Saying "Goodbye" to Colombia

My time in Colombia has rapidly come to an end! I can hardly believe it! I have been so extremely blessed to have served with the IMB in mi querida COLOMBIA!!! The Lord has worked in amazing ways, taught me to rely completely upon HIS strength and never forget that HE is the one who draws people to Himself! He asks us to be faithful in sharing the Word and He takes care of the results...and boy does He! I am extremely thankful for the transformation I have been blessed to see in the lives of countless new believers. They have found the only true HOPE in Jesus Christ! What a blessing to have been part of what the Lord is doing in Colombia!

Thank you for praying faithfully for me as I have served overseas! Your prayers, emails, cards, pictures and encouraging words have been such an encouragement to me these past (almost) 2 years! What a blessing to have prayer warriors like you! :)

So what's the new plan? I am moving back to Gainesville, FL!!! I have been given the amazing opportunity to work for family friends of mine, which will allow me to spend some incredible quality time with my family and friends! What a blessing! Please pray that the Lord would continue to open doors for ministry where He would have me serve...

Please pray for me as I transition back into "life in the USA", as I spend time catching up with family and friends, and as I begin my new job! I'll keep you updated, and believe me...there are TONS of pictures to come!!! :)

Love you all! Thanks again for your prayers!

by HIS grace, Sarah

A Snapshot of Spring...

Dry and Breezy season was a wonderful break from the heat...but the heat and humidity are quickly approaching! "No! Wait! I need more breezy days....what's this about humidity that spikes off the charts?" Yes, folks...it's soon to come, so please pray for me to survive it once again ! :)

Check out the color on this tree! What an amazing display of God's beautiful creation!

We know a very special family that have started a Christian school focused on reaching the children of the displaced peoples in their city. We were blessed to bring a volunteer team there (and "there" being a dif. city...it was a wonderful trip!) We held VBS and Medical clinics for the school and for a community where they are trying to start a House Church among another group of displaces peoples. Since we don't normally get a chance to do VBS or focus our work on children, this was a really neat week for me! I loved the kids! One of our goals was to teach the leaders how to use Chronological Bible Stories to minister to the kids in the communities. It was a really great experience and very encouraging to both the volunteers and Colombians, and to our team as well.

What a beautiful young girl! She was modeling her newly made necklace for me. :)

I loved that we worked in the same places all 5 days. We got to know the kids so well and fell in love with them! Look how sweet he is!

Singing "Esta Pequena Luz" (This little light of mine)

And then an AMAZING thing happened....Ebie came to visit me!!!

Ebie and I visiting "La Popa"....it was a cloudy day, but we still had an amazing view of the surrounding city.

Ebie was finally able to meet Yolima and my babies, Caleb, Sebastian, & Cherry

Ebie with Caleb Andres...again...I don't know how the boy grows so fast!

Ebie "supervised" the water jugs, holding the kids off until the end of Sunday School. She was able to worship with my house church family and went with us to a bible study where she saw Chronological Bible Storying in action! :)
When in Colombia...you gotta ride the Bici-Taxi! It's like our own form of the rickshaw! :)

Everyone wanted their picture taken with my aunt "E-deeeth"

Ebie got to experience a very special day with us...we had ALL our house church groups from 3 areas meet together to have a combined worship service! It was such a neat experience!...upwards of around 60 adults and 30 kids! Even the Colombians were shocked to see how many believers were in their area and part of house churches! It was a great testimony to the faithfulness of God and how He IS at work here in Colombia, changing hearts and lives!

Those who were baptized believers shared in the Lord's Supper with us. This was really neat too...and those who weren't baptized yet were encouraged and excited to be able to participate the next time around, after their baptisms! (Which we wanted to do that day but there wasn't enough water in the pond, due to the lack of rain. So...we baptized 7 believers on Easter Sunday at the Sunrise service...in the OCEAN!) Ebie and I spent a few afternoons just walking around Centro...why, because it's beautiful & fun...and has lots of Shopping! :)

We spent her last few nights in the lap of luxury...the Hilton Hotel! :) This was such a special treat for me! I had air-conditioning, down comforters (which I could actually use b/c I wasn't burning up at night, haha!), HOT water, and the most amazing pools! Ebie, as she always does, was a huge encouragement in my life and blessed me tremendously!

