God, and go from there….we are not concerned about talking about churches from the get-go. Last week our national partner wasn’t able to meet up with us when we went in, but through it just being two young Americans we were able to spend more time forming relationships with the people we teach. There is a family in that neighborhood that has adopted my teammate and I as their two daughters. We spent a great amount of time cooking together and hanging out. Please pray for that relationship and for opportunities to continue to share the Lord with them.

3. My little sister from the village was able to come and stay the night with my teammate and I. WE HAD A BLAST! We played field hockey in the hallway, watched Hindi cartoons about The Jungle Book, ate some really good food and a great time with the Lord. She is six and is on fire for anything about the Lord. When my teammates teach bible stories to the women from the church in the village she learns them too. A few funny events about her staying here: she was introduced to Jelly Belly Beans! She loved them, I look them out as a treat after we ate. She was amazed that each had a different flavor and loved all the flavors she had. Watching her face at each new one she tried was hilarious. Before we ate anything thing, a snack, supper, or breakfast we had a wonderful prayer time. When it came time to go to bed we prayed and the girl was so funny…..she thanked God for every major appliance in the house (the fridge, the microwave, the oven, the stove that we made tea on, the AC, the fans, my laptop that we watched the show on and the water pump). Along with her prayer of thanksgiving for the material possessions the flat has she prayed very specifically for each of her family members and for her aunt Sarah and aunt Stacey (my teammate that lives in our flat too). In the morning I made us some pancakes, the kid loved them! She commented that they were very sweet and that she really likes American food.
4. The team!
There were going to be some changes made to our team because of the Company Reorganization that takes full effect in a few weeks. I had some thoughts on the changes that might take place with the changing of supervisors. There have been a few meetings about what the Teach to Reach team would look like under different supervision and through a lot of prayer and petitioning the supervisor change will not take place and the team will continue the work it has been doing.

5. Kristin, my amazing teammate and the goal of Teach to Reach!
Kristin has a house-helper that is from a M neighborhood and through that relationship Kristin has been teaching ESL through stories like crazy in that neighborhood! Since the team is based out of a Urban mega city there are many different people groups around us, with so many people groups it is really helping us to gain ideas on how to format our curriculum when we do publish it. The goal of the team is to write a ESL curriculum that other workers on the field can use with volunteer teams when they come out. Since there are many M’s working with many different people groups us being able to give notes or make story/ESL sets for certain people groups really helps more people out! Through volunteer teams connecting with more national people over here there are more opportunities to share the Truth.

6. A BOX! So the other day I received a very large and magnificent box from NDBC in Dunedin, Florida! They sent many amazing things that I love miss, and help make things here even more enjoyable. The two things I have most enjoyed as the bible study they sent and the picture book of bible stories to help in the ministry here. Other amazing things found in the magic box were sweet and sour worms J beef jerky, nerds, crystal light, oatmeal and a few crazy items from the Moon Pie company along with my favorite……CARDS from the fellowship members and a picture! I really loved working there leading up to my departure from the states and am overwhelmed by their gifts of love!

Prayer request!

1. For my relationships with national friends. Please be praying for continued boldness but for sharing that is lead by the Lord and is intentional. Lately there has been some really great conversations with my friend B from the village but please continue to pray for her and as Truth is revealed. When I think of my chats with me I am reminded of the parable of the Sower. I pray that she would be the sees the grew in the rich soil. (Matt. 13:1-23)
2. Team work!
Please pray for our relationships as we work together that my two teammates and I would have mercy, grace and love towards one another.
3.
Travel Mercies- I fly to Thailand for two weeks for meetings about the reorganization and some fellowship planting training. Please ask the Lord for an amazing time of fellowship with fellow workers and that I would learn as much as possible while I am at meetings. After the meetings and training finishes I am flying to Australia to see some friends for a vacation. Please pray for safety as I travel and for a great time. I will have a 15 hour layover in Malaysia I cant wait to explore but would ask fro prayers as I explore the new country alone.

4. Please continue to pray for my family in the loss of my grandmother. Also please pray for my dear friends/ adopted family in Florida as Jen goes through chemo.

5. My best ol’ pal Heather is moving back to America in a few days. Please be praying for her as she says goodbye to this country she loves and prepares for life back in America. There are a lot of exciting things happening when she moves back like her wedding in October and family get-togethers. I am going to miss her like crazy too, some days she’s the one besides the Lord that really gets stuff that’s going on here and can offer some practical advise......godly advise. We were best friends in college and I was shocked when the Lord sent me to this part of the world but happy to know she would be a few hours away. Please pray for the ministry she will be able to do back in the US, please pray a prayer of preparation for the work.


Alright so this was a longer e-mail than usually! I hope you all got through it….if not thanks for trying to

I thank all of you for your prayers and your hearts that are here involved in the work. May the Lord richly bless each of you!

In the next e-mail I cant wait to tell you about an amazing servant of the Lord that is the leader of the new fellowship his story of coming to the Lord and service is amazing and inspiring.

Notes on the brain this month:
A heart song: Instead of a Show, from the Limbs and Branches album by Jon Foreman
A heart verse: Acts 28:1-10 It’s one of my favorite stories in the bible and shows the amazing healing power of the Lord