HOME at last!

All my soul can do is utter a rejoicing sigh. We are home at last.

After about 36 hours of travel, delays, broken airplanes, and absolutely no sleep we arrived at our final destination around 3:15AM Saturday morning. Our wonderful pastor and a friend were awaiting us and it was so wonderful to be greeted with such love, even with us being over 4 hours late.

Saturday day began for us around 9:30 after enjoying a few precious hours of sleep. The Guest House we are staying in is nice, we have both an AC unit and fan in our room so it stays comfortable for sleeping which is a tremendous blessings as the heat index this week has been QUITE high. Some of you know we had been speaking of the2+ feet of standing water and the monsoons coming throught this area - we are HAPPY and oh so THANKFUL to report that those stopped last week and now it is dry as can be . . . and also a million degrees lol.

As this is Sean's second visit here he is enjoying being comfortable in the culture and people and loving the feeling of being "apart"  vs. last trips' culture shock. The people of Agape are as sweet as ever and give their love to all who have come before with us! Saturday we went to the monthly youth conference where the w0rship center was packed with youth and some parents praising God through a singing contest. The leadership is using creative ways that appeal both to churched and unchurched youths to spread the News, those youth chosen to participate in the contest spoke of why they were singing the song and sang songs of the Lamb in order to share their hearts with all who were there. Today we had w0rship with the whole Family. Every seat in the building was full - PTL and for 3 or more hours we w0rshipped our L0rd together through songs, a teaching by our dear sister bobitta, corporate Pr@yer, a message on tithing, worship dance done by our Korean brothers and sisters who arrived yesterday from m!ssions training, a time of blessing, and then small group prayer. It was a tremendous blessing interupted only by my pitiful stomach and necessary run to the "bathroom" outside. But these wretched bodies will soon learn they are the least of our priorities, G0d be glorified in all and through all, no matter the weakness YOU be our strength dear Papa! If anything the harshness of the journey this time has been a constant reminder that this is not all there is, our Spirit is awake and alive when our bodies are tired and distressed - that speaks to something that should be and yet is broken. Our bodies, just like this world, are tired and broken from the fall - but we are created for so much more, and through the power of Chr!st in me I will accomplish it all, despite all else.

After lunch we met with Pastor and his dear wife to pray and plan for the week. We are excited to be sharing at least 6 times as well as meeting in people's houses and sharing there as well. We will also be spending a day ministering with my dear "brother" and his wife in their ministry to street children - a blessing I have been praying for for some time! please pray for the right messages to be impressed upon Sean and my hearts as we speak to so many different groups, children's messages, adults, youth, and unbelievers. Tonight we return to the center for the English service and look forward so much to more w0rship!! This morning was an amazing time to be in such unity with believers despite the language! PTL that He is the inventor of ALL languages and ruler over them, and that He has made our heart to sing the same song to Him no matter the words themselves!

This week will go by all too fast - as our pastor praised Papa and thanked Him for our hearts calling here Home, he also said how short of a trip this seems, but is so encouraged that we come and that we are obedient to God's calling on our lives for every season.

Oh saints at home how i wish i could bring each of you here to see how G0d is working in these people's lives. They have nothing but KNOW they have EVERYTHING in Him! They don't sleep yet find their peace and rest in HIM. They have no money yet they give ALL they have to HIS service. They have no training, but they sacrifice all time and attention to SERVICE to HIM! It is a beautiful sight and such an encouragement to see a Family of broken and diverse people, with different opinions, differet views, and different backgrounds ALL united in Him and putting all else aside focusing on the G0d alone. They speak the hard words they need to hear, they keep each other accountable and will no let each other go astray. They are seemingly tireless, though we know they must be exhausted, but theey NEVER STOP because they know the Truth and the Truth has set them free so they press on one day more for the GLORY of G0d, giving always ONE more until He will come again! PTL oh my soul!

Rejoice with us friends and continue to pr@y constantly for us when you think of us. We cannot wait to share more of what G0d is doing and will try to take time to take pictures for your benefit of seeing what we see, but I urge you to come yourself. See the good things that G0d is doing here lift up this country to our Father and ask also that our country would be rocked this way. That as here, the pockets of true followers would grow and flourish with a passion and delight in the L0rd that nothing can hinder. That we would bond together and never let down, never stop but always press onward to becoming more and more like Chr!st daily! Do not live your life in a manner of only having 1 testimony, live your life in a way that every day you have a NEW testiment of what G0d has done in you and how He has transformed you!!!

Peace and Blessings from Him who adores you!

