He's never giving up on me.

Sunday, December 19 I left Worcester for Cape Town around 10am South Africa time (3am EST). Monday, December 20 around 3:30pm EST I pulled into my driveway.

Being home is surreal. Reverse culture shock is much more difficult to wrap my brain around.

After some good sleep and some time to process, I promise a blog is coming about my last few weeks in South Africa! For now, know that I am home safely and that our God is SO good and so faithful, even when we are not. We are FREE, we are ALIVE because He lives.

Isaiah 52:7-10

⁷ How beautiful on the mountains
are the feet of those who bring good news,
who proclaim peace,
who bring good tidings,
who proclaim salvation,
who say to Zion,
“Your God reigns!”

⁹ Burst into songs of joy together,
you ruins of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted his people,
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
¹⁰ The LORD will lay bare his holy arm
in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
the salvation of our God.

I can't take credit for writing this, but WOW. Let this truth sink in!

Father God, You tell Your flock to fear not, for it is Your good pleasure to give us the Kingdom (Luke 12:32). You tell Your children to dream, because You are able to do immeasurably more than ALL we could ask or even imagine (Ephesians 3:20). You tell us that You will give us life and give us life abundandtly (John 10:10). Oh how You love us! Oh how You love us!

Jesus, may our hearts defeat our minds! May we move past logic and reasoning, and get to our imagination, a place where we can see the things You've promised, and see them coming to pass. You say that It all will come to pass (Joshua 21:45), and that is what we pray. we pray that it all comes to pass. Those sweet sweet dreams You have put on our hearts, of things most would label impossible, but we know there is POWER in Your name! JESUS! We call upon the name of the Lord, the One who will save, the One who brings life! Bring us new life JESUS! Your name is power, and so we pray in Your Holy Name, JESUS! Let all our dreams come to pass, and then on top of that let YOUR dreams for us come to pass. You will do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine! Praise You Jesus! Holy Holy are You! You asked the blind men, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" And they replied, "Yes Lord!" (Matthew 9:28-29). We say YES LORD! We believe that You are able to do everything before us!

Holy Spirit, reign down upon us! We are open cups, ready to be filled! Fill us to overflowing! We do not want to walk in fear, doubt, discouragement, or unbelief any longer! Those things must leave in the mighty name of Jesus! So Holy Spirit, fall down upon us, let Your fire come and burn away anything not of You, and then fill us a fresh, to a new measure of fullness!

Come Lord Jesus Come! Send Your help. Send Your support! "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God. All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees. I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin. The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight. To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless, to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd. You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low. You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless." (from 2 Samuel 22)

Your word Oh LORD is flawless! With Your word you created everything. Thank You for the words You have spoken to us each individually, which brought us from death to life, which brought us from who we were, to who we are in You. Thank You for the words You have spoken to each of us, to call us to such a time as this. Thank You that through You speaking You have flung wide the gates of heaven to pour out so much blessing that we will not know what to do with it all. (Malachi 3:10).

So Lord Jesus, we thank you for the things we have seen, and the things we have not yet seen.

We thank You Lord that we will "go out in joy and be led forth in peace" (Isaiah 55:12). We pray in the mighty name of JESUS that we SEE all of the blessings You have given, and that we SEE them soon! Your Kingdom come! Your will be done! On earth as it is in HEAVEN! BRING HEAVEN TO EARTH! We press in to the Kingdom of God! We seek Your face, O God of Jacob!

"The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, before your very eyes" ! (Deuteronomy 1:30)

Let it ALL come to pass! Fight for us Jesus!

AMEN!

Amen means let it be done,

or so be it,

or it shall be so

or I believe it will be so!

So Jesus, with everything YOU have spoken to us, we say

LET IT BE DONE

SO BE IT

IT SHALL BE SO

I BELIEVE IT WILL BO SO

AMEN!

"Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." (Joshua 21:45, NIV)

"Not a single one of all the good promises the LORD had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true." (NLV)

"Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass." (ESV).

It's all about the LOVE.

As is the case most days when I sit down to write these things, I don’t know where to start. Rebecca-my roommate from college and one of my very closest friends and sisters in the Lord who is serving on the World Race for 11 months, check out her blog! - and I were discussing this via skype (a HUGE Thanksgiving blessing!!)...that after being away from home and in the midst of what God is doing where we are for some time, it starts becoming less about the blogs and the cool missionary stories and the sweet pictures. At first, all of that is exciting and motivating and surreal. But there comes a point, we’ve discovered, when there’s a change in our thinking and we just want more of God. More of who He is and more of Him in us. We both agreed we could go weeks without blogging or posting photos and be just fine. But, nevertheless, we DO want those at home and those close to our hearts to know what’s happening in our lives! So, here ya go. Buckle up, its a long one.

