Help me see with eyes of faith. Give me strength to run this race. i will go Lord, where Your glory is unknown, i will live for You alone. i will go because my life is not my own. i will go...

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The City of...

It's a beautiful city....of course it's also
beautiful b/c of the Mountains!

He's got the whole world in His hands....
Can you tell I love kids? :) Brothers & Friends....and lollipop stains on his lips!
My sweet friend "A" who helped me all week and her son
I think they have such a unique look to them...how beautiful!
On our way up to the Mountains...can you imagine living on the side of the hill?
We had to climb up THIS to get to the people....between 300-2,000 steps, depending on your perspective, haha! I made it....yeah!!! (Thankfully, everyone else did too!)

My friend Andres, he learned to use the E-cube to share the gospel.
She is PRECIOUS!!!
A fun picture with some of the ladies from the group & nationals who helped us during the week.
Two of my buddies from on top of the hill...faithful evangelists! Our Wonderful Team...thank you Jesus for such a great week!


No Voice of My Own

I was asked to lead a team of 11 volunteers to a new city. A city of which I knew nothing of, outside of the airport walls. I prepared as much as possible—but I still felt inadequate. I was a “leader” walking in blind.

Two days before the trip began, all my confirmed translators backed out. To be completely honest, I was overwhelmed and feeling like I was all alone.

Truth: God will never call you to do something that He will not also equip you to complete.

Even though I was uncertain of how it would happen, I knew the Lord would bring the details into place. So I flew to this new city—despite all my concerns, I was super excited to be there! I had left behind hot & humid beach weather and stepped into cool & fresh mountain air! I was full of optimism…but the Enemy was on a mission to not let this trip succeed. On our first real workday—my cough from the past week turned into Laryngitis! My voice was so “gone” that the volunteers called me “squeaky.” Haha.

“Ok God,” I thought, “now I know you really have something planned for this week! Please show me that despite all my plans that keep crumbling…that YOU are all we need this week!”

· Foreign City
· 11 Volunteers
· No Voice of My Own
= Total Reliance on God

The part that shouldn’t surprise you: God provided everything we needed!

~In a city where last year people “ran from the scary Gringos”—this year God gave the people a genuine hunger to seek redemption and truth.
~From Zero translators & One voiceless Missionary—God provided 7-8 solid translators each day to meet our needs!
~14 women actively persuing the opportunity to know Jesus—14 women, their family members & friends who now have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
~Climbing 300-2,000 stairs up a mountain top (the # changes, depending upon your perspective! Haha)—The path to meet many who were lost in darkness and now have found Hope in the Light of the World.

Throughout this trip, the Lord kept reminding me that He doesn’t need any of us to accomplish his purpose—but that He DESIRES to use us and to bless us through the ability to serve Him. Although I had very few words of my own this week (b/c I didn’t have a voice to speak!) the Lord spoke through me. He used me to serve the people, inabled me to lead the volunteer team, and blessed me through allowing me to Totally Rely on Him.

He asks only for our Obedience
He chooses how to use us.
He determines the Results

350 Gospel presentations—230 New Believers in the Faith

Thank you for your prayers last week! It was such an encouragement to my heart knowing that you were lifting me up!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Photos of July-August 2008

I have had an amazing 3 weeks...filled to the brim with activity! I have so much I want to say, but I have no time...and I'm super tired! lol...so I hope these pictures paint a portrait of some of my favorite memories from this past month! :)

Trip to the Botanical Gardens...not the Mts...but it was beautiful! Howler Monkeys included!

My Sunday School class of 18 rambunctious kids. We meet outside in the patio behind our House Church.

Visit from our Brazilian soccer buddy Gabriel, and our crew of kids at one of house churches



I just LOVE her hair! Don't you! She is a cutie pie!


A tour through the Mangroves...God reminding me there is beauty admits mosquito's & heat waves that knock you over!


These guys are amazing! I think this is a cool picture. :)


It's taken a lot of effort to build friendships with these kids...and actually get them to SMILE! Praise the Lord for breaking down barriers!

I laugh every time I see this picture! The baby's face is hilarious! He was "in charge" of his momma, believe me!



Me & my little "JoJo" Yojana (pronounced Johanna) :)


We had a great group come out & listen to the True Love Waits presentation...and then of course there was soccer....soccer and more soccer...what would Colombia be without it!?!


Sarah & Ivan got married! It was a neat ceremony, more Colombian than American, but it was beautiful! We are so excited for them!



I miss you all! Thank you so much for your prayers! ~Sarah
**Please pray for me as I will be leading a Volunteer Team, pretty much "by myself", in a different city this upcoming week! God knows what I need for this trip...so thank you for joining me in prayer that He will work everything out for HIS glory!**

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Background Vote

So what do you think about the my new blog background? My sweet cousin told me I should change things up a bit...but I'm not convinced I've found "the" background for me....the one I really liked wouldn't load..so sad! haha! So, I'm asking for your votes:

1) Keep the new background (at least for a while)

2) Go back to using my original background

3) Keep looking for one that's "just right"

Let me know! Thanks for your help! ~Sarita