-Sarah & Sean

Scripture for today:Ez 47:1-12, Psalm 1:3, Rev 22:1-2 - be refreshed :)

One week away! Let the countdown begin!

In one week and one day we will be on our way to our favorite place in the world - the slums of S. Asia!

I cannot wait, I am so nervous and excited and anticipating all the GREAT and GLORIOUS things our Father has instore for this trip!

I wanted to let you all know that a new "project" has been laid on my heart this week - G0d has once again reminded me of the amazing gift of His Word, its purposes and astounding worth, its blessing and its power by the Spirit to let us hear DIRECTLY from Him who created us! With this encouraging reminder, He also has laid it on my heart how important it is to enable others to have this precious gift and it struck me that I didn't even know where one would go to purchase a B!ble where we are going.

This was kind of surprising as I know where we will go to change money, to eat, to shop, to buy cell phones and data cards . . . but no idea where to buy a B!ble. That's not good at all! So I asked my dear brother and he said he would purchase them from the B!ble society there - wow, no walmart? No Family Christian Store? No LifeWay?!! No, where we are going it takes effort to get a B!ble, they cost more than most can afford and so those who have them, treasure them.

The affording part is pretty astounding. I know people who make pennies a day, and the cost of a B!ble in their own language, 200-300r is simply an astounding amount. That 200-300r is $4-$6 here. Wow.

So I'm opening the call, if anyone would desire to make a gift strictly for the use of purchasing B!bles in these people's native tongues for about $5/B!ble I will put aside the money, we will purchase the Good Books once arriving and then look for who G0d has prepared for us to share the Message! Having these B!bles in the native languages would be such a huge help to us as well since if we do not have an interpretor with us and G0d lays on our heart to speak to someone the Good News we have one more tool, and that tool being the very Word of G0d Himself!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please pray about this opportunity, you can donate via the paypal link on this page - so far we have already received donations for 7 B!bles! PTL!

We are always appreciative of gifts towards the overall trip as well, please leave a comment or email me if you make a donation that is not reserved for the B!ble project, otherwise we will be putting all remain donations towards that goal.

Love and Peace through Him!
-Sarah

woohoo!

I just have to say, this is my first ever "!ndia ONLY" trip and I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo thrilled it's insane.

I keep trying to figure out what else we need to do before we leave in a few weeks and I honestly can't think of anything because every time I think of something we MUST remember, I go, oh nevermind we'll just pick that up when we get there. Haha! Home! I can't wait to go to my heart's home!! I can't wait to have over TWICE as long as ever before to love the people, learn the culture, become ONE of these beautiful people and learn what one day our life will look like when G0d provides for us to settle there.

Friends REJOICE with me! PRAISE our F@ther for His great goodness! Sing a new song to Him! Shout it from the mountain tops, for His love is FAR beyond anything we can fathom and I am amazed, in awe, overwhelmed by the great and glorious love our King.


I love you saints, keep rejoicing!

Our Daily Bread

Along with G0d teaching us that we are NOT normal (see previous posts) we have also been learning to ask for our daily provisions - and G0d is faithful.

Some of you know that we were struggling with whether or not to buy a house, in time G0d shut those doors and made it clear to us that now is not the time. We then started looking at rental houses and still could not find anything we could afford. This was coupled with trying to pay our way to S. Asia from our savings and the few precious gifts we've received towards the journey. Our hearts, minds, and budget were all fighting one another as we tried to balance wisdom, desire, and faith. We've come to realize through the past months that it in part was that "balance" that was the problem. Once we prayed, put complete faith in G0d and let go of our earthly wisdom and fleshly desires HE moved.

We have found a rental house and should find out this week if they want us to rent from them or not, this house is exactly where we wanted to live, exactly "us sized" and we will actually be saving money by moving there!

He has also provided a place to stay while we are abroad. Instead of the hotels we usually stay in, we will be staying in a guest house our native pastor found for us. We aren't quite sure what this really means but we do know that it is G0d's provision for us and so we delight in it and praise Him for it! The guest house will help us with the financial strain of the trip and right now it's looking like our trip will cost 1/2 as much as usual :) We may come out of this paying $3500 total vs the $3250/person it usually costs!! PTL!

We can't wait to share the rest of this journey with you all, continue to lift up those who we would come into contact with, our travel arrangements, and our spir!tual safety and health. Also ask of our L0rd an added measure of grace for us and passion like we have never seen so that we would ready ourselves for the journey and be in the W0rd more than ever before.

Thank you for partnership, it is so sweet to us. Please share this with family and friends and use our story to proclaim the goodness of our S@viour and K!ng!

Love you all!
-Sarah