God is doing a LOT. In my heart, in my life, in the lives of the people around me, in this city, in His world. I have really been encouraged by the blogs of fellow brothers and sisters out in the world spreading the love of Jesus and sharing life with people of different cultures and countries. I have to say, I’m proud to be a part of this chosen generation! God’s children are rising up and bringing change and healing in the name of Jesus, and I’m proud to claim them as my family.

Friends, God has chosen us. He has called us up and out....up out of our comfort zones, up out of the familiar, up out of what we’ve known, and OUT into the deep with Him. He has called us out into the world, out into the hard places, out into knowing Him more, knowing His heart more. He has chosen us as His dearly loved children (if you’ve heard Louie Giglio talk about this, dearly loved is also translated as beloved. “Be” is the same as I am...and, as God is I AM that I AM, or BE, to be BEloved is to be God-loved. Louie is much more eloquent than I...check out his sermon series on seeing God as a Perfect Father www.passioncitychurch.com) It’s all about Jesus. It’s all about His love. Wherever we are, whatever continent or situation or season we find ourselves in.

I think I’m starting to get it. God has started a work in me that I pray NEVER ceases.

It’s ALL about LOVE.

That’s it! That’s what all of this is about. That’s what life is about, what knowing God is about, what living to serve is about. It’s all about LOVE. A real, tangible, deep down to your bones kinda love. I think I’ve preached this a million times, but I’ve never understood LOVE like I do now, which makes me giddy at the thought that there is SO much more to love to discover!

I read this on a World Race blog and it totally captures what God has been speaking to my heart these past 10 or so weeks.

There's nothing you can do that would make Him love you more,

There is also nothing you can do that would make Him love you less.

He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you, because He loves you,

because that is what He is like.

It is His nature to Love, and you will always be the beloved,

And his love is unchanging and He loves you a hundred percent

He won't love you any better when you become better

He loves you a hundred percent right now

And even if you have no plans to become better

He will still love you one hundred percent

Because He loves you because that's the way that He is

And even if you don't wanna change He will love you one hundred percent

And even if you haven no plans to walk with Him, He will love you one hundred percent

Because that's His nature, He loves all the way all the time

His love is unchanging

What will change says the Lord, is your ability to receive My Love.

And I want to cram some more of that ability inside you,

So I challenge you, says the Lord, open your heart to me

Open your heart to me and you will receive more of my love

than you have experienced before; I dare you too.

Give me your heart, give me whatever your obstacle is, I'll take it

I'll remove it out of the way because I love you as you are right now

I love you a hundred percent as you are right now this moment

I love you as you are

So be loved, you are the beloved, it is your job, says the Lord,

to be loved outrageously

it is why I chose you, why I set my love upon you

that you would live as one who is outrageously loved

That you would receive a radical love so radical that it will blow

all your paradigms of what you think love is

And know, says the Lord, I will love you outrageously all the days of your life

Because I don't know how to be any different, this is who I am,

and this is who I will always be

This is the I AM I promised you, I am He that loves you outrageously

And you may love me back with the Love that I give you

You may love me back outrageously with the outrageous Love that I bestow upon You

And know this, says the Lord, you can only love me as much as you love yourself

So my Love comes to set you free from yourself, free from how you see yourself

Set you free from the smallness of your own thinking about yourself

My love comes to set you free from rejection, and from shame,

and from low self-esteem, and from despair, and from abuse.

Because when I look at you, says the Lord, I see something that I love

I see someone that I can love outrageously, and i have so much to bestow upon You

So much to give you, so many places to take You in my heart, but you can't go there unless you allow me to love you, and my love for You will break every barrier,

every wall crashing down.

And know this, says the Lord, "My love damages fear!

My love hates fear, it will fight fear, fear in you, it will fight fear around You,

and if you have fear, says the Lord, then know you have a treat in store

Because My perfect Love casts out fear, there is no fear where I am present

Because My Love casts out fear. Beloved, you are my beloved, you are my beloved

And in my love I want you to feel good about yourself

- Graham Cooke

It’s about love.

He loved us first. We love Him back.

We love others with the love that He fills us with.

It’s about surrender.

As my sweet sister Rebecca put it, Jesus was willing to leave the perfection of heaven to walk this earth for me, for you, for ALL of us. When I think “God, why do you want me to speak to them? I don’t like preaching!” or “Really, God? I’m not quite feeling that today.” or “Um, hey, Jesus? WHAT am I doing here?!” , I want to always remember that Jesus most certainly did not feel like carrying His cross up a hill. He probably didn’t feel like being beating, broken, and crushed for me that day.

But He did it, willingly.

He did it because He LOVES me, because He was completely surrendered to the will of His Father.

He gave His life for me, can I not do so much as to offer up to Him the life He has so freely given me?