This was our "favorite" and only restaurant in the hotel...we had some pretty funny Spanish-English mis-translations errors...it was hilarious! :)

***Ebie, Thank you for coming and spending quality time with me! I love you dearly! The Lord knew just when you should come and He orchestrated it perfectly! You blessed my socks off, supported me tremendously, and filled my days with laughter! :) Love you so much!

Decisions to make...

I have been hearing from different sources that I NEED to update my blog! :) I surely do! It's been a long time, and a lot has been happening! :)

I'm in the process of making some big decisions which will impact 1) Where I will be living and working when I return to the USA, and 2) The time frame of when I will be coming back to the States! :)

Please keep me in your prayers these next few weeks as I seek the Lord and His plan for me! I'm so thankful I serve a God who is concerned about these kinds of things and desires us to seek guidance from His Word!

Be assured, the Lord is doing great things in my life and I can't wait to share them with you!

Thank you for your prayers! I look forward to seeing your sweet faces in the coming months!

~ Sarah :)

Just to catch you up...

This may be the LONGEST post I have ever created! I have been so far behind on sending out an update and posting new pictures...so I just made a very detailed post with a little bit of everything, ranging from now (Feb) and going back to before Christmas '08! haha! I hope you enjoy the pictures! Thank you again for your encouragement, support and prayers! :) ~ Sarah

February 2009 ~ (What's new in my city!)

Update on Yolima and my 3 babies! They are all growing up so fast! Yolima has started attending church again and has helped gather a group of neighbors to listen to the Chronological Bible Storing set we have just begun. Please continue to pray that the Lord would draw her to himself, that she would seek after the Lord, and for protection and provision for Sebastian, Charry & Caleb Andres

Caleb Andres will be 4 months old this month...but he's wearing some 12 month old clothes! He is a GROWING boy! He's with sweet Yojanna in this picture.

Me and my kiddos! I love these kids so much!

I have started teaching some of the leaders in my house church how to use Chronological Bible Storying to start new house church/bible study groups in their community. We are on week 4 and I am so thankful to the Lord for the commitment I have seen in our leaders. Please keep them in your prayers!

Celebrating my birthday in my city with some friends...

Thanks Mom, for the cute presents and fun candles! :)

Bogota' - January 2009 ~ (True Love Waits & Sports Camp)

We were on a work trip in Bogota' on the actual day of my birthday...so we went to TGI Fridays!! I was so excited to eat "American" food...we even got chips and dip! :) But sad to say...this lovely sandwich woke me up at 5am, making me wish I NEVER ate it! yuck!

The cutest kid atop the mountain...Santiago! He looks like a little doll...BIG beautiful eyes, rosy cheeks, a smile that would brighten any one's day..and the cutest little voice! :)

Watching the Presidential Inauguration - Yes....even though we were in a small community atop a Mt in Colombia...it was on TV! Colombians LOVE Obama.

Check out the view! It took us 2 1/2 hrs (each way) to get to this community! Here are some of the kids in our group. They were getting ready to play soccer after a fun-filled True Love Waits workshop. ;)

haha...love this picture! It's not the best of me, but I love the concept of it! These little boys were my 2 shadows!

A picture with our host family from the mountain community. They were such a blessing to us that week....so generous and welcoming! We felt like we were with family! (But I have to say this...check out their expressions! This is not a fluke picture...I took 3 and they all look the same! Interesting, right!)

Love this picture. She was the quiet beauty in the group. She just needed some encouragement to break out of her shell! She was such a sweet little girl.