I don’t know what the next season of life holds for me. I’ve been offered a teaching position here in South Africa from Feb - Dec 2011, teaching grade 7 English and Math.

It is an understatement to say I really need and appreciate your prayers!!

I DO know that I want to surrender to the Lord all of my plans, my ideas of what my life should or could look like, my opinions and fears and questions. God is working in me to free me from settling for a life of complacency and normalcy, the life I have been so determined to have. I TRUST that God has a plan much bigger than me or my understanding, a plan for my good and for His glory in my life.

I just have to say, that with this HUGE decision looming I’m looking forward to some rest and being in the states! I’m SO excited to spend time with my family, to sit on my couch and drink coffee with my parents and my sister and debrief the last three months, to see my TIGERS and my Phi Lamb sisters and the dear, dear friends who are SO much a part of my heart and this journey and this work God is so graciously doing in me, to go to PASSION 2011 in Atlanta and be refreshed and renewed and reenergized with 20,000+ fellow Jesus seekers, and to get some perspective.

I am blessed!

I realized I hadn't talked much about what I've actually been up to recently, so here's just a glimpse of how I get to spend my days:

- I'm in Worcester Primary School from 7:10am-1:30am every day, usually with grade 7.5 but sometimes filling in in grade 6 or grade 5 classrooms. The "form the corn, form form the corn" song is quite a hit.

- I've taught cheerleading in three different places so far...to the rhythmic gymnasts of Elite Gymnastics at WPS, to the grade 7 leaders of the Blue house for Worcester-Oos (Oos = East) Primary, and in the community to basically whoever wants to learn. I definitely did not think cheerleading would be a skill I used in Africa, and while I'm missing my Tiger ambush each time I teach I really LOVE getting to spend this time with the kids!

- On Thursdays (and some other days) we head into the community and have praise and worship, Bible teaching, and food distribution. The kids are so willing to teach me Afrikaans and so patient when I can't say anything right. They demonstrate the Acts church idea in such a real way by making sure that the littlest ones are cared for and they share everything. They are always waiting with open arms to be thrown in the air and hugged and kissed. My heart has been captured by the beautiful children there...pictures and words will never do justice to what God is doing in that place, in my heart, and through those beautiful, beautiful kids. I LOVE THEM and I can't imagine leaving them!

- I've gotten to pray with patients and parents in the children's ward of the hospital, which has been really powerful and a sweet time of communion with Jesus.

- On Tuesday mornings we get to lead Bible studies in WPS. Yes, we get to preach the Word FREELY in school! This is an awesome chance to share truth and my heart with the kids, and their worship is so refreshing. There is nothing like African harmony, that is for sure!

- I live with the two cutest girls in South Africa, I'm pretty sure. Simile and Halo are so precious and they can always make me laugh! Simile tells everyone that we're best friends...it's true. She loves looking at my pictures and naming all of my friends and family. I love the sweet time we get to spend together.

- I've also gotten to spend time traveling in the Western Cape, which has been so great! We have been to Cape Town, Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope, Hermanus, Muizenberg/Fish Hoek, Wellington/Stellenbosch, and I'm sure more places that I'm forgetting. This really is SUCH a beautiful country!

I know I'm leaving things out, but I just want to give you a glimpse of what God is doing here. THANK YOU for your prayers and support, without you this would NOT be possible! I cannot express my gratitude for all of the love and encouragement you guys have been pouring into me...through emails, letters, packages, and prayers! You are AWESOME and you are such a huge part of what God is doing here in my heart and in the lives of others. The Kingdom that we are building is unshakeable...praise God! (Heb 12:28) THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Eph 4:15-16

clinging to the cross

You are MORE, You are MORE than my words will ever say.

You are Lord, You are LORD! all creation will proclaim.

You are here, You are HERE, in Your presence I’m made whole.

You are GOD, You ARE God, of all else I’m letting go!

These lyrics have been ringing in my heart over the past few days. This is what God brought me to Africa to teach me...IT’S NOT ABOUT ME. I know I’ve said it before, but sometimes we have to preach these things to ourselves over and over, to remind ourselves daily of truths like this. And my teacher friends can stand by me and agree that repetition by EXPERIENCE is the best way to learn something!

Next to the sticky note on my mirror that says “Do not forget in the darkness what you’ve been promised in the light” hangs one that says “Cling to the cross!”.

I have heard this and surely preached it to who knows how many of campers over the years, but I have never known what it truly looks like to actually cling to the cross, to put my hope and my assurance in the hands of my Maker, to look at God and say “I know I can’t, but I KNOW You CAN!”. And that is precisely what I am learning here. There is SO much need, so much hurt, so much that I want to fix. And it is here that I have been humbled to realize that I can do nothing. ONLY Jesus can bring healing, hope, and restoration. I can offer myself, this life I’ve been giving, as a sacrifice to the Living God and say “Use me!” but even then, it’s still nothing of me. Nothing I can do or say or give or bring can heal a single person, can raise a life, can save a soul. BUT. I know the One who CAN, and in that there is POWER!

So, I write to say that I truly desire to lay me down. I lay my independence and attempts at self-sufficiency, my ambitions and dreams, my heart and my hands at the cross. I’m NOT saying this to glorify myself, or so that you’ll think “Wow, Sara is such a great missionary, she’s doing such great things.” I’m telling you, it’s NOT about me. It’s nothing that I’m doing. I’m just responding to what I read in the Bible when Jesus says to feed His sheep (John 21:17) and I hope that you are doing the same, wherever you find yourself in this season.

I am thankful that God is compassionate towards me, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness (Ex 34:6) as I learn these lessons. I am thankful to be learning these lessons! I am thankful to be in Africa, to live out dreams and have new ones breathed into my heart by our Creator. I am thankful to have a fresh start and learn what it means to keep in step with the Spirit (Gal 5:25). I am thankful that when I ask, God is willing and gracious enough to give me more of His heart. I am thankful, most of all, for the cross, which calls us to come and die, to lay down our lives so that we may find LIFE.

the windy city

Whoever said Chicago was the windy city clearly never came to Worcester. My gosh! In just a matter of minutes the wind can go from a light breeze to a gale force blast. I LOVE IT. It is a constant reminder of the power and awesomeness of our God. Whenever He pleases, He just stirs up a mighty wind and blows it through the mountains and into our lives. I don't know about you, but I haven't been stirring up any hurricanes or anything lately....God is SO much bigger than our tiny little minds can even begin to comprehend!

The wind also reminds me that God is always doing something new, something fresh. Last night I fell asleep just as the wind was picking up, and I was reminded that a new day was coming; a new chance to tell people that they are loved and valued, a new chance to shine light into darkness, a new chance to live for a purpose, for the God of the universe and His mighty plan in this place.

I have been reminded this week that I am a child of God - Gal 4:4-7 - and because of Christ I have received full rights as a daughter of the King! I can rest assured that God knows my heart (because He created it) and is constantly moving and working. The more I delight myself in the Lord, the more of Himself He reveals...and THAT is becoming more and more the desire of my heart! Funny how we take that for granted sometimes, eh? HE IS who His Word says HE IS, and He is FAITHFUL to do what His Word says He'll do! Hallelujah!

Africa gives me hope.

I’ve been meaning to write a blog for a few days now, but I wasn’t quite sure what the Lord wanted me to say or how I would put into words everything God is doing in me and in this place. I say none of this to glorify myself in any way, but to make known how GREAT our GOD is!! The more I am challenged to put my faith in my God and not in the things of this world or my own strength, the more freedom He has in my life to show up in mighty ways. It has been my prayer that God would break open the box I try to keep Him in, that He would shatter my attempts to make Him feeble and unable and reveal WHO He is - Healer, Provider, Protector, Savior, Friend!

Heb 11:1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

hope: noun

1 a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen

• a person or thing that may help or save someone

• grounds for believing that something good may happen

2 a feeling of trust

Walking with God in South Africa gives me HOPE.

I have HOPE that God is always GOOD,

always WORKING,

always in the midst of whatever we’re going through

and holding our hand

whether we’re dancing for joy

or barely hanging on.

I believe that He has given us hope so that we will expect great things from an unbelievably great God. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, and I choose to put my hope in HIM.

What has God been doing here, you may ask? Well, let me brag on my Savior!

• We had a divine appointment on a random walk to learn of a sweet daughter of the King who had heard some lies from the enemy and wound up in the hospital. Praise God that He is bigger than hospital visiting hour rules and big scary security guards and can bring healing and restoration whenever He choses! We were able to pray over and speak life into our sister despite the obstacles. I have hope that He who is in us is greater than He who is in the world and Jesus always gets the victory.

• Each week at our soup kitchen in Avian Park, God faithfully makes sure each hungry belly gets food no matter how many kids we round up with their “buckes” (bowls...or tupperware, or empty ice cream containers, whatever they have) for “kos”(food). We gather with precious children and sing praises to our great High Priest who is so aware of and familiar with our needs. It hurts my heart to see the way these children live, but it gives me hope that Jesus can redeem any situation and bring light to shatter any darkness.

• I got to spend a day in Cape Town with Eva while Fola visited friends at the Lausanne Conference....what a beautiful city! We ate delicious food while overlooking the beach and had REAL coffee and yummy dessert and some much needed girl time. AND God totally surprised me and blessed me when I ran into a friend from UF at the conference! It was definitely a specific answer to prayer and so encouraging. I have hope that God knows this heart that He created and He works all things for my good.