Playing "balloons in a bag" volleyball! The kids loved it! I think this turned out to be a great picture! Kimi, Mike and I with some of the kids from our workshop group. :) See that hill...it just goes up and up...and that's the way out!

Again...love this!

Pastor Jorge took this picture of me and Charon. She hardly ever smiled, but when she did...wow, how beautiful, right! :)

Maryland Team-Baseball Sports Camp (my city) Jan. 2009 ~

Teaching the kiddos how to play some baseball!

Isaac was cheering on the baseball teams! Check out his fro! :)

Me, chillin' with some of the kids.

Our favorite guys from MD...they really are a great team with hearts to serve!

Journeyman Friends Come to Visit (my city) Jan. 2009 ~

Mike, Anna & Sharon came to visit! I had such a fun time with you guys! :)

Christmas in Florida-Dec. 2008 ~

Right after Mom and Ebie picked me up from the airport...I was delirious, but so excited to be home! Ebie surprised me with an early Christmas gift "The 12 Gifts of Christmas" with one gift to open each day....and this was one of my favorites - "The Dragonfly" gift card to my favorite sushi restaurant!

The very first time I met Baby James! I fell in LOVE immediately! He is the most gorgeous baby I know! His Tia Sarah loves him so much!

I was babysitting James and trying to get him to take some medicine...haha...and this was the result! I don't think I got half of it in his mouth, lol, but he was just as happy as could be! haha!

The Sumner Family came to visit Auntie Sarah! This is my "adopted sister" Suzanne and her wonderful family! Thanks for coming to see me! :)

Making smores with the girls out at the fire pit. Lets see if Auntie Sarah can guess correctly...Rebecca (L), Kathryn (R) and of course...sweet Danielle! :)

My sweet "adopted brother" Mark also came to visit! I love cooking with Mark and having fun together. He's a great guy and a special part of our family!

Part of Mom's Christmas "wish list" was taking family photos...so we took a lot of them! This is out by Lake Alice...do you see any gators around!?!?

Enough serious pictures....we had to take a funny one, lol!

Caleb Andrew (my little "big" brother) This is a good one of us!

My Nana and Papa celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary! What a blessing to have spent so many years of marriage together! They are such a godly example! :)

Yeah...Having fun with Katie! One of my childhood friends...she is very dear to my heart! I loved spending time with you! It was too short! Can't wait to see you soon!

After Christmas, Ebie came back up to Gville with Travis (my cousin), his wife Krinki and the kids. Quincy Claire has such an amazing personality! She has you smiling and laughing all the time! I think she's doing her "ta da" in this picture! :) And of course, Asa Mac is a little heart breaker! He's so adorable!

This is after the EPIDEMIC hit the family! Everyone got the flu except for me! So I played nurse and baby entertainer for the weekend! Quincy and I were trying to pass the time by making funny faces and taking pictures of our silliness!

Another great family photo! :) Love you guys!

This is my brother and his sweet girlfriend, Esther! She is so great!

One of my complaints...I didn't have enough time with the Curtis Family! I miss you guys so much! Stacey...how did we manage not to go to The Dragonfly?!? We'll have to make it up when I get home! Love you kiddos-Amelia, Colby and Julia Anne!

This is my sweet cousin Dave. Thanks for being my chauffer! I loved spending that extra time with you! You are dearly loved and missed!

My best friends and family ~ Amber & Chad...and their sweet baby James!

The one who has stolen my heart...sweet baby James! I miss him so much!

I really enjoyed spending some extra time with Kathryn and Rachel! You girls are so special to me! The Lord has amazing plans for your lives! Again...can't get enough of my BFF Amber...she's my kindred spirit...a gift from the Lord!

DECEMBER 2008 ~

Making "pasteles" for Christmas with Mabel & Juliet. Our table was converted into a work space to make the delicious creations...they took ALL day to make!
I decided to make Christmas cookies for gifts...by the time I finished I had them coming out my ears...I believe the final count was close to 200!!!!