• He is teaching me the art of following those who are wiser than I instead of always being in charge or constantly on a schedule. I am learning obedience and patience in very real ways...it’s definitely not always easy! I have hope that I will not leave Africa as the same person that came here 5 weeks ago.

• It’s Holy Spirit week at the YWAM base which means we get lots of teachings about the power and presence of the Spirit. We had an incredible night in the presence of the Spirit; the glory of the Lord was so intense and so so real! And we had a giving night, where people gave things to each other as an act of worship. Some gave encouraging gifts, some gave precious heirlooms, one girl received her first pair of gold earrings in her life from a dear woman who got them when she lived in Jordan (she was robbed and they were one of the few pieces of fine jewelry that weren’t taken), people received money and cameras and cell phones and funds for a car! My small act of giving brought a lot of giggles...my friend Janel (from Montreat College!) gave our sister Peggy (here with a team from YWAM in Texas) her watch when Peggy mentioned that she had forgotten to pack hers. This summer when I was in California I lost my watch and had to purchase a new one. When I was packing for Africa I found my old watch and wound up bringing both. As I watched Janel give Peggy her watch, I realized God had given me two watches so that I could give one away! We laughed and prayed together and thanked God that He could unite our hearts in such a simple yet profound way. I have hope that God sees the heart of our giving and is in the midst of our simple acts of worship before a holy God.

• I met a girl named De-monique in one of the areas we were ministering in a few days ago. She was 12 and so full of life - we became best friends instantly. She kept her arm around me for most of the time we were there, until her friends dragged her off to play in a ditch. When the Texas team started their street drama, I went to find her because I felt like she really needed to see and hear the message they were presenting (I hadn’t seen it yet but I heard it was powerful!) At the end, De-monique gave her life to the Lord and I got to hug her as she prayed for Jesus to come into her heart! She only let 2 little tears run down her cheek, but it was so evident that Jesus had entered her heart and made her a new creation in that instant. I have hope that I’ll see her again and that she will continue to grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man, because our God is good and He has written De-monique’s name on His hand and in His book of Life!

• I HAVE HOPE because as hard as my first two weeks here were, the past three have been three times as sweet! I definitely miss my family and friends like crazy, but God is filling the hurting places with Himself and nurturing a love and passion for this place and these people. Whether I’m teaching cheerleading, grading math exams (just finished grading a 3 page exam for 37 students...whoo!), holding and hugging sweet children, or just hanging out with Simile and Halo coloring in our princess coloring book and looking at my pictures, I LOVE living in South Africa! I came across this blog http://allthingshendrick.blogspot.com/ and was so comforted to know that other people have felt the same way I have when moving to a new country...the first few weeks are “Really Lord??” and then He changes our hearts to say “REALLY! LORD!” I have HOPE that God is doing a good thing here!

Can I just encourage you to put your hope in Christ? Colossians 1 tells us that Christ in us is the hope of glory. Romans 12 says that we should be joyful in hope! The Word encourages us over and over again to put our hope in God, in His promises and His faithfulness. Hebrews 6:19 says “We have this HOPE as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain”. Oh that our HOPE in the Lord would draw us deeper and deeper into the presence of and communion with the Living God! Thank You, Jesus, that You are our hope and that we walk through this life with our name written on Your hands. That, my friends, gives me hope.

standing in the gap

My first full week in the classroom after the concert craziness has been just that - FULL! Rather than teaching all 7th grade maths, I’m now working specifically with 7.5, a class of 36 7th grade students that are taught in English for all 7 periods. (Each grade in Worcester Primary School - WPS - has 4 classes. .1 and .2 classes are taught in Afrikaans, with the .1s being the higher achievers, and .4 and .5 classes taught in English, with .4s being the higher achievers) My students come from a variety of socioeconomic groups and ethnicities - Afrikaans, Xhosa, Portuguese and Arabic to name a few. There is one white boy, a few Indian students, 5 Muslims, and the rest are split between Afrikaans colored and Xhosa black students. They are the “lower achieving group” of the two English-taught 7th grade classes and they are known as the trouble-makers.

I.LOVE.THEM.

At first, I was quite intimated to hear their reputation in the school and then to be told that I’ll be with them from 7:30am-1:30pm every day. Granted, there is another teacher in the room most of the time, but sometimes it’s just me and them...just one of me and 36 of them. To say I am relying on God’s grace is not an understandment, but God is giving me a glimpse of His heart for them. It hurts my heart to see the despair in some of their eyes and to hear them talk about how they know people don’t think they’ll amount to much. God has given them passions and dreams and He has created them to be wonderful, unique, incredible individuals with hopes and gifts - I BELIEVE that He has SO much more for them than the implied limits that have been holding them captive.

God gave me 1 Tim 2:1 in the staff room on Thursday. It says “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them, intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.” He also reminded me of Col 4:2-6, verses I hung on to my first summer on FCC staff. I know He is calling me to standing in the gap for these kids. I desperately want to breathe HOPE back into 7.5. They are such funny kids, and although they talk ALL the time, they have a voice worth hearing (just preferably not while a teacher is talking) and dreams that deserve a chance to be lived out! And they really aren’t all trouble makers. I love them. I’m praying God will continue to grow my heart for them and that He’ll be able to reach out and love them as I lay me down and let Him have His way in my life.

Will you join me in praying for 7.5? Pray that God’s light would burst into that class, that chains of poverty and false religion would be shattered and that these students would be an example of Christ’s love to each other and to their school. Pray that they would know the power and the unfailing love of our Savior.

Yute-Ludumo-Tiffany-Tsep-Thando-Lutho-Ricardo-Adiaan-Enzo-Tarryn-Ovayo-Ayyoob-Margo-Jody-Yasar-Andisiwe-Farzanah-Previn-Petronella-Sisipho-Phumeza-Khanysia-Zintle-Mmasebolelo-Leloka-Dimpho-Sanele-Zikhona-Uquamile-Basheera-Pritesh-Stuart-Ayaka-Wilmay-Z’nita-Carla

put on the full armor!

Oh, what to say! My first full week in school was wonderful - tiring, but wonderful. I LOVE the teachers I’m working with and I’ve been blessed with some really great conversations and encouraging words spoken into my life by sisters in Christ. We start every morning in the Word as a staff (and it’s NOT a Christian school!) and then we share a word with our students. Its awesome. I’ve never been in a school where anything like this has happened so it’s been really fun for me! This week the school put on a concert/play and I earned a spot as a make-up artist. I loved getting face time with the kids and talking to them outside of my teacher role. (They call me Teacher Sara, and once again my 5th graders informed me that my name means princess so they should call me Teacher Princess. I told them I’d respond to either. :) ) I start teaching grade 7 math on Monday and I’m really pumped to get to know these kids better and speak into their lives.

This week I’ve been battling doubt. Really, it’s something I’ve battled for a while now, but it became really apparent this week. “Lord, I do believe...help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9) has been my cry. I want to pray and NOT doubt that what I’m praying for WILL happen. I’ve been so tempted to think “What if God doesn’t come through? What if I pray for this healing/fear/whatever and it doesn’t happen the way I’m hoping?” Today in church the Lord spoke directly to this. We read through Eph 6:10-18 (one of the arrangement was a complete set of armor made from bamboo and flowers!) The Lord revealed to me that when we’re not in prayer and ready for battle, the enemy gets the victory. Satan wants to make the warriors of Light doubt their God and fear that God may be weak, that the God in whom they trust may not fight for them.

But friends, the God of the Angel Armies fights for us!! Hallelujah! We can TRUST that God is standing with us -Psalm 59 - and that the victory IS the Lords....scripture tells us this over and over! (And I’ve learned that when God really wants us to get something, He doesn’t just say it once. He repeats it throughout His word across both testaments to remind us that HE IS FAITHFUL to be who He says He is!) We have to put on the full armor of the Lord and be ready for battle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=re5t4GOYBn8

I have seen God come and stand before my fears and slowly but surely begin to melt them away. I have heard the testimonies of what He is doing here in Worcester. And I want to be a part. I want to fight for the kingdom and be a warrior of light, confident that my God will come through for me. And no matter what, He will get the glory when our hearts are humbled and our minds fixed on Him. Amen.

for those of you who love sending snail mail

Write me! You can send mail to the base:

YWAM Worcester

Attn: Sara Norton
2 Luyt Street - Hospital Hill
Worcester 6850
Western Cape - South Africa

LOVE YOU & MISS YOU more than you could know! Psalm 103

How GREAT is our GOD!

(Disclaimer: This blog is me being transparent, and it may be long.)

Psalm 33 declares...By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry hosts by the breath of His mouth....The word of the Lord is right and true, He is faithful in all He does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of His unfailing love...We wait in HOPE for the Lord, He is our HELP and our SHEILD. In HIM our hearts rejoice, for we TRUST in His holy name.

Isaiah 40: 26-29
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His GREAT POWER and MIGHTY STRENGTH not one of them is missing.
Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will NOT grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak.

Man oh man. This past week and a half has been one of the craziest of my life, I think. Coming to Africa was the beginning of seeing a year and a half (if not more) of dreaming begin to come to fruition. It’s been beautiful and messy and joyful and scary and a whole other mess of emotions that I don’t even know how to put into words (which, a lot of times, has meant they just flow out of my eyes).

The biggest struggle for me has been the lack of communication with family and friends back home. I’m huge on community, and its been something I’ve been praying about pretty much since I realized I was coming here alone. While God has definitely been providing people here to laugh with and interact with, my heart is still desperately missing those who know me best and know my heart. This is a new struggle for me; I’m never a homesick person. I definitely believe that this IS where God has me and that He IS working for my good and His glory and I trust that in declaring these promises constantly that He is teaching me to die to myself daily.

Dying to myself is something I’ve been struggling with for a while...what that looks like in my life and how I can daily take up my cross. Thank goodness I don’t have to rely on my own strength to do it! God is so much more than I can imagine, in ALL aspects of my life. He sees my hurting heart, and it is not too much trouble for Him to remind me that I’m cradled in His hand and I’ve never left that place. I believe God is sifting me (Luke 22:31) and revealing places of disobedience and selfishness in my own heart so that I can know Him more and do the work He has for me to do. I know that there are so many others, even in my own life, who are struggling with much heavier things than this, but I also know that the God who created the heavens also miraculously created my heart and He knows exactly what He’s doing in me, even if I don’t.

I am realizing that this has been harder than I expected because I thought I could handle it. I thought I was as prepared as I could be and that I had an idea of what I was getting myself into. And I’ve done things on my own before, I’ve been in unfamiliar places where I knew no one, I can handle myself adversity and stress pretty well. And that’s exactly the problem. How many times did you just read “I”? I was emailing a friend when I reread what I wrote and realized that I’ve been thinking this is about me and how I can do great things here in Worcester. WOW. Wrong.

I had Saturday morning to myself to seek the Lord and be refreshed. As I searched for truth, He gently spoke these things to me:

Sara. Daughter. It’s NOT about you. It’s about ME.
It’s my grace that has brought you this far.
It’s my grace that will continue to carry you.
Won’t you just TRUST me? Not what you can see or what you feel...ME.
I am I AM.
It’s okay to feel like this, but let Me carry you. You’re not doing this alone. You weren’t made to do this alone. You feel inadequate because you are...without ME.

Because of Him, I come alive. May it be His heart in me beating.

(Rebecca - you go girl!! I can’t believe you’re launching into this incredible journey...its been a long time coming and I’ve been blessed to be a part of who Jesus is in you for the past 3 years. I’m so proud of and excited for you! I LOVE YOU and can’t wait to hear about how you RELEASE the Kingdom in Jesus’ name!
http://www.rebeccaweaver.theworldrace.org)

just a few random things...

I'm moving into my new home this morning! I'll be living with a young mom, Erica, and her two precious daughters....Simile is 5 and Halo-Zoe is 2. SO.CUTE! I have my own room with 2 extra beds - COME VISIT!! (Mom, Kelly...book your flights :) ) and a little kitchen/sitting area. Its not far from the base and I can see the lake and the mountains from my room. I'm pumped to get my things settled in and stop living out of a suitcase, although I'll miss life at the base and living like royalty in hospitality :)

Did I mention how we have to push the car everywhere? Besides Mr. Elmore letting me and Katie drive his old Jeep when we were 15, I have NO clue how to drive a manual...but I DO know that if it's an old one, you have to push it. ALOT. I've pushed this car up and down hills, in gas stations and communities...its really funny. It'll definitely keep me in shape!

There is a couple here from Texas who loves football, so Sunday we spent the day trash talking (and finally agreeing that neither of us like Oklahoma, but we like what they did to FSU). They decided that Tebow and I should probably just go ahead and get married since we both love Jesus and football and missions...maybe those word prophetic words. :)

Yesterday I got to watch some middle schoolers practicing for the national rhythmic gymnastics competition in Jo-burg this weekend. It was AWESOME! They were SO good, and so sweet. They said I can come to practice any time I want....not that I have much to add, but I'll definitely be taking them up on that offer! We watched some staff demos and PK routines last night so Fola, Julius, and Hannah could get a better understanding of what I do....they were quite impressed. Although after I showed them the picture of me stunting with Shrek, they thought I was always a flyer!

Okay, I suppose thats all for now. Love you miss you and prepare your hearts for some skyping, soon!! :)

I forgot to tell you..

I went to my first African church service today! Worship was mixed English and Afrikaans but the sermon was in Afrikaans so I had to listen via headset in English :) And I got a hand me down guitar so I can play, praise the Lord!

beautiful Africa

I will post pictures soon, promise!

I'm still staying at the YWAM base, not sure when I'll move into my permanent home yet but I'm enjoying every minute of having a room to myself and coffee - although its instant - and tea - I'm currently obsessed with Rooiboos tea and drink at least 3 cups a day :) - at hand whenever. The favorite snack here is toast, and we eat that all the time too.

Yesterday we went to Hermanus to watch the whales and see the beach. It was incredible!! I'll post pictures as soon as I get my own internet time (I'm still borrowing :) ). Hannah and I climbed out onto the rocks and we saw the whales jumping! Hannah swam in the ocean for the first time...fellow Floridians, IT WAS FREEZING. NOT swimming weather for sure, but she took advantage of her opportunity, as there aren't beaches in Germany.

Random facts about Worcester: there are always dogs barking here. Laura, I saw a GIANT dader at the beach!! It made me miss you a LOT. The weather has been chilly, but beautiful and sunny. There are mountains all around us, which makes for beautiful sunsets and sunrises. No matter where you are, children will always run up to you and hug you and play with you hair...yes please.

Friday we went to a drug rehab facility to share good news with some of the inmates. It was incredible to see God move through language barriers and into hearts to release the captives! (Is 61) I read Ps 61 to them, a passage that I prayed over and over when I was overwhelmed with commitments and pressure my junior year of college. Little did I know...the place was called Toevlug (sounds like two-flag)...which means sanctuary in Afrikaans! It was really amazing to see the Lord work through His words and heal the hearts of the people there.

Praise the Lord for my sweet friend, Hannah! She leaves on Wednesday morning and I'm going to miss her TERRIBLY! All of the DTS students are leaving for outreach Monday, so there will be many new people on base. Pray for continued development of relationships here, please!

That's about all I have time for, for now. If you're tuning in to the Passion Livelink on Monday night...we'll be joining you! :) Love you ALL, thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement!!

I'm in AFRICA!! :)

Hello! Shalom!

I finally made it to Worcester after 28+ hrs of travel Tues - Wed. It was surreal waking up this morning and realizing it wasn't a dream...I'm really staying at the YWAM base in Worcester, South Africa! I've been kind of out of it all day - thank you jet lag - but we hit the ground running with ministry this morning. (Note: I'm gonna have to learn to function on Africa time..."be ready at 9am" means we'll probably leave the base around 10:30, and if lunch is at 11am then we're definitely not eating til 1 or 2 :) Coming from a minute-to-minute scheduled life, this is def a challenge!) We visited two school, one of which will be my second home for the next 3 months. Worcester Primary is grades 4-7 and I'll be teaching 7th grade math to start off with. The kids went on "holiday" today and return Oct 4th, so I have a week to prepare and adjust.

*Prayer Request - a bus of athletes headed to Jo-burg got in an accident the day I got here and one of the kids, Grant, passed away. This has really hit the community hard and they are just beginning to deal with the loss. Please keep Grant's friends and family in your prayers. He is most certainly dancing in heaven right now, praise the Lord.

We visited a lady from my school named Estelle (Bohler she reminds me SO much of you!) and talked with her for a while. We then headed to the squatter camp community (our idea of a shanty town) and served food to the children. It was an incredible sight - these beautiful, dirty, precious little children lining up with whatever bucket they had to hear the Word and sing songs and get a hot meal. This place is beautiful, right in a mountain valley, and the sight just took my breath away. THIS is the Father's heart, that we would look after His children and tell them of His unending, unfailing love.

Did I mention this place reminds me SO much of Los Mochis, Mexico? It's so similar in so many ways...thank You Jesus for preparing me to be here! I definitely would be in a lot more culture shock if I hadn't spent time in LM. Its beautiful...but I know I've said that. The mountains are incredible and the sunrise takes your breath away.

A few ways you can be praying specifically before I head to bed:

- COMMUNITY - Hannah from Germany leaves on Wed and we've already become great friends. Julius from Ghana has been here for 3 yrs and he has quickly become like a brother. Coming from such a supportive family and group of friends is making this transition a little rough...thanks for being amazing people to miss :)

-we are involved in just about every ministry you can imagine, so please just pray that the Spirit would fill us with His words and hearts would be open to receive truth.

Thats all for now, I'm using Fola's internet time (and computer) and I need to get some SLEEP! Love you all, thanks for your prayers. God Bless!

It's time for Africa!

You're a good soldier

Choosing your battles

Pick yourself up

And dust yourself off

Get back in the saddle

You're on the front line

Everyone's watching

You know it's serious

We are getting closer

This isn't over

The pressure is on

You feel it

But you got it all

Believe it

When you fall get up, oh oh

If you fall get up, eh eh

It's time for AFRICA!

Listen to your God

This is our motto

Your time to shine

Don't wait in line

Y vamos por todo

People are raising

Their expectations

Go on and feed them

This is your moment

No hesitations

This time for Africa...

(Three days and counting!)

God of scandalous grace

"I believe in a God of scandalous grace. It is risky, and yet we are people of faith, believing that giving is more contagious than hoarding, that love can convert hatred, light can overcome darkness and grass can pierce concrete. And now He dares and woos me to come and follow, to take up my cross, to lose my life to find it.." - Shane Claiborne